Layoffs Again

 The company I worked at recently announced that they were closing one of our corporate offices.   A lot of folks from my department worked at this location.   They were told that if they wanted to keep their jobs they would have to agree to relocate to one of three other offices or lose their job and get a severance.   They have until end of October to decide and the office will close by end of November.

I found out about it last Thursday from a former teammate in Indianapolis whose boss works at the affected office.   Financially it makes no sense for a lot of folks to relocate and there's no indication that the company is assisting in paying for relocation expenses.   Actually I'm not sure on the last part since I'm not one of the impacted.    But so far everyone I know that is impacted is not relocating which means they are out of a job.

I was shocked that the affected folks were not given the option to work remotely full-time.   But maybe I shouldn't be surprised since the company has been pushing for everyone to return to the office.    I also found out that some of the impacted that weren't in our department were offered the option to work remote.   I definitely do not understand why some roles were given the option while others weren't.   It's created some hard feelings no doubt among those affected.

This latest layoff news has left me feeling scared and confused.  The last time my company did a layoff I didn't quite reach a year into my employment.   I do know there's no such thing as job security.   I just wonder how much time I have until I get laid off again.   Of course I'm hoping that I have enough time to execute my plan to try and pay off my remaining debt and maybe have something leftover to take care of some things around the house and of course retirement.

It would be nice if I could choose to leave on my terms as opposed to being told I'm no longer needed.   But I know that's not how it works.   I just have to keep the faith that things will work out.   A small price to pay for living the American dream, right?

Running On Fumes

 I made it back from Dreamforce safely in one piece.   It was a surreal experience being there and seeing the sea of folks in attendance.   I worked three different shifts during my time there.   They were long but I pushed through each of them.   For the most part they were fun, even though there was one shift if I had to do it over again I would not choose.   My fellow volunteers in that shift were extremely rude and made me feel unwelcome.   The only thing that got me through it were a couple of nice guys from other booths nearby that took pity on me and came to talk to me and made me more comfortable.   To top it off one of those volunteers wanted me to snap a group picture of them.   After I took the photo, a customer expressed how it was terrible that I made to be left out of the photo.   At first I was trying to diffuse him but the customer was right.   He saw what they did was wrong and wanted to speak up on it.   The final kicker was that two of the folks came up and proceeded to stand by me and talk to each other without even acknowledging I was there.   Luckily it was quitting time and I just rolled my eyes and walked away.  I was glad that nightmare was over.

My hotel was about an hour away from the Moscone Convention Center where Dreamforce was being held.   Day 1 I took the shuttle to the airport and then the BART from the airport to a stop near the convention.   Day 2 I actually had a good Samaritan take me there via his Uber free of charge.   Day 3 I got my own Lyft to go to the event.

It took me some time to figure out where my manager and my other teammates were at different points of the conference.   At the end of each conference day we commuted back to our local office.   On the first night there was an afterparty event not far from the convention center.   My co-workers and I danced the evening away.  I hadn't danced like that in years and I felt every bit of body ache the next two days.

The second night there was a concert at the Oracle Park stadium headlined by the artist Pink.   The crowd was insane though so it was hard to really enjoy it but it was nice to see her perform.   We left a little early to try and beat the crowd though a lot of folks opted to do the same.

The third night my manager's boss hosted a dinner at his family's home outside of Oakland, CA.   It was a nice estate that of course I had to look up on Zillow.    It's current net worth was around $3.7 million dollars.   Someone's living large.

Needless to say with all the late nights, I literally was getting about 3 hours of sleep.   By the third day I felt myself getting a cold.   By the time I got home Friday I had a sore throat and spent the weekend trying to recover from it.

In health news I was happy to see that my PSA and A1C numbers were pretty good.   I also visited the dentist in recent weeks and unfortunately they found a huge cavity in my lower right molar which required a crown.   It took a few visits but I had the crown placed earlier this week.   Unfortunately I have extreme sensitivity in that area when drinking something cold.   But I'm hoping it'll get better.  I have to go back to the dentist again mid-October to repair some old fillings in my lower right jaw that have worn out.   It's my first time since 2020 that I've been to the dentist so I was overdue.

Dom and I have plans to go to Reston, VA for a doll convention he wanted to go to late October.   Eugene also wanted me to visit him in October to watch the new Joker movie that's coming out.   I'll have to see if I'm able to or not.

Dreamforce 24 Bound

 Remember my upcoming work trip in San Francisco I briefly mentioned?   The time is quickly approaching for my flight and I need to pack still.   I will be attending none other than Salesforce's annual Dreamforce conference.    The conference promises to be the largest AI event in the world.   

At my company there's been a push to learn more about AI since some of our customers may have cases related to it.    In relation to the conference my manager mentioned that a few folks may be nominated to attend the conference (all expenses paid).    Imagine my shock when she told me that I would be attending.

But since I would be attending free of charge (well after paying and getting reimbursed), it was expected that I would be volunteering at a few stations and interacting with users of Salesforce.   I will admit the thought of having to do facetime with users is a bit intimidating.   But attending the conference is a once in a lifetime event so I'm ready to take it all in.

So the last time I was in San Francisco was in 2018 when I traveled there for a project at the aviation firm I consulted for.   I wondered why I attended that since my contract was ending less than two weeks afterwards but I went with it.    Like I had a choice...LOL.

San Francisco as a whole seems to be on a huge decline.   It's become more expensive to live there and there's stories of people that have jobs but they're living in their cars because housing prices are outrageous.   The news stories paint San Francisco as a crime-ridden, homeless, and drug addicted oasis.   I will admit the thought of visiting the city is a bit intimidating.

I don't remember feeling that way when I visited in 2014 and twice in 2018 (Dom and I were there together during my first visit staying at one of his friend's home).   I actually do remember my favorite show Half & Half being based in San Francisco and there was an episode where a guy Mona dated was living in his car even though he supposedly had a good job.  That was back in 2003 or 2004.   So San Francisco woes is nothing new.    There was even talk at one point of Salesforce moving their annual Dreamforce conference to a different city due to the huge homeless and drug problem the city has.   Part of the concern was attendees feeling unsafe while in the city.   But in the end Salesforce decided to continue to have their annual event in San Francisco.

So it'll be interesting to see how the city has changed since my last visit.   The plan for me is to work downtown Chicago for most of the day with my luggage in-tact and then take the CTA to O'hare airport so I don't have to pay for parking.   My flight leaves Monday evening and I return to Chicago on Friday afternoon.

Speaking of paying for items, I got my first ever official corporate credit card.   I never had a corporate card at any of my other jobs.    But it was felt to better track expenses associated with my travel and stay in San Francisco that it would make sense to have a card.    I'm glad I have it too since the hotel cost alone is over $1500.   I wasn't relishing putting that on my personal credit card.    Once I head back the plan is to reimburse all expenses associated with the trip so I can pay off the corporate card.

I'm nervous of course but I am looking forward to this next adventure.

The Help

 

I had an interesting encounter yesterday after a rare opportunity to run and grab lunch.   With my line of work, it's hard sometimes to find time to tear away from support issues especially when we have some of the most demanding customers at times.   

So why did I feel like "The Help"?  In going to my office, which is in a downtown high rise building, there are "doormen" who act as watchers before you get in.   Then once you're inside there's a couple stations of front desk workers you have to get by.   Then you have to scan your badge in the turnstile before you can get to the elevators where you have to scan your badge one more time to select your floor.

Working in downtown Chicago is definitely different from working in the Chicago burbs.  In the burbs though I definitely needed my car.   I believe I may have had to scan my ID at the front gate before parking and then scan it once more to get in the building.   It is nice that I don't have to worry about driving to work.

So anyway I decided to pick up lunch to bring back to the office.  I walked to the Ogilvie Train Station which is home to a French Market and other food vendors.   It's a cool area where you can order food and either eat there or take it back to the office.   I had a customer meeting within the hour so I opted to take the food back with me.

I ordered two mini-pot pies (ironic since I'm using Octavia Spencer's photo from The Help carrying her famous "chocolate" pie...LOL) from one of the vendors.   I stopped at another one to pick up some bubble tea.   So my pies were placed in a plastic brown bag and I decided not to pierce the bubble tea with my straw.   I'm walking back and make my way back to my high rise when one of the doormen shouts at me that I'm going in the wrong way.   The doorman whom I've seen before isn't the nicest person either.   There's another one that always takes the time to say good morning as folks enter.   This guy skulks to the side.    He could be socially awkward I suppose.

So he's telling me I need to go through the delivery entry.  I was taken aback but quickly told him that I work in the building.   A second doorman who was different from the one that always greets everyone tried to cover it up by saying he himself was newer.   I guess I can't expect them to remember everyone as there's 1000's of folks that go in and out.   But I literally left the building less than an hour before.   I do think the food in the bag and my unopened drink may have thrown him off.   Plus I was dressed casual.   But that made for an awkward moment.

It doesn't help that the doorman in question was white.   He's actually the only white doorman as well.   I don't think I was stopped because it was race related.    But it adds a potential layer of complexity to the issue.   Anyway it definitely gave me pause.   I may have also had my ID in my pocket.   I'll have to remember to keep it outside my pocket when walking towards the building next time.