Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Freedon of choice is what you got...
Freedom from choice is want you want (Devo). Suddenly I am in demand. When school recommences, I was going back to school myself, at least for a semester or two. I wanted to collect enough credits to apply for promotion at some future date. I also wanted to borrow a little money to pay down my credit cards and otherwise consolidate debt. I didn't of course, and I'm come to the conclusion I am done with school for better or worse. Furthermore, the inherent advantages of my job are under subtle but realistic threat, but these things were always the case. I cannot forsee the gravy train barreling on forever. Part of this threat is demographics. Gen-Y has more or less run it's course. All the teens, polluting our culture with Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, have become adults, and the generation behind them (Gen-Z?) is much smaller, similar to the Boomers and Gen-X. As such, the college will have a precipitous drop in enrollment growth, if not an outright decline in population.
All of this means that the school is facing lower revenues, and major pension and contractual obligations to it's two unions. One of those unions seems to be making a severe misstep,and after that is complete I wonder if we are next in the crosshairs. The next round of negotiations will be telling. There is a silver lining to all of this: I needn't be as beholden to my job as originally thought. I'm presently reading "the Four Hour Workweek"by Tim Ferriss, and it's an excellent primer for life beyond the college. There is much prep work to using the final stratigies of the book, and those would need to be enacted now.
This brings me to the topic of the post. It's almost time to move, and I'm off to sign the contract tomorrow. Evidently there's another offer floating around somewhere in the ether, and I need to nip it in the bud. I was going to dedicate this entire post to the topic, but it's really just a blip in the grand scheme. Then again, what isn't? Anyway, it's late. More when I wake up.
Well, it's been nearly a week since I started this post, so here goes. The apartment purchase is cruising along, but I've done nearly all I can do for the moment. I need to be interviewed by the board (shudder) and prepare for the move. I laid out my deposit, and now I wait. More on Monday, and we'll know.
Alex's trip has been going well, and we got a side trip to Niagara Falls as a bonus. The trip is nice and appropriate for a 15 yo. We came; we saw; we spent shitloads of money. We took lots of pictuers, and bought junk as proof of our wanderings. It was fun, but all the driving kicked my ass. I'm off to Albany tomorrow, so Alex needed to go back to Bethehem tonight.
As for the intoductory paragraph, I've been hired as a reader for Faire, and it should be fun, if a little strange. I get to hang with Rennies again, and I can't complain. I can also use the extra money. I did thin only after discovering the realtor's course I was planning to take starts in Nov. so I have the ability to do both and prepare for an alternate career should the college go south.
I'm not sure this is good idea, but I can't think of a valid reason not to work the Faire. Even the surgery I was planning can't happen till October, SO I have the need time. I'll also be living much closer, hopefully. Anyway, it's late and I need some sleep for the drive up. More tomorrow night.
All of this means that the school is facing lower revenues, and major pension and contractual obligations to it's two unions. One of those unions seems to be making a severe misstep,and after that is complete I wonder if we are next in the crosshairs. The next round of negotiations will be telling. There is a silver lining to all of this: I needn't be as beholden to my job as originally thought. I'm presently reading "the Four Hour Workweek"
This brings me to the topic of the post. It's almost time to move, and I'm off to sign the contract tomorrow. Evidently there's another offer floating around somewhere in the ether, and I need to nip it in the bud. I was going to dedicate this entire post to the topic, but it's really just a blip in the grand scheme. Then again, what isn't? Anyway, it's late. More when I wake up.
Well, it's been nearly a week since I started this post, so here goes. The apartment purchase is cruising along, but I've done nearly all I can do for the moment. I need to be interviewed by the board (shudder) and prepare for the move. I laid out my deposit, and now I wait. More on Monday, and we'll know.
Alex's trip has been going well, and we got a side trip to Niagara Falls as a bonus. The trip is nice and appropriate for a 15 yo. We came; we saw; we spent shitloads of money. We took lots of pictuers, and bought junk as proof of our wanderings. It was fun, but all the driving kicked my ass. I'm off to Albany tomorrow, so Alex needed to go back to Bethehem tonight.
As for the intoductory paragraph, I've been hired as a reader for Faire, and it should be fun, if a little strange. I get to hang with Rennies again, and I can't complain. I can also use the extra money. I did thin only after discovering the realtor's course I was planning to take starts in Nov. so I have the ability to do both and prepare for an alternate career should the college go south.
I'm not sure this is good idea, but I can't think of a valid reason not to work the Faire. Even the surgery I was planning can't happen till October, SO I have the need time. I'll also be living much closer, hopefully. Anyway, it's late and I need some sleep for the drive up. More tomorrow night.
