Confusing no more

Well, I had my first Compulsory Redundancy Meeting on Friday and that’s when I was officially told that my last day with the company will be 29 March 2017 although I will be paid up to the end of March.

Talk about a kick in the teeth, the reason behind this is: I am occupying a Technical Position as a Non-Technical candidate so my role is disappearing. What could be further from the truth, I have been building and programming computers since the dawn of the personal computer age (1988). True I don’t have a Microsoft or CISCO qualification as I never saw the need for them since they change every 3 months or so.

I have been helping others in my team to carry out their work and was going to help with the on-call rota so that the other two doing it permanently can get 1 week in 3 off. Then I find that one of them could be redundant as well, so doesn’t this get better? His “pool” is 6 big with only 1 going. If it’s him then I doubt if the person left will gladly forego his holidays to cover the work 24/7. No-one is allowed to work from home because when it was allowed a few abused the system.

Not my concern any more and I have been applying for anything at all to tide me over from the beginning of April until I retire in November 2019 (yes that’s right I get my wonderful state pension from the young age of 65 years 6months and a few days). I can’t afford to not work and will gladly take anything that isn’t offered on a zero hours contract. I do have bills to pay and no family to scrounge off. Plus, the person in charge of the team (manager, if you will) is giving us all this wonderful news and she is going to a new company in March when her role is taken in-house. She has therefore avoided all the stress caused by the “Work Force Management” proposals for Q2 (and final in FY17). From April those left move to a new company and will be in FY18.

As if the news of a redundancy pool wasn’t bad enough, to find out you’re the only one in yours and that your definitely finishing come March is a real eye-opener to find out the company you’ve been loyally supporting couldn’t give a flying one about you. Anyhoo, this could be my last post for a while as I am pushing myself to look everywhere for another job and apply for everything out there.

Confusing me this is

I have been placed in a redundancy pool at work and have no idea how many are in the same pool, how many will be earmarked to go and how many will be left. Apparently not everyone is in the same sub-pool and there are 4 out of 6 in my team who could face redundancy, leaving 2 to do all the work and impact the customer.

My team cover the hours of 07:00 to 17:00 Mon-Fri and outside these hours offer an on-call service for major issues impacting the customer. If the team is cut back by 2/3rds then this will obviously have a negative impact on the customer relationship. But if this happens can the company then recruit young staff at a fraction of the wage bill? They never used to be able to, at one time if you made someone redundant then that job effectively disappeared and could not be filled, however, in these days of zero hour contracts of employment can employers realise they are overpaying people and make them redundant to cut down the wage bill and then employ cheaper labour to fill the gaps?

On a warmer note, my friend is (hopefully) on the mend and after a long battle with cancer seems to be making some headway against the disease. She has started gaining weight (not much but anything is good, isn’t it?). The doctors and nurses treating her are now talking about removing the feeding tube and allowing her to eat and drink normally again (difficult without a tongue I know). She is deserving of our prayers and warmest wishes so please join me in that endeavour.

 

POLITIKS OF GRAFFITI 13: NOTHING TO SEE HERE

Heil Drumpf making America a bigger joke than Nixon could have dreamed.

TOKIDOKI (NOMAD)

Week 12 of Donald Trump’s presidency: Experts in authoritarianism advise to keep a list of things subtly changing around you, so you’ll remember.published February 4, 2017https://medium.com/@Amy_Siskind/week-12-experts-in-authoritarianism-advise-to-keep-a-list-of-things-subtly-changing-around-you-so-1dd061886793#.l82fi9v15

An observation on Week 12: several of the most important items in this very long list are the ones not getting coverage: including Ukraine, and the many abuses of power to silence dissent and stomp on ethics. Conflicts of interest abound, unfettered.

Protests over Trump’s Muslim Ban took place all over the country and around the world. Thousands protested in major airports and cities, including many red states.

Trump’s EO was criticized by many, and supported by few. Christian leaders spoke our voraciously against prioritizing Christian refugees.

Innumerable horrid stories about the impact of the Muslim ban surfaced during the week. Spicer minimized its impact. Presidents of 598 colleges and universities wrote a letter of concern about the Ban.

Trump promoted Bannon, under…

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Valentine’s Day

 

Today is Valentine’s Day

A day of love celebrated around the world.

Valentine was a Roman who liked nothing better than killing and watching people die.

This song by David Bowie is beautiful (nothing less than I would expect from him really).

If we all get together and help those we can and leave the war behind with all the hatred and misogyny that is running down the streets in floods these days.

Can we try to find the best in others and show them the best in ourselves let others know we care. Let them take us as we are or leave us alone. If we leave ourselves open and vulnerable is the world going to stop turning and send us floating into space?

If Major Tom met Ziggy Stardust what would they find to discuss? Both having been inside the brain of the thin white duke and sent into space. Would they find mutual enjoyments or disappear inside their own spacesuits?

Five minutes of film

Please let the author know your thoughts by posting them against the original.

The Silent Eye

Image: http://www.lovethesepics.com

He wasn’t feeling too good so I carried his breakfast through into the lounge where he was watching TV and sat down with him on the sofa for five minutes. He was watching a wildlife programme and, as the small polar bear weakened and failed through starvation, I watched through a veil of tears. My own son beside me, it was easy to recognise the encouragement in the way the ursine mother tried to raise her cub to his feet. That was bad enough. Realising the little one could no longer stand she and his twin snuggled up with the dying cub, sharing warmth and comfort; nuzzling him gently and curled around the little body. Just waiting until the end. I can’t even write it without tears.

There was the debate about how the camera crew could simply stand by and watch, filming the tragedy, but the general…

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February made me shiver

Why does it take something simple like the bright light of the sun, to cheer the day, dull the voices and make me feel good? I know I suffer from a multitude of mental disorders, bi-polar, S.A.D., and deep clinical depression with anxiety. That still doesn’t help me to understand why Vitamin D eases all the symptoms and makes me feel I can float on air.

Anyone not similarly affected won’t understand, most people compare me to curtains when I try explaining how I’m feeling. (Pull yourself together man). They don’t know how that one phrase can push someone like me over the edge, make me stop thinking of committing suicide and doing it instead.

A cuppa, a soda (fizzy pop to us Brits) and a friendly non judgemental ear go a long way towards helping. I find myself drawn towards the darker side of town sometimes. I don’t feel afraid anywhere because I died young and every day is a bonus. Death is a companion on my journey so why do people fear him? When my time is up then I will go back to the earth willingly. All I ask is a pyre with me on top and flames licking my corpse until I’m gone.

What happens afterwards will happen anyway, either I’ve lived a good life and progress or else I haven’t so will come back to try again. Everything is nothing anyway so it matters not. Sun disappears and the mood turns black so this is where this post ends.