Friday, August 26, 2011

Way To Keep It Interesting!

In a week of crazy: earthquakes, insane baseball game scores (22-9 Yankee's win), and now a hurricane, do we need this? I mean really?  What.  Is.  Happening???  As I type this, the sun is shining and I have just returned from getting a few cases of water and snacks at the store.  My house is in a flood zone along the Brooklyn waterfront.  We're not leaving it.  Besides, by the time it hits here I'm thinking it will be a category 2 with some strong rain and winds however, my actual concern is the flooding after the storm blows through.  We've had a lot of rainfall this year so far and I'm not sure how much more water we can take on without it overflowing.  But, as we have proven in the past and will continue to do so in the future, New Yorkers are a resilient bunch of people.  We'll weather this just like any other day.  That's the best part about these things, in the aftermath of a blizzard, a blackout, an earthquake, even a terrorist attack, most people step up and pitch in, and I have no doubt that will happen on Sunday too.  I'll be tracking the storm with everyone else, hoping for a slow down or a course change and watching the rain fall over NYC.  Stay safe out there. 

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Shake, Rattle & Really???

Alrightie then....Just when I thought there had been enough moving and shaking going on in my office over the last several weeks with the strike and all the stuff that went along with it, it was nice to have a day to catch up and take a breather.  But NOOOOO.....as I was sitting at my desk, minding my own business (which on occassion I'm not doing), getting some work done, I noticed I was "moving".  Could it be the delirium of the overtime I have been working kicking in?  Could it be the high protein, low calorie power lunch I had just consumed?  I realized no was the answer to both of these questions as I looked around and noticed that I wasn't the only thing moving...everything was!!  I immediately stood up and all of my co-workers were on the sales floor wondering what was going on, burst pipe? construction accident?  what could it be?....OH, right, earthquake...Excellent!!  My office is on the 11th floor in a mid size building in midtown Manahttan, it's good to know we can withstand some shaking!

But here's what I ask of whomever is in charge of earthquakes out there....Can you please take your earthquakes elsewhere, like say...the arctic tundra where there is zero population and thousands of miles for you to experiment with?  I for one would greatly appreciate that.  Keep the shaking out of my city and sorrounding areas please.  Thanks so much!

Monday, August 22, 2011

It's Over...Or Is It???

Got some excellent news on Saturday morning (as I was coming off a week of long days/nights working)....the strike is over!  Woo! Hoo!! That was such a great text message I got from my boss :)  Then I found out the particulars...the Union would go back to work under their old contract (um, what?) for the time being, until the new one was hammered out.  Ok, so I have a few questions on this...
1.  Is there a time frame for the new contract to be completed or can the Union work indefinitely under the old contract?
2.  Are we allowing ALL of the Union members back to work, or are we penalizing the ones who were unacceptably horrible to their peers?  (you know what the answer SHOULD be).
3.  I have a feeling some of the people who were out there covering the abandoned jobs may feel a little jilted that the company is willing to take the Union back under the former contract...is this a sign that the corporation is bending?  Please let the answer be NO.

While I'm beyond estatic that my friends/co-workers are coming back to work tomorrow, I'm a little skeptical about the outcome of this 2 week nightmare.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that negotiations are addressed expeditiously and a resolution is reached soon, everyone's hard work should not be in vain.  Just sayin'.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Shock And Awe

It's been a long time since I wrote a blog entry, I know, and really there is no excuse as there is plenty to be yelling about these days.  The last few weeks have been insane for me and all of my peers at work.  Our company is on strike and for someone who has never experienced anything remotely close to this, every day is a new hurdle, a new challenge, a new feeling and a new education.  I'm calling this post "shock and awe" and I'm breaking it up into 2 sections....

Shock:  I am whole heartedly shocked that there are human beings that can be so despicable toward the people they work with that it renders me speechless (which is nearly impossible).  I get that strike's bring out the crazy in some people, and I can understand trying to get a message across by picketing and chanting. I am also a big believer in standing up for what you believe in. However in this instance, I question how many of the people who are on strike actually know what they're standing for? Are they educated on the issues their leaders are fighting about?  It makes me wonder....What I cannot understand is the vandalizing the property of the company that they work for, spitting at their peers, heckling, harassing and abusing, throwing objects at others, putting their own families in harms way....WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE???  Not nice. Not nice.  While I am not personally out on the front lines doing the jobs for the people who abandoned them, I am in contact with my friends daily.  The stories are unbelievable and the actions of the strikers are horrific and it makes me furious that this is happening.  Put on your big boy pants and come to the table and negotiate.  This is a different country and a different economy than it was 100 years ago....you cannot expect no change.  And oh by the way, there are 45,000 people out there that would be more than willing to do the jobs you walked out on, no one is indispensable. 

Awe:  I am in constant awe of the people who have have been deployed to cover the jobs that have been abandoned.  With no knowledge of these job functions these individuals have attended intensive trainings and spent countless hours learining these jobs. They have been sent all over the country to fill in, to work insane hours in all kinds of weather, to take the abuse and to not talk back.  They have been pulled away from their families, their daily schedules, their comfort zones.  They work for weeks at a time without days off, 12-18 hour days...and the list goes on. They put up with the harassment, the heckling, the torture...and not one of them has cracked at the pressure (and I'm sure some of them have wanted to).  Some of them have been documenting their experiences in blogs such as: http://eatsreadsthinks.com/.  They amaze me, they make me so proud to know them, they make me protective of their well being and they deserve to be thanked a million times over.  I am amazed by each and every one of them. 

I pray that this strike comes to a resolution soon so I can have my friends back.  I also know that once everyone is back to their "normal" jobs, none of us will ever be the same again.  This has been an amazing experience, one that I would have preferred to have avoided, one that I hope to never experience again.