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In other news my job continues to suck.  Lots of in-fighting going on.  Lots more politics than I want out of a job.  I really want a VP to make a decision and set marching orders, but it's been three years since we've seen such a thing.  The orders are given to people in closed door meetings and then they get to implement them to the general population.  Naturally no one knows the true intent since the VP never gets involved.  So the politics and fighting starts up.  They take on a life of their own.  It takes six months and untold thousands of dollars to get something simple done.  Once that's done the VP makes another decree and things get rolling all over again.  These VPs call themselves Leadership.  There's no Leadership here.  It's management, and it's poor management.  We always imply the word management as something bad, which is why these people try to co-opt Leadership.  Well, management/manager is a bad word, and these dipshits deserve it. 
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My search for a new job does continue.  It's only been three months.  No bites, just some contract nibbles.  I don't want a contract.  I'm a consultant now.  I want to try being an employee on a project sometime.  And by employee I do mean project manager.  Not only am I tired of being a consultant, but it's time to make a PM's salary.  I've been running on a lead developer's salary so that I could get more experience, but that's run down.  Somewhere along the line I've assumed the role of a senior PM, so I think it's time to adjust the salary.  And we all know that you only get market rate, by putting yourself on the market. 

A further continuation on the job role.  I need to travel to Michigan.  I need to get with my people out that way.  I promoted someone and should really give her proper training and support in her new role.  Eventually she'll inherit my kingdom assuming I don't find someone better qualified.  But she's currently at the top of her pay scale, so it's move up or never get another raise.  This whole manager thing would be a lot easier if I didn't care about my people.  If it was just about me (as I sometimes intimate in these entries) I would have an easier life.  Naturally I would feel like a piece of crap and could never call myself a liberal in the mirror again. 

On the personal level I've got preliminary approval for the finance board in town. The board took a vote and approved of me.  Now it goes before the board of selectman who will vote to approve next week.  I know three of the four, so I know that between the board accepting it and the personal relationships I have built that it's a done deal.   We have three weeks until the town election, so I continue to work to re-elect one of our guys.  Then I have the finance meetings, and I'm also on the town Democratic party committee.  Basically I'm lining myself up for political office.  I've tied my wagon to certain horses and we'll see where it leads me.  Right now I'm not thinking any higher than state senate sometime in the next twenty years. 

My wife and I are putting in a little patio area in the back of the house.  So this week I need to order the materials to put it in.  I'll be doing the work myself.  Should be a hell of a project.  All this needs to be done so that I can start planning my first annual spring barbecue.  In future years it will actually become my annual May Day Barbecue.

Sometimes I think it's odd to be a manager and an avowed socialist.  Anyway, May Day comes.