Tangents

So happy to see Pauly posting again. I needed to get my Thai Hooker fix.

Personal to Pauly: I'd be proud to publish any stories you have about the seedy underbelly of the industry, if you need some relatively anonymous place to vent about the editor you saw doing lines in the mens' room and the married bracelet winner doing the bodog chicks two at a time during the dinner break.

I'm considering tagging myself as the National Enquirer of blogging. Just ask Phil Mickelson.

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Nothing like a juicy, unfounded rumor to drive traffic. Failing that, offering the opposite of what the searchers are looking for works also.

By the way, there is no truth to the rumor that Cindy Violette gave Shannon Elizabeth poker lessons in exchange for hot lesbian sex action in a strip club after a wet t-shirt contest between Jennifer Tilly boobs and what appear to be Annie Duke's new fake boobs.

[ducking and running...]

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Had my first win in 7 days. If I were more motivated I'd go back and figure out if that's my longest stretch without a win. I come in first more than any other finishing position in my SNGs, even at the higher levels, so its been a... trying situation, to say the least. Prior to tonight's win, I'd played 20 SNGs in the last week, with only two 2nds and one 3rd for an ITM rate of a decidedly fishy 15%. I also dumped a few hundred playing NL ring games over the weekend. I've had to drop down to the 114's because this bad run coincided with another large cashout to pay for summer dance classes and a couple of week-long day camps. I'm considering those investments, though, as a little quiet time with the bigettes out of the house could pay nice divdends as far as the job search and ongoing pokah-playing go.

Anyway, I don't know if tonight's win was a signal that the run is coming to an end, but I'm going to pretend it is for a day or so, ok? I'll get back to grinding the AP bonus tomorrow night, and maybe dip a toe back into an SNG if I'm feeling up to it.

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I'm starting to get into a rhythm for posting daily over at my weight-loss blog, RunFatAssRun. For now, I seem to be losing weight in spite of myself, which is good considering the horrible junk I've stuffed into my mouth during this crazy week. The week is coming to an end, though, and a new daily rhythm will take over next week when we complete our move to Jax.

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Regarding the move: This is much harder than I anticipated. Not the hardest thing I've ever gone through by a long shot, but definitely humbling. For the last 3 weeks, the eldest biggette and I have stayed with my parents while she attended school for enough days to get credit for the year. Mrs. Big and the l'il biggette went ahead to Jax, and we've traveled to see them each weekend. Physically and emotionally, it's been draining.

Tomorrow, we leave Brooksville behind permanently. It's weird, I spent the least amount of time here growing up compared to the rest of the places we lived, but this has always been home to me. Probably because it's the place I left when I went out into the world. Or, as out into the world as you can get as a college student getting a monthly allowance from Daddy. Anyway, going home always meant going to Brooksville. Three years ago, I finally returned here to live and enjoyed being here more the second time around. But, circumstances have dictated a new path.

The first twenty years of my life were spent growing up. The last twenty years of my life were spent becoming a husband, father, and growing into a career where I was once valued but have now been cast aside. What the next twenty years will bring, I can't predict. I can only predict how I will approach the coming sea change in my life. After the last 6 months, I no longer take it for granted that I will be able to provide for my family.

I feel I have become a little harder inside for the experience. I defintely feel a "looking out for me and mine" attitude growing inside. In some ways, I think this is a good thing. Too many years spent as a company-man made me a fish in the corporate world. Do my job, don't make waves unless ethically obligated to do so, and I'd live a nice, secure existence, right?

Whether my poker ship rights itself or not, I will be taking a little of the table-shark with me into the next phase of my life. I started making money at poker, real money, as soon as I knew I HAD to. I became more disciplined, studied harder, and pushed on other people every single time I thought I had an edge by virtue of the hand I was dealt or the strategic situation I was in. Before I became a husband and father, this was how I built my career. But, obligations can make a man tight-weak, and that's no way to go through life.

Tight-agressive isn't just the right strategy at the table, it's the right strategy in life.

I don't know if the next phase will be a continuance of corporate work or taking a shot at entrereneurship, but I have a feeling I may not be seen by my co-workers in the same friendly, non-threatening light as I've permitted myself to be cast in the last few years. I'd like to be liked, but its more important to be respected.

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To that end, I made a significant career decision earlier this week. I had applied for a job a few weeks ago, same industry, same job, working for a direct competitor of my last two employers. They contacted me earlier this week and it was like a switch went off in my head. The recruiter was only interested in my salary and relo requirements (located 2000 miles away), not a word about my qualifications, experience, etc. I asked myself, why should I be fucking reasonable with a second-tier company in an industry that will only need me (and use me like a Thai hooker) for the next two years, do nothing to develop me for a future with them or anyone else, and then cast me adrift?

For the money. Period.

For the last few months, my salary requirements have been coming down. Gotta get a job, gotta provide for the family, gotta get the base level in Maslov's Hierarchy of Needs set, gotta get my career back on track.

Yesterday, with this company, they went right back up. I quoted my last salary (still slightly below the national median, BTW), and told her I'd need a full relo package minus the cost of selling my home since I'd already done that (a fucking bargain for them, as anyone that has relo'd knows). She gave me their range, which was -12500 to -2500 less than my last salary. I told her I'd have to make the very top of the range right from the start, and the only way I can be flexible if I can telecommute so I don't have to move.

She couldn't get off the phone fast enough.

I can no longer tolerate stupid people with stupid companies. I've already left the industry in my mind and my heart. I'll gladly start over in a place I want to live, doing a job I'll enjoy, for a fraction of what I used to make.

In the first and second tier of that industry, there might be 20 people in the world as qualified as me to do that job, and I don't consider myself a dog to any of them. So, I just decided that I'm going to be a fucking mercenary with every inquiry I get from this industry.

Their choice is to take someone with the functional experience but no industry experience, or industry experience with no functional experience, and pay them the bottom of the range.

"Lets find someone that that's willing to do the job for this much"

Or, for 10K more, they get someone who has flawless referrals and recommendation gained from years of experience in THAT SPECIFIC JOB. Someone who will be productive in the time it takes to find the bathroom, not 6 months later after a lot of hit-and-miss efforts. Someone who understands going in that when the heavy lifting is done in 2 years, he'll be replaced by someone 10 yrs younger at half his salary (which has happened twice now).

"Lets find the best person for the job and pay him the least he's willing to
take"

I have no problem with companies that use the latter strategy. It's the 99% that use the former that teh suck.

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