AND LO, THE FRANK SPOKE UNTO THEE...
Man oh man, but have I ever been busy these past two months. Between work, house-hunting, and some job-hunting for my sis, it's been quite a time.
WORK
The new work has been absolutely wonderful and stress-free, but enormously time-consuming. I have been spending a few 60-70-hour work weeks getting stuff together in the hopes of bringing my bosses extra revenue, with only limited success so far -- lots of clients kinda hovering there, but not fully committing to contracts yet.
Regardless, I've been having a blast, and I know that they are very thankful to have me onboard.
ANOTHER NEW JOB???
But get this -- I've been offered yet another job, this one coming with likely a 10-15k pay increase, and in a similar field to my previous job. In fact, I would be working with and for one of the few people I really liked from the old place.
The problem for me is this: I really really really enjoy my current job, and my bosses. Heck, I don't even really see them as bosses, but rather as friends and practically as partners. I have no stress whatsoever there, and would hate to leave. However, I know that they would never be able to match the offer I've just been given (even though I know they would want to if they could), and with Meaghan and I buying a house, I really need this extra income.
At the moment, I'm considering trying to make an arrangement to work both. We'll see how that works out.
HOUSE-BUYING
Megs and I are currently this close to getting our first house. We've been looking around for eight months, and were almost sold on another one (which we luckily realized just wasn't a good investment), but now we've found the house we want, and are currently playing the bidding game with the owner...
They were asking 185k, and we originally offered 170k. They now say they won't go any lower than 180k, and I'm hoping we can get it for 177 or 178k. But we'll see.
The house is simply great, and we'll be splitting it up in two so that my buddy Mike and his fiancee Chantal can move upstairs (yes, for those who used to read my comic, it's the same Mike). This will help us greatly in terms of the mortgage, while they get cheap rent so they can save some money for a house of their own (eventually). Mike and Chantal and I have lived together before, so having this arrangement will not be a problem at all. Especially since it will be a self-contained apartment unit for them (i.e., their own place).
And heh. Mike and I are all uber-excited about having the two XBoxes system-linked, and already have the drill-hole plans all set up. Geeky, or what?
VERN JOB-HUNTING
Vern was suddenly let go from her job this week, with unjust cause. Long story short, the managers just personally didn't like her and stuff, despite the fact that she was a great employee and loved by the owners of the store. On the flipside, she wasn't a big fan of them, either.
For a while, it looked like they weren't going to give her her two weeks' severance pay, which had me just steaming. Typical Frank, I of course spent a night or two studying Canada Labour Law and case laws in great detail to see what recourse we had. Fortunately (for them), they wised up before we had to resort to legal action and told her she would be getting her severance. A good thing, too, since we already had two lawyers lined up to help her out, and they didn't have a legal leg to stand on.
The remainder of the week was spent trying to find her new work, since she had just finally managed to find an apartment in her price range, and had signed he lease four days prior to her sudden dismissal. She was a total trooper, doing a lot of research and legwork on her own when other people would have just been sitting there bawling about the crappy situation. I am so damned proud of my sis for being so strong and so determined...
But yeah, things have already been working out, as Shawn (Mike's bro) let me know that his workplace was looking for new people. We went there yesterday afternoon to talk to him, and next thing you know, his boss walks up, talks to her for like five minutes, and tells her she can start the next morning (i.e., today).
Which is why I am up this early, because I'm about to wake her up (she's been staying here for a little while, while waiting for the apartment to be available) so she can head out. It's a restaurant, and she'll be starting in the dishpit, but she has no problems with this as she totally realizes the importance of having work right now. Besides, I know her (and Shawn and his boss) -- it'll only be a matter of weeks before she's fully out of the dishpit, and into the the kitchen working on the line where she wants to be.
Again, I am so freaking proud of her.
LIFE IN GENERAL
All in all, things are really going well for Megs and I. I mean, we're going to have a house, and my job prospects keep improving, and while I still have certain aspects of my life I want to improve (I am really needing to get in shape again -- I have gained 40 pounds since last winter, mostly due to stress) and other things I would like to get back into (comicking, duh)...
...well, what can I say?
Life is good.
(Oh. Like you're surprised?)
WORK
The new work has been absolutely wonderful and stress-free, but enormously time-consuming. I have been spending a few 60-70-hour work weeks getting stuff together in the hopes of bringing my bosses extra revenue, with only limited success so far -- lots of clients kinda hovering there, but not fully committing to contracts yet.
Regardless, I've been having a blast, and I know that they are very thankful to have me onboard.
ANOTHER NEW JOB???
But get this -- I've been offered yet another job, this one coming with likely a 10-15k pay increase, and in a similar field to my previous job. In fact, I would be working with and for one of the few people I really liked from the old place.
The problem for me is this: I really really really enjoy my current job, and my bosses. Heck, I don't even really see them as bosses, but rather as friends and practically as partners. I have no stress whatsoever there, and would hate to leave. However, I know that they would never be able to match the offer I've just been given (even though I know they would want to if they could), and with Meaghan and I buying a house, I really need this extra income.
At the moment, I'm considering trying to make an arrangement to work both. We'll see how that works out.
HOUSE-BUYING
Megs and I are currently this close to getting our first house. We've been looking around for eight months, and were almost sold on another one (which we luckily realized just wasn't a good investment), but now we've found the house we want, and are currently playing the bidding game with the owner...
They were asking 185k, and we originally offered 170k. They now say they won't go any lower than 180k, and I'm hoping we can get it for 177 or 178k. But we'll see.
The house is simply great, and we'll be splitting it up in two so that my buddy Mike and his fiancee Chantal can move upstairs (yes, for those who used to read my comic, it's the same Mike). This will help us greatly in terms of the mortgage, while they get cheap rent so they can save some money for a house of their own (eventually). Mike and Chantal and I have lived together before, so having this arrangement will not be a problem at all. Especially since it will be a self-contained apartment unit for them (i.e., their own place).
And heh. Mike and I are all uber-excited about having the two XBoxes system-linked, and already have the drill-hole plans all set up. Geeky, or what?
VERN JOB-HUNTING
Vern was suddenly let go from her job this week, with unjust cause. Long story short, the managers just personally didn't like her and stuff, despite the fact that she was a great employee and loved by the owners of the store. On the flipside, she wasn't a big fan of them, either.
For a while, it looked like they weren't going to give her her two weeks' severance pay, which had me just steaming. Typical Frank, I of course spent a night or two studying Canada Labour Law and case laws in great detail to see what recourse we had. Fortunately (for them), they wised up before we had to resort to legal action and told her she would be getting her severance. A good thing, too, since we already had two lawyers lined up to help her out, and they didn't have a legal leg to stand on.
The remainder of the week was spent trying to find her new work, since she had just finally managed to find an apartment in her price range, and had signed he lease four days prior to her sudden dismissal. She was a total trooper, doing a lot of research and legwork on her own when other people would have just been sitting there bawling about the crappy situation. I am so damned proud of my sis for being so strong and so determined...
But yeah, things have already been working out, as Shawn (Mike's bro) let me know that his workplace was looking for new people. We went there yesterday afternoon to talk to him, and next thing you know, his boss walks up, talks to her for like five minutes, and tells her she can start the next morning (i.e., today).
Which is why I am up this early, because I'm about to wake her up (she's been staying here for a little while, while waiting for the apartment to be available) so she can head out. It's a restaurant, and she'll be starting in the dishpit, but she has no problems with this as she totally realizes the importance of having work right now. Besides, I know her (and Shawn and his boss) -- it'll only be a matter of weeks before she's fully out of the dishpit, and into the the kitchen working on the line where she wants to be.
Again, I am so freaking proud of her.
LIFE IN GENERAL
All in all, things are really going well for Megs and I. I mean, we're going to have a house, and my job prospects keep improving, and while I still have certain aspects of my life I want to improve (I am really needing to get in shape again -- I have gained 40 pounds since last winter, mostly due to stress) and other things I would like to get back into (comicking, duh)...
...well, what can I say?
Life is good.
(Oh. Like you're surprised?)