The more things change, the more they stay the same

I have cut way back on my blogging, obviously. But I think some of it was because all I was doing was bitching about work. I know it must be tiring to read.

Well lately work has been "interesting". I have now been there for 3 years. Most people are amazed I am still there considering I commute almost everyday to Denver (130 mile round trip). This year I started wishing there were more jobs out there, but the fucked up economy is showing in the fact that the only job in my field that is available is yet another 45 minutes further from my house. I don't think I want a 4 hour round trip commute.

What is new is that my boss is taking a new job in the company. Many people that know about it expect that I would want his job, but I don't. My job sucks bad enough. He's been a decent boss (my 4th boss in 3 years), but he is a real pain at times. I gave him a nickname that he is unaware of. We call him "The Vortex". This is because if you get sucked into his office you may not come out for hours. This guy over analyzes shit to the point that I almost want to give in just to get the fuck away from him. But I never give in if I truly believe I am right.

Now that he is moving on, we are doing a bit of a reorganization. They don't want to replace him since it is cheaper to just force some other sucker to take on the job in addition to their current responsibilities. Yesterday it was official that all of his departments were going to report to a lady that is a VP over QA and some developement projects. She is a decent manager, but I know her technical skills are lacking. She has never pulled rank with me, but I know I have had to prove her and her people wrong on a number of situations. Since then she seems to listen to me more and more, and trust my opinions and judgement, but I know she still relies on some of her folks who I feel are completely clueless and have her fooled.

I am not upset about the reporting structure change, but I know it does mean I will have a different dynamic going on in many of my meetings with her. We'll see how it works out.

Other than that...

The kids are good. Healthy and doing well in school. Erik is playing football on a Park & Rec team. He is doing way better than I expected. His coach talked to him about losing some weight, which he is doing (he doesn't listen to me in these matters... and who am I to talk). Kevin is working a lot at McDonalds, and getting ready for a lot of snowboarding this winter.

It looks like I am not going to be going to Michigan for Christmas this year, so I think I will plan a long weekend with the kids to go skiing/boarding.

My love life is pretty empty these days. I started seeing someone that broke it off early. It was pretty disappointing because I really liked her. We had a lot in common. But if you're not feeling it, you can't force it. I've been on the other side of that, so I understand where she was with it.

A lady friend of mine that I have hardly talked to this year called me the other day. She lives in another state, so having a close relationship is very hard. We are realistic about it. The interesting thing about this particular call was that she suggested that we take a trip together. I know that if we lived in the same city, or maybe even just the same state, I wouldn't hesitate to take a trip. My dilema is that she is the type of person that I know I will fall for provided we spend a good amount of time together. So now I need to wonder if our "realistic" approach is a good thing or should we just say fuck it, and throw all previous thoughts out the window.