dianaschnuth

For three days, count ’em, THREE days, I didn’t turn on my computer. Not Saturday, not Christmas Eve, and not Christmas Day. This evening, I decided I really should at least check my e-mail, but I didn’t particularly want to. I would have been content to sit in the living room reading magazines and books and munching on leftover Christmas sweets.

In other news, literally half of my department is on vacation during this, our busiest week of the year. Thanks, Ms. Supervisor, for authorizing all those vacations. Friday is going to suuuuuuck.

Work today was interesting. The entire department seemed shell-shocked at the news that our jobs will likely be eliminated by the 3rd quarter of 2007. Still, there was work to be done, and we did it… for the most part.

We all soaked up every bit of information we could get about the merger, which wasn’t much beyond the press releases. This afternoon’s conference call promised “substantial severance packages” as compensation for those of us whose jobs will be absorbed into Huntington. We’re all guessing that it should be two weeks’ pay for every year of employment, but no one official has told us for sure. I’m curious as to what the severance will be, and when we’ll be eligible to receive it. Timing is everything, especially when a new job is in the mix.

For now, though, I’m not going to sit back and wait. I’m in the process of revitalizing my portfolio site, in preparation for a massive jobhunt. I plan to crank out one comp per night, for as long as I can come up with fresh ideas. I want to have my new site up and running by the last week of February, at the latest — new stylesheets, fresh design (with similar colors and branding as before), and content served via MySQL and PHP instead of static HTML. May as well flaunt my skillz, after all.

Aaron reminds me that, although it may not be at the top of my list, I have gained some experience in the world of loan operations. If it comes down to it, there may be other financial operations centers in the area that could use someone with knowledge of calculating interest and modifying loan terms. If it means a stable paycheck and staying out of customer service, I’m all for it. After exhausting my initial employment ideas, of course.

Thread is still hiring Interactive Designers. I don’t have high hopes, but I’ll submit my resume once I have it properly honed.

[edit: Hart Associates is hiring Web Designers, too — the only thing I lack is “a full understanding of the .NET / Windows Server environment.” Maybe I can fake that with a little online research.]

COLUMBUS and BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ: HBAN) and Sky Financial Group Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYF) today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to merge the two companies in a stock (90%) and cash (10%) transaction valued at approximately $3.6 billion.

read more…

To this, I say: shit.

This necessitates some unanticipated future planning on my part…
Continue reading →

I don’t give a crap lately. I’m not motivated to do much of anything. I can’t get excited about recording my podcast, or exercising, or harvesting and storing my meager herb supply, or getting up in the morning and getting to work on time.

I think it’s because of my job.

Remember back when I was all stoked because James and I were getting a promotion, and would be working on the Loan Servicing databases all the time? Well, although we did finally get a raise (though our title change still hasn’t gone into effect), our joy was short-lived. Just about the time we were halfway done with our second database (of four), the shit hit the fan in my department. Our long-time supervisor took a new position, one person went on maternity leave, then two people got different jobs within the bank and one left to pursue her medical career. That left us painfully understaffed. So, James and I agreed to go back to doing normal Loan Corrections work.

New hires were scarce. One new hire decided she changed her mind and wanted to go back to her old department. One other person left the team for a different position within the bank. Meanwhile, James and I were plodding away, Taking One For The Team™. It’s been five and a half weeks now, with two and a half weeks to go. I’m counting the days, and hoping the new hires we have now train quickly and well.

I know Aaron says, “Your job doesn’t define who you are,” but going from a cool problem-solving gig back to less-challenging loan corrections has been surprisingly depressing. When I was developing databases, I broke my tardiness habit, just from being excited to tackle a new challenge every day. Lately, though, I’ve been coming late by 10 or 15 minutes, and just taking a shorter lunch to compensate. I’ve also been much less productive than I could be, and not just because I’m having to relearn how to do loan corrections after six months away from them.

What makes things worse for me is that our original database needs some serious TLC. The main table is currently holding upwards of 70,000 records, and that’s slowing down several processes considerably. We need to archive some of the older records, to speed up the most-used functions of the database, but that’s not going to happen for almost a month yet. Part of me wants to let it go to shit and show everyone how necessary we are — but part of me knows we’ll have to fix it eventually, anyway, and if we don’t do it fast, it’ll just reflect poorly on us.

I’m chomping at the bit to get back to the job by which I was just beginning to define myself. I’m not a web designer; I’m not a photographer; I haven’t been a musician for years, nor an artist; if I’m not an Access database developer, then damned if I know who or what I am.

But that’s another entry for another day.

Well, it had to happen someday. Rob, of RCC Special Projects fame, finally got another job. Now he’ll get to drive up to Corporate in Toledo every weekday morning, wearing a shirt and tie, and do something fancy with government lending.

In tribute, I made sure the following photos were circulated around work today:

Clockwise, from upper left: Rob playing hookey on St. Paddy’s Day 2006; Rob wearing his Long John Silver’s hat, January 2005; Rob with hockey great Steve Yzerman, Oct/Nov 2005; and Rob eating a piece of shortcake in one bite, July 2005.

I’m not knocking the remaining members of my department… but it’s going to be a lot less festive without Rob there. There are a very few people I feel I can really be myself around — the REAL me, not the fake chatty work me — and he’s one of those few. Honestly, I don’t understand why REAL chicks (read: intelligent, witty, cool, non-fluffs) aren’t beating down his door. Except for maybe his over-the-top cheesy phone voice. 😉

We had a going-away potluck today, and I insisted on taking more pictures of Rob than he would have liked. So, to share with the entire internets:

Rob ended up bequeathing me one of his umbrellas (because I always borrow it when I walk over lunch) and his Long John Silver’s hat (presumably because he already has two at home, but mainly because of the above photo from 2005). Note that the hat not only looks stylish on me, but also now has a hallowed spot on my cubicle wall.

Without getting all mushy and shit… damn, work is really starting to suck on the interpersonal front. If James and Heather quit, that’ll do it for me. I’ll fucking quit and have a kid and do freelance work or something from home.