8:55am, palm desert, California, Saturday morning, February 26, 2022. Stopped in palm desert on my way to Orange County. This will be the third weekend in a row I visit my daughter. Which makes me happy. I can’t see many reasons to stay in Arizona if I don’t have to. It gets lonely in my apartment, there is nothing to do and besides, I like driving.
Tag: Orange County
Friday news
5:35pm, apartment, Chandler, Arizona, Friday evening, February 25, 2022. No update from Orange County on the Wednesday job interview. Absolutely none. I expected something, either good or bad. This morning on our stand-up call I announced the news about the long time employee being let go yesterday. I did not get verbal feedback, but the silence afterwards said a lot. Today was busy. Good busy. It feels like my team is coming together. Census is trending in the right direction and we got a new referral this afternoon. Tomorrow I will go to Southern California to spend time with my daughter. I need to shop a little first, then we can settle in for a night of pizza and movies. I am going to eat dinner, stream some shows then go to bed.
Getting fired sucks
7:12pm, apartment, Chandler, Arizona, Thursday night, February 24, 2022. Did not hear back from the Orange County interview and don’t really expect to. In hindsight it was a pretty disappointing experience. Usually when a company flies a candidate in for an interview an offer follows. I expected more for having cleared a whole day to meet with them. I imagined a full itinerary. First, a sit down meeting to discuss more specifics details, followed by nice lunch and possibly a drive East to to the other location. Instead I was one of three tightly stacked in person interviews. They even said they had another phone interview! Weird. I guess every situation is unique, they can do what they want. On another note, the company I am with now fired our longest tenured employee today. Only a couple of people know and they are devastated. Morale will be low for the next couple days. I called him after work and we had a good talk. Nice guy. He has a lot going for him and it was time for a change. But still, getting fired sucks.
Not exciting or different
6:27pm, back of an airplane, Phoenix, Arizona, Wednesday evening, February 23, 2022. Interview went fine but didn’t last very long. I was late because of flight delays and they had a meeting right after me. Just before I arrived an issue at work blew up so I was more invested in that than the questions. We did have a chance to talk salary; there is a chance for more money but the job and company don’t seem all that exciting. Or different.
Free trip home
9:18am, airport in Phoenix, Wednesday morning, February 23, 2022. Waiting for my flight to Orange County, which has been slightly delayed. The interview is supposed to be at 10:30 but will have to be pushed back. The guy arranging my travel said they have back to back meetings so the interview won’t last long. At least I get a free trip home out of the experience.
A difficult decision to be made
5:53pm, apartment, Chandler, Arizona, Tuesday evening, February 22, 2022. This morning was busy with back to back meetings. The afternoon was slower so I caught up on overdue assignments. Tomorrow I fly to a job interview in Orange County. The choice to stay in Arizona or go back to California looms large. Either way a difficult decision will need to be made.
February Sunday
5:50pm, apartment, Chandler, Arizona, Sunday evening, February 20, 2022. Made it back to arizona after a long weekend in Orange County. This morning I took the dog for a walk and drank coffee while watching anime with my daughter. I got on the road a little late but made good time because I only stopped once. Now I am sipping a beer and watching the weather.
Celebration
6:44pm, apartment in Dana Point, California, Saturday night, February 19, 2022. My birthday is coming up. To celebrate my daughter and I went to a movie. Afterwards we walked around the mall where she bought anime figures and I got pants. Later, we met her mom for dinner before getting ice cream for dessert. Now se are going to finish the night watching television and playing video games.
Drive all night
9:51pm, parking lot of apartment in Dana Point, Thursday night, February 17, 2022. Left work after four to drive to California. Hit traffic leaving Phoenix and some construction in riverside but the trip was worth it to spend an extra night in Orange County. Tomorrow is technically a work day but I won’t get involved unless it is something urgent. I need to go to bed, it is way past my bed time.
Desperate by my own design
7:04pm, apartment, Chandler, Arizona, Tuesday evening, February 15, 2022. The thought of formally submitting 60 day notice to vacate the Arizona apartment crossed my mind this morning. However, I decided to hold off; if I put myself in a position where I needed to move by May I would become desperate by my own design. Right now I am under no pressure to accept any job offer unless the pay is substantially higher. The job here in Arizona is stable(ish?), the apartment is cheaper than anything in Orange County and the company is far better than the one out there. If they can’t raise my pay there is no reason to take their job. I want to be close to my daughter but I am not desperate and I refuse to arbitrarily make myself so.
mikemeyer949 