Sarcasm with a side of optimism.

The Job.

Sometimes I feel as if the day is one long, heavy sigh beginning at 8am and ending every day at 5pm. I think people need to feel productive, needed, and part of something that's moving to completion in order to get some inner satisfaction from a job. My job offers none of those attributes and it's starting to erode my mood into a flatlining blob of mush.

There used to be 37 of us. In December, they let 17 people go; all were from my company, none were engineers. Now, there are only 7 left that I see on a regular basis, and 4 are already committed to other opportunities.

There's a famous quote that goes something along these lines: Every time a friend succeeds, a part of me dies. I laughed out loud when I read that quote because it is entirely true. With my coworkers moving on, I can't help but feel like they're onto something I just can't see. Except now, it's pretty obvious that I'm on the Titanic. We all know how that one ends.

I just don't want to even deal with it anymore. I think I need a fresh start. Everyone is concerned with only what is in their best interest, and my current manager happens to be the program manger of the program I'm on and he's got his hands full. Problem is, there really aren't many other engineering opportunities available in my company. There are, however, many people wearing nice business suits and driving BMWs. I wore sneakers to work the other day. I haven't worn a suit in over six months.

The new people who have taken over the project at the highest level decided it was a good idea to rename it immediately, so that the system that was 7 years in the making (and all the related drama) would be buried quickly. I'm not sure if that's a major marketing mistake, but if people have been expecting System X for 7 years, why would you deliver ABC? Nobody knows what ABC is.

I did two whole minutes of real work today. Your tax dollars are hard at work.

posted by v @ 6:13 PM