DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... Lost my job today

I am going to break my own rule here and point out that what you quoted was sarcasm. OF COURSE I know I was not warm and fuzzy.

You stated "If I had wanted to tell him ...". Now, there are just two possibilities here. Either, you see nothing wrong with his actions, OR, you are unwilling to do something about it. Which is it?

DO IT politely. Sugar-coat it, put a cherry on top, whatever you like, but DO IT.

You are doing exactly what I predicted would happen. Complaining about my methods, but taking no action yourself. Very common, happens all the time. I'm used to people standing around, discussing a problem, objecting to any proposed solution, while doing nothing. As long as they get out of my way while I'm doing something about it, I really could care less.

But, when somebody is trying to stop me from using a garden hose because it has the wrong nozzle on it while my house is burning down, I'm not having a polite discussion, I will move them out of my way by any means necessary. If my child is in the house, that means lethal force is on the table.

When it's important, methods don't matter, results do. Don't know if I'm getting any results here, but nobody else is even trying.

To the OP - a "little white lie" would be telling you I am 5'10" when I am actually 5' 9-1/4". Yep, I'm short, I'm claiming that 1/4 inch. Telling you I am 6'5", while standing in your office in front of a measuring stick, applying for a job on the basketball team, is either an insult to your intelligence or your eyesight. I won't get the job. If I wanted to "fight for my job", then if I had the opportunity to have you watch me dribble and shoot for an entire year, I would make damn sure I would dribble and shoot the best I possibly could, while making sure my teammates thought I loved playing basketball. If I absolutely hated playing basketball, but really wanted the job, I'd make sure nobody knew I'd rather be playing football.

Look, most Monday mornings during football season I am not in the best of moods. My work performance is not at its best, and I know this. I try to schedule important or critical work for later in the week, but that's not always possible. Like this coming Monday, I'm setting up a new workstation for the owner's wife at a major client. Today I have to go out and buy Win 7 Pro because one of the accounting programs requires Pro and won't work on Home. I told her we needed Pro before she went to buy the PC, and told her to call me if there were any questions. She brought back a PC with home premium on it, creating a problem I have to solve on my own time. I'm already not happy about that, and odds are I'm going to be less happy after Sunday afternoon. BUT, Monday morning they will see my happy, smiling face in that office and will have no idea I'm in a bad mood.

She will never know that I think she screwed up, because her husband's signature puts food on my table. Now, if you think that having to absorb that sort of thing on a regular basis makes me a little less tolerant of those who screw up while not endangering my daily bread, you're correct. What I have been trying to do is to point out that there is a very good reason that "grin and bear it" is such a common expression.

I get nothing from this, I'm really not anxious to receive all the negativity. I find it frustrating and aggravating. If I didn't give a damn, I'd STFU and let you go off along your merry way. I saw a definite problem, and made an effort to do something geared towards solving it. Wasn't fully successful, but at least I tried, which is more than anybody else has done.

I am so glad I got out of the tech arena ......... I remember all of the truly stupid things people would do ......

I remember going in to do a job because the company I used to work for had this genius tech kid ....... and he took a perfectly working Windows XP laptop, and downgraded it to Windows 2000 because he didn't have an XP VPN client. The laptop never worked right, and his response was basically "I don't know what you want me to do about it".

He also tried to install new AV on all of the in-house computers. (when I worked directly for the company) I figured that he couldn't do too much to hurt "my" computers. He tried to install the AV software on a computer, and couldn't because he kept getting a message about another program conflicting. Did he restart the computer ..... or stop the conflicting program? Nope, he called me and asked what he should do.

This was a guy with a tech degree, and every certification I had ever heard of.

I had a manager in the company who blew up his computer 3 times messing around with installing AOL crap. I kept fixing it, and he kept blowing it up. (The AOL software conflicted with his ordering software .... which was kind of important for a parts department) I finally fixed it and locked him out with a damn near unbreakable administrative password.

He whined to the owner, the owner reversed his stand, I gave him administrative access, and he blew up his computer again in about 2 weeks.

I also used to have every person I know wanting me to fix their computers.

I haven't studied Windows and computers in general in a couple of years now. I know how to find answers, but I don't have them all in my head anymore. Life is much simpler. lol

Conversely, I think you are missing a lot of the points people are trying to relay back to you as well. I for one am done trying.

that's funny you should say that about a food truck.. Man, that's a big business

Friend of my fathers (he's passed on now) did that for years. he used to park his truck just outside the gates at the Fisher Body (gm) plant in Dravosburg PA.

He'd be there around noon for about 2 hours,, head home to sleep, come back around 7 for lunch for the second shift,, go home, sleep, come back around 4am for lunch for the third shift.. Did that 6 days a week for 20 years before handing it over to his kid who then bought a second truck and a third and a forth to use at Steel mills and other 3 shift industrial companies.

My dads friend that started it, built a beautiful home, put all his kids through college, always paid his debts,, solid citizen. He was a legal immigrant from Italy.

The son retired about 15 years ago a millionaire..

So, there is money there..

Tons of it

Since you asked a direct question, I will answer it. Unlike many here.

It's a simple answer. An OS install, properly done, is a CLEAN install. To upgrade to a significantly different OS over top of an existing OS is to invite problems. The system will be more likely to be unstable. The problems will have to be addressed by me, on my dime, for free.

This is not just my opinion, though I have seen the problems caused. This comes from the man who trained me. I won't say he was never wrong, but neither I nor any of the 14 other techs he trained ever saw it happen. In five years, I ONCE caught a very minor configuration setting he missed. Everybody in the company was amazed he had made an even minor error and some wondered if he had some sort of personal issue, there had to be an explanation for such an extraordinary event. He just did not make mistakes.

Best tech I ever saw, worked with, or even heard of.

Interesting, in this context, that he was viewed as cold, impersonal, even robotic during working hours and I snagged a few customers from his company because I am such a nice guy. No kidding, that's the truth. Everybody that puts money in my pocket gets a positive attitude.

Also interesting, in this context, that I once fielded a call from a customer requesting a different tech because they didn't think he knew what he was doing. I spent several minutes confirming that the customer had not confused him with someone else, as I was absolutely stunned. So was everyone else. We knew the customer was wrong, but he got a different tech. The problem turned out to be that the customer was told factual information that he just did not want to hear.

To BrownsBabe - your silence is deafening.

To Otto - I've read your posts for longer than you have read mine. Thanks for the evaluation, I think you're just nuts. Do you have a Psych degree? I don't either, but I'll bet money I was closer to obtaining one than you.

Well, I am So Pleased to be informed of this, that I shall run 20 red lights in your honor.

Hey Buckeyed,

Keep the faith dawg and look for a job you genuinely enjoy. Grab something that will help pay the bills in the meantime but then find a job that you can go to and still have a smile on your face doing it.

It'll work out.

Guess not too many people recognized the Rolling Stones lyric.

I should have stayed with my first thought of response, which was the following :

Stupendously non-informational!

are you using this thread to further your own ego?

Nope, have no need to do that.

I was pointing out the person who failed to answer a simple and direct question, and went out of their way to not answer it a second time, having originally said they had such a better method than mine.

I'll also take the time to repeat, for Otto, that instead of running his mouth, if he would like to point out a specific detail he thinks is non-factual, incorrect, or not based on sound business principles, I'll get the information to back it up, wherever possible.

Great story, Nelson! Good for you and good luck!

Don't know your age age and skill set; but there are many jobs right now related to the oil and gas. Chevron and Chesapeake are both having job fairs in the next couple of weeks and other companies are looking for truck drivers to welders.
But if you go on the companies websites, they are also looking for engineering, maintenance, IT, HR, Sales and Marketing
environmental people, accounting folks and a bunch of others.
Also, having been working lately on the engineering side of my trade getting some sites up and running, the big players in this field are very, very big on safety, training and drug testing.

Also, I was laid off due to lack of work from a couple of jobs in the consulting field 10 years back and one said that they could have hired me full time if I had a degree so I went back to school at night with a baby at home while I was working my next job and got the degree. But I never went back-other doors opened. And also, make sure you find something that you like-this is really important.