Al Johnson

I don’t think anyone really reads these but I’ll catch up anyway. The job search isn’t coming well largely due to my lack of enthusiasm. To go back into the environment like at CSC doesn’t get me excited. I’d do it but need to whip up some enthusiasm.

Most of the jobs I see in the DC area are for specialists. For most of my life, I either done whatever was needed or found someone who could. That doesn’t make me an expert in technical areas, though. Successful in managing them yes. Most opportunities want someone technical to manage the efforts. One even wanted the manager to do some of the coding on a software effort.

We’re going to go a different direction. We’re working furiously to get some upgrades to our house and sell it. We’re probably going to Morgantown, WV. It looks like the housing prices are better than here. Enough so that we expect to sell our house, buy a better one there and not have a mortgage. We’ll see.

That will change the nature of the job hunt. I still won’t be asking if “you want fries with that” but I don’t have to try to get rich either.

If you’re a mountaineer fan or get locked up in the Federal Prison, maybe we’ll see you there.

At least one problems is resolved. Someone at CSC worked with me to get the holiday pay straightened out. I’ve already got the check. It wasn’t much money but was a bunch of principal. She was very helpful in this and in providing information on jobs within CSC. Her name isn’t important but her help has been. I didn’t want to leave the impression that issue wasn’t resolved already.

Our granddaughter Brynn was born on May 4, 2008. I was impressed by the differences between that birth experience and what I remember from ours. Seems like there’s been some good changes over the years.

Michelle picked Mon General Hospital in Morgantown because they had more relaxed rules than Ruby Memorial. Her main issue was related to visitors.

When Michelle was born, we went to a labor room. You stayed there and suffered through it until it was time for the delivery. Then they took you to a delivery room. Looked like an operating room. Feet in stirrups and the whole bit. After the birth, they took mom to the recovery room and cleaned up the baby. Eventually, they brought the baby to lay with mom. From there it was off to the hospital room for a couple of days. Any one could visit the baby by looking through the glass. I don’t recall them ever allowing visitors while the baby was in the room but could be wrong. It was a pretty private experience.

At Mon General, Michelle had a birthing room. The plan is that you go through labor there and deliver there. They weren’t at all fussy about visitors. Michelle had her friends with her all during the day while she was in labor. When the mid-wife decided it was time to push, all the guys were kicked out except her husband, two friends and her mother stayed. That wouldn’t have happened when Michelle was born.

It gave her a lot of support that she wouldn’t have gotten, otherwise. It also meant that if someone went for ice, there were still people in the room with her besides the mid-wife and nurse.

Late in the evening, they decided to do a C-Section. At some point, you cut your losses and move on. Michelle’s only issue was to not think about it so long and get on with it.

When the baby was delivered, Brynn and dad came up to the room. The pediatrician weighed her and got her all wrapped up. Brynn got a big show of love and support before Michelle even came up to the room. They brought Michelle back up about an hour and a half later. It would have taken longer but she was committed to proving to them she was OK. They even allowed cell phones in the room so some people got middle of the night calls.

Again, I can’t imagine that happening 30 years ago even if there were cell phones. Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t think so.

All in all, I think this whole experience was excellent. Not for me because I wasn’t really involved, but for Michelle and Braxton. The staff at the hospital couldn’t have been better. I can’t really compare Mon General to anywhere else but I suspect that’s where Michelle will go if there’s another baby in her future. I think this was a much better experience that what went on 30 years ago. I must say, though, that was a success too.

Third in a series about my recent unemployment

So far my dealings with CSC have been what I expected. Doesn’t mean I like it but what I expected. Today is May 8 and the check arrived for vacation time and payment in lieu of working. To their credit, I didn’t actually expect it this quick. I’ve also gotten information on the 401K and other benefits that I can elect to continue. Nothing exciting there. I’m still waiting to here about the money I have in the old GTE retirement and in the CSC pension. I also didn’t expect to hear from them yet. The GTE retirement is tricky for them since they inherited it. I don’t actually know where I stand in the CSC pension but I contributed to it.

Now to the real point. In 2008, President’s Day was an announced holiday. Published as a holiday for all employees. I planned to use it in February as an extended day for my Belize trip. President’s Day was the Monday after we returned. I used a vacation day instead.

In January (maybe early February), CSC made a change. At least the Federal side did. They changed the holiday to a floating holiday and said it couldn’t be used until after April 1. For CSC, that’s the next fiscal year. That saved the company an enormous hit on overhead. It also caused problems for the employees. It also caused concern for many because it showed the company cared little enough about them to change benefits after announcing them.

Some people were going to travel on that 3 day weekend. Now they can’t. Maybe its not such a big deal. Vacation for President’s Day and a floating holiday after April 1. The floater after April 1 required manager’s approval so it wasn’t exactly an even trade. Most expected it to be OK.

I was laid off on April 18. This didn’t come close to giving me an opportunity to use the holiday. I was saving it for June and still hoping to find a position within CSC. When the previously mentioned check showed up, the President’s Day time was glaringly absent.

I called the payroll folks. They told me that floating holidays were use it or lose it. Imagine that. They changed the holidays after the year started. They did not announce floaters were use it or lose it. In fact they had no floating holidays in place so I don’t believe they had a policy. Wonder what they’ll mess with next for those still with CSC.

I’ve started looking at Small Claims Court in Fairfax County. This episode cost me a day’s vacation and I didn’t get paid for the holiday. To me, that’s two days pay I’m out. This isn’t a tremendous amount of money but I don’t like what they’re doing. Now I have to decide whether or not to waste my time in court for all that. At least I can affort Small Claims Court if I don’t wait too long.

Second in a series about getting laid off after 30 years

It was my desire to stay with CSC. Not out of any blind loyalty but because I didn’t feel like starting over again. I didn’t particularly want to be the new kid on someone else’s block. I also didn’t particularly want to start my vacation clock over again. I wasn’t sure I would find something but thought it would be worth trying.

Our program wasn’t located in the main building. We were 5 miles away and pretty much out of contact. I’m sure there were people that thought I left the company. Turns out they were right but premature. The main thing I lost was any kind of personal network.

CSC posts all job requisitions on a database. You can search it and apply to any jobs listed. While you might think of CSC as a huge company with many job openings, that isn’t true unless you’re willing to relocate on your own nickel. The listings don’t indicate the job level or what organization opened the requisition. As a higher level manager, I spent much time applying for jobs that weren’t budgeted in my salary range, regardless of the job requirements. In most cases, I didn’t even get a response.

There is a Reassignment Services group that is supposed to help. They’re probably OK given their charter but from a practical standpoint they don’t bring much to the table. You have to ask them for each piece of assistance and they aren’t proactive. They aren’t looking for jobs for you. If you want to know which of the requisitions on a given day are appropriate, you have to ask individually. They’ll get back to you in one to five days. Given the company’s intolerance for overhead, that doesn’t help much. I found them cooperative within their scope but limited in how much help they can offer.

There were two positions that I found that were definitely appropriate and there may have been a third. All senior positions were filled when the requisition was opened. In one case, the position was filled from within the program. I don’t know how the others were filled, only that when I applied the same day they opened, the positions were filled. This comes from the lack of any kind of personal network to help with the search. It also comes somewhat from my management doing very little actively to find something for me before things wound down. They tried later but in a more reactive mode.

When the RIF notice was announced, I had 3 weeks. I shouldn’t have known that but was told anyway. There were people trying to help me find a position. The problem is that with no prior planning, its difficult to place a higher paid person without using overhead. The programs frequently don’t have the budget and CSC won’t use the overhead as an investment. The end result is that I’m writing this from home.

I left with my head high because I did nothing wrong. I made no effort to make anyone feel bad because of this. It wouldn’t have made any difference and it wasn’t something personal directed at me. Doesn’t mean I like it, though.

For now I’m relaxing a little. The last months of the program were stressful due to the lack of activity. If you don’t believe that, try it sometime. I still have to read the information to see how long it will take to get my retirement money from CSC so I can reinvest it.

Oh well, life goes on. My little brother taught me a lot about dying with dignity. This is just a damn job. I’ll deal with it.