Sort of job purrs

For the last several years, after the tech crash and losing [1] a really
satisfying job in the corporate research center of Nortel Networks, I've
been hanging in from contract to contract, some literally micromanaged
at the level of hours. I've also run into the proverbial shaft when I
took a subcontract with payment tied to deliverables defined by the end
client, one or more levels of subconractor from me, and the end client
would change the definitions without renegotiating. The contractors with
whom I was doing business did not want to jeopardize their other
business with the main client, to argue about the redefinition.

For the last few months, I argued successfully with the subcontracting
firm that I was to receive progress payments, which, incidentally, is an
extremely common practice for government and some civilian contracts. In
other contracting situations, changing the deliverable rather naturally
means a formal change order and renegotiated compensation, usually
upward if the change was at the client's request.

In April, when I should have received a still-discounted progress
payment before the end of the month, my client's CEO decided, at the
last minute, to cut it in half because they hadn't been able to invoice
the customer for work done, because the customer had changed the rules
several times. When I protested, the response was that the contractor
had much more business with the client than my project, and they
couldn't afford to "play hardball" and offend the client. I received
half the expected project payment, and, even worse, after the end of the
month so I couldn't even make a late-but-same-month mortgage payment.

A couple of months before, I had a horrible real estate appraiser slow
down my refinance, with a home that has appreciated enormously.
Yesterday, while I haven't seen the actual numbers, I got a different
appraiser who suggested she would give a much higher valueation.

Also yesterday, we had a progress report conference call with the
client, who again changed the scope of deliverables, and also reported
delays on things THEY were supposed to deliver to us (e.g., lab
equipment).

So I'm looking for purrs for one or more of several things to break
loose. First, I need the client to start paying me immediately for at
least one of the two projects on which I've been working full-time.
Second, for my house refinance to close before the end of the month, so
I don't hit 60 days delinquency -- if the client paid me even part, I
could get it back to 30 days; if they had paid what they should have in
April, I would have been 15 days at worth.

Third, that a very attractive permanent job for which I have applied,
had informal contact with peers in the group (but not the HR people),
and for which I'm highly qualified, comes through very, very soon.

As I mentioned, things do seem to be improving in many ways, such as the
reappraisal, and also what seems to be an extremely successful, very
nonstandard drug therapy for panic and anxiety.



[1] To add insult to injury, my manager at Nortel called me one day
(I was a full-time telecommuter) and informed me I had been
"optimized".

Did that mean, I wondered, that some magical personal trainer had
reshaped my body without effort in the gym? No, said my rather
embarrassed boss. She said that was the official term from HR,
but it really meant my job had been abolished. "Downsized" I can
understand. "Rightsized" is still understandable, although the
tradition "laid off" or the British "made redundant" make more sense.

"Optimized?"

Howard Berkowitz wrote:
So I'm looking for purrs for one or more of several things to break
loose.

Lots of purrs!

--
Victor M. Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam he
Email me he

Purrs that something wonderful comes through for you and in a hurry!
Charleen
Mr. Pumpkin,
Aggie Marble,
Victor Velcro

Hi,

Lots of purrs on the way. My twopaw servant Bignose was "optimised" by
Nortel a couple of years ago. It was not an "optimal" situation, although
they did manage to continue keep me in the style to which I have become
accustomed

The Mad Mog Mognusticat

http://mogular.blogspot.com

"Howard Berkowitz" wrote in message
...
For the last several years, after the tech crash and losing [1] a really
satisfying job in the corporate research center of Nortel Networks, I've
been hanging in from contract to contract, some literally micromanaged
at the level of hours. I've also run into the proverbial shaft when I
took a subcontract with payment tied to deliverables defined by the end
client, one or more levels of subconractor from me, and the end client
would change the definitions without renegotiating. The contractors with
whom I was doing business did not want to jeopardize their other
business with the main client, to argue about the redefinition.

For the last few months, I argued successfully with the subcontracting
firm that I was to receive progress payments, which, incidentally, is an
extremely common practice for government and some civilian contracts. In
other contracting situations, changing the deliverable rather naturally
means a formal change order and renegotiated compensation, usually
upward if the change was at the client's request.

In April, when I should have received a still-discounted progress
payment before the end of the month, my client's CEO decided, at the
last minute, to cut it in half because they hadn't been able to invoice
the customer for work done, because the customer had changed the rules
several times. When I protested, the response was that the contractor
had much more business with the client than my project, and they
couldn't afford to "play hardball" and offend the client. I received
half the expected project payment, and, even worse, after the end of the
month so I couldn't even make a late-but-same-month mortgage payment.

A couple of months before, I had a horrible real estate appraiser slow
down my refinance, with a home that has appreciated enormously.
Yesterday, while I haven't seen the actual numbers, I got a different
appraiser who suggested she would give a much higher valueation.

Also yesterday, we had a progress report conference call with the
client, who again changed the scope of deliverables, and also reported
delays on things THEY were supposed to deliver to us (e.g., lab
equipment).

So I'm looking for purrs for one or more of several things to break
loose. First, I need the client to start paying me immediately for at
least one of the two projects on which I've been working full-time.
Second, for my house refinance to close before the end of the month, so
I don't hit 60 days delinquency -- if the client paid me even part, I
could get it back to 30 days; if they had paid what they should have in
April, I would have been 15 days at worth.

Third, that a very attractive permanent job for which I have applied,
had informal contact with peers in the group (but not the HR people),
and for which I'm highly qualified, comes through very, very soon.

As I mentioned, things do seem to be improving in many ways, such as the
reappraisal, and also what seems to be an extremely successful, very
nonstandard drug therapy for panic and anxiety.



[1] To add insult to injury, my manager at Nortel called me one day
(I was a full-time telecommuter) and informed me I had been
"optimized".

Did that mean, I wondered, that some magical personal trainer had
reshaped my body without effort in the gym? No, said my rather
embarrassed boss. She said that was the official term from HR,
but it really meant my job had been abolished. "Downsized" I can
understand. "Rightsized" is still understandable, although the
tradition "laid off" or the British "made redundant" make more sense.

"Optimized?"

I am an ex-Nortel person too. I got the layoff notice on July 4, 2 days
before my 20th anniversary with the company. After the layoff, I got
my anniversary gift. I got another job within Nortel a month later.
But was eventually layoff again right before Christmas, after receving
a 'mistaken layoff notice' in October.
One week after my second layoff, my cat was dignosed with renal
insufficiency. A week later, my father died suddenly of a heart attack.
I sat at the airport crying when my flight home for the funeral was
cancelled at the last minute.
I managed to get on another flight on Christmas Eve.
But it was difficult to be among cheery passengers going home for Christmas,
while I was heading for the funeral. There were nights I woke up in tears
over the doubles losses. It took me a long time to get over.
Fortunately Rusty was misdiagnosed, blood tests showed his kidneys are
fine and he is turning 11 next month. We will have our 10th anniversary
in a few weeks.

At one point the biggest 'club' in town was the club of layoff Nortelers,
many with over 20 years with the company. There were families where
both parents were layoff from Nortel.

Winnie

"Howard Berkowitz" wrote in message
...
For the last several years, after the tech crash and losing [1] a really
satisfying job in the corporate research center of Nortel Networks, I've
been hanging in from contract to contract, some literally micromanaged
at the level of hours. I've also run into the proverbial shaft when I
took a subcontract with payment tied to deliverables defined by the end
client, one or more levels of subconractor from me, and the end client
would change the definitions without renegotiating. The contractors with
whom I was doing business did not want to jeopardize their other
business with the main client, to argue about the redefinition.

For the last few months, I argued successfully with the subcontracting
firm that I was to receive progress payments, which, incidentally, is an
extremely common practice for government and some civilian contracts. In
other contracting situations, changing the deliverable rather naturally
means a formal change order and renegotiated compensation, usually
upward if the change was at the client's request.

In April, when I should have received a still-discounted progress
payment before the end of the month, my client's CEO decided, at the
last minute, to cut it in half because they hadn't been able to invoice
the customer for work done, because the customer had changed the rules
several times. When I protested, the response was that the contractor
had much more business with the client than my project, and they
couldn't afford to "play hardball" and offend the client. I received
half the expected project payment, and, even worse, after the end of the
month so I couldn't even make a late-but-same-month mortgage payment.

A couple of months before, I had a horrible real estate appraiser slow
down my refinance, with a home that has appreciated enormously.
Yesterday, while I haven't seen the actual numbers, I got a different
appraiser who suggested she would give a much higher valueation.

Also yesterday, we had a progress report conference call with the
client, who again changed the scope of deliverables, and also reported
delays on things THEY were supposed to deliver to us (e.g., lab
equipment).

So I'm looking for purrs for one or more of several things to break
loose. First, I need the client to start paying me immediately for at
least one of the two projects on which I've been working full-time.
Second, for my house refinance to close before the end of the month, so
I don't hit 60 days delinquency -- if the client paid me even part, I
could get it back to 30 days; if they had paid what they should have in
April, I would have been 15 days at worth.

Third, that a very attractive permanent job for which I have applied,
had informal contact with peers in the group (but not the HR people),
and for which I'm highly qualified, comes through very, very soon.

As I mentioned, things do seem to be improving in many ways, such as the
reappraisal, and also what seems to be an extremely successful, very
nonstandard drug therapy for panic and anxiety.



[1] To add insult to injury, my manager at Nortel called me one day
(I was a full-time telecommuter) and informed me I had been
"optimized".

Did that mean, I wondered, that some magical personal trainer had
reshaped my body without effort in the gym? No, said my rather
embarrassed boss. She said that was the official term from HR,
but it really meant my job had been abolished. "Downsized" I can
understand. "Rightsized" is still understandable, although the
tradition "laid off" or the British "made redundant" make more sense.

"Optimized?"

In article , "W. Leong"
wrote:

I am an ex-Nortel person too. I got the layoff notice on July 4, 2 days
before my 20th anniversary with the company. After the layoff, I got
my anniversary gift. I got another job within Nortel a month later.
But was eventually layoff again right before Christmas, after receving
a 'mistaken layoff notice' in October.
One week after my second layoff, my cat was dignosed with renal
insufficiency. A week later, my father died suddenly of a heart attack.
I sat at the airport crying when my flight home for the funeral was
cancelled at the last minute.
I managed to get on another flight on Christmas Eve.
But it was difficult to be among cheery passengers going home for
Christmas,
while I was heading for the funeral. There were nights I woke up in tears
over the doubles losses. It took me a long time to get over.
Fortunately Rusty was misdiagnosed, blood tests showed his kidneys are
fine and he is turning 11 next month. We will have our 10th anniversary
in a few weeks.

At one point the biggest 'club' in town was the club of layoff
Nortelers,
many with over 20 years with the company. There were families where
both parents were layoff from Nortel.

Winnie

*sigh* yes. It's especially galling when your job is formally designated
"critical", and, through several rounds of layoffs, senior VPs kept
telling the research people they were absolutely safe.

Howard B wrote:

--------------------snip---------------------
So I'm looking for purrs for one or more of several things to break
loose.
--------------------snip---------------------

You got those purrs coming at you. Hope there's good news on all
three fronts.

--
Regards and Purrs,
O J

On 2005-05-18, Howard Berkowitz penned:

So I'm looking for purrs for one or more of several things to break
loose. First, I need the client to start paying me immediately for
at least one of the two projects on which I've been working
full-time. Second, for my house refinance to close before the end
of the month, so I don't hit 60 days delinquency -- if the client
paid me even part, I could get it back to 30 days; if they had paid
what they should have in April, I would have been 15 days at worth.

Third, that a very attractive permanent job for which I have
applied, had informal contact with peers in the group (but not the
HR people), and for which I'm highly qualified, comes through very,
very soon.


Purrs on all counts. What a mess! I've thought that being a
contractor would be stressful for a variety of reasons, but for some
reason, the idea that you wouldn't even be paid for your work hadn't
occured to me. That sucks =/

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca

In article , "Monique Y.
Mudama" wrote:

On 2005-05-18, Howard Berkowitz penned:

So I'm looking for purrs for one or more of several things to break
loose. First, I need the client to start paying me immediately for
at least one of the two projects on which I've been working
full-time. Second, for my house refinance to close before the end
of the month, so I don't hit 60 days delinquency -- if the client
paid me even part, I could get it back to 30 days; if they had paid
what they should have in April, I would have been 15 days at worth.

Third, that a very attractive permanent job for which I have
applied, had informal contact with peers in the group (but not the
HR people), and for which I'm highly qualified, comes through very,
very soon.


Purrs on all counts. What a mess! I've thought that being a
contractor would be stressful for a variety of reasons, but for some
reason, the idea that you wouldn't even be paid for your work hadn't
occured to me. That sucks =/

The most common problem is when you aren't contracting with the end
customer, and there is one or more intermediaries who consider it more
important to keep a good relationship with THEIR large customer.

Variants of that happen when someone I know and trust asks me to do
things for their customer, usually a new one, on a verbal request, and
then their customer refuses to pay them. Unfortunately, in some areas
of consulting, the window of opportunity is short and you can't get
delayed by contacts.

On 2005-05-18, Howard Berkowitz penned:

The most common problem is when you aren't contracting with the end
customer, and there is one or more intermediaries who consider it
more important to keep a good relationship with THEIR large
customer.

Variants of that happen when someone I know and trust asks me to do
things for their customer, usually a new one, on a verbal request,
and then their customer refuses to pay them. Unfortunately, in some
areas of consulting, the window of opportunity is short and you
can't get delayed by contacts.

I guess ... but ... ugh!

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca