My husband works in the field of computers. He's an "Associate Software Engineer" (his fancy title) who does consulting. Basically he is employed by a company, but goes and works for "clients" (customers) on "projects" or "roles." (Liberal use of quote marks for silly industry-specific categorizations). It's kinda like working for Express Personnel, but not. His employer isn't a temp agency, and he does get benefits and all that.
When he first took this job in early 2008, he was under the understanding that he would be working locally. His position was not one that was going to require travel. However, in 2009 the economy was bad enough that after he got done with a project on a long-term local role, he went "on the bench." On the bench is an inactive state of employment - you get your full wages and everything, but it doesn't look good to be on it too long. You're supposed to be looking for other "roles" to fill with your myriad of skills.
It got to the point where they told him the economy was bad, so they had no local roles. However, his skills were in demand in other cities. So late fall, he had to fly to Detroit for a couple of months, then work from home for that client for another month. Now, he's been having to fly to Boston for the last month, and it won't end until mid-June.
It really sucks, honestly.
First, we tend to stay up late. It's really hard for us to get to sleep early enough on Sunday nights that it doesn't affect him when I have to drop him off @ the airport 5 am on Monday. I can always go back to bed, but he's not able to sleep on the plane.
Second, I get lonely. I haven't really made any friends yet (is it just me, or is it harder to make actual friends as an adult?), and I have no family here except for my MIL and GMIL (who live about 40 min away). Even calling people back in WA is tricky because of the time zone difference. I spend a lot of time doing not much in particular - I could be cleaning the apt, but instead you'll find me randomly looking around on the internet. I'm glad we have a cat, or else I'd really go crazy.
Third, it's not like he gets to really explore the city he is in. He usually is put up at a hotel very close to the office, so he can walk or take a short cab ride. By the time he gets off work, he doesn't really have time to go anywhere or do anything. Also, it's kind of like my situation - who wants to DO anything by yourself when you don't have anyone to do it with?
His company gave him an unexpected 6% raise last week, which is awesome. They told him they looked at everyone and decided who deserved it, even with the economy (which was their excuse for not giving him a raise last year for merit). I told him he should be proud of himself, but he's a humble fellow.
Wages here are SO low compared to what I'm used to. I was making $12.50 an hour doing a random office job at a manufacturing plant. Minimum wage in WA is currently $8.55, which is the highest in the country. In MN, it's $7.25. I really think that if we moved to WA, he would be paid a lot more. He hasn't been out of college all that long, so I don't think he realizes that he should be getting paid more, considering he has a bachelor's degree (not even required to apply with this company). He's comfortable there, so I guess that's where he'll stay. Sometimes I think that his meekness will get in the way of him getting ahead career-wise, and that makes me sad.
Also consider that his company is international and that the clients want to use the cheapest labor possible. Yep, that means that the U.S. companies all want their software development stuff done in India or the Phillipines. They say it's too expensive to hire U.S. workers for their U.S. projects. Hmmm, can't see that going too well in the future, especially if that trend continues.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Tornadoes
So I've lived here nearly 2 years already, and have yet to encounter my first tornado. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that's something I'm EAGER to have happen; in fact, I told Bucky that if there ever IS a tornado situation where we have to go hide, I will be freaking out.
What brings this to mind is that my brother had a tornado near his city tonight. Their area was not affected, though they DID get golfball-sized hail, which his car didn't like getting pelted with. A few people were actually killed by this tornado, and others were hurt.
My brother has a tornado shelter buried in the floor of his garage. Here, Bucky and I live in a 3 story apartment building which is on top of a garage. The management tells me that if there were a tornado warning for this area, we should go down to the garage to wait it out. My car's parked down there - wonder if it would be a good idea to get inside the car also? Would be a nice little shelter for us two and the cat away from all the neighbors and screaming, terrified kids.
The tornado sirens go off here every Wednesday around noon. To me, they are spooky and sad-sounding. They scream, WARNING, WARNING, DEATH IS COMING! The first time I ever heard them was when I went to visit brother in his state in '05. I thought they sounded creepy then.
What concerns me is that I'm afraid I won't hear it if I'm sleeping. I have to sleep with earplugs (Bucky snores), but even without them, it's not that audible.
Though tornadoes do not happen as often here as they do in the middle mid-west or Texas/Oklahoma (is that still the midwest?), here is scary proof that they DO occur:
http://climate.umn.edu/doc/historical/tornadic.htm
Yeah, not looking forward to it!
What brings this to mind is that my brother had a tornado near his city tonight. Their area was not affected, though they DID get golfball-sized hail, which his car didn't like getting pelted with. A few people were actually killed by this tornado, and others were hurt.
My brother has a tornado shelter buried in the floor of his garage. Here, Bucky and I live in a 3 story apartment building which is on top of a garage. The management tells me that if there were a tornado warning for this area, we should go down to the garage to wait it out. My car's parked down there - wonder if it would be a good idea to get inside the car also? Would be a nice little shelter for us two and the cat away from all the neighbors and screaming, terrified kids.
The tornado sirens go off here every Wednesday around noon. To me, they are spooky and sad-sounding. They scream, WARNING, WARNING, DEATH IS COMING! The first time I ever heard them was when I went to visit brother in his state in '05. I thought they sounded creepy then.
What concerns me is that I'm afraid I won't hear it if I'm sleeping. I have to sleep with earplugs (Bucky snores), but even without them, it's not that audible.
Though tornadoes do not happen as often here as they do in the middle mid-west or Texas/Oklahoma (is that still the midwest?), here is scary proof that they DO occur:
http://climate.umn.edu/doc/historical/tornadic.htm
Yeah, not looking forward to it!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
THUNDERSTRUCK!
I have always been an avid fan of storms. Living in the Pacific Northwest, we didn't get them as often as I would have liked. Sure, we got the rain, but hardly ever the booming and flashing accompaniments.
One time I was at the beach at night when a storm came, and it was AWESOME. The waves were pounding the shore as the thunder was pounding the sky, and the lightning was showing off.
So I move to Minnesota and my first storm here was like "WHOAH!!!" I was quite impressed.
Storms happen more often here than in WA (along with tornadoes - EEEK!). Rain doesn't happen here anywhere near as much. It's strange to me that a lot of the storms here do not include rain.
There was one storm where my husband and I and his relatives were driving home from a trip out of town. This particular storm DID have rain to go along with the flashiness and noisiness of the sky. The windshield wipers could hardly keep up.
A few months ago, I awoke at about 4 am to what sounded like an infinite piece of sheet metal, being shook across the skies. This thunder was a near-constant rumbling, it was really cool and lasted for several hours. It was accompanied by freakishly bright flashes of lightning.
My cat runs and hides under the bed when she hears the thunder. :) Poor baby.
One time I was at the beach at night when a storm came, and it was AWESOME. The waves were pounding the shore as the thunder was pounding the sky, and the lightning was showing off.
So I move to Minnesota and my first storm here was like "WHOAH!!!" I was quite impressed.
Storms happen more often here than in WA (along with tornadoes - EEEK!). Rain doesn't happen here anywhere near as much. It's strange to me that a lot of the storms here do not include rain.
There was one storm where my husband and I and his relatives were driving home from a trip out of town. This particular storm DID have rain to go along with the flashiness and noisiness of the sky. The windshield wipers could hardly keep up.
A few months ago, I awoke at about 4 am to what sounded like an infinite piece of sheet metal, being shook across the skies. This thunder was a near-constant rumbling, it was really cool and lasted for several hours. It was accompanied by freakishly bright flashes of lightning.
My cat runs and hides under the bed when she hears the thunder. :) Poor baby.
The winters
Yeah, so I've been slacking off quite a bit on posting. Got busy with coursework.
Where I'm from, the weather is mild and the air is moist, due to being near the sea. It rains a lot, which bothers some people who live there. It snows maybe twice during the winter and if it gets down to 15 degrees F, that's considered SO COLD.
Where I've moved to (the Great Frozen Northland of Minnesota), the air is bone-dry in winter. In summer, it is the opposite. This is due to the plethora of lakes present here. In winter, they're all frozen and a chill wind comes down from (blame) Canada. In summer, they're liquid and grow algae and let their moisture evaporate into the air, making it quite humid.
The winters, OH, the winters! It is not unusual to see -20, and that is WITHOUT the windchill factor. With windchill, -30 is possible. If you've never experienced this kind of cold, it's really hard to understand just how it feels. My first winter here was eye-opening (and bone chilling), and my second winter was still shocking.
One evening I was leaving my night class and the wind was freezing and blowing. I tromped across the snow-covered parking lot to my car, my eyes nearly shut against the cold. Particles of hard, frozen snow (the snow is lightweight here and blows around, not like WA where it stays on the ground) were pelting my face like BBs. I learned to not have my mouth open, or icy cold wind would blow straight down my throat, making my lungs tighten uncomfortably. I learned to jam an unflattering knit cap upon my head before stepping outside. I realized that unless I wanted my hands to look like an elephant's skin, I needed to start wearing gloves before venturing out. I bought a humidifier to counteract the horridly dry air that comes in through the heating system. These are things I never had to think about before moving here.
I'd rather have the rain.
Where I'm from, the weather is mild and the air is moist, due to being near the sea. It rains a lot, which bothers some people who live there. It snows maybe twice during the winter and if it gets down to 15 degrees F, that's considered SO COLD.
Where I've moved to (the Great Frozen Northland of Minnesota), the air is bone-dry in winter. In summer, it is the opposite. This is due to the plethora of lakes present here. In winter, they're all frozen and a chill wind comes down from (blame) Canada. In summer, they're liquid and grow algae and let their moisture evaporate into the air, making it quite humid.
The winters, OH, the winters! It is not unusual to see -20, and that is WITHOUT the windchill factor. With windchill, -30 is possible. If you've never experienced this kind of cold, it's really hard to understand just how it feels. My first winter here was eye-opening (and bone chilling), and my second winter was still shocking.
One evening I was leaving my night class and the wind was freezing and blowing. I tromped across the snow-covered parking lot to my car, my eyes nearly shut against the cold. Particles of hard, frozen snow (the snow is lightweight here and blows around, not like WA where it stays on the ground) were pelting my face like BBs. I learned to not have my mouth open, or icy cold wind would blow straight down my throat, making my lungs tighten uncomfortably. I learned to jam an unflattering knit cap upon my head before stepping outside. I realized that unless I wanted my hands to look like an elephant's skin, I needed to start wearing gloves before venturing out. I bought a humidifier to counteract the horridly dry air that comes in through the heating system. These are things I never had to think about before moving here.
I'd rather have the rain.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
