Friday, December 28, 2007

Another new job?

What I thought would be and what has come to be are quite diverse. I woke up this morning in Southern California. I've been here for well over 3 months and have been working at this job for just as long. The position in Chicago did not provide for my family as I had hoped and the political atmosphere within the company was not conducive to my personal or business goals. You see, I was hired as the division manager to "fix" problems and help improve profitability. Once I started making improvements, it was evident that the board considered all problems that may involve the division were the fault of the division for which I was responsible. I cannot suggest that they were all wrong; however, many of the problems I faced involved interaction with other divisions. The changes I made were not significant enough to force the hand of the other divisions to adjust their daily business practices.

Initial changes were received well but they were not enough to overcome the handicaps of inter-divisional problems. It became evident that I was never going to fix the problems that involved other divisions in any way. This along with pressures from the home front held me in a state of limbo out of which I felt I would never emerge.

A phone call from California was the first ray of sunshine on which I set my eye in months. I came at the call, interviewed and accepted the position I was offered. The struggle here has been seriously worse than I anticipated. The wife and kids have joined me in California. Although the kids have adjusted pretty well, the wife and I have struggled getting to a point where we are comfortable with the move across the country. Since I am originally from the area, I thought the move back would be easy. If not easy, I didn't expect it to be difficult. It has been a struggle. Overall, the past couple years has been terribly difficult.

I don't like to sound like a whiner but it seems to be the only thing I do lately.

Friday, January 12, 2007

Employed At Last

It was lost but now it's found. I will have to relocate but, hey, it is a lot better than being unemployed. I've a better position with better pay at a better organization. It's all good.