Octopus Overlords

Posted: **Wed May 08, 2024 2:30 pm**

Paingod wrote: ↑Wed May 08, 2024 12:10 pm
Kurth wrote: ↑Wed May 08, 2024 12:06 pmIn terms of the compensation question, I struck out trying to get benchmarking info from publicly available sources. Indeed and Glassdoor and Fishbowl were pretty useless for me. But I did connect with a large head hunting agency that provided me with a massive report on compensation in my industry (legal), and it made it pretty clear that my current employer pays at the top of the market. So I’m not sure the comp numbers from this new offer - if it actually comes in - are going to do much to move the needle for me. If that’s the case, it will be all about a change of scenery and a promotion in role. We’ll see.
That's always been a sticking point for me. I generally feel like I'm underpaid and every substantial raise I've had (except this place) has come from moving to a new employer and lying my pants off about what I'm currently making. They match it plus a little, and I get a new job with a 15% increase in pay.

I think I've finally hit a place in salary where it's even more vague, but the work is also more stressful and demanding. I feel like stepping out of this role and into another company doing something similar would be a 25-50% raise.

What does it generally cost to get that proper analysis done?

It didn't cost anything, as it turned out. I got another LinkedIn request from a recruiter from a head hunter agency (Larson Maddox) who wanted to connect, and I asked them if they had any comp benchmarking resources they could share. For these recruiters, they are often just looking for potential candidates to sell to employers, so you pretty much are the product. They were more than happy to send me a link to their comp benchmarking data in order to secure a connection and maybe the opportunity to score a placement with an employer down the road.

Posted: **Wed May 08, 2024 2:47 pm**

Default wrote: ↑Wed May 08, 2024 12:16 pm Social security retirement benefits tax calculator. According to this, I will be taxed on $6200 of my SSI benefits.so that's about a *quarter* of my future benefit that taxes will be calculated for.

https://www.covisum.com/resources/taxab ... calculator

That's not too bad - it goes up to 85% being taxable.

This was a change made in 1983 to keep SS viable for the long run.

Posted: **Wed May 08, 2024 3:53 pm**

Kurth wrote: ↑Wed May 08, 2024 2:30 pm
Paingod wrote: ↑Wed May 08, 2024 12:10 pm
Kurth wrote: ↑Wed May 08, 2024 12:06 pmIn terms of the compensation question, I struck out trying to get benchmarking info from publicly available sources. Indeed and Glassdoor and Fishbowl were pretty useless for me. But I did connect with a large head hunting agency that provided me with a massive report on compensation in my industry (legal), and it made it pretty clear that my current employer pays at the top of the market. So I’m not sure the comp numbers from this new offer - if it actually comes in - are going to do much to move the needle for me. If that’s the case, it will be all about a change of scenery and a promotion in role. We’ll see.
That's always been a sticking point for me. I generally feel like I'm underpaid and every substantial raise I've had (except this place) has come from moving to a new employer and lying my pants off about what I'm currently making. They match it plus a little, and I get a new job with a 15% increase in pay.

I think I've finally hit a place in salary where it's even more vague, but the work is also more stressful and demanding. I feel like stepping out of this role and into another company doing something similar would be a 25-50% raise.

What does it generally cost to get that proper analysis done?
It didn't cost anything, as it turned out. I got another LinkedIn request from a recruiter from a head hunter agency (Larson Maddox) who wanted to connect, and I asked them if they had any comp benchmarking resources they could share. For these recruiters, they are often just looking for potential candidates to sell to employers, so you pretty much are the product. They were more than happy to send me a link to their comp benchmarking data in order to secure a connection and maybe the opportunity to score a placement with an employer down the road.

Robert Half does this too, and by geographical location. They unhelpfully informed me I was significantly under paid in my last job, but even going for jobs paying less I came up with bupkis.

Posted: **Fri May 10, 2024 2:03 pm**

They finally moved almost all of my regular day to day job duties over to the contractors, so I've been spending the last month or so in a bit of limbo trying to figure out exactly what my responsibilities are. I still had work on a couple of projects here and there, but I confess I really had no clue what their plans were for me.

I found out the hard way last night when we had an issue blow up and I had to work through the night coordinating teams, getting vendors rounded up, managing troubleshooting efforts, etc. Afterwards my boss called me and basically said, "This is why you're still here." The contractors are fine at the daily service desk stuff, but they have no experience dealing with major issues in a critical 24/7 environment.

So it looks like moving forward my role (along with a couple of other long-time employees that were retained) will be acting as escalation points and resources for critical projects and outages that are either outside the scope or simply over the heads of the contractor teams.

I'm still operating under the assumption that I could be let go anytime; that ship has sailed and I no longer have any sense of job security. But for now, I'm quite happy with the new duties as the "shit hitting the fan" stuff was what I always enjoyed. The daily stuff was busy work and tedium, and now I'm not having to worry about that side.

I like to think I'm now essentially Mr. Wolf from Pulp Fiction.

Posted: **Fri May 10, 2024 2:12 pm**

YellowKing wrote: ↑Fri May 10, 2024 2:03 pm I'm quite happy with the new duties as the "shit hitting the fan" stuff was what I always enjoyed. The daily stuff was busy work and tedium, and now I'm not having to worry about that side.

I like to think I'm now essentially Mr. Wolf from Pulp Fiction.

That was my specialty and was 27 years of Mr Reliable for getting 1000s of people out of holes. I hated it and the stress wrecked me. But I was friggen' good at it. I don't know how y'all can thrive on it.

Posted: **Fri May 10, 2024 2:19 pm**

Pretty please with sugar on top, fix the fucking server.

Posted: **Fri May 10, 2024 2:42 pm**

It helps that A) big issues are few and far between, and B) I have a really good support team. I guess it appeals to my love of problem solving, and once you bring in more people it becomes a cooperative puzzle which is right up my alley.

Posted: **Fri May 10, 2024 3:01 pm**

I loved the problem solving. Finding/conceiving/implementing answers was my favorite. Early in my career, I had time and I was fond of saying "my job is to find ways to put myself out of a job." Around 2008 though, more with less, or in corporate speak "continuous improvement" became the international mantra and my company never looked back. The stress of stressing the performance of everything and everyone, creating problems with consequences suddenly thrust on my shoulders (or even gradually but it was never gradually. Everyone loved to make molehills out of mountains), not so much for me.

I remember pre-2008, when I spent all my time here and still doing all my work, doing it well, and being praised for it.... If that was my life, I'm sure I'd still be working now without a weight yoyo, a digestive nightmare, and the complete lack of energy I've been trying to rebuild.

Posted: **Fri May 10, 2024 4:00 pm**

Kraken wrote: ↑Mon May 06, 2024 11:36 pm
Jeff V wrote: ↑Mon May 06, 2024 10:16 pm I filed for SS a month ago, start date in June. Should I expect there to be more to the process than the application on the internet?
Nope, it's really that easy. Or was for me, anyway.

I waited until my full retirement age so that I can continue earning income without reducing my benefit. I know you don't have that luxury, but once you reach your full age the money they took away comes back to you. IDk exactly how that works since it doesn't apply to me.

So I checked online and I'm approved for my standard early retirement benefit. When they asked few questions about my minor children, I suspected that might not be handled properly and I found out I must schedule an appoint and go into the office for this.

I called the number it said to call. The message said they are closed until May 24.

I called the local number. Says their hours are 9-4, but then said they were closed. It was 2:30.

Posted: **Fri May 10, 2024 8:58 pm**

If they are delayed in processing your dependent benefits, they will make it up retroactive to your benefit approval date. I don't have experience with that aspect of benefits but have found them to be on top of things once you're set up. For example, my earnings last year bumped one of my anemic Curio City years out of my wage base. Once my tax return was processed they updated my earnings history and raised my check by $13/mo, then deposited $26 to cover one retroactive month. The letter explaining this came later but the income was right on time. I was favorably impressed.

Stick with it. Once your records are complete and accurate you won't have to fight for benefits. The system is designed to make sure that you automatically get what you're owed.

Posted: **Sat May 11, 2024 1:10 am**

Finally reaching the end of my saga with the company that reached out on LinkedIn about a possible new position. This thing kicked off back in mid-February, and after 4 calls, 7 video interviews and one on-site trip to lunch with the hiring manager and her boss, they finally made me an offer.

It’s a tough call: I love my job and, although I’m significantly disillusioned with the senior leadership and direction of my current company right now, it’s not like it’s a sinking ship and I’m a rat looking to jump. As bad as current leadership is, if they don’t find a way to turn things around in short order, they’re going to be out and new, hopefully better leaders will come in to chart a better course for us. And it’s not like the company is going away. The brand is awesome and will continue to be so, despite its current stumbles.

So, I’m trying to compartmentalize my current dissatisfaction with the company and keep that out of my decision.

The thing that’s really bothering me - I think - is that my career path is completely stalled out at this company and will remain so for the foreseeable future. I’ve got incredible personal and institutional capital here, but there’s a deep bench ahead of me, and none of those people are leaving, especially not with our stock currently in the shitter.

So the question for me is whether I want to jump out of something very safe that pays me well but where I feel I’m more or less at my ceiling.

And the jump would be to a promotion in role with expanded scope and responsibilities. It would be more challenge, more risk, and, potentially, more reward.

But the offer they made me would basically be a slight step back in comp, which isn’t going to cut it.

I countered today and told them I’m all in if we can make the numbers work, but I can’t take on more work and more responsibility for less pay. The recruiter/HR person said they’d discuss and get back to me. Based on their track record, I imagine I won’t hear anything again until June!

Not sure how I feel about all this. Part of me hates to leave my current job, which, warts and all, I really love. But I also feel like it would be kind of cowardly to just hunker down and ride it out here without at least trying to capitalize on this opportunity. I’m going to be 50 this fall. How many more shots am I going to have to try to do something like this?

Also, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that this potential move being to a company in the gaming industry isn’t a major motivating factory!

Posted: **Sat May 11, 2024 2:30 am**

If you're happy and you make good money, why are you leaving?

My brief career in the gaming industry was the opposite of fun, but that was a long time ago in a galaxy far away.

Posted: **Sat May 11, 2024 8:14 am**

Kraken wrote: ↑Sat May 11, 2024 2:30 am If you're happy and you make good money, why are you leaving?

I'm trying to say this without judgment towards Kurth. It's un-american to be satisfied with what you have. If you are not striving for better you are failing. It is a mindset that is drilled into us to make us work harder.

Posted: **Sat May 11, 2024 8:35 am**

I saw a beggar leaning on his wooden crutch
He said to me, "You must not ask for so much"
And a pretty woman leaning in her darkened door
She cried to me, "Hey, why not ask for more?"

Oh, like a bird on the wire
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free

Posted: **Sat May 11, 2024 11:58 am**

Kraken wrote: ↑Sat May 11, 2024 2:30 am If you're happy and you make good money, why are you leaving?

This is what I’m struggling with. As I mentioned before, although I’m trying to negotiate a better deal, the money isn’t really going to be the motivation on this. The new job would be mostly lateral in terms of comp, even if I get them to come up from where they are.

I think what’s motivating me is that I’ve been in my current job for 9 years, and I think if I stay, I’ll just keep on keeping on. Things will pretty much be the same, which isn’t bad, but also isn’t particularly interesting. I mean, the job is interesting in what I do, but there really isn’t any opportunity for more. Not much growth or challenge. This new job would be an expansion in role and responsibility which would definitely be challenging.

It also has the potential to lead me down some different paths that my current job won’t likely open up.

Kraken wrote: ↑Sat May 11, 2024 2:30 am My brief career in the gaming industry was the opposite of fun, but that was a long time ago in a galaxy far away.

But the free games!!!!!!!

Seriously, I have heard horror stories about gaming industry jobs, but I wouldn’t be a game designer or a coder or a QA person or anything like that. I’d be corporate support, not actual product, which is where the suck has traditionally been in the gaming industry, from what I hear.

Posted: **Sat May 11, 2024 12:08 pm**

coopasonic wrote: ↑Sat May 11, 2024 8:14 am
Kraken wrote: ↑Sat May 11, 2024 2:30 am If you're happy and you make good money, why are you leaving?
I'm trying to say this without judgment towards Kurth. It's un-american to be satisfied with what you have. If you are not striving for better you are failing. It is a mindset that is drilled into us to make us work harder.

No offense taken. It’s very true. That mindset is often hammered into us long before we enter the work force, too. In school, in sports, in life . . . I think we’re often programmed to keep looking ahead to the next thing. You did well on this AP course? Take the next level up. You made it to districts in a sport? Let’s see how you do at states. You’re in a good job that meets your needs? See if there’s a better opportunity out there.

I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad mindset. It fosters a competitive drive to improve, which can be healthy and productive. But things absolutely go off the tracks if you don’t appreciate the moment. If you can’t enjoy your current achievements because you are already looking forward to the next thing, I think it becomes a trap.

I think I’d say that the important thing isn’t to be “satisfied” with what you have, but rather to “appreciate” what you have.

Posted: **Sat May 11, 2024 12:17 pm**

Kurth wrote: ↑Sat May 11, 2024 11:58 am
Kraken wrote: ↑Sat May 11, 2024 2:30 am My brief career in the gaming industry was the opposite of fun, but that was a long time ago in a galaxy far away.
But the free games!!!!!!!

Seriously, I have heard horror stories about gaming industry jobs, but I wouldn’t be a game designer or a coder or a QA person or anything like that. I’d be corporate support, not actual product, which is where the suck has traditionally been in the gaming industry, from what I hear.

Setting aside office politics and competitive personalities (who, as you can imagine, are drawn to game companies), it was a good career in between crunch times. When things were slow we were expected to play games at work to keep abreast of the industry. I remember being paid to play the original Fallout and X-Com games, which didn't suck at all. And I felt proud and satisfied every time a game finally launched, not to mention making good commissions.

The crunch times were brutal, though, and felt endless. We'd be flogging ourselves to meet a gold date, working more hours than I even knew were in a week, and then at the last minute: Good news! We got another month! The burnout was tremendous. Even before the crunch, during routine development, the hours and hours spent playing our own broken and incomplete games were not fun.

But as you say, corporate is insulated from all that. Or should be. And it might not be as true today as it was back then.

Myself, I wouldn't leave a happy and comfortable situation for no clear gain, but that's my personality. I don't like risk and value stability.

Posted: **Sun May 12, 2024 11:35 am**

Kraken wrote: ↑Sat May 11, 2024 12:17 pm
Kurth wrote: ↑Sat May 11, 2024 11:58 am
Kraken wrote: ↑Sat May 11, 2024 2:30 am My brief career in the gaming industry was the opposite of fun, but that was a long time ago in a galaxy far away.
But the free games!!!!!!!

Seriously, I have heard horror stories about gaming industry jobs, but I wouldn’t be a game designer or a coder or a QA person or anything like that. I’d be corporate support, not actual product, which is where the suck has traditionally been in the gaming industry, from what I hear.
Setting aside office politics and competitive personalities (who, as you can imagine, are drawn to game companies), it was a good career in between crunch times. When things were slow we were expected to play games at work to keep abreast of the industry. I remember being paid to play the original Fallout and X-Com games, which didn't suck at all. And I felt proud and satisfied every time a game finally launched, not to mention making good commissions.

The crunch times were brutal, though, and felt endless. We'd be flogging ourselves to meet a gold date, working more hours than I even knew were in a week, and then at the last minute: Good news! We got another month! The burnout was tremendous. Even before the crunch, during routine development, the hours and hours spent playing our own broken and incomplete games were not fun.

But as you say, corporate is insulated from all that. Or should be. And it might not be as true today as it was back then.

Myself, I wouldn't leave a happy and comfortable situation for no clear gain, but that's my personality. I don't like risk and value stability.

I’m generally pretty risk averse, too. That’s what I’m struggling with. But this is (1) a step up for me in terms of role; and (2) has the potential to open up a lot of different an possibly interesting future paths.

If I stay where I am, I’m reasonably sure I know what I’ll be doing in my current job: Pretty much what I’m doing right now. If I take this new job, the future is wide open. Which could be a good thing or a bad thing, I guess.

But I think I’m going to give it a shot if I can get them to offer me something that’s not a clear step back in pay. Hopefully it will work out!

Posted: **Wed May 15, 2024 2:52 pm**

I just had one of the strangest experiences of my 20+ year sales career.

For the past 6 months, I've been working with a woman (we'll call her Susan) at a large federal agency to potentially launch a huge learning and development effort. We have been on 6-7 virtual meetings and have traded dozens of e-mails regarding pricing, deployment, resourcing, etc. We had a meeting on Monday, and at the end of the meeting agreed that the next steps were for me to gather some past performance details and create a draft learning plan that she could take up the chain to her leadership team.

I was supposed to have this to Susan by the end of the day today, but am running a bit behind. So I e-mailed to let her know that I would get the deliverables we discussed to her by tomorrow instead. Susan sent the following reply:

Hi Skinypupy. Although great to hear from you, I think this e-mail may be intended for someone else.

Confused, I reached back out to confirm with Susan that those were the deliverables that we agreed on in Monday's 2-HOUR meeting. Her response:

I'm not sure what you're referring to, but I think you have the wrong person.

I have been working with this woman for months to get this project kicked off. We met two days ago. For some reason, she's acting as if we've never talked before.

This is all incredibly bizarre and I honestly have no idea how to approach it.

Posted: **Wed May 15, 2024 3:01 pm**

Is there any context in the previous emails where you could reply to an existing email chain to "ask for clarification" or confirm some minor point? So that it wouldn't just be a single email that's coming to her but a clear evidence of an ongoing conversation (with email headers). I wonder if there's some screwup in their IT where Susan's emails are getting forwarded to someone else's mailbox?

Posted: **Wed May 15, 2024 3:37 pm**

30 business days until the election seat.

Posted: **Wed May 15, 2024 7:30 pm**

Default wrote: ↑Wed May 15, 2024 3:37 pm 30 business days until the election seat.

Running for office after you retire?

Posted: **Wed May 15, 2024 7:41 pm**

"ejection seat".

Stupid autocorrect.

Posted: **Sat May 18, 2024 1:38 pm**

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Wed May 15, 2024 2:52 pm I just had one of the strangest experiences of my 20+ year sales career.

For the past 6 months, I've been working with a woman (we'll call her Susan) at a large federal agency to potentially launch a huge learning and development effort. We have been on 6-7 virtual meetings and have traded dozens of e-mails regarding pricing, deployment, resourcing, etc. We had a meeting on Monday, and at the end of the meeting agreed that the next steps were for me to gather some past performance details and create a draft learning plan that she could take up the chain to her leadership team.

I was supposed to have this to Susan by the end of the day today, but am running a bit behind. So I e-mailed to let her know that I would get the deliverables we discussed to her by tomorrow instead. Susan sent the following reply:

Hi Skinypupy. Although great to hear from you, I think this e-mail may be intended for someone else.
Confused, I reached back out to confirm with Susan that those were the deliverables that we agreed on in Monday's 2-HOUR meeting. Her response:

I'm not sure what you're referring to, but I think you have the wrong person.
I have been working with this woman for months to get this project kicked off. We met two days ago. For some reason, she's acting as if we've never talked before.

This is all incredibly bizarre and I honestly have no idea how to approach it.

That’s got to be an IT screwup, right? Did you try gilraen’s approach?

Really interested to see how this turned out. If “Susan” is really just pretending you’ve never interacted, that’s a new level of business insanity.

Posted: **Sat May 18, 2024 7:02 pm**

Kurth wrote: ↑Sat May 18, 2024 1:38 pm
Skinypupy wrote: ↑Wed May 15, 2024 2:52 pm I just had one of the strangest experiences of my 20+ year sales career.

For the past 6 months, I've been working with a woman (we'll call her Susan) at a large federal agency to potentially launch a huge learning and development effort. We have been on 6-7 virtual meetings and have traded dozens of e-mails regarding pricing, deployment, resourcing, etc. We had a meeting on Monday, and at the end of the meeting agreed that the next steps were for me to gather some past performance details and create a draft learning plan that she could take up the chain to her leadership team.

I was supposed to have this to Susan by the end of the day today, but am running a bit behind. So I e-mailed to let her know that I would get the deliverables we discussed to her by tomorrow instead. Susan sent the following reply:

Hi Skinypupy. Although great to hear from you, I think this e-mail may be intended for someone else.
Confused, I reached back out to confirm with Susan that those were the deliverables that we agreed on in Monday's 2-HOUR meeting. Her response:

I'm not sure what you're referring to, but I think you have the wrong person.
I have been working with this woman for months to get this project kicked off. We met two days ago. For some reason, she's acting as if we've never talked before.

This is all incredibly bizarre and I honestly have no idea how to approach it.
That’s got to be an IT screwup, right? Did you try gilraen’s approach?

Really interested to see how this turned out. If “Susan” is really just pretending you’ve never interacted, that’s a new level of business insanity.

I sent her all the details she requested on Thursday, and sent it as a RE: response to one of her previous e-mails so she knows what it's about. Haven't heard back yet...will keep you posted.

She has been very enthusiastic and communicative throughout the entire process. it would have been EXTREMELY out of character for her to suddenly switch directions on a dime, especially by claiming she didn't know who I was. We'll see...

Posted: **Sat May 18, 2024 10:28 pm**

Kraken wrote: ↑Sat May 11, 2024 12:17 pm
Kurth wrote: ↑Sat May 11, 2024 11:58 am
Kraken wrote: ↑Sat May 11, 2024 2:30 am My brief career in the gaming industry was the opposite of fun, but that was a long time ago in a galaxy far away.
But the free games!!!!!!!

Seriously, I have heard horror stories about gaming industry jobs, but I wouldn’t be a game designer or a coder or a QA person or anything like that. I’d be corporate support, not actual product, which is where the suck has traditionally been in the gaming industry, from what I hear.
Setting aside office politics and competitive personalities (who, as you can imagine, are drawn to game companies), it was a good career in between crunch times. When things were slow we were expected to play games at work to keep abreast of the industry. I remember being paid to play the original Fallout and X-Com games, which didn't suck at all. And I felt proud and satisfied every time a game finally launched, not to mention making good commissions.

The crunch times were brutal, though, and felt endless. We'd be flogging ourselves to meet a gold date, working more hours than I even knew were in a week, and then at the last minute: Good news! We got another month! The burnout was tremendous. Even before the crunch, during routine development, the hours and hours spent playing our own broken and incomplete games were not fun.

But as you say, corporate is insulated from all that. Or should be. And it might not be as true today as it was back then.

Myself, I wouldn't leave a happy and comfortable situation for no clear gain, but that's my personality. I don't like risk and value stability.

Well, I did it. The new company came back to me with an offer that met me in the middle. While this new job is still basically a lateral move financially, I decided to go for it given the promotion in role + the chance to work for a game company I’ve always loved + the opportunity to work remote (no relocation necessary) + the lack of near (or long) term opportunity for me at my present company.

I give notice 6/3 and start the new job 6/17. Now that it’s finally done, I’m really excited, and also a little nervous. LFG.

Posted: **Sat May 18, 2024 11:44 pm**

Congrats, Kurth! It sounds like an interesting fork in the road for you. Best of luck in the new role!

Posted: **Sat May 18, 2024 11:50 pm**

Exciting! Wishing you the best.

Posted: **Tue May 21, 2024 5:41 am**

I just got rejected for a job that I truly thought was a shoo-in. I fit the role to a tee, I am already familiar with the area and the staff, as well as working with the intended audience for the past year or more specifically as technical support, which was what they were looking for. The ONLY place where I may have goofed is I don't handwrite Chinese, having always relied on a keyboard. I am fully fluent in Cantonese, which they specifically requested, and actually got someone to test me on the spot, conversation and searching on a website and read / live-translate an article on the web. I thought I passed that test. I was truly shocked when I got email today that they are onboarding someone else.

At this rate, I should retire early on disability and try to launch a new career as a writer / Youtuber.

Posted: **Tue May 21, 2024 8:37 am**

Well, that sucks Kasey! Especially when you think you nailed the interview.

I'm sure us OOers would support you as a youtuber, probably not enough of us regulars left to make a good steady income though...

Posted: **Tue May 21, 2024 8:41 am**

Lassr wrote: ↑Tue May 21, 2024 8:37 am Well, that sucks Kasey! Especially when you think you nailed the interview.

Echo

Posted: **Tue May 21, 2024 8:42 am**

On my front...the job for deputy supervisor is open. That would be my next step up, but I'd go from leading a team of 7 that are working directly with engineers developing cool tech, to handling personnel issues for 30-40 people & policy issues for the CFO almost entirely. Not sure the grade bump is worth it. But am I going to keep doing what I am doing now for the next 8-10 years when I retire.

Posted: **Tue May 21, 2024 11:19 pm**

Kraken wrote: ↑Fri May 10, 2024 8:58 pm
Stick with it. Once your records are complete and accurate you won't have to fight for benefits. The system is designed to make sure that you automatically get what you're owed.

I got a letter from the SSA left left (apparently not knowing what the right hand is doing) and said if I file within two months of receiving the letter (I did, and was already approved) that my filing date would be listed as April 4. Online it says first check will come July 24, a few months after my odometer clicks. I wonder what, if anything, this has to do with my commencement date.

As far as my glamorous career as an Uber driver goes, I got kicked in the teeth -- repeatedly -- these past couple of weeks. In 2021 (around 2 years before I started driving Uber), I was driving the wife to Seafood City (near Elston and the Edens) I unknowingly drove 35 mph past some speed cameras. Apparently 5 of them. I was not pleased, especially when the first ticket that came was a "courtesy warning" followed the next 4 days by a slew of more expensively fisting ones. But I paid them...and continued to be harassed. I called the city, the nice lady said I just need to send the proof of the charge to the accounting department and it will be taken care of. I did, I thought it was, but it wasn't. Fast forward to a few months ago, and Uber decided to add "Collection Agent" to the services offered, and started sending me threatening emails saying my account would be suspended if it wasn't taken care of by June 13. Remember that date.

I finally decide it wasn't worth doing battle with the city, as I'd probably have to take it to court, get a lawyer, and all that shit. So I paid it again. I week later, I got my weekly threat from Uber, and called them, telling them it was paid the prior week. They responded that it often takes 2 weeks for the feed from the city to sync with Uber master computer (a task done once a week). Fine, I thought, I'm glad I gave it more than a month.

The next day, Thursday May 9, I was having an unusually good day. Surges were popping all over the place, in one case I made $26 driving a girl 7 minutes to her high school ($19 of that was the surge bonus). A short while later, I was back in my neighborhood and picked up a $9 surge on my next trip. I stopped home momentarily, ready to go again when a ride came in. Then I looked at the phone and it said "Account suspended." WTF? So I called their Filipino Helpless Desk, and they told me it was suspended because of the tickets. But, I said, they have been paid and besides, it is not June 13 like your emails said. They continued to refuse to acknowledge this, I moved from text chat to phone chat getting nowhere. Finally, around noon the next day someone realized their calendars were all pre-Gregorian or Lunar or something and yes, it was not yet June 13. So, they said, they were reactivating my account. They did, and I even still had that $9 surge from the day before.

And then I went out trolling for rides. And none came. After 2 hours, I went back home, called the helpless desk, and told them I was not getting rides. They claimed my account was active, I should be receiving rides. Day after day, I was getting no rides -- usually I get 20-30 per day and they actually had the nerve to suggest it was "just slow". Slow is 30 minutes...an hour on an especially bad day. Not 4 days. Finally I sign up to have a video call with a "Greenlight agent", a US based person who is supposed to be more competent. The lady took control of my phone and verified that yes, I had a the newest version of the software, yes, it was configured properly with right permissions and no, I did have some restrictive setting like "only pets". She said she would escalate and if I did not hear back in 2 days, call back. That meant the helpless desk.

Exactly 2 day with no change, I call back asking the helpless desk if they could at least give me an update on the ticket. They repeated all of the nonsense they gave me earlier. I had in fact been leaving the phone logged in for about 70 hours that week, with no rides. Meanwhile, surges are popping all over the place like I've never seen in almost 2 years. My friends who also drive Uber said they stopped taking routine rides, the surges were so plentiful they were only doing surged rides. Finally, a supervisor writes back admitting they are having some widespread issues and it's being worked on. If a sizeable number of their drivers are being put out by this and customers all over are paying sometimes much higher prices to get rides, that cannot be good for business. The problem being widespread explained the sudden increase of surges (which I noticed 2 days before the hammer fell on me), but I've worked in all sorts of IT departments and there is no way something with such a huge impact on business could be allowed to stay broken for 2 weeks! Last Friday I signed up for another Greenlight appointment, which was late this morning.

Dude was nice enough, said he'd put me on hold a few minutes while he reviews everything, and then came back stating that while my account was indeed reactivated, my account had not been removed from a blacklist that prevented me from getting any ride offers. He was sure that was the problem and volunteered to stay online until something came in. That took about 30 seconds. Yay I was back in business but still, WTF? I dealt with at least 15 different people the 12 days I was off and none of them checked this? Fortunately (for me now, at least), whatever issue (likely the same thing) is still causing widespread surges, fully half my rides were surged to some degree today and accounted for 30% of my earnings. Now I have to work like hell until my MiL leaves 6/15 to make up for this, I'll only be able to drive evenings and weekends until the kids are back in school (although I might be able to outsource them on occasion).

Posted: **Tue May 21, 2024 11:39 pm**

Where do you stand on being reclassified as an employee, rather than a contractor? There's probably going to be some variation on that question on our ballot in November. I don't understand the ramifications because we don't have a specific question yet. Of course Uber and Lyft are lobbying hard against it, and drivers seem to be split.

Posted: **Wed May 22, 2024 2:40 am**

Kasey Chang wrote: ↑Tue May 21, 2024 5:41 am I just got rejected for a job that I truly thought was a shoo-in. I fit the role to a tee, I am already familiar with the area and the staff, as well as working with the intended audience for the past year or more specifically as technical support, which was what they were looking for. The ONLY place where I may have goofed is I don't handwrite Chinese, having always relied on a keyboard. I am fully fluent in Cantonese, which they specifically requested, and actually got someone to test me on the spot, conversation and searching on a website and read / live-translate an article on the web. I thought I passed that test. I was truly shocked when I got email today that they are onboarding someone else.

At this rate, I should retire early on disability and try to launch a new career as a writer / Youtuber.

That sucks, Kasey. Especially because it’s hard to imagine when you need to be handwriting. Was there something particular about that job that would have made handwriting in Chinese necessary? I’m not sure I’d pass a test for handwriting in English these days . . .

Posted: **Wed May 22, 2024 9:51 pm**

Kraken wrote: ↑Tue May 21, 2024 11:39 pm Where do you stand on being reclassified as an employee, rather than a contractor? There's probably going to be some variation on that question on our ballot in November. I don't understand the ramifications because we don't have a specific question yet. Of course Uber and Lyft are lobbying hard against it, and drivers seem to be split.

Unsure. Currently, my income is nullified by generous tax write-offs, so I could keep doing this as much as I care to while on social security. Reclassification as an employee means several things: potentially more benefits, but also less control of where and when I drive. For the past year, I've rejected all rides going into the city of Chicago and more recently, the airports as well (with occasional exceptions). I would not want Uber compelling me to accept such rides when I have obligations at home (roughly 2 hours from downtown Chicago on a good day and more than an hour to the airports).

I am considering having some business cars printed, and handing them out to some local regulars, offering a discount over Uber if they pay cash directly. In a few weeks, MiL goes home and I have to baby sit the kids most of the day. I'm fairly certain my kids won't burn the house down or otherwise call attention to being briefly unsupervised, so I might be able to set up some regular morning rides for people going to work. This could raise beer money at the very least (cash transactions are off the wife's radar).

Posted: **Wed May 22, 2024 11:11 pm**

I, for one, will accept one of your business cars.

Posted: **Sat May 25, 2024 1:41 am**

Kurth wrote: ↑Wed May 22, 2024 2:40 am Was there something particular about that job that would have made handwriting in Chinese necessary? I’m not sure I’d pass a test for handwriting in English these days . . .

According to them, the previous person who held the job fibbed about his or her fluency level and basically made it unable to do the job. I guess they don't believe me I have no problem typing in Chinese, or else my physical condition was too weak at the time (I had suffered from food poisoning previous weekend) and my health only recently got an upturn with an undiagnosed pinched bile duct for almost a year, leading to rapid weight loss and general malaise / weakness.

I spotted another job that seems to be good for me, except this one requires a bit of commute... as it's near the airport, which is 30 minutes by car... or 1.5 hours by public transit.

each way. ARGH. Keep looking.

EDIT: Just spotted another one, except this place doesn't update their status much, but they're another senior organization in San Francisco that speaks Cantonese. Even if it's 3 days a week, that'd at least put some food on the table, so to speak.

Posted: **Wed May 29, 2024 11:58 am**

The best team manager I have working for me is quitting. He runs our building systems and cleaning crew. He's highly motivated, hands-on, and works 50+ hours a week. He's made great strides at getting us in order and smoothing things out. It's a monumental effort.

My boss just proposed having me do his job and utilize vendors for the heavy lifting. I'm laughing all the way to the bathroom to vomit. I tried dissuading him and explaining how vital it is to have someone who's intimately familiar with our mechanical systems and can dive in anywhere we need them to the moment we need them to. Nope.

We might save a dollar or two over someone's salary. We're going to piss away twice that through inefficiency and waste.

Posted: **Wed May 29, 2024 12:29 pm**

Paingod wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2024 11:58 am We might save a dollar or two over someone's salary. We're going to piss away twice that through inefficiency and waste.

And that's before they inevitably lose you once you get fed up enough.

Octopus Overlords

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