Plastic Access

17 Sunday Jul 2011

Tags

cardkey, console, debit card, job, laptop, mistake, plastic, virus

What a week of transitions, waiting…and a dose of New injected into my Prior Familiar.

Just what am I talking about? Well, I started my new job on Wednesday as best I could – I’ll get to that in a second – and also had a test in patience waiting for a new debit card from my bank.

And reflecting back on these two things, well, they both tie into a simple yet oh-so-critical object – a plastic card! Hilarious? Frustrating? Yes and yes.

At work I need a cardkey to get where my new team is located. Once inside the building our offices are in another small cluster which is secured off. Makes total sense but is a little inconvenient. Especially when you have to step out to use the restroom. Ah, but this is all temporary stuff and not unusual. It’s nice to know this so it doesn’t burn a bunch of mental cycles that I need for getting to know everyone on the team and actually learning what my new job is going to be. Just a few more days now and I’ll be all set. Until I’m able to get my new laptop all set up, it’s old school time with a tablet of paper and a pen. I’m actually just a 2 minute walk from the building where my last engagement just wrapped up and have already run into a few people from my former team!

The home laptop here…well, that’s an ugly story with thankfully a happy ending. Last week I got a virus. No idea how exactly. I’ve learned many things about viruses and virus removal since this episode. One is that viruses can lie dormant in your machine for some time and then suddenly spring to life. There’s no traceable way to determine just when you got infected.

I also learned that when you’re prompted to run the chkdsk utility (on a PC), DON’T. Running chkdsk is perfectly fine; prompts to run it are not. They’re ways to lure you into running the utility which then installs malicious code that you may have been exposed to. This is me, a non-technical person, trying to explain this as plainly as I can. I am sure there’s much more behind the scenes so techies out there bear with me.

And when you get pop up error messages that your hard disk is failing, it’s not. I saw these messages and it’s scary how freakin’ legit they looked. I admit I panicked a bit. This laptop is 5 years old, which is ancient relatively speaking. I figured, oh man, this is it…it’s crapping out! Am I going to lose any data? EEEEK! In reality, when your computer hard disk is failing, you won’t get pop up warnings. Your computer will freeze up or not boot up at all.

THEN this console dashboard-y thing pops up on my screen and proceeds to scan for errors and fix them. I’d never seen anything like this before. What the hell? It then spit out a report that some errors were fixed but some were not able to be fixed. For $85, why not upgrade to the premium version of this scanning tool? It was called something like XP Fix. Looking back it was eerie how authentic everything appeared. But of course it wasn’t. This thing even had the secure icons that you see on shopping websites all the time.

In my heat of panic, I agreed to purchase the upgrade! How could I be such a dumbass? You know, the minute I clicked to purchase, my stomach went into a knot. I knew I’d make a terrible mistake.

What else happened from the virus? Well, I lost all of my icons, like things you see in your start menu and all. Turns out they weren’t deleted, just hidden. Weird. After the 2nd troubleshooting session my icons were visible again, but I still wasn’t completely free from the virus(es). My online search results would get hijacked and redirected toward strange spammy looking websites advertising cheap flights to Beijing or whatever. Ummmm, yeah right. This thing was so intense it even attacked my anti-virus software, but made it appear to be running normally. Only after some deep troubleshooting were the techs and I able to see the real story and fix it. Yikes.

So after 3 very long troubleshooting sessions with Dell over 3 days, I’m all cleaned up. None of the error fixing stuff from the console pop up was legit. And believe me, after the 1st session was done (I thought it would be the last but it wasn’t), I called my bank and had them cancel my debit card. Thankfully there were no unauthorized charges on it; still it was good peace of mind to cancel it. I had to wait a week for the new one to arrive, so it was a little inconvenient doing errands old school with my checkbook, but it was worth the wait.

Just yet another tiny rectangle of plastic. How much we come to depend upon it.

Hittin’ the Reset Button

10 Sunday Jul 2011

Posted by fivenineteen in Uncategorized

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Tags

4th of July, business, button, cousins, family, interview, job, networking, Ocean Park, peninsula, reset

So much has happened in the couple weeks since I last wrote. I feel like I’ve busted through a wall (in a good way) or have gone through a massive kind of human car wash. I feel great – refreshed, renewed and happy. Even lighter too, but I’m not stepping on the scale just yet.

My last day of work was Thursday the 30th. I knew this day was coming, and it was nice having nearly a full month’s notice that I’d be wrapping up then for sure. When you do consulting/contract work like I have for nearly five years, you learn quickly how fluid and unpredictable work assignments can be. You don’t always get as much notice as a month. Hell, I’ve had two weeks, one week another time…and even another time got a phone call driving home one night that I didn’t need to come back to work the next day. Never knew why. It was the end of the quarter and maybe they’d forgotten that they needed to trim their contingent workforce. Who knows.

Why do I do this type of work, you may wonder? Well, I consider it a big advantage, as I get the opportunity to zoom in and out of very disparate work environments and see what’s out there. I do the work they need me to do and then I move on. I don’t have to insert myself in politics or bullshit that every work environment has. I learn different ways of solving problems and can apply them in other work engagements.

The flip side is I’m pretty much networking and job hunting year ’round. Time goes quickly and most of my engagements are a year or less in length. This one happened to be just over a year. Felt like the blink of an eye, really. So while there’s a part of me that gets a little drained having to keep an eye out for my next job pretty much constantly, the advantage is I’ve built up a much stronger network than I would have if I’d stayed in the same job for years and years. I know how to rock an interview, network and land a job. I always land on my feet. Sure, I feel a little envious when I see people around my age who have been at their same jobs for 10-15 years or longer, but I’ve also heard them tell me things like, “Wow, I haven’t been on an interview in years. I wouldn’t know how to do what you’re doing, fivenineteen. I don’t know what I’d do if I ever got laid off.” Guess the grass is always greener. I’m happy in my patch ‘o green right now.

The job market has improved immensely out there, at least in my little world of perspective. Once I updated my resume and started getting the word out, lots of calls and emails came pouring in. That feels pretty damn good, no doubt there.

I’m starting a new position later this week! It’s at the same company I was at prior, but in a completely different business unit. Everything about this has felt good and right from the minute I got called to interview. Including the speed of business and sense of urgency in getting this all put together (paperwork, etc). Remember how my start date for the position I just wrapped up got delayed some two or three weeks? And when I did show up for Day One, my manager was out sick and didn’t tell anyone (so I sat in the lobby for two hours with a peer of mine and a sales rep)? Yeah, I don’t like to remember that either because it sucked royally. Glad that is all far, far in the rear view mirror. And it makes for great storytelling too.

So I have had just about a week of downtime between gigs. Just enough to really “reset,” but not so long that my brain would start going to mush.

I had an incredible 4th of July weekend with family. I’ve posted about Ocean Park and the Long Beach Peninsula out on the Washington coast before. It’s truly magical, beautiful and deeply steeped in family history. And it’s fun seeing my nephews and niece discover it too and get to know their other cousins – on both sides of the family! We had incredible warm and sunny weather – it’s a crapshoot on the coast even in early summer like now. Polar fleece? Shorts? Yes and yes.

Even the drive there and back is relaxing and cleansing. Once you get off the main freeways and onto the two-lane highways the scenery is amazing. I’ve driven that route hundreds of times and I never get tired of it.

Know that feeling when you’re on a roll…things just happen in your favor? Right down to a rockstar parking spot when you’re running late for an appointment…and parallel park correctly on the first try? That’s how it’s been lately, and frankly I deserve it. It’s been a real grinding haul these past 13-14 months.

Just the other day I got an “escrow overage” check in the mail from my bank. Wuhh? $212 – works for me. And within two days I received two very generous jewelry orders from my side business. One was a guest who couldn’t make my last hostess’ party and the other was a friend who called me when I posted something on Facebook about the new jewelry that’s coming out later this month for the new season! Earlier this week I looked at my post-coast trip feet. Yuck…I need a pedicure! My favorite spa had an opening just two hours later. I splurged and got the pedi with the extra foot and leg massage time. Ahhh. I also met with a couple of recruiters I’d not met with before over lunch. Like I’ve said, you always keep networking. They know I’ve got something new lined up already, but time goes quickly.

Now…how can I bottle up this great Feeling of Reset?

A Chilly Solstice?

19 Sunday Jun 2011

Posted by fivenineteen in Uncategorized

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chilly, Father's Day, job, networking, Queen Anne, rhythm, six degrees, solstice, Thai food, universe

I’m sitting here surrounded by flat, grey silence. And I’ve written about this before…how different Sunday mornings feel. Quiet with hardly any cars on the road. Thick clouds and drizzle today. Yes, this is our typical mid June-ish weather…we joke that summer officially starts after the 4th of July. We’ve had a couple of recent, sunny teaser days but of course during the workweek. Yes, a chilly Summer Solstice it may be!

Workweek. Hmmmm…in 10 days THAT will vanish from my personal rhythms. How the hell did 13 months go by in the blink of an eye? What’s next for me? I feel free and yet a little terrified too. I remember this roller coaster ride. And I hope this ride is far shorter than the last one.

Connections, connections. Networknetworknetwork. One of my favorite learnings from my side jewelry business is “the fortune is in the follow up.” I love this and embrace it. Whenever I feel I might be too pushy calling or emailing someone back about a job opening, for general networking or just asking for help, I whisper this to myself before I pick up the phone or fire up the keyboard. And it works!

I love Six Degrees connections. And I made a new one Friday over a fabulous Thai food lunch over in Seattle. The Lower Queen Anne neighborhood is amazing, and you can’t walk 20 feet without running into a Thai restaurant. Ahhh. Remember that group of women I meet up with a few times a year for dinner…friends who go clear back to the elementary school years? Well, the husband of one of them forwarded my resume to a colleague of his, and a couple hops later, whammo, I met P. Things always work out as they’re supposed to…I was a little worried lunch plus a long drive into the city and back would make me late for an afternoon meeting, but turns out it got rescheduled. Phew. So this was a nice excuse to get a little more cleaned up and polished, rather than that uber-casual I’ve been immersed in in my current job.

The universe smiled down on me in so many ways, for the bridge I planned to take over the lake into Seattle was to be closed all weekend, but not till later in the evening. And the tolls have not started either (reminding myself to purchase a Pass soon!). And did I mention the rockstar (free) street parking I found right near the Seattle Center? Yep, I’ve still got mad parallel parking skillz. Which I hardly get to use in the suburbs. Nailed it.

I walked a few blocks up 5th Avenue North to meet P at Crow up on Aloha Street. A nice handshake and smile. But whoops! They’re not open for lunch. So the easy Plan B was a couple blocks back downhill…to Bahn Thai. We’re not sure this position he’s trying to fill is the best fit for my experience, but he will follow up and keep an eye out for something else.

And in the meantime, my current firm found a few leads as well. Staffing and recruiting is SO incredibly fluid and fickle. Things change all the time. Job postings close for no clear reason. I’m glad for a brief work engagement in that industry for it just underscores for me that how that’s how it is and it’s nothing personal. My current firm does a wonderful gathering for all its consultants once a month. Third Thursday. Food, drinks and unwinding conversation and lots of laughs. Always a fantastic event to look forward to!

Kinda funny or weird how I do all this ‘work’ to find work…and yet I also firmly believe that what’s supposed to happen will happen. But I can’t just sit idle and wait around meanwhile, however. Fuck, what an emotional tangle this could be. I remind myself to breathe, relax…they did me a favor wrapping up my engagement this month. Nowhere I’d want to put down roots permanently anyway.

Yes, it’s the Solstice on Tuesday. A deep rhythm in our seasons outside and internal ones too. And it’s Father’s Day today. I smile and know my Dad is my biggest career cheerleader out there.

I’ve got tons of support…I know this and am beyond grateful.

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Transition Preparations

12 Sunday Jun 2011

Tags

friendship, instincts, job, networking, relationships, resume, shopping, work

Last week I wrote about the wave that washed over me, forcing me to sit in my chair here and finish updating my resume. I’ve learned to not question these super duper strong instincts when they hit – they mean it, dammit! It meant canceling on my hockey game rather last minute, and I don’t like doing that at ALL, but the wave won out.

Good thing too: the resume got updated that night. And distributed.

And just a day or two later, guess what happened? Not one but THREE great job leads appeared from the consulting firm who found my current job. What a difference a year and a half makes! The job market is improving, and my phone and email are rumbling even harder back to life. I’m realizing how much more mentally prepared I will be going into my next job assignment, as it shouldn’t be nearly as long between gigs as last time around…I hope. Last year I went from mental 0 to 100 literally overnight – an abrupt shock back after feeling like my brain was turning to mush with nothing going on for months and months. Now, while I feel a bit weary and ready for this current engagement to finish up, I feel more ‘on’. That’s hard to put into words, but it’s how it came out.

My friend D’s husband also forwarded my resume to a few of his connections, and I’ll be meeting up with a Director at a consulting firm later this week for lunch. We had a great chat late on Friday afternoon! I’d prefer to have the firm who I’m currently affiliated with get me reassigned, but I’ve gotta look out for Numero Uno here. And who knows – new connections made now could sprout even further down the road for me or for another colleague.

In the meantime, I’ve got a job to do through the end of the month, and, well, I’m only human and it would be incredibly easy to flip the mental switch and stop caring. Sure I take pride in my work and will do whatever it takes for a strong finish. But for some stuff, frankly, I’ll need to fake it. Before I knew I would be wrapping up this month, I got assigned some brand new stuff to do – and the milestones were plotted all the way into January. Why would I get assigned something new if I was going to be cut loose just a few weeks later? Anyway, the reasons don’t matter, and I’m just chalking it up to even more opportunity to gain more experience in a very short timeframe. Plus, it’s a small world out there and I might end up back with this team or something similar down the road.

How you finish is just as important as how you start. Don’t burn bridges. Go for the Graceful Exit.

I had lunch with S, a friend I’ve known for years who I met through hockey. She and I really bonded a couple of years ago when I was first getting used to being unemployed. She has her own business as an aside from her full-time work, and I came with her to several events as a guest to learn more about it. It was great to get out of the house, meet new people and clean up/dress up on those days I had no interviews when the temptation was to just be a slob and mope. And I am dumbfounded that all started two years ago.

It was wonderful to reconnect over lunch again – how had it been a year or so since we last met up?

So, I’m just keeping busy and connected while preparing for whatever the next plunge might be. I’m excited, relieved, nervous, curious…the list goes on. Notice that ‘angry’ is not in that list of feelings. ‘Cause I’m not in the slightest. This gig was designed to be purely consultative, not permanent. And while I don’t like to call out specific details in here when it comes to jobs and companies, let me just say I’m perfectly happy with that arrangement. Great experience, but not anywhere to hang my hat right now.

T and I met up for dinner at Palomino last night…she is such an amazing friend. We’ve each gone through some bumps this year – my very brief relationship, and she and her boyfriend split up a couple of months ago…he had been living with her and so it was a rough ride with all of that and him moving out. We’re both happy and strong women and always land on our feet, but we also appreciate the friendships and support out there too. So much to be grateful for.

We split a wonderful bottle of wine (the name escapes me now but trust me, a mighty fine white something), while T chose the Seafood Louie – a beautiful salad – and I the fusilli picatta, a delicious combo of marinated chicken, shallots, capers and a few chili flakes for kick in a white wine sauce.

And when you’re steps away from fabulous shopping at Bellevue Square, of COURSE you gotta hop over there too. T picked out a gorgeous pair of black Tod’s loafers, and I, knowing I am soon to be on a budget again, merely drooled over shoes.

T and I are brainstorming ideas for a meetup group we’re planning to launch later this summer. We’re super excited!

And I think “excited” is the right way to describe things for me right now. One door is slowly closing, and something new, unknown, magical is going to pop and set me on an entirely new journey this summer and beyond.

Let’s just hope it’s sooner than later!