Throwback Blog: Work Sat Jan 10, 2015

Blogger's Note: Throwback blogs are blogs from my past. I start posting past blogs reflecting what I wrote. It's like my "A Second Look" blogs for which I give myself feedback.

Today's throwback blog is titled Work Sat Jan 10, 2015 written on Jan 10, 2015. I was a Data Entry Specialist contractor at a tech company making network servers. I supported a Senior Quality Reliability Engineer. I share my thoughts remembering the time in bullet format.

*I didn't take any vacation time during my six months. I worked on Dec 26, 2014. The company was closed on Dec 24-25, 2014.

*I never ate frozen hash browns for breakfast after my contractor was satisfied thereafter.

*I could have purchased a Calm Radio lifetime subscription for $300.00. I didn't pay because I thought Calm Radio goes out of business. Calm Radio still exists.

*A mistake I vowed never to repeat was waking up late. I must sleep early on the night before I work the next day.

*The language tone convinced me today I was unprofessional. Nobody cared about my commute. The commute text sounded like I complained too much. However, my job was data entry. The job was unexciting.

*The co-worker who was fired didn't know the Excel VLOOKUP function. Only God knew how she was hired. The interview process is more sales pitch or selling oneself and less knowledge and experience. My intuition tells me today's interview system incompetent workers are hired even though the interview exams should eliminate the unqualified candidates.

I forgot to mention security was present during the firing.

*"I met with the SAP administrator for a meeting explaining the SAP export problems. He explained he must follow a procedure including submitting an IT ticket and informing his management. I anticipated a long wait for the SAP enhancements. I'm required to test the enhancements in the development side."

There were procedures. Procedures were procedures. There were rules. Rules were rules. His department didn't revolve around my SAP export problems. I waited.

*". . . there are too many job openings in today's tough job market requiring too much experience. Many job openings don't require lots of experience."

There are too few job openings in today's tough job market requiring too much experience. I still believe many of the few job openings require little experience.

Wed Dec 31: I ate Safeway bagels for the first time working at the company. I purchased frozen hash browns for New Year's Day breakfast. I stored the hash browns in the coffee room freezer.

The audit continued today. Be slow. Be calm. I listened to music from calmradio.com. I checked my Facebook from time to time before lunch.

Thur Jan 1, 2015: Happy New Year. Company was closed.

Fri Jan 2: I arrived to work at 8:45am. I forgot to shave. The building was dead. I was ready to upload the audits from one of the vendors. It should be a smooth export to the SAP database. I spoke too soon. There were problems with the upload and there was a minor error on the interposer template. I emailed the SAP administrator documenting the problems with screenshots. I troubleshooted and corrected the interposer template. I listened to podcasts throughout the day. I listen to more podcasts and less music at work.

The cafeteria closed minutes after I ordered chicken tenders. One out of three stations and the salad bar were open.

Mon Jan 5: I experienced trouble waking up. I was ready physically. I wasn't ready mentally. My mind needed more rest. It was worth the additional rest waking up at 7am instead of 6am. I arrived to work at 9am.

I ate my granola bar in the coffee room. I small talked with the engineer I don't know his name from another department. The conversations included movies and our Christmas holiday.

I saw facility workers installing two cigarette receptacles at the court yard walking to the cafeteria.

My engineer emailed me more RMAs from another vendor to enter in the SAP database. The additional RMAs and the SAP export problems gave me optimism my contract is extended beyond four months.

Tue Jan 6: Another 9am-6pm workday. I was ready physically. I wasn't ready mentally. My mind needed more rest. The morning commute took 30 minutes. I experienced my first red light after El Camino Real. My prior morning commutes the intersections between El Camion Real and before my left turn were 100% green lights.

A co-worker was fired in my work area. It was the first time I was present during a firing. My past company firings I was informed after the employee exited the building. I gave her the extension cord I borrowed and I gave her my contact information. Other co-workers gave her their contact information. She was escorted by someone in human resources. A facilities worker pushed a cart to assist in taking her belongings. The three workers exited using the service elevator.

I met with the SAP administrator for a meeting explaining the SAP export problems. He explained he must follow a procedure including submitting an IT ticket and informing his management. I anticipated a long wait for the SAP enhancements. I'm required to test the enhancements in the development side.

My evening commute took 24 minutes. It was the first time my evening commute was shorter than my morning commute.

Wed Jan 7: Another 30 minute morning commute. I woke up at 7am for the third time in a row. I was awake mentally. I was still tired physically. I went to bed earlier last night. I must be adjusting from my holiday sleep schedule. I contemplated skipping the gym. No skip. I worked out at the company's gym.

Another worker entered the elevator area 3-5 seconds before me arriving to work. He held the elevator door open when I entered the elevator area. My thanks. I pay it forward the next time I'm ahead of another worker entering the elevator area.

Thur Jan 8: I was motivated to wake up at 6am because I want a 20 minute or less morning commute. Today's commute was 17 minutes.

My engineer told me more background story on the RMAs missing data points. He said the problems with the RMA data and the server component database existed before he started at the company. I thought about his story minutes after I sat at my cubicle. I realized why some job openings require lots of experience. One reason is the successful candidate must solve problems on day one. I'm guessing my engineer was hired because he has the experience to solve problems in quality control. On the other hand, there are too many job openings in today's tough job market requiring too much experience. Many job openings don't require lots of experience.

I exited the building at 5:15pm. There was still daylight. Daylight is getting longer.

Fri Jan 9: I continued with the audits. I continued listening to podcasts. I continued listening to KNBR 680AM at 3pm. There's no timetable when I complete the audits in full.

My engineer went home early because he had an appointment. He worked at home for the rest of the day.

New Sights And New Experiences

Blogger's Note: May is pic month. I'm catching up posting pics from my smart phone. Enjoy!

I was lucky I got a free bottle water using my intuition. New Mahjong sights a portable automatic table and English translation Japanese Riichi tiles. Another new sight was apartments and industrial buildings by the bay water. Also, I saw 116 minutes from the home dishwasher for the first time. All workers should read The Peter Principle to minimize incompetence and to maximize worker habits. The family ate at a new Chinese restaurant for the first time for which the inside included a big picture.

Throwback Blog: Where Does Bad Management Come From?

Blogger's Note: Throwback blogs are blogs from my past. I start posting past blogs reflecting what I wrote. It's like my "A Second Look" blogs for which I give myself feedback.

Today's throwback blog is titled Where Does Bad Management Come From? written on May 30, 2023. The answer is stress. The absolute answer is stress. The final answer is stress. Him or her must not do everything. He or she stresses out doing everything. Bad life choice. Doing everything is impossible.

I'm not a management consultant. I have no management experience. I speak from intuition. Bad management comes from stressed-out people. Bad management is the symptom from stressed-out people; in other words, stressed-out people cause bad managers.

Stress is one of many causes of bad managers. Another possibility is rough times outside the workplace. Bad managers dealing with family problems. Bad managers with chronic physical ailments. Bad managers tight on personal finances. Bad managers working too many hours. Long commutes, poor diets, lack of sleep, behind in responsibilities, and little leisure activities influence managers becoming bad. Outside influences can affect a bad manager such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, the economy, and politics.

The workers are the punching bag. The workers are the stress relief. The workers are the receiving end of the managers releasing their anger, stress, fatigue, etc. The workers' tolerance is limited. Give it time. The workers respond appropriately quitting, requesting transfers, decreasing quality work, and/or informing the higher up management.

Update On A Past Blog

It took me 2.33 years to proactively continue my financial education. I model financial education from one of my grandfathers in the blog My Two Grandfathers written on Jul 3, 2018.

Stupidity Stress In 1998

I remember one workday in my first job after I graduated from San Jose State University. I took a nap. There was nothing wrong with taking a nap. Everyone experiences an unusual stressful day. Management should allow naps.

However, the unusual stress causing my nap was unjustified. I remembered my stupidity. I was naive as a newly college graduate. My Research Analyst position was unstressful. I maintained a database. I created reports from the proprietary database. I completed special projects a college intern could understand. No Excel was required. No analysis needed. Further, I complained like an immature high school teenager.

There is no comparison between the stress in 1998 and the stress in 2026. The 1998 stress was Disneyland. In particular, the research analysts, business analysts, operations analysts, and data analysts industry Power BI, Tableau, SQL, databases, key performance indicators, text editors, Salesforce, artificial intelligence, dashboards, and programming languages either didn't exist or didn't require to fulfill the responsibilities in the late 1990s. Times have changed. All of the above are required to fulfill the responsibilities today.

Update On A Past Blog

The Riichi City latest promotion is Riichi City Date A Live V introducing Date A Tile Collab. The five questions asked to match a Date A Live V character are below. Each question should tell the Riichi player there are multiple ways to play and to win.

1. What's your mahjong playstyle?
2. What would you do when your hand is a mess?
3. What's your favorite way to win?
4. What's would you do if a discard completes your hand, but it's a low score?
5. What matter most in mahjong?

I included screenshots with my answers and the resulted character below.

The Data A Live V reminded me of two Mahjong Riichi blogs. I'm a beginner player on Nov 12, 2012 from the blog Let's Play Japanese Mahjong (Riichi). I included my Riichi Hands guide from my webpage. I'm an advanced player.

I shared Life Lessons Learned Playing Mahjong Riichi on Mar 18, 2016. Most of the lessons are true today. The lessons are applied either way from Riichi to life or from life to Riichi. One experienced Riichi player told me professions who place fourth two times in a row stop playing for the rest of the day.

Secure The Source

Protect the headquarters. Strengthen the soul. Strengthen the foundation. Watch the root. Get to the center. Start at the beginning. Focus on the core. Find the origin. Who are the parents? Who is the president? Keep an eye at the highest level. Look for the problems at the above. The above is usually at fault. Solve them at the above or use them to solve related problems. Minimize the chances of trouble. The above is usually the start of trouble. Maintenance is required. Everything is at attention. All parties at the above must satisfy their subordinates to maintain peace. Common knowledge. Common wisdom. Nothing new to learn. A review on daily life.

The Bottom Line Is A Big Change Influencer

Here's a typical scenario. A customer, client, patient, or buyer recognizes an error, discrepancy, miscalculation, or exclusion. The party converses professionally to management, agent, doctor, ownership, or seller. The talking points are clear. Tones are calm. Spoken words are mature. Everyone is patient. Unfortunately, sometimes talking points are confusing. Tones are conflicted. Spoken words are shouted. No more patience. Regardless, there is no change. The management party and the like changes nothing even if the customer party and the like are correct.

Follow the pattern. There are more errors, discrepancies, miscalculations, or exclusions. The management party and the like continue changing nothing. It doesn't matter who's correct and who's incorrect. The system is unchanged. Give it time. The best change instigator is money. The catalyst for change is profit. The bottom line is the wake up call. We see changes everyday in the business news. A company misses their forecasts. A company announces changes. We see changes everyday in the sporting news. A professional sports team with multiple losing seasons. Ownership announces coaching changes.

Money talks. Profit talks. Problems are no longer ignored.

Throwback Blog: Throwback Blog: A Mixed Bag Of Everything

Blogger's Note: Throwback blogs are blogs from my past. I start posting past blogs reflecting what I wrote. It's like my "A Second Look" blogs for which I give myself feedback.

Today's throwback blog is titled Throwback Blog: A Mixed Bag Of Everything written on Jun 30, 2021. Today's throwback is the first throwback throwback, a double throwback, or "A Third Look" blog. Also, today's throwback is the first in the 2020s.

The initial throwback is true today. I continue living my life with the corrected mistakes I committed in 2006. There are two updates. The Ryu's Birthday Party Ryu disappeared in Jun 2019. He reappeared in 2023. The Still 5.25% the Federal Reserve interest rates was 5.25%. The interest rates today are 4.75%-5.00%.

I said in the first throwback, "I was mostly depressed. I was mostly unhappy. Most of the happiness was faked." is true today. There were enough good moments to declare my 2006 a good year. Any past blogs stated a good 2006 year were true. My friend Barnes is quoted, "Enjoy it or complain." The paragraph contains two reminders.

Today's throwback blog is titled A Mixed Bag Of Everything written on Aug 11, 2006. The throwback is actually a second look at Aug 2006. I learn from the mistakes I made. I remind myself lessons learned. I refresh my acquired knowledge. I rediscover wisdom. I correct errors. I write changes. I share my feelings. Pardon the bad grammar. I write what happened first. I write my second look next.

Time Just Froze
Summary: I purchased a new watch which replaced my Casio G-Shock I wore since 1996.
Feedback: I purchased another Casio watch. I realized decades later my Casio watch made me look ignorant in terms of fashion and in terms of proper appearance.

New Laptop Bag
Summary: The grip handle on my laptop bag broke. I sent the laptop bag back to the manufacturer because of their lifetime guarantee. The manufacturer sent me a new laptop bag.
Feedback: I still have the laptop bag. I carry the laptop bag using the shoulder strap like a messenger bag.

Pictures Are Memories
Summary: I took pictures from events in Jul and Aug.
Feedback: I took too many pictures. There are lines between taking enough pictures, taking too many pictures, and taking inappropriate pictures. I stop acting like a professional photographer.

Ryu's Birthday Party
Summary: There was a popular anime fan nicknamed Ryu. He hosted an open invitation birthday party. Attendance reached the thirties. Everyone was having fun.
Feedback: Fast forward to 2008. Ryu's true colors were shown in a negative way. His 2008 birthday party attendance was under ten. He came in and out from the anime community. He disappeared completely in Jun 2019.

Anime Overdose (AOD) 2006
Summary: I attended their third AOD anime convention.
Feedback: AOD changed from Anime Overdose to Animation Overdose. 2006 was the year I attended the most anime conventions at six.

Last Night's Dinner
Summary: My mom cooked leftovers last night. She cooked in a lazy way. I cooked with heart. I cooked doing my best.
Feedback: No changes. My mom continues cooking in a lazy way. I cook with heart. I cook doing my best with infinite improvements.

A Quick Filling
Summary: I got a tooth filling before work. The dentist tried to sell Invisalign. My family suspected our dentist needed money.
Feedback: I took his Invisalign hint months later getting braces on Jan 2007 from an orthodontist. The family changed dentists on Aug 2019. His prices increased. His professionalism decreased. I can't explain why we didn't change dentists earlier.

Alphabetically Ascending A-Z
Summary: I listened to 98.5 KFOX's annual tradition playing their entire classic rock library by song title from A to Z.
Feedback: I continue listening to classic rock. Thank you classic rock. Today's music is garbage.

Broken Dryer
Summary: My dad attempted to fix the dryer.
Feedback: Thank you to our former neighbors the late Shermans for giving us their old dryer.

Green Tea
Summary: I drink expensive green tea from a bag costing $17.
Feedback: I stopped drinking green tea one year later.

Work Today
Summary: Today's work day was busy. I admitted my company stinks.
Feedback: I started job searching in mid-2006. I can't explain why I stopped. I resumed job searching in Jan 2007. I found a new job in Mar 2007. I should have more strength and courage to find a job when I realized the company started going downhill earlier in 2006.

Feeling Sick
Summary: I ate a poor lunch. I was fatigued. I got a sore throat.
Feedback: I repeat the lessons I learned years later. Get enough sleep. Exercise. Minimize processed foods. Eat good meals.

Keeping It Cool
Summary: I was sick during a brief heat wave.
Feedback: I'm proactive taking care of myself and my environment on hot days.

Double Day Off
Summary: There were two people in my department. My dumbass co-worker and I. I get a day off at work when he takes a day off away from work.
Feedback: I talked to one of the veteran brokers on my last day. He disclosed my dumbass co-worker had lots of personal problems. He had a good relationship with my dumbass co-worker because they worked in the company for years.

My coworker was a dumbass. He taught me Excel the wrong way. I unlearned his lessons years later. He taught me real estate statistics incorrectly. I was warned multiple times from past managers. Unfortunately, I didn't recognize them.

A Yummy Dinner
Summary: Inflation was the business headline.
Feedback: The Federal Reserve accepts the current inflation as transitory.

Still 5.25%
Summary: The Federal Reserve kept interest rates at 5.25%.
Feedback: Today's interest rates is 0.25%.

Shopping On eBay
Summary: I purchased a new watch and a new laptop battery on eBay.
Feedback: I believe my new watch stopped working around 2008. eBay is a legitimate ecommerce website.

Final thoughts. I ended the blog saying, "Who is to blame or to be faulted for a mixed bag of events the last two weeks? Nobody. I blame nobody for the last two weeks of completing something and more stuff comes to me. I'm going with the flow. . . . I feel mixed emotions." Going with the flow was accurate. Mixed emotions was accurate.

Honestly speaking, I was mostly depressed. I was mostly unhappy. Most of the happiness was faked. I should have been proactive to minimize chances of being depressed and to maximize chances of being happy. The writings were on the walls what I should have done and what I could have done such as find a new job, self-teach myself Excel correctly, and research gym workout plans. Better late than never. All mistakes in Aug 2006 are corrected.

Half Ass Doesn't Work Anymore

I was a high school senior when a classmate told the entire classroom any high school student graduates with a 2.0 grade point average. Students could earn C grades applying 10% of their brain. I don't know if the 10% applies today because high school graduation requirements changed. Expectations are higher. There is more to know. Requirements for college are tougher for college bound students.

Moreover, I'm confident applying up to 50% of the brain doesn't work to be an average success outside school and college. More jobs require more responsibilities. More jobs require more skills. Tell me what jobs Excel are not required. More jobs requiring technical skills require Python programming. Hardware engineers know software engineering, and vice versa. A rising tide raises all boats. Competition is fierce. Retail, janitors, and waiting tables jobs are exempt from the higher expectations and requirements. There is no evolution in cleaning toilets and serving plates with meals.

On The Other Hand, Better Than Nothing

A common sense statement is better to do something compared to do nothing. I agree. Doing something better than nothing is a judgement call depending on the situation, seriousness, timing, and stakes. Half ass doesn't apply to changing a motor vehicle's breaks.

Prove Me Wrong

There were plenty of opportunities decades ago. There were plenty of success pie slices generations ago. Fewer requirements and fewer knowledge required to complete responsibilities. Expectations were easier.

There are fewer opportunities today. The size of the success pie is the same. More people are not going to get a slice. There is more to know. More jobs require getting more done with less time. There is still 24 hours a day. There is still seven days a week. I guarantee them. There is no evolution in time. Humans must sleep.

Update On A Past Blog

I uploaded a better picture for the article My Lunch With 2 Fraudsters: Food For Thought For Investors written by Herb Greenberg for MarketWatch. The article can be viewed at the blog Meet Fraudster Barry Minkow posted on May 5, 2011. "Do not trust--verify," said Minkow.

George Costanza Is A Winner Today

Seinfeld fans know George Costanza is a loser. There were episodes George was unemployed and lived with his parents. George was a loser yesterday. Maybe George is a winner today. I speculate. There may be a growing trend adults question their price of freedom. The adults are thinking again the cost of independence. The prices to pay for living on their own are increasing such as rent or mortgage, gas, groceries, bare necessities, leisure, clothing, and maintaining relationships. Dead-end careers. Underpaid jobs. A weak relationship. Dragged-down friends. Too much stress. Little sleep. Worsening health. A solution is quit the job, say good-bye to friends, sell everything, and move back home. The chances living a happier life is increased living with the parents. There are fewer people. People drama is reduced. Minimize eating processed foods; for example, restaurant prices are increasing. There are more hours to sleep. Learn something new.

Don't take your parents for granted. Do your share maintaining the residence. There is a new way of being a winner.

Update On A Past Blog

I blogged Homeless Encampment Eviction Day Real Story on Mar 23, 2024 for which I linked a KTVU Fox 2 News reported on a homeless encampment eviction in Oakland, CA Eviction day for Oakland's Wood Street homeless encampment aired on Apr 10, 2023. I posted 24 YouTube comments and opinions.

There is another story missed from the 24 comments and opinions. The parents and/or the families of the homeless. Abusive parents, alcoholic parents, violent grandparents, mental instability parents, criminal parents, incest, siblings bullying, and more. No loving upbring while the homeless were children and teenagers. Childhood trauma without intervention resulted in drug abuse and homelessness.

There are some homeless who are former military experiencing mental problems and PTSD. It's unfortunate these homeless military didn't have family support or slipped through the cracks needing treatment.

Is forcing institutional rehabilitation a top solution? The involuntary homeless needing treatment must be told to get treatment to recover. The result is some of these involuntary homeless actually recovered. Tough question. Tough solution. Multiple opinions.

The Management Job Training Objectives Are Bullshit

The pic above is my objectives for the first six months when I worked at a retail start-up. The store sold high-end wine, beer, and sake at discount prices in the store and online. I worked at the back-end of the store where the inventory was received and stored. My job title was Data Entry/Bookkeeper. The title was misleading. My primary responsibilities were receiving inventory, researching prices, and entering products to the webpage.

The title speaks for itself. The program is self-explanatory. It's bullshit. I share my observations. I share my thoughts.

*Areas of Responsibility (AORs) was mentioned once.

*Nobody received monetary bonuses. Nobody received training for the objectives.

*It was impossible for the front-end workers to enter data. The reason was customer service. The objectives were miscategorized. Financial statements?!? The employees worked in retail.

*I'm not an English major. The writing was terrible. The formatting was inconsistent. Also, management didn't write the sheet. An assistant must have written the objectives. Management approved by a 5 second scan.

*Retail workers earning retail pay were not going to accomplish 80% of the objectives. 20% of the objectives were accomplished naturally such as customer service, knowing the products, and supporting events offsite.

*Management neither encouraged not tracked employee objectives.

*Social media was outdated. Social media rarely marketed upcoming events to their followers. The company didn't employ a marketing specialist.

*Targeted customer e-mails, marketing, web content, artwork, etc.?!? The employees worked in retail.

*Finally, the last bullet point on technical skills not related to webpage. The company was lucky I knew PowerPoint, Excel, Word, SQL, and Access. I used the tools to assist in auditing inventory.

I didn't read the sheet during my employment. If I did, then I probably raise a red flag and begin looking for another job. The store went out of business 6.5 years later. I tip my hat 6.5 years was a long time for a retail business.

I Worked At Bad Companies

Luck is part of the reason people have good careers and people have bad careers. Anyone who says luck is not a factor knows nothing. I worked at five companies after I graduated at San Jose State University. The first two companies were in the commercial real estate industry. The first company went bankrupt which was bought out by a competitor. The second company went corporate for better or for worse. I say better because there was a chance a corporate manager solved their problems optimistically speaking. The third company was Cisco. Cisco was Cisco. Cisco is Cisco. Cisco is an old dinosaur company people still want to work. The fourth company was a retail start-up which went out of business six years later. The fifth company was a growing company with too much politics. My department was one of the worse departments.

Where are the good companies? Companies cared in past generations. Management cared. The workers stayed in one company throughout their careers. They retired in the same company. Companies cared about their workers during retirement. There was professional nurturing. Openness was natural. Employees and management encouraged each other. Wealth spread out. There was support. I got your back. You got my back. Opportunities were plentiful. Today's companies consist of politics, complaining, people care about themselves attitude, and personal shields on the defensive every minute. People who hate their jobs leave the company instead of helping management solve problems. Google or Alphabet is not a good company. The outside public believes Google is a good company. The inside workers tell the contrary stories.

Two Pathetic Companies I Used To Work

"I say Microsoft and Google have a lot in common. Microsoft never had the humanities and the liberal arts in their DNA. It was a pure technology company. And they just didn't get it. Even when they saw the map, they couldn't even copy it well. How dumb do you have to be to not see it--once you see it, you know. But Google is the same way. They just don't get it." --Steve Jobs, 60 Minutes Overtime

A Steve Jobs quote inspired me to write today's blog on two companies I used to work. One can say I should have spoken up the companies were screwing up themselves. Fair statement. I was naive when I worked at the commercial real estate company. I didn't have the wisdom, creditability, impact, and courage to call out management. I didn't have the influence, power, and persuasion to call out ownership at the retail start-up company.

The commercial real estate company had the technology, the strong support staff, the training, the highest number of brokers, and the facilities to be the number one in total leases and sales in the region. The company was number one once during my eight years in year 2000--too easy during the dot com economy. Otherwise, the company was number two or number three. Management just didn't get it.

The retail start-up sold premium wine, beer, and sake at discount prices at its brick & mortar store and online store. The business was a great idea. Their products were not found in supermarket chains. Ownership purchased wine, beer, and sake in bulk. The savings were passed to the customers. Tastings were held on Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays to attract customers. The location was perfect in upper middle class and high class neighborhoods. The start-up was in business between 2014 and 2020. Ownership just didn't get it.

Update On A Past Blog

Blogger changed public access to two of my blogs posted at their website. I recognize Google's content policies.

The The Green Steno Notebook 5 blog written on Feb 9, 2020 can be read by logging on to a Google account. The blog can be read at my website Innovate Infinitely Blogs. Select 2020 for the year. Select Feb for the month. Press the Go button. Scroll down to Sunday February 9, 2020.

The Five Minute Management Course blog written on Jan 12, 2010 is no longer published at Blogger. The blog can be read at my website Innovate Infinitely Blogs. Select 2010 for the year. Select Jan for the month. Press the Go button. Scroll down to Jan 12, 2010 written as 01/12/2010.

Where Does Bad Management Come From?

I'm not a management consultant. I have no management experience. I speak from intuition. Bad management comes from stressed-out people. Bad management is the symptom from stressed-out people; in other words, stressed-out people cause bad managers.

Stress is one of many causes of bad managers. Another possibility is rough times outside the workplace. Bad managers dealing with family problems. Bad managers with chronic physical ailments. Bad managers tight on personal finances. Bad managers working too many hours. Long commutes, poor diets, lack of sleep, behind in responsibilities, and little leisure activities influence managers becoming bad. Outside influences can affect a bad manager such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, the economy, and politics.

The workers are the punching bag. The workers are the stress relief. The workers are the receiving end of the managers releasing their anger, stress, fatigue, etc. The workers' tolerance is limited. Give it time. The workers respond appropriately quitting, requesting transfers, decreasing quality work, and/or informing the higher up management.

Update On A Past Blog

It took me 2.33 years to proactively continue my financial education. I model financial education from one of my grandfathers in the blog My Two Grandfathers written on Jul 3, 2018.

Instant Bullets Blog Oct 13, 2022

*Whiffle Ball On A Fishing Pole. Watch the YouTube video how to set up your child to hit a whiffle ball or a baseball on a fishing pole instead of a T-ball Fishing rod baseball - how to teach kids to baseball - T-ball tips.

*sycophant: a person who tries to win favors from wealthy or influential people by flattering them up; a flatter; a suck up. A servile self-seeking person.

*Raymond Mar University. If I'm president of the Raymond Mar University in New York, New York, then I'm raising my annual tuition $10,000. President Joe Biden and his student loan debt forgiveness is free money. Nothing personal. It's business. I need to pay for my professors, my university staff, my security, and run my facilities. The costs increase every year.

Thank you, Mr. President. Your $100,000 donation to the Democratic Party is in the mail.

My school mascot is the white tiger.

*The Best Forgiveness. Winning is forgiveness. Winning is forgetting the bad. The championship erases the horrible memory. Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshawn Watson is suspended 11 games and fined $5 million during the 2022 NFL season for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy. If Watson wins a Super Bowl, then all is forgiven.

*Marketing. Client 1: I have a sob story. Marketer: We can sell it.

Client 2: I have a happy story. Marketer: Did you get abused beforehand?

*I would have just languished in a job I hated, doing just enough to get by, and would become bitter and disillusioned, like almost every lawyer I know. --Tucker Max, I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell

*Calvin And Hobbes Time Management. Comic by Bill Watterson.

*Mad Libs. The word game is created by Leonard Stern and Roger Price. The player asks other players for words to be substituted in blanks for a story. Mad Libs can be played solo. Everyone must play at least once in their life. There are free games at their website Mad Libs.

*Smooth Criminal. Listen to the song Smooth Criminal instrumental only Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal (Instrumental). Listen to the song Smooth Criminal lyrics only Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal Vocals Only.

*Wrong Predictions. Nobody can predict the future 100% correctly. Nobody. Time will tell. Time is the ultimate judge. The jury is still in the courtroom regarding Bill Gates and NFTs.

*Bluff Game Carrot In A Box. Watch Sean Lock and Jon Richardson play the game from the TV show 8 Out Of 10 Cats "Carrot in a Box" Jimmy Carr IN TEARS After Game with Sean Lock & Jon Richardson! | 8 Out of 10 Cats. The rematch Sean Lock & Jon Richardson's Hilarious Carrot in a Box REMATCH! | 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. Jon Richardson plays for a third time Carrot In A Box III: Jon Richardson vs Lee Mack! | 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown | Channel 4. Sean Lock died from cancer on Aug 16, 2021.

*Millionaire Matchmaker Patti Stanger Q&A interview on romance and dating in the modern age. Direct link to article Sexual Health Magazine July 2022 Patti Stranger. Two favorite quotes from the interview. The first is the following, "When [women are] not being treated right, they'll often still stick around and keep seeing each other, hoping [men] will change like they were at the beginning of their relationship. As women, we're taught to be polite and service the man. My mom programmed me to be like that and I had to work to break that programming. People are afraid to do that! If their needs are not met, get out!"

The second is the following, "For women, she may not find him cute initially and then goes on the date and comes back with 'I can fix that! And I really liked him as a person.' A man will never want to get 'fixed' because men and women are different animals. I know women will grow into a relationship, but a man will know in a second."

*A Dating Advice. Don't ask a girl where she wants to eat. Tell her to guess where you're taking her to eat. Then take her to the first guess. Likewise for a girl asking a guy where he wants to eat. The advice works both ways.

*I Work In Human Resources. Raise your hand if you wanted a career in human resources as a child.

*President Joe Biden on the economy from CNN on Oct 11, 2022: I don't think there will be a recession. If it is, it will be a very slight recession. That is we'll move down slightly.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said the US is likely to enter a recession in the next six to nine months on Oct 10, 2022.

Too Few Competent People

I wrote past blogs there are too few opportunities to satisfy the too many people. Here are three blogs on the topic: The Size Of The Pie Is Still The Same on Jun 23, 2016, Expect More Sad Days For More People on Feb 16, 2019, and Too Many People on Jul 19, 2019.

A different perspective on too few opportunities to satisfy the too many people is too few competent people out of the too many people. Be honest. 90% of all circle of friends, 95% of workplace departments, 92.5% of all families, 95% of small businesses--almost every groups of people professional, family, acquaintances, friendships, and gatherings--there is at least one incompetent person. The reader knows them. The reader identifies them. Frustrations are arisen. Headaches are caused. The reader wishes they're out of his or her life.

More managers and leaders should adapt the NASA astronaut recruitment process. There are no minimum or maximum recruits to become astronauts for every recruitment class. If there is one recruit competent to become an astronaut, then he or she is recruited. If all recruits are competent to become astronauts, then all recruits become astronauts. If no recruits are competent to become astronauts, then the recruiting class recruits zero astronauts. More managers and leaders should adapt the late Steve Jobs' accountability is strictly enforced. Jobs fired 25% of the senior managers and executives when he went back to Apple in 1997. Anyone on Jobs' bozo list was fired.

On the contrary, most companies and organizations need people. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Desperation moves rarely work such as professional sports. Workers are needed to fulfill responsibilities. Many companies and organizations accept the bare minimums. Get the job done is top priority. Anything else is secondary. Anything else is ignored. Sometimes less than the bare minimums are acceptable; for example, retail jobs and customer service. A sixth grader can direct a customer to the correct aisle. A high school student can document a customer's complaint. There are plenty bare minimum people for companies and organizations to hire. The reason explains why their hourly wages are low. Basic economics. The supply exceeds the demand. Unfortunately, there are incompetent people at white-collar jobs including jobs requiring the highest education in medicine and law. How? Don't ask me. They slipped through the cracks. The hiring manager smoked something. The executive played the politics card. God only knows the truth.

Who's at fault for more incompetent people? One answer is blame the system. Today's Information Age more time, more learning, more training, more resources, and more expenses are required to complete more jobs and more responsibilities. It's nobody's fault. Life is getting harder. Another answer is blame the past generation. I wrote a blog on Did The Greatest Human Generation Doom Their Grandchildren And Their Future? on Mar 14, 2019 saying our parents and grandparents focused more on making our lives easier and focused less on teaching us hard work and determination. Timing and luck are a third answer. Were we at the right place and at the right time to meet a person, read an article, or watch a show to inspire us, to teach us, or to awaken us to find our strengths to become competent and successful? A fourth answer is the Information Age lifestyle. There are more people in the present compared to the people in the past lacking social communication skills, eating unhealthy meals, practicing poor work habits, and spending too much on the screens. The last possible answer is clique and obvious. People change for the worse.

There Are Fewer Reward Opportunities

I worked hard tutoring math in college, serving customers at a movie rental store chain, and supporting brokers at two commercial real estate companies. I accepted additional responsibilities voluntarily or assigned. The primary reason was to strengthen my resume. Additional pay, promotions, and accolades were secondary. I received accolades at the movie rental store chain and my second commercial real estate company. Additional pay was the annual cost of living increase. No promotions.

I continued working hard after my second commercial real estate company. The degree of working hard decreased in quality and in quantity because I received neither additional pay, promotions, or accolades. There was a point I stopped working hard. I thought rationally. The attitude was screw it. The attitude was job completed--didn't do any more. My contracts were terminated. There was no temporary to permanent conversion. The job agencies failed to find my better employment. My resume was strengthen minimally. One could say my resume was tarnished. Bad luck and bad timing were factors.

There has been a growing attitude being nice, working hard, and accepting more assignments hoping for rewards, promotions, and/or accolades are false. The attitude worked in past workplaces. The attitude is nonexistent in today's workplace. There are exceptions such as professional sports. Fewer workers receive rewards, promotions, and/or accolades. One reason is fewer rewards, promotions, and/or accolades to be awarded. Another reason is management taking advantage of hard-working employees for less pay. A third reason is the fear of somebody taking another person's job. A fourth reason is politics. A fifth reason is the workplace environment system. I digress.

The bottom line is there are too many workers vying for the rewards, promotions, and/or accolades to be a better person professionally and personally. Unfortunately, there are not enough opportunities. Almost all workers reject the working attitude being nice, working hard, and accepting more assignments hoping for rewards, promotions, and/or accolades because the chances of receiving any or all are slim.

Update On A Past Blog

I was a victim of management taking advantage of me. I wrote the blog Take The Advantage, Use The Advantage on Jan 2, 2020. I was the management advantage. The ethics of management taking advantage of their employees is another conversation.

My Second Company I Worked Moved Closer To Downtown

I found out the second company I worked after I graduated at San Jose State University moved. I refer to the second company in the commercial real estate industry as "CPI." CPI moved closer to Downtown San Jose. Their new location is inside a high-rise office building occupying an entire floor. Their previous location was a two-story freestanding building. My guess is the move happened in 2018 according to my research. I blog my thoughts in no particular order.

*Corporate. My intuition tells me CPI became corporate after visiting their new website. CPI used to be independent.

*2,949 Days. I worked at CPI for eight years. I was a Research Analyst in the Research Department. The sales support staff consisted of Research, Graphics, and Administration departments.

*CPI is one of too many examples life is always changing. Life is always moving. It's rare a company is the same for decades. It's rare for people to be the same for decades. Life finds a way to change people if people don't want to change. Life finds a way to move people if people don't want to move.

*Brokers Got My Back. I realized the brokers got my back if I communicated my problems years later after I left the company. If I called out the problems, then management must solve the problems. It was like I wore the immunity idol from the TV series Survivor.

*A Cry For Help. My co-worker and I didn't get along in the department. The Research Department consisted of two people without a department manager for most of my employment days. The office manager was our closest manager. She did nothing.

My co-worker was an idiot. He was a middle-aged immature person. He had personal problems including family, health, and relationships. Work productivity was too slow. Brokers complained he completed their requests late. He took too many smoking breaks. He worked at home and worked on weekends to catch up. I think back to those years of his unprofessional behavior. Was he crying for help?

*The Building Freddy Wanted. I refer to the managing partner as "Freddy." Freddy wanted the previous location building because he had the best corner office in the two-story freestanding building. He analyzed the pros and cons of moving. His bias analysis convinced most brokers to accept the move. Objectively speaking, the company needed to move to a bigger building. The question was where in the city. Freddy wanted to move to the two-story freestanding building.

*50% of the sales support staff was divorced.

*The Dumbest Person I Ever Met. The previous office manager is the dumbest person I ever met as of today's blog post.

*I Ignored The Warning Signs. The warnings signs were clear and present. The company experienced growing pains, mismanagement, confusion, poor leadership, and, to paraphrase the late Steve Jobs, ". . . and they just didn't get it, even when they saw the map they couldn't even copy it well. How dumb do you have to be to not see it, once you see it." The company was positioned to be the number one commercial real estate company in the market by year consistently. The company had the best support staff, experienced brokers, top marketing, accurate research, and the latest technology. The company was number one for one year during my eight years. The number one was during the dot-com boom. Any half-ass company can make record profits in a good year.

The buyer who worked for three months who talked bad behind the CFO's back, the graphic artists who worked for one year and quit, the CEO who resigned, the human resources director who was fired, the Vice President of IT who was forced to resign, the helpdesk manager who was forced to resign, and the multiple projects to build the new database failed. The Vice President of IT before he resigned assigned the network administrator to build the new database out of desperation. Also, the research department manager who hired me warned me the commercial real estate statistics were calculated incorrectly before he moved out of the country. The signs were clear and present. I was a twentysomething year old naive employee.

*The Nothing Wisdom. The one wisdom I most remembered is don't be a nobody. The last research manager was a nobody. Don't be nothing. The brokers didn't like her. Management ignored her nothingness until the company cut the budget. My co-worker and I didn't like her; moreover, it was our only commonality. The last Research Department manger worked for two years. Management told the Research Department manager to find another job because she's going to be fired. The official reason she left was she found another job. The unofficial reason she left was the company terminated her.

Lesson learned: have nothing, do nothing, get nothing, be nothing, and people treat you like nothing. Never be a nobody.

*The Late Steve Jobs Ignore Problems Hoping They Went Our Way Didn't Work. The company played the Steve Jobs ignoring problems hoping they go away. Some did, some didn't. The problems they ignored became bigger problems. The company is still in business in contrast to Steve Jobs ignoring his health problems resulting in Jobs passing way due to pancreatic cancer. Perhaps, going corporate was good for the company.

*Keep Your Job By Keeping Quiet. Another example of ignoring problems. Brokers who spoke up their contracts were terminated. Sales support staff who spoke up were terminated.

*The Job Skills Were All Wrong. I was taught incorrectly. I was trained incorrectly. Everything I learned was wrong. Databases, statistics, Excel, and reports were wrong. I applied the incorrect job knowledge to my future jobs. I was ineffective. Fortunately, I corrected myself years later by self-training.

*Guinea Pig Continued. I experienced bad luck and bad timing being a guinea pig multiple times at San Jose State University; for example, a professor teaching a class for the first time, the department starting a new class series, and the university system changing the graduation requirements for new students. I was a guinea pig at the second company. Company growing pains, a new research manager, numerous failed experiments, and a new office manager with no previous experience. I was a twentysomething year old who survived without a mentor. I distrusted management.

*Winning Disguised The Problems. The company earned record profits after the dot-com recession. Management didn't break the flow or if it wasn't broken, then don't fix it. The two-man Research Department did our jobs quietly literally. I was responsible for the operations. My co-worker was responsible for the database administration. The managing partner wrote the quarterly reports. The system worked. The other sales support departments Administration and Graphics did their jobs without complaints. The end of the year the sales support staff got our yearly reviews and our merit raises. The exception was the staff who talked to management about the problems resulting in termination. Nevertheless, the company never reached number one in the commercial real estate market after the dot-com recession.

Give it time. I'm confident many of the disguised problems were exposed causing trouble which could have been prevented or minimized after I left the company.

*Cursed Freestanding Building. One could say the building cursed the company. Obviously, there were problems in a newly constructed building such as plumbing and electrical. It seemed there was a time period a broker, a staff, or the building itself a problem arisen.

*By The Numbers. The managing partner managed by the numbers. The decisions were based off sales numbers and financial numbers. Brokers were rewarded doing well. Brokers were punished doing poorly.

Update On A Past Blog

I wrote about my co-worker in Did The Dumb Ass Co-Worker Wanted To Change? on Jul 15, 2009. If you click on the link, you find out the name of the CPI company.

Walmart Is Good At Being Walmart

I shopped at a Walmart Neighborhood Market store for the first time earlier today. I shopped at Wal-Mart Supercenters at least five times given my memory. The first time was Dec 2000. The only purchased I remember was an air toy rifle for which you cock the rifle and pull the trigger the rifle gives off a shot fired sound with vibration. The second time was an unknown month and year I purchased supplies for wet shaving. Jun 2006 was the third time I drove a friend who needed supplies when we attended an anime convention in Orange County. I purchased metal color duct tape on Jun 2009 for which I returned the tape in Jul 2009. The fifth time was in late 2011 I purchased nothing.

It has been at least a decade since I entered a Walmart. Walmart is still Walmart regardless of Supercenter or Neighborhood Market. I felt the past Walmart feelings today. There is no other retail store with the Walmart feeling. There were big crowds for a Thursday noon hour. The inventory was a mix of brand names and off brand names. Some inventory items I didn't see at a Costco or a Safeway. The center aisle included inventory for which some were on pallets. All cosmetic makeups, high-end over the counter nasal drugs, razor blades for shaving, and Tide detergent were glass secured locked. Most of the in-store music were 1980s. The employees were diverse ages young and old; all races including whites, blacks, Hispanics, and Asians; all body sizes tall, short, thin, and fat; likewise, all the customers. All the employees did an honest job. It's retail. On the one hand, there's no purpose slacking off. On the other hand, there's no purpose going above and beyond their responsibilities.

The Walmart prices are Walmart prices. Items can be cheaper elsewhere if they are on sale. I figure some customers primarily shop at Walmart Neighborhood Market because they don't want to pay for the Costco annual membership, don't want to shop at Costco or Trader Joe's due to selected inventory brands, and/or don't want to spend time looking at retail ads to buy groceries on sale. I purchased no name brand one gallon of white vinegar and one bottle of Kinder's mild barbeque sauce. I shop at any Walmart if I'm desperate.

What If 1

Blogger's note: I numbered the What If blog number one in case I write another What If blog in the future.

What if I didn't work at Grubb & Ellis on Thur Jul 9, 1998? What if the co-worker who trained me to replace her didn't accept her transfer to another office? What if my second co-worker didn't quit weeks later after I started. The short answer is I didn't work in commercial real estate for 7.5 years.

There was workplace drama in my first month. The workplace drama was a warning sign I ignored. I should have started looking for another job; on the other hand, it was my first job after graduating college. Moreover, the drama reminded me when I worked in my second company in 1999. The company hired a full-time buyer. She quit a few months later. My intuition told me she didn't get along with the CFO and she witnessed mismanagement. Another instance happened when I worked in a retail start-up as back-end sales support in 2014. The new beer buyer submitted his two week notice after his first shift. He told me he saw mismanagement. He was correct. I quit the retail start-up four months later.

Update On A Past Blog

I wrote a what if like blog on Oct 19, 2014 titled Alternate Endings. Some of the questionable moments are what if I graduated high school at the same high school I attended from 9th grade to 11th grade? What if I graduated with another degree at San Jose State University? What if my contract at Cisco continued during the 2008 Great Recession? None of the alternate endings mentioned Grubb & Ellis.

Throwback Blog: Third Blog Entry: Breaking Rule Number

Blogger's Note: Throwback blogs are blogs from my past. I start posting past blogs reflecting what I wrote. It's like my "A Second Look" blogs for which I give myself feedback.

Today's throwback blog is titled Third Blog Entry: Breaking Rule Number written on Jan 7, 2006. The third blog out of three blogs on the day talked about my second job after I graduated from San Jose State University. My job sucked. I started searching for a job in Jan 2007. I couldn't explain the logic for the one year delay. The company went downhill at the end of 2006. My life was great outside the workplace which made me forget my job.

I choose the criticisms I respond decades later. Today's blog is another example time heals all wounds. Wisdom is acquired as we get older. Lessons are learned. No mistakes are repeated. I connect the dots backwards.

*Like many jobs that suck, my job sucks. What makes my job suck? I work in the Research Department. The department has two workers: me and my co-worker. The department supports 70+ brokers in the local office . . . The office I worked was an outlier. A typical commercial real estate company has an ample support staff to help the brokers. Most of the 70+ brokers were self-sufficient for which they required minimal support staff. Most of the 70+ brokers were trained beyond commercial real estate and salesperson skills. Moreover, I wrote the rant in a Jan month. Jan was the busiest month in a calendar year because of the previous year's annual report and annual conference the Research Dept. was involved. Otherwise, the Feb-Dec months were normal with the exception of the quarterly reports which took significantly less time compared with the annual report.

*My co-worker is an idiot. Should have been fired a long time ago. Somehow, when he fucks up, he gets away with it. Nothing lasts forever. My co-worker was never going to be fired. One reason was two people worked in the Research Dept. supporting 70+ brokers. Another reason was the managing partner and my co-worker had a close relationship. For instance, my co-worker worked on Sat. The managing partner emailed my co-worker for research statistics on Sat. My co-worker completed the request hours later.

My co-worker's fuck up was discovered on Jul 2007. He was transferred to another brokerage house instead of being fired. I don't know why he wasn't fired. I don't know how the two brokerage houses negotiated the transfer. I should have said "never say never" instead of "Nothing lasts forever."

*Also, the managing partner in charge of the office is not a managing partner; rather a major pain. The guy has shit in his brains. The answer was simple. The managing partner ran the office by the sales numbers. His job security was strong as long as the sales numbers were good. Winning disguised problems.

*My feelings are I'm lonely. When I started the company, there was nobody to be my mentor. Heck, I never had a mentor in my life. There was nobody to show me around. The lonely feeling was incorrect. I realized years later the brokers got my back. If I spoke up, then management responded because of the brokers. Management couldn't fire me. Also, one magical day I spoke up at a workplace outing. The Administration Dept and the Graphics Dept talked to me. There was a new permanent connection.

No mentor in my life was true. 95% of all my problems I solved myself by learning from my mistakes, acquiring wisdom at the right place at the right time, and growing up. I'm lucky my life today is my best life. I'm the strongest, smartest, wisest, and healthiest ever. Ironically, I'm George Costanza being unemployed and living with my parents.

*Problem number two is I trust nobody. Nobody has proven to me, nobody has earned my trust, nobody earned the right to know me, to listen to me sincerity. Nobody has my credibility if anyone wants to give me advice. As far as I'm concern, anyone who tells me anything is full of crap. Why should I believe you? Who are you? I don't know who the people are and people don't know who I am, and even if I tell them who I am, they probably don't give a shit. Been there, done that. I was full of shit. Don't waste time figuring out what I said. It was a cry for help. If I said the shit today, then I need professional help. I'm not the shit person today.

*When I go to work, the real me doesn't enter the building ;__; It's a stranger even I'm not comfortable being. Outside work, I'm very cheerful and always busy doing stuff like reading books, playing video games, watching anime, listening to CDs, going to the gym, cooking, researching stocks, and just being myself. That's the real me. I was not the real me inside work and outside work. It was true I was busy outside work doing the stuff above. I was not cheerful outside work.

Life advice and professional workplace advice. If you're not you going to work, then changes are warranted. Everybody is human. Nobody can tolerate being a different person in a workplace indefinitely. I'm not thinking what my life is today if I continued working at the company today.

*Side note: there were four people I don't respect specifically. Two of them are no longer in my office. Another workplace advice I should have learned years ago. Anytime a group of people resign in a short time period is a sign there's something happening to the company or to the department in a negative way. I was one of four people who found better jobs in the company in early 2007. Retail is the exception because the retail industry always has high turnover by nature.

In Dale Carnegie's book How To Win Friends and Influence People, rule number one is Don't Criticize, Condemn, or Complain. The third blog entry, however, I'm going to break the rule and rant. Rant, complain, let my stress out, let my anger out. It doesn't matter to me. I need to vent frustration regardless whether the reader thinks I'm complaining or not complaining. More important, the following is going to be unedited; in other words, [sic] or verbatim.

Like many jobs that suck, my job sucks. What makes my job suck? I work in the Research Department. The department has two workers: me and my co-worker. The department supports 70+ brokers in the local office and 10+ brokers in a satellite office north. 80+ brokers. Two people in the department. Hello, senior management. The department needs additional help. No need to research the facts. Furthermore, I'm not going to be working in the company forever.

My co-worker is an idiot. Should have been fired a long time ago. Somehow, when he fucks up, he gets away with it. Nothing lasts forever. One day you are going to mess up big and you are going to be fucked!!! What has he done and got away with? Start the list:

*In 1997, the server crashed and he didn't back up the research data.
*In 2002, he calculated absorption wrong for 12 years. I found the error in five minutes 0:-) Any national real estate firm needing a researcher with new ideas? I'm available for hire >.<
*I taught him how to calculate weighted averages. He never knew what a weighted average; moreover, he never calculated rents. Come on, researchers must know basic math.
*He is still using an 80s system to calculate statistics in the 21st century. One step further, he's an obsolete 80s robot because he acts like a robot.
*He makes careless mistakes, and it's getting worst.

Lesson: if it acts like a duck, walks like a duck, talks like a duck, thinks like a duck, it's probably a duck {:V

Also, the managing partner in charge of the office is not a managing partner; rather a major pain. The guy has shit in his brains. I have been working in the company for seven years. Man, that's too long to work there. I can't think of one incident where he has taken an active role in, well, anything. Come to think of it, he's done nothing to the company to make it a better place to work. Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Jack shit. The chances of him leaving the company are next to nothing because the position requires a brokers or sales license to sign off completed deals.

As for me, personally, what are my feelings? My feelings are I'm lonely. When I started the company, there was nobody to be my mentor. Heck, I never had a mentor in my life. There was nobody to show me around. I learned almost everything about the company myself (which was really nothing to learn come to think of it). I can't trust anyone because nobody in the company earned my respect, my trust, my credibility. Respect, trust, and credibility must be earned whether he or she is the janitor, engineer, director, or senior vice president; likewise for parents . . . if you want sons and daughters to learn, to love, to be good sons and daughters, you must earn their trust, their love, and their bond; otherwise, they are not going to believe what you say to them. Perhaps, that's one reason why runaway kids leave their parents. Trust, love, bond, etc. are not automatic just because Mom and Dad are parents. All must be earned and demonstrated sincerely and without deception. The same goes with co-workers, management, and executives. Earn them (respect, trust, credibility, sincerity) or lose them (co-workers).

It's out in the air. I'm lonely. I should tell somebody. Problem number two is I trust nobody. Nobody has proven to me, nobody has earned my trust, nobody earned the right to know me, to listen to me sincerity. Nobody has my credibility if anyone wants to give me advice. As far as I'm concern, anyone who tells me anything is full of crap. Why should I believe you? Who are you? I don't know who the people are and people don't know who I am, and even if I tell them who I am, they probably don't give a shit. Been there, done that.

When I started in 1999, the research department was pathetic. Terrible. An embarrassment. In one year, I provide new reports, accepted new responsibilities, increase turn-over rate to less than one business day for most requests, new ideas, etc. I proved that I can do a whole shit load for the company. What has the company proved to me? Nothing. It's the same company since 1999. No improvements, nothing new, nothing the latest and greatest (except computers of course), no innovating. Heck, my company doesn't have a CEO and a CFO. The CEO fucked up and the CFO resigned.

When I go to work, the real me doesn't enter the building ;__; It's a stranger even I'm not comfortable being. Outside work, I'm very cheerful and always busy doing stuff like reading books, playing video games, watching anime, listening to CDs, going to the gym, cooking, researching stocks, and just being myself. That's the real me. The guy who never stop innovating and wants to meet more people XD

I feel much better now and I'm going to get a good night's sleep (-,-)

Side note: there were four people I don't respect specifically. Two of them are no longer in my office. The first person was eliminated in August 2002. Officially, the position was eliminated. Unofficially, she was laid-off. The second person was transferred to the corporate office in January 2006. Her replacement started in January 2006. We shall see how the replacement does, and I'm going to have high expectations because she was promoted in my office.

Side note 2: there are a selected few co-workers I'm comfortable in a conversation; however, it's as far as the communication goes--casual conversation.