Useless Conversation

[Segoris]

Sounds like she should start looking for a government job.  90% of my division just fields crackpot customer complaints and the only metric your manager truly gives a shit about is how many people they manage.  No one has any sort of fiscal liability, I doubt the lifers even understand the concept.

I agree with this. People who are motivated are viewed as a weed in the grass that is government work.

[Sky]

I hate real estate and pretty much anyone involved in it after my last 3 ordeals with it.

I have great attorneys, otherwise I agree. I was amazed at the amount of confident incompetence displayed, and the amount of money made by said incompetents.

[Salamok]

I was amazed at the amount of confident incompetence displayed, and the amount of money made by said incompetents.

Real estate professionals put in a lot of effort and hard work making that money, unfortunately for you 95% of that effort and hard work is spent on finding clients and this is time that you are expected to pay for.

[Minvaren]

I was amazed at the amount of confident incompetence displayed, and the amount of money made by said incompetents.

Real estate professionals put in a lot of effort and hard work making that money, unfortunately for you 95% of that effort and hard work is spent on finding clients and this is time that you are expected to pay for.

When I bought the place I currently have, I cold-called a realtor with a list of 3 properties to look at.  Decided to put on offer on #2 without seeing #3, which was accepted.  They might have had 6-8 hours of work to do including the showings and closing.  He and the seller's realtor each got $4K out of the deal.  Theirs might have earned it, as the place was on the market for 2+ years.

And best yet, the realtor showed up drunk as a skunk after move-in to gift a Schlage front door lock, eyeing all the stuff being unpacked lecherously.  Had it rekeyed just in case.

Ah, realtors.  

(edit : perfectionism and whatnot)

[bhodi]

Yeah, it's super tough typing your requirements into MLS and mashing the "Submit" key.

There are places that let you list without going to a realtor and offer a fixed fee, but none that I have found in VA. Realtors associations fight tooth and nail to prevent stuff like that, simply because it makes them superfluous.

[Bunk]

It's super tough typing in the property to the MLS if you don't have a login to the MLS. Realtors know that MLS access is the only real leverage they have.

That being said, in today's market, you should be able to talk a Realtor in to taking your business for whatever you offer to pay them. Unless they are in the top 5% of the Realtors in your city, they are begging for business.

Whether the Realtor will give you a deal or not will depend on which brokerage they are with, as the rules they are under (and how much the brokerage skims off the top) varies dramatically.

[Mrbloodworth]

Awesome thanks. Now i kinda worry we wont have enough time down there. 

[Rasix]

Telling your boss that you're applying for another position is really uncomfortable.

[Ironwood]

So much wrong with that sentence, so I'll just go for ;  Was he bending you over the desk at the time ?

[Samwise]

My entry is going to be "Like the back seat of a Volkswagen?"

[Rasix]

Jerks.

"Telling your boss that you are applying for another job in the company is not a fun conversation."

Yes, you can make dirty too I suppose.

Jerks.

[Ironwood]

In Seriousness, I nominated one of my staff for a better (and more suited) role in the company and she turned it down.  While that's all warm and fuzzy and whatnot, she's now regretting it since she watches the UTTER CLOWN WE HIRED fuck it all up while she could have done so much better.

Your Boss shouldn't make that stuff uncomfortable.

[Rasix]

It's weird also, because she recommended that I look at that job during our first meeting (she's my new manager).  I didn't think it'd work with my current schedule, but people working over there said I'd be fine.  

I guess she thought she was safe.  Managers don't like to lose headcount. But, I'm wasted in my current job and pretty much everyone knows it.

[Samwise]

So did you already do it, or are you rehearsing a speech?

I was contemplating the same thing not too long ago, actually, but I was saved from having to do it myself.  My plan if I'd had to go through with it on my own was going to be to make it sound like it had somehow been the boss's idea.  I think it probably would have worked.

(fake edit) oh hey, you can totally make that work.

[Yegolev]

Awesome thanks. Now i kinda worry we wont have enough time down there. 

Oh, no.  Seven days is not enough to do everything.  I tried with nine once and I think I got all the important stuff, but that was before Animal Kingdom existed.  I'll try to pare it down for you.  You can do my tour of MK fairly quickly, even with time to get some mickeyhead ice cream and buy a two dollar shirt for $30.

My wife loves EPCOT.  Not sure why.   Anyway, it's easy enough to get to from the TTC due to the monorail access.

The first thing you are going to do is Spaceship Earth.  It has also been redone and is nicer.  I have only managed to find one Hidden Mickey in there, on a piece of paper in the Renaissance I think.  After that there are some things I just don't have any interest in, like Ellen's Adventure Into Insipidness.  I do like to hang around the middle area and watch the fountain show, but it's SO FUCKING HOT.  I believe that the Coca-Cola Ice Station Cool has been removed also, so no cold and sticky place to wait.  You'll have to duck into Innoventions and endure the advertising.

Otherwise, I really like Mission: Space.  Very much.  Since that kid died on it, they added a Pussy Line that you can get in if you suck.  That one puts you in the "space module" but they don't spin the centrifuge.  They have barf bags in the ride, so just man up and do the serious one.

I hate Test Track.  Boring and stupid.  Last time I was in there, they had deactivated the machine that simulated testing car door impacts, which is great since that was pretty brutal to listen to for 35 minutes.  The problem was that the ride broke down.  We were only in there for the boy; I manage to go 60mph in my own car quite regularly.

I do like The Land ride, and now they have Soaring which I missed twice so far.  I am told it is cool.  I do suggest eating at whatever that restaurant is called, if you can manage a seat.  It rotates, is all-you-can-eat and you get to see Chip and Dale in farmer costumes.  What's not to like?

Living Seas is interesting, but personally I think the restaurant is the best part of it.

My boy likes the jumping fountains outside of Honey, I Shrunk The Audience.  Otherwise I wouldn't go over there.  As for 3D movies, I'd not rate it highly.

World Showcase, for me, is all about food.  It's a big circle of things to eat, minus certain countries that seem ashamed of their food.

The restaurant in Mexico is merely OK as for food, but the interior and the ride are great.

I have never eaten in Germany but I did see a band playing on top of a gazebo once.

There is a restaurant hidden in the back of Morocco that is FANTASTIC.  Hidden!  Try the chicken!  I also like Morocco as a whole, it's just very well done.

France, check.  Italy, check.  England, check.  Japan, check.  Well, Japan also has a Mitsukoshi that we always stop at, being japan-nerds.  Otherwise you can expect to find what you expect in those areas.

Canada has a very good restaurant called Le Cellier.  You can (could?) get beer there that was only otherwise available in Quebec.

I will mention China because of their cool 360-degree promotional film.  Also Norway has a neat ride featuring trolls and oil rigs.

OK, besides the food, there is this Kim Possible quest thing.  People will possibly look at you strangely if you are doing it as an adult, but it's fucking Disney World so they need to just chill.  You will see people doing it, and I find it neat.  Basically you get a specialized cell phone which gives you missions and lets you interact with props in the world.  Two words: zombie railroad!

If you end up staying late, get a good spot for the parade/light show thing before they are all taken.  You'll know it's time when you notice all the good spots are taken already.  My wife hates people, so we usually head out before this.  The trip through EPCOT is even more dead than usual.  But!  If it is dark, look for the fiber-optics in the pavement.

I have never bothered to slow down passing through America.  What's the point there?

[Lantyssa]

Our office space has moved.  Nicer building, but a computationally heavy research group, so it's been pretty hellish.  Unfortunately, being a university research group, the equipment is kind of old.  My file server and the calendar server died.  My own desktop didn't want to boot at first.

Despite having movers, I still managed to injure myself in myriad locations.  Also I think I drooled on my keyboard after passing out on it after coming home this evening.

[RhyssaFireheart]

/stomps around raging!

How the hell am I supposed to get experience in an area of project management if no one will hire me to work in that area?!?!?

Screw telling me I'm not a good fit for a position because I don't have software experience.  How can I get that experience if no one is going to give me a chance?

ARGH!!

/needs to start drinking or something to deal with this BS job search.  I really don't want to take 3 steps back just so I can start even moving again.

[Samwise]

My advice would be to get a job as a software developer at a small company where they don't have project managers and the developers do the stuff that a project manager would normally do.  Then when you apply for a "real" project manager spot, you'll have project management experience.

[RhyssaFireheart]

I have project management experience.  That's not the problem.  It's that I'm niched into IT hardware pretty exclusively and there aren't a ton of jobs like that out there that don't require a PMP and 10+ years of experience.  I haven't managed or assisted on any projects with software or product development lifecycle.  Nor do I have any programming experience beyond HTML/CSS and bastardized PHP manipulation. 

So I gt told that because I don't have software development lifecycle experience, I'm not a fit for the position, but how am I ever going to get that particular experience otherwise?  Catch-22.

[Samwise]

So I gt told that because I don't have software development lifecycle experience, I'm not a fit for the position, but how am I ever going to get that particular experience otherwise?  Catch-22.

They might be wanting someone who's spent some time developing software.  Which you can do pretty easily as long as you're willing to go in at a more "entry level" position, i.e. a junior developer, or maybe even a QA engineer.  It's not like you need to work your way all the way up to senior developer or whatever before you can become a project manager; they probably just want you to have gone through a release or two so you have some inkling of what a software release cycle looks like before you jump in trying to steer one.

Honestly, I'd probably have the same requirement.  I think it's important to know something about the work that you're overseeing.

[Rasix]

even a QA engineer.  

This is the route I've decided to try.  I've wanted to get into development for a while but have stuck in the job I landed in after college.  I've had one potential transition sputter out and every  other time I think about moving to something else, the risk factor seems to be too high.

Even if this doesn't transition into development, it could definitely go somewhere as I'll be getting experience with a lot of disk, SAN, and OS environments. Open systems is pretty nifty.

Looking forward to it (if I get the job, it's pretty likely unless the funding goes away.. that's happened before) as at least I'll be doing something different and working with a younger, more technically oriented crowd.

[Trippy]

If you are trying to go from QA engineer to (junior) developer you'll want to work your way into a "white-box" testing position, assuming your company has those:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-box_testing

[Rasix]

The HMI group where I work does something to that effect.  Functional verification test and systems test?  Not so much.

[Viin]

I have project management experience.  That's not the problem.  It's that I'm niched into IT hardware pretty exclusively and there aren't a ton of jobs like that out there that don't require a PMP and 10+ years of experience.  I haven't managed or assisted on any projects with software or product development lifecycle.  Nor do I have any programming experience beyond HTML/CSS and bastardized PHP manipulation.  

So I gt told that because I don't have software development lifecycle experience, I'm not a fit for the position, but how am I ever going to get that particular experience otherwise?  Catch-22.

Software and hardware are pretty different, so that's hard. Are you familiar with service delivery? You could probably get a job at a software company project managing customer delivery, which is quite different than PjM'ing actual software development.

[RhyssaFireheart]

I'm familiar with service delivery, so that's an option, I guess.

It's just frustrating lately is all.  Plus I had a good inside lead on a position but was turned down because I lack software experience at all.  And from what I was told about the job description, it wouldn't have been managing software creation so much as working with faculty on determining their software needs for a course, setting up demos, working with vendors to get the right software in place and getting things set up.  So.. something I am perfectly capable of doing now.  *sigh*

[Yegolev]

Creativity is not dead.  Listen to a six-year-old argue against eating vegetables.

[Nebu]

Creativity is not dead.  Listen to a six-year-old argue against eating vegetables.

We should let the 6 year olds in college then.  The freshmen I see seem to only be able to regurgitate facts.  Creativity and analytical thought are well beyond them. 

[Pennilenko]

Our educational system beats the creativity out of kids at an early age.

[Murgos]

We should let the 6 year olds in college then.  The freshmen I see seem to only be able to regurgitate facts.  Creativity and analytical thought are well beyond them. 

To be fair learning conducted up through the 12th grade consists of 90% rote memorization.

[Nebu]

To be fair learning conducted up through the 12th grade consists of 90% rote memorization.

"No Child Left Behind" at work.  What an utter fucking fail.  It's right up there with cutting the arts and music in public schools.  

I can honestly say that, were it not for music, I would have dropped out of high school, taken the GED, and gone to a community college at 16. 

[LK]

Our educational system beats the creativity out of kids at an early age.

Might explain why around 6th grade I just stopped giving a shit and my grades started dropping.

[Pennilenko]

Our educational system beats the creativity out of kids at an early age.

Might explain why around 6th grade I just stopped giving a shit and my grades started dropping.

I remember thinking things were bad back in the 5th grade. I had the coolest teacher ever. She had a ton of energy, constantly kept us involved and asking questions. She got fired because she refused to follow standard curriculum. She would issue homework assignments that involved the parents heavily in the homework activities. A bunch of parents got together and went to the board with complaints. She only lasted that year and they didn't pick her back up for the next year.

[MuffinMan]

If you are a fan of Cream Soda, do not buy Natural Brew. It tastes like 20 year old candy that's been sitting at my grandma's house.

[Cheddar]

Best way to offset caffeine?  Rum.  Proven method!   

[Strazos]

I agree with this. People who are motivated are viewed as a weed in the grass that is government work.

Highly dependent on the work you are doing...just saying.

Also, I'm not going to enjoy having to find a house...in 20-some years.