Things are much the same on the New Job front here at Argos.

Maybe it's time to fill you in on some of the cast of characters?

Our CEO, Jason, is about 20 years younger than you'd expect someone in that job to be and my personal opinion is that he's out of his depth. He's alternately quiet and withdrawn--not really a "people person"--and (from what I'm told) explosive in management meetings. How he made CEO of a company is anyone's guess.

There's a Shadow Board somewhere in the background. I'm not sure if they're impossible to please, or just disappointed that last year's incredibly optimistic expansion forecasts were missed by 60%.

This combination produces a level of chaos in the management team, we'll refer to them as the Puppis from now on, that has the company paddling in six directions at once.

Priorities shift constantly, last week's emergency gets lost in today's crisis, deadlines tend to fall on you in armloads, instead of being staggered to spread the workload, and quick fixes are the name of the day, never time to solve problems for the long-term because you're always so far behind that you have to grab whatever temporary solution can be completed most quickly, etc.

Gidget's boss Vela is, like the rest of TeamChaos, young and well-intentioned, but presumably lacking experience in more stable corporate culture that would help her put a stop to the madness.

I don't think any of the ChaosManagers have the experience they should have, nor do any of them seem to understand that the job of management is to manage things. They're all so busy having meetings and making "strategic decisions" that none of them ever gets any work done.

And each "management decision" inevitably gets lost in a riptide of proposed changes, so that no one knows from one week to the next precisely what our priorities actually are. I haven't met anyone who is focusing on the day-to-day operations with the kind of attention needed to make sure implementation is being carried through either well or completely.

Everyone's plotting the course, but no one's actually sailing the boat.

The rest of the Argonuts are still pretty much of a blur to me. I might have figured out the names of two or three people, but that's about it. (No, I'm not a "people person" either, but I'm smart enough not to spend my time in jobs that require that particular skill.) A few faces are starting to come clear in the fog, but none of them very quickly.

What about on the Old Job Front?

Well, She called today. They're having yet another emergency. She somehow managed to crash their new survey software, so they're back to using the old program, the one She never bothered to learn to use. Naturally, She won't be able to do the job they have due on Monday, and She wanted to know if I could give them some time this weekend to do it.

Never burn bridges. I keep repeating that to myself, over and over. I was reciting it like a mantra when I heard myself telling Her that yes, I'd take the time this weekend to do their coding for them. Sigh.

Still. Extra money is extra money, right?

I heard from Buehler today also. His work not only pays better, it's a lot easier, so I was happy to say yes when he asked if I could do some stuff for him.

/End Old Job Front

Sadly, I heard from DiamondGirl that her SO is very ill. I'm thinking of her frequently and sending good wishes.

Not a lot of plans for the weekend, aside from the aforementioned free-lance work.

It's supposed to be gorgeous on Sunday. I'd like to think of something spectacular to do, but at the moment my brain is empty.