GE gets good grades

I just have to say that I thank God for my experience at GE. I learnt more working there in 6 months than I have at current company, at almost 2 years. Just the level of expertise involved, the opportunity to be trained at the highest level possible, the benefits, the fringe benefits, the opportunity to participate in the community, in affinity groups, and the professionalism of the staff, HR included was just always at an all-time high. It was superb and then some.

I would have loved to stay. I would love, relish, consider immensely going back there. And that says a lot for me because I never look back.

There's this saying that when you marry two husbands (or wives) you get to know which one is better than the other. After having worked there and working here and several other places, I've realized that companies don't get any better than GE. I say this with every fiber of my being in all honesty. Right down to the professionalism displayed in their reviews, not this subjective nonsense that we deal with, some manager wakes up, has a bad day and decides to write you up.

Nope, someone needs to tell them that is not right. The power of command in the employer needs to be quenched.

I just thought to say this because I occassionally bash some companies and complain about their poor customer service, or just their bad hiring practices and interviewing skills. But this time, I am giving a shout out to one company that I've experienced who has it right. And if you boast a very wide spread resume like I do, you would know that means much coming from me.

So until I work for companies like Exxon, Chevron, Pfizer, Cisco and most importantly, the UN, GE gets good grades.

If you need me, I'll be somewhere getting my head examined

So, it's been awhile.

And this might be a very short post too.

Things have been crazy busy. Good. The Not So Good. And the Boring. All Mixed into Anita.

The Good - Ehmm...I'll come back to this.

The Not So Good. Okay, let me just say that my company is not loving my jokes right now. And I am not loving them at all either. Have I ever. Got into a little tiff with my boss, just like I had dreamt ever so long ago, that caused me to say certain things to her and I said a lot. She apparently said, that some people think my jokes are a bit crude, taken the wrong way or rub them the wrong way. In summary, even with the economy failing, some companies still do not have a sense of humor about anything. And it's just as well that I expected this from them because they have never really been the cheerful bunch. It's a very somber company. This was what I met when I came in and I tried to liven things up, for myself and everyone else. But apparently, they are not having it. I am not having it either. I am just so sick of employers nitpicking at things that do not exist just so they can find an excuse to short you some money or just because, life has put the power of employment in their hands. All that power what do they with it.

So I will keep all my jokes and snide remarks for my blog where it's much appreciated. Until the UN (or any other international organization, Dear God please) calls. And they will call. My prayers will not be left on the roadside.

The Boring. I had a host of places to go to last week. But I just didn't go to any of them. Valentine's was pretty much as I expected. Lackluster. I went for this BitterBall thingy on Valentine's night. Cute Irish guy hit on me but I (and in turn, he) didn't ask for a number. Had fun dancing the singles blues away. Met this nice girl who looked ever so young but turned out to be a lot older than me. It gave me some comfort that I was not the only one treading the single's scene. We (me and the nice girl) exchanged numbers. See...I go out and instead I meet women, not men.


The Good. I am going to try to be more positive and hopeful. Yeah, shocker there. Just because. Like they say, everything that has a beginning has an end...the end will come, sometimes I wonder if it will be the perfectly scripted ending of which I desire or will it be the horror classic. I don't know. All I know is that the end will surely come.

Toby Lightman at Smiths Olde Bar

Saw Toby Lightman at Smiths Olde Bar on Wednesday night. The schedule was a little off. Show was supposed to start at 8 with 2 opening acts on their guitars. The opening acts didn't even get on stage until 9 pm. By the time she got on stage, way too many wasted people, kept hollering, "I Love You, Toby" scared her to bits. The whole show was supposed to be this whole stripped down act, all the acts really, including Toby were only on their guitars singing live of course and unaccompanied, strictly acoustic.

I loved it.

But for some hitches here and there with the venue, totally enjoyed it for an uneventful Wednesday.

Toby Lightman

Saw Toby Lightman at Smiths Olde Bar on Wednesday night. Schedule a little off. Show to start at 8 with 2 opening acts on their guitars. The opening acts didn't even get on stage until 9 pm. The whole show was supposed to be this whole stripped down act, all the acts really including Toby were only on their guitars singing live of course and unaccompanied.

I loved it.

But for some hitches here and there with the venue, totally enjoyed it for an uneventful Wednesday.

four hours of sleep

I slept a total of about four hours last night. I thought I'd be useless today but I am still going well at 4.50pm. Not bad! I had Shia LaBeouf raunchy dreams for about 2 hours. Yes, I find his inert rage remotely attractive. The other night it was Cam Gigandet. Don't ask!

I saw the most depressing movie of all last night - The Visitor - and it just put me in this depressing state. It didn't make anything better when I finished off my evening with One Missed Call. I just lay in bed trying to sleep, and I couldn't help but start to cry. I cried because, I remember a year ago, Gosh, it doesn't even feel like it's been a bloody year, a year ago, I was debating taking the July Bar Exams. I thought I didn't have enough time to read, I couldn't afford the extra classes, registration for the exam, even the travel costs for the exam. And a year later, I still cannot. It's like not much has changed in a year. Not much ever changes in my life in a year. A year later, no one calls me and I don't call anyone. I am not moving forward, just standing still. And time moves so fucking fast in this country. I remember turning 30 like it was yesterday and in 4 months I turn 35. WTF?!

So I started to cry, soft whimpers. And I had to summon some imaginary guy to try to make me forget my depressing mood. And Shia it was. Very effective too!

I still have fears about work. I had a nightmare a while back that my boss told me something bad about my job. I earnestly reject that! But there's this slight overcast, like a dark shadow just looming in this era of erratic layoffs. Right now, it is so much an employer's market. When is it ever an employee's market? That's when I want to be around...in the era of the employee's. Right now, the power of command vested in the employer has become increasingly heightened to the extent of drunkenness leading to erratic and unjustified layoffs.

But I ramble...

File this under companies that have pissed me off

On Wednesday, I had the slight misfortune of attending a network event at the W Buckhead Hotel held by the Atlanta Young Professionals. Misfortune not for the event itself, but the venue. It was held at Whiskey Blue which I thought, would be a good idea, never been, chance to see what it's like and chance to mix and mingle with other professionals.

At first when I parked my car, the valet communicated to me that it would be validated since I was going to the restaurant. But there are 2 restaurants. A regular restaurant and a bar. Who knew? Certainly not I? So I attend my thing, have a very expensive martini and I get ready to leave. There in lies the problem. I went to my hostess at the bar for validation, she said, "Oh, they'll take care of that downstairs." Went to the concierge, and she expressed that I would be required to pay since I didn't dine in the restaurant. Why the fuck didn't someone tell me this when I parked my car? So yours truly, in this age of 600,000 jobs lost had to pay some hotel $12 to park my car for an hour and half.

So I wrote the hotel's customer service and they sent it to the manager, and this is what the manager had to tell me:

Dear Ms. ****,

Thank you for expressing your concerns with regard to the parking rates at our property. We are in process of working with area parking lots to secure additional options for self parking at a reduced rate based on feedback such as yours. Because the amount of parking space we have on site is limited, the configuration of our parking lot requires it to be fully valet. I apologize that this gave you a negative perception and hope that once other options are available you will consider returning to the hotel.
Thanks again for your feedback.

Warm Wishes

Rod Renner I
Director of Operations I W Atlanta - Buckhead
3377 Peachtree Rd. NE,
Atlanta, GA, 30326
T 678 500 3131
F 678 500 3105

So I call him and all he does is apologize. Yes, but I am still shit out of luck for $12 and you are still giving me a bullshit response.

Dear Mr. R, I would be glad when your business dies just like the rest of them are slowly dying in this climate, then maybe, just maybe, next time you'd think twice about how to treat customers in a shaky economic climate.

Unfortunate First Date

I went for an unfortunate lunch date this afternoon.

Unfortunate, because there are some dates you really shouldn't go on, but for the sake of all things humane, also known as trying not to congeal on the shelf, you try to let yourself out a bit. Not good. I can tell that I will be on this shelf awhile. I've sort of known this since my college days when I couldn't get people to commit to me, and there was always one thing or the other going wrong with my relationships. I knew that chances of me getting hooked just may take a good long while. No kidding, Lord.

I bumped into this guy, much older guy on Sunday. He forced me to give him my number and I did. Should not have! Promised not to give strange men on the street my number. So, he's been hounding me to be his girlfriend since. From the first phone call, believe it or not. He doesn't even know who I am. He is a much older guy who's retired and lives on his pension with "grown kids". When did it come to this Lord? I am now "dating" men with grown children. Am I that old?

So back to the unfortunate date. I give the guy a chance to take me to lunch and he offers me Chick Fil A. Right then and there I should have known that was a bad idea. But, I went. He arrived. Not hungry. I am. I order the No. 1 meal. He pays for it and proceeds to count the exact change to the cashier. I just remember that vividly as I stood there thinking, has it come to this. Because he is a lot older, everyone stared at us. Like I was lunching with my daddy. I had to tell him point blank. I cannot date you because of your age. He was visibly upset. Why would he be visibly upset?

I enjoy the finer things of life. I love fine dining restaurants. When I am really in a good mood, or in the mood to put myself in a good mood, I dine in a 5 star restaurant. I actually have a list of them that I go to for different things: some for their wine, another for the dessert, another just for the ambiance, food not so great, and then, some for the appetizer (maybe their calamari is to die for). Why, such a high flying, high taste having person like myself would meet someone that would want to take me to Chick Fil A, I don't know. And would feel offended because I am not impressed or interested is beyond me.

If you need me I shall be on the shelf, congealing or dining at the nearest 5 star restaurant.

A Suspicious Mind

I feel like I need to say something but I don't know what to say.

It's been pretty much the same. Things are quiet at work and at home. At work is what bothers me. Like an icy quiet of monotones. Deeply disturbing. Almost makes you suspect everything around you. When people say hi, you wonder, is that the Hi to someone they will soon be saying bye too, or are they just not enthused to see me. Is it time to make other arrangements, but what other arrangements can I possibly make? The whole world is at a standstill. No country is safe from economic crisis. Not even, Iceland.

I haven't felt like writing about anything. When I first started this journal, I promised myself that it wouldn't be filled with day to day accounts of events such as, woke up, went to the mall, bought some shoes, went home, went dancing. But lately, it has been. I mainly did that in terms of trying to capture those times when I did go out and do something I wanted to remember, so years from now, I would read my journal and remember, so that was the night of the One.org ball. Hmm...

But so far, this year, nothing memorable has occurred so in lacking anything of substance to put down, asides from my sordid thoughts, I haven't felt like updating with daily ho-hum accounts. Nothing memorable, so far. Hope it's not going to set the pace for the rest of the year.