Where I've been since July 2nd
"Greetings again, folks.
"I'm finally at a point where I can tell all about what kind of a month I've had...
Now, I left off at... Ye Gods, It's been a whole bleedin month! Well, I'll start at the point where I left off.
On the weekend of the 4th, I took an anniversary trip with my wife up north to the Bay Cities. It was beautiful, relatively cool air, and we got to visit our friend the Tattooed Lady and her beloved little baby daughter, just in time for her 2nd birthday.
Naturally, being a long weekend, my hobbit boss back at my job gave us a desperately urgent project to work on over the weekend 'if we could'. Of course, it was never any fault of her's that we had to do this work, it was of course the fact that so many other projects came in front of it, and we miscalculated the scheduling for this project.
If you detect my scepticism in her justifications, it's only because she had used this same excuse many times before, and the timing was always coincidentally on three-day weekends or over vacations. Either she wasn't capable of working vacations or holidays into our work schedule, or she thought we could 'spare the time'. It doesn't much matter, mind, as the effect is the same.
Anyway, the little baby's birthday party was fun. She chose to wear her cake rather than eat it. And it was nice to see the Tattooed Lady (our former neighbor from the City of Angels).
Sparrow's green card was waiting for us when we returned! Not only that, as soon as I returned home I received a call from someone interested in interviewing me.
-Wait, I think I'd better explain. A month before, my boss brought me into the office and threatened me over making a single mistake on a model that happened to get the upper management's attention. She told me 'people in the factory overseas have been fired over less'. It was a crushing blow to my self-esteem. And I knew it was time to start looking for another job.
So, when I received the call from the new job, I was excited. This old man who called me told me about how his company had been making jewelry for over 50 years, and how he was impressed by my resume. I told him I would talk to my boss about arranging a day to come and meet him.
He called the next day again, keen to get me in there for an interview. I arranged a day off, showed up in a suit, and went in for the interview. The neighborhood was a bit rough. I went in, and the employees looked a bit downtrodden. I didn't really notice this at the time, however, as I was too nervous.
I filled out the application as I was waiting my turn (they were interviewing a few people ahead of me for several positions.) When I came to the references section, I told him I would send him an e-mail list later that evening.
The interview went fairly well. He deliberated, I responded. I had to wait for him to do a couple of errands then return. He gave me a tour of the factory, where I told him the truth about not knowing how to use certain machines. He didn't like that. Nevertheless, when we returned to his office, he asked my salary requirement. I told him a high sum, he told me his expected sum, and we met in the middle.
Finally, after doing a quick interview and aptitude test with his chief designer, he told me the job was mine if I wanted it. I told him I'd think about it. I went home and sent him the reference list.
The next day I called him with questions, and said I'd take the job. He said to meet him the following tuesday, when I'd meet with his wife (the creative director, and my boss-to-be) and sign the contracts. He said I'd need her approval, but that wouldn't be a problem. Since he was so keen about getting me to join him so quickly, I asked if I should submit my two weeks notice at that point. He said he didn't see a problem with that.
So I did.
My boss was caught by surprise, naturally. A half hour after I told her, she took me outside and told me how unprofessional it was for me to say I found another job that paid more. She also told me that I should have asked for her help first, as in 'don't make me look for another job'. She also said one of our coworkers did just that (I later called him, and apparently all he did was 'present evidence at annual salary review for a good raise'.)
She gave me four days to make up my mind if this is what I really wanted to do.
The next day (saturday, because we were working a weekend for this crazy project, even though one of my coworkers broke down in my boss' office and cried from the pressure), she pulled me into her office and laid me off before I ever got a chance to tell her my decision. That would've been my decision anyway. I still maintained my two week notice, and submitted a letter of resignation. (Unwise, I know, but I'll get to that in a moment.)
That following tuesday I used a comp day, and went to the promised orientation day at the new company. On the way I called him to ask if it was okay if I showed up early (as he asked me to do so), and he said 'You were by no means guaranteed a job. Right now you have another interview, and I'll remind you that you're facing serious competition from another candidate.'
I was floored. But I was still committed to this. So I went in, overeagerly met with his wife, and showed my portfolio on her computer. During this time, the old man told me he was unable to get a response from my references. He apparently had also lost my list of references (though I had sent them to him in an email). I reprinted them while he hovered over me. After that I left.
Later that evening, I received a call from him telling me that I didn't have the job. I confronted him about offering me the job then reneging on the offer, and he swore he never made me an offer. I repeat word for word what he told me, then he gives me the same speel about running the company for 50+ years and taking care of his employees. He also tells me that he found another person willing to do the work for $10,000 less than I was asking, and that didn't need any training on the new tools. He denies ever saying some of the things he told me, and also tells me that my original salary quote was a lie (I asked for the salary plus stock I was paid last year, and told him I had a salary review coming up in two weeks, which would've put me over that anyway. All of this was true, and he was calling me a liar.)
This shook me pretty hard. After I regathered my bearings, I called my boss and told her I was still available. She called me back after she finished dinner and told me I had already been replaced. Note that this was 36 hours after the saturday I was let go. I was able to convince her to push back my resignation to a 3 week notice, but that was it.
The next three weeks were a desperate scramble to find a job anywhere I could. I interviewed with a couple of companies in the City of Angels, but nobody was willing to pay anything close to my previous salary, despite my experience and regardless of how impressed they were by me.
We were stuck. Sparrow had her green card and SS#, but didn't have her license and couldn't find a job locally. I couldn't find a job to pay our bills. We couldn't move in with my only family in town because my father was in the midst of divorce and staying in my aunt's only guest room.
Our only options were to 1.) go back to the Exile Lands to live with my mother, or 2.) move back to the Old Country with Sparrow's parents. With the former, I couldn't get a good paying job, and Sparrow's employment prospects were even worse than the City of Angels. That left the latter.
However, there was a problem with that-- my industry was barely in its nacency in the Old Country. Few companies had even considered using CAD Jewellers, let alone were looking for them. I was afraid I was going to have to leave behind a chunk of my skills and experience.
But an option appeared: a company that had contacted me over a year before I managed to reach again. After a phone interview, a couple of tests, and another tricky reference check (since made easier by the fact I could now use my current employer, and had managed to track down my old artificer boss), they offered me a job!
That was two days ago.
Now, Sparrow has is a legal alien in my country, passed her driver's license test yesterday (YAY!), and we are both moving back to the Old Country to start new lives and jobs.
Today I held a garage sale for all the furniture and items I couldn't sell on E-Bay or Amazon marketplace. As we speak I'm now staying at my aunt's place while my father toughs out his now vengeful wife's presence until my departure this coming Wednesday.
The flight should be interesting, especially considering the terrorism alert currently afflicting both mine and Sparrow's countries.
"...I think it's fair to say this has been one of the longest months of my life."
"I'm finally at a point where I can tell all about what kind of a month I've had...
Now, I left off at... Ye Gods, It's been a whole bleedin month! Well, I'll start at the point where I left off.
On the weekend of the 4th, I took an anniversary trip with my wife up north to the Bay Cities. It was beautiful, relatively cool air, and we got to visit our friend the Tattooed Lady and her beloved little baby daughter, just in time for her 2nd birthday.
Naturally, being a long weekend, my hobbit boss back at my job gave us a desperately urgent project to work on over the weekend 'if we could'. Of course, it was never any fault of her's that we had to do this work, it was of course the fact that so many other projects came in front of it, and we miscalculated the scheduling for this project.
If you detect my scepticism in her justifications, it's only because she had used this same excuse many times before, and the timing was always coincidentally on three-day weekends or over vacations. Either she wasn't capable of working vacations or holidays into our work schedule, or she thought we could 'spare the time'. It doesn't much matter, mind, as the effect is the same.
Anyway, the little baby's birthday party was fun. She chose to wear her cake rather than eat it. And it was nice to see the Tattooed Lady (our former neighbor from the City of Angels).
Sparrow's green card was waiting for us when we returned! Not only that, as soon as I returned home I received a call from someone interested in interviewing me.
-Wait, I think I'd better explain. A month before, my boss brought me into the office and threatened me over making a single mistake on a model that happened to get the upper management's attention. She told me 'people in the factory overseas have been fired over less'. It was a crushing blow to my self-esteem. And I knew it was time to start looking for another job.
So, when I received the call from the new job, I was excited. This old man who called me told me about how his company had been making jewelry for over 50 years, and how he was impressed by my resume. I told him I would talk to my boss about arranging a day to come and meet him.
He called the next day again, keen to get me in there for an interview. I arranged a day off, showed up in a suit, and went in for the interview. The neighborhood was a bit rough. I went in, and the employees looked a bit downtrodden. I didn't really notice this at the time, however, as I was too nervous.
I filled out the application as I was waiting my turn (they were interviewing a few people ahead of me for several positions.) When I came to the references section, I told him I would send him an e-mail list later that evening.
The interview went fairly well. He deliberated, I responded. I had to wait for him to do a couple of errands then return. He gave me a tour of the factory, where I told him the truth about not knowing how to use certain machines. He didn't like that. Nevertheless, when we returned to his office, he asked my salary requirement. I told him a high sum, he told me his expected sum, and we met in the middle.
Finally, after doing a quick interview and aptitude test with his chief designer, he told me the job was mine if I wanted it. I told him I'd think about it. I went home and sent him the reference list.
The next day I called him with questions, and said I'd take the job. He said to meet him the following tuesday, when I'd meet with his wife (the creative director, and my boss-to-be) and sign the contracts. He said I'd need her approval, but that wouldn't be a problem. Since he was so keen about getting me to join him so quickly, I asked if I should submit my two weeks notice at that point. He said he didn't see a problem with that.
So I did.
My boss was caught by surprise, naturally. A half hour after I told her, she took me outside and told me how unprofessional it was for me to say I found another job that paid more. She also told me that I should have asked for her help first, as in 'don't make me look for another job'. She also said one of our coworkers did just that (I later called him, and apparently all he did was 'present evidence at annual salary review for a good raise'.)
She gave me four days to make up my mind if this is what I really wanted to do.
The next day (saturday, because we were working a weekend for this crazy project, even though one of my coworkers broke down in my boss' office and cried from the pressure), she pulled me into her office and laid me off before I ever got a chance to tell her my decision. That would've been my decision anyway. I still maintained my two week notice, and submitted a letter of resignation. (Unwise, I know, but I'll get to that in a moment.)
That following tuesday I used a comp day, and went to the promised orientation day at the new company. On the way I called him to ask if it was okay if I showed up early (as he asked me to do so), and he said 'You were by no means guaranteed a job. Right now you have another interview, and I'll remind you that you're facing serious competition from another candidate.'
I was floored. But I was still committed to this. So I went in, overeagerly met with his wife, and showed my portfolio on her computer. During this time, the old man told me he was unable to get a response from my references. He apparently had also lost my list of references (though I had sent them to him in an email). I reprinted them while he hovered over me. After that I left.
Later that evening, I received a call from him telling me that I didn't have the job. I confronted him about offering me the job then reneging on the offer, and he swore he never made me an offer. I repeat word for word what he told me, then he gives me the same speel about running the company for 50+ years and taking care of his employees. He also tells me that he found another person willing to do the work for $10,000 less than I was asking, and that didn't need any training on the new tools. He denies ever saying some of the things he told me, and also tells me that my original salary quote was a lie (I asked for the salary plus stock I was paid last year, and told him I had a salary review coming up in two weeks, which would've put me over that anyway. All of this was true, and he was calling me a liar.)
This shook me pretty hard. After I regathered my bearings, I called my boss and told her I was still available. She called me back after she finished dinner and told me I had already been replaced. Note that this was 36 hours after the saturday I was let go. I was able to convince her to push back my resignation to a 3 week notice, but that was it.
The next three weeks were a desperate scramble to find a job anywhere I could. I interviewed with a couple of companies in the City of Angels, but nobody was willing to pay anything close to my previous salary, despite my experience and regardless of how impressed they were by me.
We were stuck. Sparrow had her green card and SS#, but didn't have her license and couldn't find a job locally. I couldn't find a job to pay our bills. We couldn't move in with my only family in town because my father was in the midst of divorce and staying in my aunt's only guest room.
Our only options were to 1.) go back to the Exile Lands to live with my mother, or 2.) move back to the Old Country with Sparrow's parents. With the former, I couldn't get a good paying job, and Sparrow's employment prospects were even worse than the City of Angels. That left the latter.
However, there was a problem with that-- my industry was barely in its nacency in the Old Country. Few companies had even considered using CAD Jewellers, let alone were looking for them. I was afraid I was going to have to leave behind a chunk of my skills and experience.
But an option appeared: a company that had contacted me over a year before I managed to reach again. After a phone interview, a couple of tests, and another tricky reference check (since made easier by the fact I could now use my current employer, and had managed to track down my old artificer boss), they offered me a job!
That was two days ago.
Now, Sparrow has is a legal alien in my country, passed her driver's license test yesterday (YAY!), and we are both moving back to the Old Country to start new lives and jobs.
Today I held a garage sale for all the furniture and items I couldn't sell on E-Bay or Amazon marketplace. As we speak I'm now staying at my aunt's place while my father toughs out his now vengeful wife's presence until my departure this coming Wednesday.
The flight should be interesting, especially considering the terrorism alert currently afflicting both mine and Sparrow's countries.
"...I think it's fair to say this has been one of the longest months of my life."