End of an era

I have a new job. Cocks.

It had to happen sometime. I’d been expecting it to happen a lot, lot sooner than this. I’ve been waiting for the clinical managerial spotlight to turn itself on our group and someone to say, “hang on, what exactly are we paying all those people to do there?”. Eventually it happened and three of us were given the boot. Grr.

I should qualify the “boot” comment a bit. I’m still working for the same crappy company, just a different team – and on a different site too. In fact, it’s the site I left (with some relief) 8 years ago to move to my old (dossy) job. Ironically, this new team is moving back to that other site soon anyway.

Things have been a bit strained since the New Year, as we’ve been under scrutiny in relation to the work we do (or in my case, don’t do) and who pays for it. Lots of stupid cross-company cross-charging and internal politics involved. Our own, fairly useless, boss has been dropping hints for several months, circulating job vacancy emails around the team and inviting us to jump before somebody with a large boot pushed us. Naturally everyone ignored such invitations. And so, three weeks ago, three of us received an email from him telling us to report to this other team the following Monday for a secondment of supposedly 2 months in duration. Yeah right. An email! Our cock of a boss didn’t even have the guts to tell us face to face. What an arse.

All change then. For the last 3 years I’ve been strolling into work late (usually midday), doing no work (seriously) apart from keeping myself amused by looking at the internet all day, and then going home. I’ve had a good run I suppose. Now I have to get into work on time (grr) and actually work in exchange for a wage. It’s not right at all. The work I’m doing is desk-based remote IT support. I spend time ringing people up and trying to talk them through fixing whatever problem they have. It’s not difficult work, just a lot to learn. Our training consisted of sitting with an established team member for 4 days, watching what they were doing (and not having it explained very well, I might add). On the Friday of the first week we were unleashed on the punters. Pick it up as you go along. I get the impression that the group was gagging for new bodies – in fact, I know so, as they came on poaching missions to my former group several years ago when they had just been set up. They didn’t get any takers, I might add. It’s also not surprising to find that a large number of the people working on the team are contractors. I gather they have a problem keeping staff once they’ve got hold of them. I wonder why? Maybe it’s because the work is a pile of cack. And it’s a constant stream.

Oh well, I’ve been there two weeks now. It’s not a terrible job. The other people I’m working with are ok and we have a laugh. But it’s not exactly the kind of work I want to do. It’s been a bit of a culture shock too, having to get up earlier than usual. My nocturnal body clock is still set to doss time, which means I haven’t adjusted to an earlier bedtime yet so I’ve been bloody knackered in the mornings. Worst of all, we don’t have internet access on these PCs. That’s just cruel. Also, if I want to cycle to work I need to get up and on my way by 9, as I need to have a shower once I arrive. I’d stopped bothering in my old job as I rarely had to step out of the office so it didn’t matter if I was sitting in shorts and a t-shirt all day. Already I’ve had to drive to work a few times when I would have cycled in my old job. That’s costing me miles… the new office is a couple of miles closer to home as well, so I’m losing about 5 miles per day for the cycling graph every time.

Strange times. I was hanging on at my old team waiting to see if they’d offer another round of voluntary redundancies. Now that I’ve been moved to this other team, there’s no chance of that. The offer of a room in Hebden Bridge still stands. It’s decision time. I should just hand in my notice and bugger off over there. It’s either that or stay there and become institutionalised.

In other news, the PhD student came back from abroad after Easter and contact was renewed. I saw her twice over the Bank Holiday weekend at the start of May and ended up staying the night at her place. Dirty boy! Thing were a bit strange though and I think I probably blundered into a situation it was best not to (ex-boyfriend and stuff). Erm, I haven’t seen her since then, although we’ve been in touch electronically. So it goes.

And finally, in the best development in what had been a busy month of May, my group spent a weekend in Headingley a few weeks ago recording our long-awaited debut single. It sounds flippin brilliant. It should be out in the autumn, hopefully.