Productive in the sense that I managed to get several things working I’d wanted to for a long time and I only managed to break one or two things in the process. Go me!
The other morning when I stepped off the elevator, I managed to break my iPhone’s headphones. Now, as you’re scratching your head as to how I managed to do that, consider that when only half tucked into a pocket, the headphones form a giant loop that might catch on things such as the rails inside the elevator, and that someone intent on getting to their desk in order to consume the breakfast tucked away in their bag might perhaps not notice the loop caught on something. Picture that for a moment. I only managed to do it in front of three other people, too, so I had that going for me as well.
I’ve been working on setting up a VPN connection for the firm, which allows for a secure connection from the Internet to files and services inside the firm’s firewall. Good for working remotely, but it’s not as nice as actually being in the office and connected directly to the network. Close enough for government work, or our case, legal work. In setting that up (which only took me the better part of a year, on and off) I managed to somehow break the firm’s timekeeping software, but I managed to fix it before anyone complained. Again, go me. I was on a roll for doing stupid things, but hey, at least I ultimately got it working.
Hanne’s been very busy studying for the bar, so busy that I feel like even though we live in the same house and sleep in the same bed that I haven’t seen much of her for the last couple of months. She studies all day long for the most part (well, at least she says she’s studying while I’m at work, but I have no reason to doubt her), then studies into the evening while we watch some TV. Seven days a week, all day long. I wish I had her determination, but then again, that’s probably one of the reasons I didn’t go to law school. That and my lack of interest in becoming a lawyer, but let’s go with that determination thing for now.
Our firm has largely been able to weather the current recession, or at least I thought it was until last week when we laid off two people, including one of my coworkers from the IT department. That wasn’t very surprising, but honestly, if layoffs in IT were coming I assumed it would be me just because I’m the newest. On the other hand, I probably make less that my coworker who was laid off and I can do much of what he does but he can’t do everything I do, so there’s always that, too. We had a staff meeting yesterday in which the Executive Director and the Managing Partner laid everything on the table and we found out that we’re not getting raises or bonuses, but I figured that would be the case. I actually assumed that we’d be getting cuts, but as it turned out the attorneys all got the first pay cuts and they’re hoping that they won’t have to extend them to the staff as well. Sigh.
They also said that it was the first round of layoffs, which I hope doesn’t imply by definition that a second is on its way. Hanne and I have discussed the possibility of me working part-time while she works full-time (as a sort of “house husband” if you will), so if things start getting worse perhaps I can put that on the table and do my part to help the firm out. I’d prefer to go to part-time rather than taking a pay cut, personally. What with there being only two people in IT now, that may not be an option for me because that would leave only one person around at all times. Still worth pursuing, though. I could also conceivably do some of my project work from home and only bill for the hours that I work, so that might be an option if they’d still like work getting done even if I’m “off” for the day.
Of course, with a layoff in IT that means that we’re all the more busy as we have to pick up some of the slack, but it hasn’t been too bad so far. After all, we had to lay him off precisely because we haven’t been that busy. Honestly, it’s a bit surreal. I don’t recall ever working in a place that’s laid someone off before. That I can recall, every person that’s ever left a place I’ve worked for has either left for a different job, moved, or been fired for performance reasons. I’m surprised I managed to go this long without seeing it.
Our England trip is less than a week away. Actually, at this time next week we’ll be in London already. Yay! My new digital camera that I ordered and my Dad reimbursed me for as my early birthday present arrived today, so I’m looking forward to having as spiffy new camera to take with me. My old camera was 2 megapixels and needed 4 AA batteries and my new one is 10 megapixels and only needs 2 AA batteries, so it’s definitely an upgrade. Takes pictures much faster, too, but I guess I can still file that under “upgrade.”
Yesterday was the day I chose to go to the 2009 Oregon Brewer’s Festival, and with my Dad and Hanne’s Dad we had quite the good time sampling beers. I had a bit too much, but I regret nothing. Hey, you only live once, right? I was asleep by about 8:30 last night, and I can tell you, I slept really well. At the moment, though, we’re sitting in a McMenamins and drinking beer. Hanne is, of course, studying. Not much more of that left, but she still has to do it until next Wednesday. Almost there….