A few changes

I've decided to start a web development blog. I think I'll host it on my site and build it from scratch. I'll probably start tonight.

I sat down with the recruiters last Friday and they, of course, are trying to convince me to stay. This Saturday is my 90 day mark, the halfway point. I'm having serious doubts about being able to finish out this contract. To add insult to injury I've turned down countless opportunities (not actual job offers but recruiters that call with potential jobs). Today I got red in the face and felt like I was about to blow at the absurdity I've been facing. Just a few minutes ago I got that, all too familiar, anxiety.

I actually heard one of the developers say "As long as it works in one browser, who cares?". This website is already 28 days overdue and changes are still being made by the powers that be. I think it's time to find a new recruiter, and consequently a new job. I've been trying to talk myself out of that but I'm not sure I'll be able to stand this place for another three months.

I've gotten calls about jobs that pay between $40 and $50 an hour, that's between $83,000 and $100,000 per year. It's very tempting. What I'm worried about is how this will look on my résumé. I don't want to seem flaky. I have good reasons for not staying at those jobs and I'm sure I can convey that during an interview. What I don't want is for them to judge me based on my resume and then not even get to the interview step. Also, if I start missing days at work because I'm interviewing I'll most likely get fired. I don't want to end up out of a job because I was looking for a job.

This is tough.

-Crash

The shitstorm

On Friday I had planned to visit a friend of mine in PA. Because it's a long drive and I didn't want to get caught in rush hour traffic I opted to come in to work early and leave early. I came in to work at 5:30AM and left at 2:30PM. Some might see that as diligent, responsible, or even just doing my job (getting my full 8 hours in). Others only look at the negative, the fact that I left early. The latter would be my manager.

I got an email reprimanding me for not telling her I would be leaving early, despite the fact that I told my supervisor of my plan days ahead of time and the fact that I made sure the day of that I wouldn't be needed for the rest of the day and the fact that I got all my work done. That pushed me over the edge. I called the recruiter and then I sat down with my boss to straighten things out. It turns out she has no idea what I work on all day, no idea how productive I am or am not. As it also turns out she's been removing my supervisor's subordinates one by one by putting them on other projects. I'm the only one left still working under him (by her own admission).

My supervisor is a really nice guy and his code is good, it just seems his leadership is lacking. What bothers me is that she is taking such sneaky measures to effectively demote him. It also bothers me that she told me all of this. I'm not here to be in the middle of a battle of wills, to take sides, or to hold anybody's hand. I'm here to work, get stuff done, and get it done right. What I'm worried about is how it will look on my resume if I don't finish out my contract. I only have 3 and a half months left to my contract. I'm thinking of just toughing it out and getting the fuck out when it's up.

The fun part is that it seems my manager has made waves with another contractor as well and that the recruiter had to step in to smooth things over. Let's see how this all plays out.

The cycle continues

Pride will be my biggest asset or my downfall. I'm not yet sure which it is.

After 2 months and 2 weeks at my current job I'm ready to beat people's skulls into their desks for lack of common sense, lack of knowledge of the tehnologies they were hired for, and lack of planning on the websites we've been tasked with building. I'm going to stick it out the rest of the week before telling the recruiter that I'm no longer willing to finish out my contract. Luckily NJ has at-will employment, that means I can quit at will and they can also fire me at will.

I take pride in what I do because it's what I love. Even if it wasn't, it's my job, I get paid to do this. I might as well do it right. Apathy is setting in and I'm no longer willing to fight. If I don't have the will to fight for my code, best practices, or the security of the website (or lack thereof) then I'm no longer an asset to the company. Furthermore, this website will do nothing to further my career. It's not something to be proud of so I will most likely not mention it as prior experience.

In that case, why am I here? Time to start job hunting again.


-Crash

An interesting few weeks

I've had a pretty good last few weeks with the exception of the past two days. I've thoroughly enjoyed my new car and I'll continue to for quite some time.

I've been really busy at work but I've had a bitch of a time balancing quality against their deadline. I like to be proud of my work and they just want it done by their due date. To be honest it doesn't really concern me what their due date is since it's not my fault they're behind. I'll do what I can as quick as I can as best I can.

I'm heading to my uncle'a house today but before that I'm getting a long overdue haircut. That's all for now, folks. I'll post anything I might have forgotten later


-Crash

Shitting Bricks

Hey, all. I just picked up the title to my car yesterday! I'm so happy that I'll finally get to drive my car. I'll register the car this Saturday which means that's when I'll pick up the car from the seller's house. I've already made the first payment on the loan so it's really about time that I got to drive the car. To be honest, I'm glad I didn't have the car yet. Considering this huge snow hurricane the northeast got this past week, I would've killed myself had I been driving the car and crashed it or something happened at all.

Anyway, that's now the reason I'm shitting bricks. I've been absolutely obsessed with my budget as of late. I'm constantly checking my bank account and modifying my budget to make sure I'll stay within the lines. I'm bent on moving out, though I had to push it back to August. I'm trying my hardest to, both, get out of debt as quickly as possible, and save up as much as is necessary to move out. So far I'm looking good in terms of my budget. I actually saved money this month over what I projected. Let's hope the other months are just as good, if not better.

My Surreal Day

I went to Raymour & Flannigan today to check out some Presidents Day deals and look at some stuff that was different from Bob's Furniture. I wasn't sure I'd find anything at a decent price but we found quite a few things for a great price, a little too much stuff. I planned out my living/dining room and my bedroom including a mattress. It worked out to $6474. That cuts into my TV budget so I probably won't have a TV in the living room for a bit. I'll also most likely have to delay moving in by about 2 weeks to make sure I have enough money to fall back on just in case. This makes the whole moving out thing much more real. I need to make sure it all fits in the apartment! I'll most likely head that way this week and submit the credit application for the apartment. I'll probably need a co-signer since my credit's been crappy due to, both, my financial irresponsibility and my being unemployed for 3 months last year.

I went with my parents to visit my uncle up north since we were close by while buying the furniture (not the uncle I usually go visit). I played with the kids, they're 3 and 4. They're so much fun. He lent me his Grand Prix so I don't have to inconvenience my parents. He hardly uses the car and had it garaged since they use their minivan more often because of the kids. I'm hoping this car thing is solved soon.

Sidenote:
@Steve: The reason for the prices being so high is it's Northern NJ. The cost of living is quite high here compared to the rest of the country.

The Direction of Things

I started my new job 2 weeks ago and it's been good so far. I've been doing simple stuff and some more complex stuff as well. To be honest, the project itself scares me, not because it's too much to handle, but because it's a clusterfuck. I wouldn't put my name on that. Unfortunately it's mostly done so there's no chance of a rewrite. It's horrible and I've tried to merely do as I'm told in terms of fixing or adding features. I've had to fix stuff for browsers they didn't even test on like Safari and Chrome and even some javascript issues on IE7/8 which they DO test on but somehow didn't catch. I know this sounds like I'm bitching but it's a good thing. I'll be working on a new project soon and it's from scratch so there won't be any horrible code to look at :).

The car situation still isn't sorted out. The loan went through, luckily, but now I have to figure out how to get the title. It seems the seller's bank is going to send it to my lienholder, which I then have to request it from and have it sent to the DMV to register the car. It's annoying, but at least we got this far. I'm one step closer to driving my (realistic) dream car, an E46 M3.

I'm at my uncle's right now. I drove here last night in order to drop off his car, which he so graciously offered the use of, but I realize it's been 2 weeks now and he needs his car. I'll borrow my mom's car for a bit and if this takes too long, I'll simply rent one for a bit or ask my other uncle if I can borrow his Grand Prix.

I don't remember if I posted about this, sorry if I already did. I've been planning on moving out of my parents' house. My stepdad's company is closing in the next two years and he's pretty close to retiring anyway. They're planning on buying a house in Puerto Rico and moving there within that time period. That's not why I'm moving out, though. I've felt it's time for a while but after having been unemployed it took me a while to get back on my feet. I made a budget a few weeks ago and was planning on moving out with a friend of mine. Unfortunately it seems she won't be able to. I would've saved a lot more money by getting a 2 bedroom apartment and sharing the cost of utilities, furniture, etc. even if the rent was more than a 1 bedroom. I found a nice 1 bedroom near work for ~$1200/mo. It's a really good price for the area it's in considering the average is between $1300 and $1400. On paper, it should all work out and I'll be out of credit card debt by next May. I plan on moving in around April 1^st.

Cross your fingers! If all goes well, 2010 could be the year of my independence and a turning-point in my life.