Green Room - Week 31 - Day 4

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

The writing has been on the wall for quite some time.

I'm going to lose my job.

At some point.

The lease on the space my company is currently in is up in March, and most of what we used to do has been outsourced to other locations and an entirely different system, that we have been trained on, but never received.

So right now, everyone is focused in on March as "when we might not have jobs".

Before that, it was "before Christmas".

Before that, it was "Sept"

And so forth going back the past couple of years, with that sense of "this is it" growing every time, and the personnel shrinking and not being replaced as time moves forward.

COULD it actually happen? Yeah. It really could.

Will it? I honestly don't know. Every bullet has whizzed by for a couple years now, and there is every reason to think that sooner or later, one of them will end up hitting.

So why stay? Because I like it there (most days) and I have hope that although things might not always look the best, there is always a chance to turn things around.

There are other factors involved in the work situation, but let's be honest- this is all just a chance for me to talk about my feelings toward Livejournal.

Over the years I've heard reports of the site's death pretty much every month. How it's not like it was before and how it's pretty much doomed.

All of that may be true.

But it's still here - and you are still here.

I see people on FB posting "I wish I could still post this on Livejournal". Guess what? YOU CAN!

The site isn't an active as it was - and there are a lot of factors involved in that. But there is one of those that all of us have a say in... continuing to use the site and continuing to let other people know that it might not be the newest or shiniest thing out there in the world of social media, but it's still pretty damn awesome.

Another thing you may have doubts about is your survival during the final vote of 2014. That's getting ahead of yourself. First thing you need to do is make sure you get your entry in! http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/814969.html or the Home Game/Killing Floor for those who are not current contestants: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/815412.html

The deadline is MONDAY December 15th AT 8PM EST! That is something you can control, it is something you can make sure happens. There are so many other factors out there where it isn't true. But this, you can!

***

How was your weekend? What were the factors you were able to control and the one that were subject to "greater forces"?

Comments

[gratefuladdict.livejournal.com]

My toddler is always, always a greater force.

So is gravity.

So I was totally outgunned when the two collided and he biffed chin-first on a stone fireplace tonight. :(

[ecosopher.livejournal.com]

Ouch. Poor baby!

[kickthehobbit.livejournal.com]

! poor baby! :(

[jexia]

Oh, poor dude :(

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

oh, ow. :( poor baby.

[ecosopher.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow, Gary, I just had a nap (was up all night with sick child so had to get some sleep) and in part of my dream, you had died and I was so sad! Just so we're clear, the whole dream was not about you, just this one bit... I'm not even sure what the deal was because we were all going to some July Fairy concert that my daughter was in?

Then I was updating Twitter to see what was going on in in the siege in Sydney and you updated LJ Idol, and I thought, 'GARY! YOU'RE ALIVE!'

Ha.

Right, I'm going to make some lunch now. Good news: S has now been vomit-free for about five hours, so I think we're done with this particular bug. Yay. Let's hope the siege is over sometime soon, too.

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

I'm glad that I'm alive!

(I'm also glad that I changed the settings so that my posts now go out to Twitter, if that means that old friends will be stopping by!)

[kickthehobbit.livejournal.com]

People keep telling me that lj is "dead" and there's no point in continuing to post.

I realize that might be the case because my journal has been in the top 100 on the site (and was before Idol o.O ).

At the same time, I'm really fond of the people I've met on here, and while I'm sad to look at my flist and realize how many of those journals just don't post anymore, I've made a lot of really good friends through the site and I can't imagine blogging anywhere else. I've tried Wordpress and Blogger, and I'm happiest on lj, honestly. Hopefully it has a good long life. :P For every person that keeps telling me it's dead and there's no point in posting, I challenge them to keep writing, to go out and participate in communities and friend people, dammit! Because it won't stay alive unless we want it to.

...wow, that's a manifesto.

I'm midway through my piece. I'll probably post before the night is out.

[ecosopher.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I agree. I think it's worth sticking with, and posting more will keep the place alive more than complaining about it. Although i do understand the feeling of loss when you're posting and nobody else is doing so, or commenting. It feels as though you're talking into the void.

[roina-arwen.livejournal.com]

My weekend was pretty good, thanks. I did some wrapping of presents, and helped out for 3 hours at the Salvation Army's Angel Tree warehouse, sorting donations and "shopping" to help fill the wishlists a little more.

The forms list the child's toy wishes, but also their clothing sizes - if the person who bought for them only provided clothing but no toys, or vice versa, we go through the tables and racks of items to round things out a bit; especially if there were no toys/games, because every child should get at least one or two toys for Christmas. It was fun, and a nice way to help give back to the community a little bit.

I also posted a HG entry. I did a Cento poem, one of my favorite sorts to do. So yay me. :)

Bedtime now, nini.

[ashgaelsonaria.livejournal.com]

Okay, I know I have been AWOL for a bit but I have had some issues good and bad in the way.
My tablet died again and my PC has been down for a while so extensive writing has been out.
My new laptop will be here Wednesday.
All children (under 18) are getting chrome books this year.
Child support has been coming in the last few months.
My pocket camera died, but I got a nice deal on a Canon EOS Rebel T5 set up. including 2 lenses, a 2x converter, a macro wide angle, flash, tripod, table tripod, 2 uv filters, rose filter, polerised fiter, cleaning kit and bag for about 560$
I is happy. Posted some photos already even.
I have been with out a real camera for over 10 years. Just getting by with a basic Kodak easy share.
Its been horrid.
Soon I will be doing some more extensive writing along with the micropoetry I have been putting up on twitter as @ashgaelsonaria.
so much to do.

[reckless-blues.livejournal.com]

I needed money for next semester in a big hurry (I don't have a clue how to get student loans, I doubt I could get them fast enough for this class, and I don't the hell want to go into debt), and the past few months haven't managed to produce any jobs, so I signed up with a phone sex company.

I've been angry and depressed and miserable these past few days. I didn't think I'd ever have to do this sort of thing again. But it can't be helped. I can't drop out of school until I get a job - first of all, I won't ever get a job, out of the 372 metropolitan areas in the country according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we're in the top 20 for worst unemployment. (And I can't move someplace better because moving costs money and you get money by having a job.) And in general, if it didn't happen at some point this decade there's no reason to believe it will in the future. So if I was facing the possibility of sitting in this room doing nothing for months, or years, or forever, I'd eat lead before spring. This is the best and only step I can take.

I also have finals on Tuesday and was too depressed to do any of the physics work I needed to do beforehand. Oh well.

Maybe next week will be better. I'll have a small break from my studies and then I'll be occupied with the short winter semester.

[ecosopher.livejournal.com]

Oh, damn. I'm so sorry. I hope the job at least pays a bit to keep you going and you can get something better soon.

All the love, really.

[jexia]

I was able to control: doing a whole bunch of cleaning on Sunday for our house inspection tomorrow.

I was not able to control: Saturday being filled with swimming lessons, a family gathering, and playing at a carol service, thus forcing all the cleaning jobs to Sunday.

I was also not able to control: my girl twin having a full-blown panic attack :(

[ecosopher.livejournal.com]

It is so upsetting and rocks you to the core when that sort of thing happens to your child, isn't it? I mean, it's awful for them, too, but it's so hard to not be able to just 'make them better'. I hope she's calmer now.

[rattsu.livejournal.com]

I feel for you Gary. They are moving my job and shutting down the place where I work, we will move with them to the new place but that means getting a new place to live and outright move since it is about 3 hours drive away. Have known about this for a year now, but it is happening after new years so... yeah, stress and uncertainty is never fun.

In fact, that was the reason I dropped out of this season at the start, and well... I feel so bloody uninspired and depressed for this topic that who knows. Have a couple of hours to write it now since I work nights tonight but... we'll see.

I promised myself I would not wuss out again.

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

Glad that you were able to get something in!

The whole "this space is going away in March" has been part of my "I have no idea what is going to happen after this season". Because a new job would mean completely shifting around my schedule... and of course not having a job would mean that I would need to devote my time to *finding one*...

Unless somehow this *could* be my job... *looks at various fundraising efforts and cracks up*... yeah, that's not happening! ;)

[alephz.livejournal.com]

I just sorta feel like LJ's lower activity makes it ideal for certain kinds of information-posting because it lets me get the words out without having to worry about a bunch of people I know in my day-to-day/childhood/school lives sending me a bunch of nonsense about how my inner/internet life makes them feel.

[ecosopher.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I hear you there. My other internet presences are a lot more public and I'm just keeping LJ for me, you know? It's been with me for years now and is the constant in my life. Nobody IRL gets to read my LJ (unless I met them on LJ first) and I like it that way.

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

This weekend i was able to control my attitude and some of my actions. I made the choice yesterday to take a swimming fitness test that is the precursor to beginning scuba diving lessons.

What i did not remember/realize, until i coughed my way through a 200 yard swim, is that i had a borderline bronchitis. And Bronchitis is made worse by extreme physical exertion.
So now i'm worse. :( basically i drove the stuff deeper into my lungs, and i'm living for the next week in a tiny island country where i dont know the drugstores, dammit.
Tea, steamy showers, learning the drugstores, and taking it easy.

[roina-arwen.livejournal.com]

Ugh! Best of luck with the bronchitis!

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

It's sad when you think about filtering your FB the way you used to filter your LJ because people read/respond more on FB thsn here. Of course this would also means you can't get as deep and dark and personal as you're apt to here. Maybe that's not a bad thing in certain instances.

Some of my oldest LJ friends are now nothing more than a crosspost from other places. I haven't communicated with any of them on any level for a couple of years now.

I've thought about writing brief Idol-like entries over there under the "Notes" section just to see what kind of reaction I'd get. Would the non-Idolers on my FL there read them? Or would people just skim on by if it's longer than 3-4 sentences?

Wish me luck in my manager and I convincing HR that yes, I can do some kind of work please please please PLEASE please :crosses fingers:

[ecosopher.livejournal.com]

Aw, good luck. I hope for your sanity you can get some stuff done and work, and that it's also going to cause you NO PAIN whatsoever.

[anyonesghost.livejournal.com]

Had a holiday party. I sort of controlled that, although it's more like controlled chaos. Just did my best to prep in advance, facilitate people having a good time, and then break clean-up into manageable chunks.

Also wrote my Idol entry. I can't control the voting, but I can say that, for anyone who sees this, Beta type feedback is appreciated. (This is sort of a new thing for me.) I'll be editing up until the deadline anyway, but please -- thoughts are appreciated.

I did try to run with Gatekeeper feedback, but I may have run too far in the other direction. :-p We shall see!

[beldar.livejournal.com]

I totally understand the "losing my job" feeling, as I have been notified of the long-expected reorganization of workflow at my workplace, moving my duties to another location where there is not a job opening for me, so I say farewell to my present position at the end of January.

But on the other hand, I'll soon have more time to write on LJ, right? =)

[halfshellvenus.livejournal.com]

Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry. That's terrible news. :(

[halfshellvenus.livejournal.com]

Gary, I'm so sorry about your job. The constant financial snafus have to just be wearing you down.

Finalizing my entry, still haven't done the indoor Xmas decorating, did not yet do the holiday baking (that apparently will happen mid-week, while I'm probably struggling to read Idol entries. Yayyyy).

[bleodswean.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry to hear this, G. That's got to be weighing on you.

I've said this before. I am committed to this platform and feel it's the best medium for me and the way I want to interact. FaceBook was an epic fail and I ran screaming out of there. The work it took to actually DELETE myself from there was outrageous and seriously enraging. *shakes fist* There is no question that the constant railing against LJ is not helping it. Folks need to just keep posting and commenting.

I will say....that as far as fandoms, LJ seems to have shifted into meta rather than fic and that is a sad loss. To me.


My weekend was crazy busy with holiday and birthday and four-wheeling in the mud.

[alycewilson.livejournal.com]

Our weekend involved attending two kids' parties in one day: the first at Chuck E. Cheese and the second on a gym party at the local YMCA. Factors we could control included what our child wore, what time we got there, what presents we brought.

What we could not control: that Chuck E. Cheese would turn out to overexcite him so much that he would cry three times during the course of the party! Fortunately, the YMCA party was a bit tamer.

[millysdaughter.livejournal.com]

I post CONTENT on LJ, fluff on the book of face.
LJ is still open for business.

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

IMO that's the way it *should* be.

[hosticle-fifer.livejournal.com]

I just started my new job role at work, and I really thought I wasn't going to be able to get an entry in. I had to steal some time, maybe a little writing ended up billed as customer service, but I'm happy I actually slid something in rather than falling on my sword.

[pixiebelle.livejournal.com]

Wow, Gary... I'm so sorry to hear that about the job. Best of luck to you.

I'm still on LJ, though not as much as I used to be. But it's not in favor of FB, by any means. I hardly post over there anymore either. I'm just busy, and more private these days. I've changed a lot over the years, and tend to think before I speak online. Plus I don't have the time.

This week, I fly out to visit my family until after the holidays. And before I leave, I have to finish a novel for a client. Yes, I can write the rough draft of a novel in a week, wouldn't be the first time (thanks to Season 8 Hell Week for my ability to write fast. No joke). My editor also sent out an email offering a bonus on articles submitted by Wednesday and I'm trying not to jump on the challenge... I have too much to write before I leave already, but who doesn't need extra cash for the holidays?

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

"Wow, Gary... I'm so sorry to hear that about the job. Best of luck to you. "

Thanks. The job is still here. For now.

What is going to happen in a couple months is what is going to happen.

Part of me is looking for a life raft and the part that has been through office closings is looking at the pay out that usually happens. ;)

[adoptedwriter.livejournal.com]

It's exam week for the high school set. This is my week to work like mD w my tutoring kids. I want to make caramels, but no time. Toilet broke last night too. Plumber bill before Xmas is no Bueno. AW

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