Texas blogging

Yahoo!!!

I managed to make it back from my trip to Texas unscathed.

I worked hard and enjoyed some really good BBQ. I also ate one of the most delicious hamburgers (a tie with Five Guys) at a place called Terry's. It was built inside an old gas station. Very cool.

I had to leave early because there was a massive snowstorm coming to the DC area. That was fun....not! The flight was packed and bumpy. It left at about 9pm Texas time and arrived at about 12:30 DC time.

My dearest Ellen had all sorts of trouble while I was gone. The Grizzwold curse really took over while I was gone. Just before leaving my middle daughter had gotten some sort of stomach issue. We thought it might have been some bad restaurant food, but when my littlest one got sick with the same symptoms a couple days later (bad enough to have to go to the ER) we were sure it was a stomach flu. Later on my oldest got the same thing (and had to go to the ER as well because my dearest thought she had appendicitis) . In and around all of that, my dearest had to go to the dentist and eye doctor too. I am very proud of her for flying solo.

Clark

It's been such a long time...

(all apologies to Boston)

Time flies...

Sorry that it's been so long.

While I find blogging therapeutic to an extent, the time to do it has been fleeting.

I've been so busy with work and softball. I have two new clients that I've been working with in Maryland to add to the third one. I've been running up and down the road to the tune of a hundred miles a day or more back and forth.

Softball has been pretty good. The travel team did fairly well. We won about half of the the games that we played, beating most of the teams that we should have. We will struggle at times because we are going to end up playing 14U teams that are a year older and stronger.

We have been caught up in the whole swine flu epidemic the past two weeks. My dearest Ellen had a cold for a couple days, then my youngest (now 5) got sick a couple days later at the same time I did. It all lasted about 5 days. Now my dearest and my oldest are sick.

I will try and post some more later...

Clark

Prescription Trouble

I’ve had a recent experience that I just had to share with all of you. You see, my new employer, as part of our medical benefits, has employed a mail order prescription drug company to fill all of our “maintenance drugs”. You know them. They are the ones we have to take every day (sometimes twice or more). The rule is that we are “allowed” to have three retail pharmacy refills of a medication before we are “required” to use the mail order pharmacy. The Insurance company makes it pretty easy to remember when you have to do that. They just stop paying for the meds.

My dearest Ellen has been trying to get in to see her endocrinologist in order to get the necessary prescriptions for the mail order pharmacy (they won’t take a transfer or photocopy). The doctor has been OK authorizing her refills, but we were up against “the wall” and had only one more refill before being cut off. The doctor could not see her for four months since it wasn’t an emergency. As a result, we hit the wall and weren’t getting her meds paid for. We were able to get an “override” for a retail pharmacy refill from our insurance company, but we were “cautioned” (more like scolded) that this would be the ONLY override we’d get. In the meantime, my wife decided to change doctors, finding one that would take her almost immediately. We thought she was in the clear.

However, the new doctor would not write her a refill prescription because 1) there were still active refills on her bottle and 2) the doctor wanted to take a gallon of her blood to check her “levels”. Back to square one. We contacted the insurance company to explain our plight. Needless to say we weren’t received well because we had ALREADY used our ONE “override” the prior month. ARGH! No amount of explaining could provide the necessary refill. We were weeks away from another doctor visit. I decided to go to my HR group and see what they could do. They were very nice about it, sympathetic you could say and they were able to get me in touch (via email) with a “member advocate”. I thought this was a step in the right direction and we’d have more meds than we could handle in a few days. I articulated our situation (not being able to see a doctor in a timely fashion and quickly running out of medication in the process and having no more overrides) in a brief email and waited for the response. This was our golden opportunity.

SLAM! That was sound of opportunity slamming the door. The “member advocate” should have been more aptly titled “Policy quoter”. She advocated following the insurance company policy and nothing more. One of the more impolite quotes from the “advocate” was “… if your wife is in need of her medication, her Dr. is the only one who can write a prescription for it. Without a prescription, her medication is not able to be filled at any pharmacy (retail or mail order)…” DUH! How about taking a step outside of your protective policy bubble and see if you can help me keep my wife from running out of her medication!!

We ended up paying out of pocket for a supply of the medication (50 dollars for the initial 20 dose amount with an option to get another 50 dollars worth more) on which to get by. We are still waiting for the doctor to get the blood test results back. That should take about a week. I’m hoping we get something before we have to exercise that other 50 dollar option.

I can hear some of you saying “Feh” at my chafing at 50 bucks of medication. Sorry, I don’t have very deep pockets.

Clark

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!

It's been a few weeks since I last blogged. Sorry about that. Life has been pretty much a whirlwind since early December.

My oldest has been pulled over three times in the past two weeks by the local police. She's been driving the truck and doing a pretty good job, but the cops decided she needed to: do a better job of stopping at stop signs, make sure that she is doing her best to wear her safety belt, and to make sure her lights were on when driving at night. Fortunately, she received no tickets for these minor mishaps. The lesson was learned however. Still, she managed to bump into the back of a car just enough to dent the truck bumper, but not damage the other car. Weird.

Speaking of the truck, I spent three days trying to find two tires for it. Why so long you ask? Well, I purchased two tires back in September because the truck needed it. Why not four, Clark? Well, my pockets haven't been very deep lately, so I opted for two then and would pick up two more later. Well, the same tire shop, the local Super Wal Mart, was consulted on the latest tire purchase as they were the shop who did the tires in September. They have very good tire prices. However, this time I spoke with three different people who told me that the tires I purchased in September were suddenly not available there. I must order them from Wal Mart online. No problem, I said. Being Intertube savvy, I went to the site and tried to place my order. Tried. You see, the website said the matching tires were out of stock! I went back to the shop and explained my predicament and they said they would call around and get back to me the next day. The next day comes around and I get no phone call. Frustrated and concerned I would have to buy two other tires or FOUR new tires (that wasn't going to happen), I called and spoke with the assistant store manager. In five minutes he was able to determine that indeed the store did have the tires I was looking for (In fact, they had 8 of them). I was perturbed and happy all at once. Why didn't they bother to look in their inventory three days ago? The assistant manager was nice enough to discount some of the services to save me about 30 bucks overall.

I found out in December that I have diabetes. Not the really bad kind, but the kind that comes at you when you are too fat. I have to diet and exercise now. Blah. I have to give up tons of good stuff to eat and take meds. It was hard, but I'm doing OK. I've lost a little weight and have tried to step up my exercise. Since leaving my last job I've lost about 20 lbs. I think 15 of that came from having much less stress in my work life.

I've been working hard, but not too crazily. I am running around, but it's a good thing. My work stress level is near zero. I am working with nice folks who care for a change.

Christmas was pretty cool. It seemed to come and go pretty fast. The kids had a great time, too.

Clark

More on the new J-O-B

I'm stoked (is it OK for someone in their mid 40s to say that?) to be working at my new job.

I'm settling in and feeling good about what I am doing. Of course, I said that after the first month at my old job too. Just before the "football bat" situation started. Anyhoo, I've been sent out to work on another site in the DC area that wants to increase their knowledge, improve their situation, and win the re-bid coming in about 18 months. I'm proud to be included in the group that hopefully will help them out.

I'm still waiting on my own personal company laptop. They've issued me a company credit card (God only knows how that went through), too. My buddy is going to Florida for a week to hash out some issues with a project down there. I was thinking that I was going to go, but he's gonna plan for a week down there and I'm sorry....I've got too much going on at home to spend the week hand holding. I'll be ready to support him from a distance. Plus I have to review a bunch of material for my site review. I'm hoping that goes well.

Later,
Clark

Fast Forward

Sorry...it's been a quick month. I should be more diligent in my blogging, but I'm a busy guy.

See, the boss came in on 8/25 and basically told me that I could go. I'd be paid for the day, of course, but not the rest of the week because...well...he wasn't getting any more money from the client, so he couldn't afford to pay me for the rest of the week. He offered me a laptop in exchange for the hours, but I really needed the money, not the PC. In retrospect, I should have taken the computer, but I wasn't thinking clearly at the time. That kinda sucked.

Oh well. I lost 5 days of pay. I tried getting on with my new company, but they wouldn't have an office for me for another week, so I was stuck at home. You'd think I would have blogged while I had all that down time, but I ended up doing stuff with the kids since school hadn't started yet. I did have one day all to myself, but I wasted it.

Clark

Sleepy Monday

I'm here and the last guy left are here...but no one else is here. I wonder what time these guys get to work? Sheesh! Now I know what it's like to work at the corporate office!

Clark

I'm saved!!

I can happily tell all of you that your ol' pal Clark has found a new job!! WooHoo!

I'm going to work with the first guy who left the team. He's a good egg and put in a good word for me at his new job cuz they had a need for a new team member. Two weeks later, Ta Daaaa! Clark has a new gig!

I won't get paid anymore because I was at the top of their scale, but that's OK, I'll be half as far away and getting better bennies because it's a bigger company. Plus, I don't have to necessarily spend all my time on client sites! It's as near a perfect gig as I can get!

As you can see by all the exclamation points, your ol' pal Clark is stoked to get started. My first day is September 2nd. I've already turned in my notice to my old employer. I think they were glad to see me go because they really haven't said much except congratulations. I tried. All of the stress and bother (not to mention the chest pain and weight gain) of this job seems to be all for naught. I really haven't felt like a part of the company much. The new guy gave me some interesting insights as to what he feels is going on there. It makes a lot of sense. He feels that they are only interested in making money and they are going to get whatever gig they can to do that. I agree that its in the best interest of all CEOs to make money for their business, however, you have to have a plan of action. I sometimes feel that we are the cash cow that is supporting all of the other activities of the business.

All that being said, I feel bad that no one at corporate seemed to take an interest in what we were doing. There is one guy left. He's feeling left out. I think he got a late start on the job hunt (although my gig was achieved with help) so I extended contact information to him as needed. The other guy who left is trying to set up something else at our new company for him. I'm hoping that works out.

Thankfully, I won't have to deal with the "football bat" anymore.

Clark

The new guy is gone!

Yep. His time was up (he actually stayed an extra week) and now he's gone. All the work he was doing with "football bat" now falls to me. Great.

Clark

The emigration...

Shockingly, one of our other teammates gave his notice and was out faster than the new guy! I don't blame him. He left about a week ago. He gave me some contacts where he is now going to work (half as far away from home for him and the same for me).

I've had some contacts from recruiters and a couple of phone interviews, but nothing firm. I am dreading the day that the new guy leaves.

Clark

The new guy is audi5000

A few posts ago I mentioned that we had a new guy at the office and that he was put in charge of the project. As a result of the messed up environment we have at work, he's decided to put in his resignation. He'll be around for a few more weeks, but the middle of august comes around pretty quickly.

It's sad that this environment is so toxic that talented people won't stay around. My resume is already on the street as a result. The "Football Bat" is still in charge of our ITSM project for which we have to complete tasks. I can't stand that woman. We had to sit through a presentation that was so screwed up (death by power point bullet, mispellings on the screens, lack of a coherent message, etc.) I wanted to walk out.

I'm wanting to stay around for the trip to SF, CA in the fall, but I don't know if I'll be able to do it. If the right job comes around...I'm gone.

Clark

I can't make this up folks....

Hey folks!

I am really not making any of this up. Really.

"She" is back and "she" is in charge of a project that I will have to work on. We are upgrading our IT Service Management product to the latest version and "she" has been put in as the Project Manager working for the PMO team. I kid you not.

This "person" is serving out a settlement of some kind or other and has a contract to not work on the same types of projects that I work on. Now we are working on the same project.

It looks like your ol' pal Clark is in for a rough summer.

Clark

Teamwork

I've spent a great deal of my career working with people. I must say that I've gotten along quite well. Except for "she", I can't recall too many people whom I would label "enemies". However, I'm struggling with the group of people where I work that don't seem to want to participate in the concept of "teamwork".

In general terms, being a member of a team means that there is a common goal. In most sports, the goal is to win the game, match, or tournament. Having been a coach I can tell you all that a single person who spells the word "team" with an "I" can really bring a team to its knees. It's really not that different in the IT world. When you are a consultant, contractor, or employee, we all get our goals from our leadership and we try to make the goals happen within a specific time frame.

Not so recently where I work. For some reason, some people on the team have decided not to cooperate. They have no professional ethic, they are disrespectful, and they have their own set of goals that aren't necessarily in line with the rest of the organizations. It's sad. I guess they are selfish and only have their own best interests at heart. But, if they participated in the team dynamic, they would be part of a larger success. Win as a team, lose as a team. It doesn't matter if you think you spell it with an "I", the team falls when those around it are marching to a different drum.

Clark

Final Chapter?

You'd think by now that everything would be back to normal regarding "she who's name will not be spoken" (heretofore referred to as "she"). I guess I was wrong. However, I think we may be at some sort of crossroads.

I can pretty much guarantee that "she" won't be going away. She's managed to leverage all of her friends from the government and land a job supporting some kind of IT project for the same division where I work. According to the folks in the know at my company, some sort of "settlement" was reached between my company and "she's" company and mine. From my position, it would have been nice to know the terms of the settlement. Regardless, she's been slithering around my area recently. I ran into her two times in the space of a week. I overheard someone say to her: "sometimes things happen for a reason". I'm sure that she was talking about her "ordeal". Lest we forget about the things that lead to her "dismissal", here they are:

1. Constant disagreements with other team members
2. Lack of communication with the team to the point where important information was not disseminated, resulting in embarassing situations and emails
3. Emotional ourbursts in public and private
4. Inappropriate social relationship between her and the client
5. Falsified credentials - she claims to have a PhD. However, the college from which she received this PhD. is a "diploma mill". While this didn't really contribute to her dismissal, it was more of the same kind of dis-information she touted as "real"
6. Refusal to accept the generous offer of a paid leave of absense from the company. This would have given her time to get her head together (something that I personally recommended to her)

There were a couple more, but those were the big ones.

I have to live in the environment where each time I run into her I'm reminded of the stress and turmoil she put me through (the nasty comments, emails, dirty looks). Perhaps your ol' pal Clark is a little paranoid? I personally think it sucks, but I have to stick it out in order to pay the bills, if you know what I mean.

Clark

You'd think I was making this up...

...but since there's already one writer's strike going on....ha!

In all seriousness, I have found out some interesting information about "she who's name will not be spoken" and her whackyness. It turns out that she was hired back on by a competing consulting firm on a contract WITH THE SAME GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION!!!

I also found out that she DID INDEED sign a non-compete clause in order to get her last two paychecks. Therefore, she is working on our job site illegally. Let the lawsuits begin!

On a side note, I also found out that the whacky wonder has a fruadulent PhD. HA!

clark

Hard to believe

Sorry its been so long between postings. Sometimes we get way too busy at the Grizzwold house.

It's been my suspicion all along and recently confirmed that my government clients have hired back the nut job that nearly cost me my sanity. I haven't confirmed where exactly she's working, but other people on our contract have seen her and I've heard her name mentioned in conversations outside my cubicle.

I fail to understand how someone like this could be hired back after the disaster she made of things.

clark

Another Chapter?

I guess that perhaps I had relaxed a bit too soon.

I noticed on two occasions that the government project manager was emailing (or had received email about) the wacky nutjob!

I suspect she's trying to get nutjob back to the office in some squirmy way.

I hope to hell not. She's contractually obligated to stay away from people in our company. Maybe she WANTS to get sued.

Ugh!

Clark

Finally...

I've survived!

The two week "transition" is over and I've now finished my first week as project manager. As a result, I've started drinking, smoking, and mainlining heroin!! (Just kidding, your ol' pal Clark's only vice is food and the internet).
In all seriousness, the past two weeks have been hell. The wacky wonder managed to get paid for doing very little. I tried to keep up with her hours, but she spent very little time around us. We got very little transition during that time, but we did have a nearly 5 hour meeting on her last day where she made up this "list of activities" which really told us a lot of the stuff that she kept hidden from us. The rest of the stuff was mere fluff designed to make the list seem long and to "scare" me.
I spent few moments along with "she who must remain nameless" but when I was, the nasty comments flew out of her mouth like vomit. She accused me of plotting against her to take her job (like I really wanted that in the first place). She told me that I could go on and report all of the nasty things she said because she would deny it anyway. And she finally suggested that I stop by the street corner where she planned to stand with a tin cup to collect change because she had no job (remember folks, our company offered her a paid "leave of absense" for several weeks so she could get her act together, but she burnt all the bridges and quit).
I couldn't have done this without all of the support of my company. I hope that it all works out in the end.

Clark

More changes

The saga of the workplace continues!
One of our team members, the other half of the fighting females, has been ordered off the contract. Fortunately, our CEO is smart enough to know a valued employee from a nut job, so she's been transferred to a new contract.
The whack job is allowed to stay on as a 1099 based contractor for a specific daily fee. I have to keep track of her hours and I've already made requests to have materials downloaded from her desktop computer.
The next two weeks should be very stressful...as if I need any more stress.

Clark

It's Not Over....

....until the psychopath sings!
Truly my friends, I am not making any of this up. In my last post, I told you that my crazy project manager had quit. Sadly, in the intervening days between the end of the week and the beginning, she managed to worm her way back in to the office.
I believe it to be the work of the government manager and her nearly illegal social relationship with this wacked out wonder. As a result, I have to endure an additional two weeks of suffering. While her resignation was officially accepted by my company, the government manager made it clear that she wanted the spaz to stay behind and "transition".
I fear that this woman will continue to make life difficult for us on the account, both during and after she leaves.

Clark