Back To The Grindstone...

After 5 months without a job, and used to live a life style like Tiger Woods (well, actually at a Jr. Tiger Woods level), then several of mine mistresses became restless, because they just staying at home playing chess, watching with me old war and John Wayne movies, eating generic popcorn from Costco... since I can't afford to take them out to shopping, go out dining - except when Mac Donald or KFC has 99-cents meal promotion. They all gang up on me and forced me to look for work, so one day as I drove by a shopping mall and saw a sign on the street, saying that I could made $20K a month by just call a number they provided. Thanks God that it didn't say "hurry or the opportunity will be gone".


"Whoa!" I thought that with my new income of $240,000 a year, I can afford to have another mistress (or two), or perhaps replacing those has treated me badly - even though I know deep, very deep down I am a bad boy, a very bad boy!


I wrote this piece just few days ago, on April 1st - you know it's a April Fool Day, right? HAH!HAH!HAH!!!
Hey, even on Friday April 2nd - when I showed up at the new company's headquarter for the New Employee Orientation training;  and with a straight face, I introduced myself to the receptionist with "Hi, my name is James, James Bond!" . After a few second with surprise, then she laughing out loud as she saw a big grin on my face, and she played it along:
- Hi Mr. Bond, what can I do for you today?
- Pssst...don't say it too loud, other will know who I am, for now just call me "Sam", and I am here for  the New Employee Orientation session, ok?


Yeap! I am now actually back to work for a new "old" company that has been established  since October 12, 1847, which somehow generated an eerie feeling about another "ancient" institute created on September 25, 1889, that I used to work for and now ... pooofs...is gone - or actually had been take over by another bigger company. It's even more weird that the new company I am now working for, assigned me to work to support the same group that before I left the previous company! Go figure.

After taking more than 2-months off for travel and relaxing, I started sending out resume to apply for several opening positions posted on the Dice.com, Monster.com, etc...However, just as I suspected - many Job Agencies are typically post many "ghost" positions in order to collect as much as resume as possible, so in turn they can boasted and claim with real company searching for people that they have the largest database of available and qualified candidates.
Anyway, just after a month I really started looking for job, I got 5 referrals that all eventually lead to interviews and actually meet people doing the hiring. All of the referrals were from my former colleagues & friends, which tell me that I got more valuable, intangible good wills and trust in friendship more than with the head hunter, who are just looking more after their wallet than for my career.
The first company that  I had an interview with  - at first they said they were looking for a contractor then after reviewing my resume, they changed their mind, saying that they now wanted an FTE, which I told them that it was fine with me, then after the interview, they told my friend that they're now looking for an DBA with Analysis Services experience rather than a pure Database Admin. expert like I am. I wouldn't miss them as much since the driving to work is almost an hour each way, and they allowed employee to telecommute only one day a week. I was seriously "spoiled" by  WAMU, especially near the end of it's era, when I worked exclusive 4 or 5 days from home, only went to downtown to have an meeting with client or something that can't be done at home.
The next company I interviewed with was over the phone, because the company was out of state, and with a good referral from close friend plus impressed with my background and experienced, I got through the first two interviews easily before they passed me through a third one, this time was more technical questions as I expected. Even sometime I have difficult to hear the questioner's accent, I think I answered all the questions pretty well, except a couple easy one that somehow my mind went blank (thanks for a long vacation trip in Vietnam of course!). Before the 3rd interview, they already mentioned to me that this position required 90% travel - all over the world - which mostly I don't mind, but when they listed all of the possible place and they mentioned the "Middle East, Dubai, etc...", it rang an silent alarm in my head, thus I was not bothered when they didn't response at all after more than 2 weeks.


In the meantime between those 2 companies I had interview above, another friend of mine - who was still provided supporting JPMC - land another full-time position with another company, he asked me whether I would like to to take over the support until the system go away before then end of 2010. Hey, why not - I told him. The next week or so, a quick interview with his boss and the hiring was rolling, before that weekend arrive, the new company now I worked for offered me a short-term contract and take over my friend's job. I told the manager that give me next week to let him know whether I will take his offer, because I was scheduled to have a 2nd interview with a local company - also from a friend's referral. Anyhow, the interview with the hiring manager at the retail company went so well that he wanted to bring me in a next day or two - for the final interview with his team, while he will asked the HR Rep. to start the paper work ready, because they needed a replacement as soon as possible. Perhaps, it was fate or karma that I was either "lucky" or "bad luck" that I mentioned to him about the offer from another company, and asked whether he could speed up the process so I can make a decision within next week. Well,  I didn't heard from him or from  the company's recruiter since, until more than a week after I already accepted the offer from the company that my friend referred me to.


This remind me the scenario that happened to me almost 9 years ago, that back in 2002  I had an interview at WAMU for a DBA position, which after 3 grueling interviews with the whole team - everybody like to have me join their team (including a lead who later joined another group that I replaced him a year later) - except the hiring manager, somehow he thought that I was"over qualified" and won't stay long. A year later, after a friend of mine send another manager also at WAMU my resume. I have an interview with him, and with 3 others persons, and I got an offer right on the spot.   Every now & then, I ran into Peter (the manager that didn't want to hire me previously) I just smile and greet him, and I was often asked  by one of his people, name Scott ( which BTW, we used to worked together at Boeing), to help him with the SQL Server or sometime with Oracle issues - one  which I still remembered that: they had one application using SQL Server which collected data from Oracle's database, but  for over 3 months, they can't make the connection between two platforms to work. Lucky for him that I know both Oracle & SQL Server, and it took me only couple hours to make it work for them.


It was lucky for me too - a BIG lucky one - it turned out that ever since -I've worked for a best manager that many (well, may be just me) often dream of, and of course - much better than Peter, the manager that my friend Scott said not so many get along well with him. The rest was history.


So the moral story is (well, I just made it up! :) :
After I left Boeing in 1999 and after having many, many job search & interviews, I learn that it's not just experience and skills, but also luck (or fate) - to land a job. I have known many good people with plenty of experience & talents, but still remain unemployed last longer than some other with less qualifications than them. However, once both groups able to get in, the one with true talent & experience almost always last longer than those who has less qualified. It's life and that the way it is, so why feel depress or stress when others get a job and I am not? I just do my best and let The MAN UPSTAIRS worry the rest...piece of cake, right ? LOL

Now, should I am glad for having a job or I just go
ahead and shoot myself, eh?

BULETTIN NEWS:


Just got a latest news from FoxNews channel that list all of the women links to Tiger Woods . Boy! when I will be 95, I would be proud to have such list attached to my name, but then again Kathy wouldn't let me live that long...