Shit level: cranked up to 11.

[George K]

I have nothing to really add, but for fucks sake!

[Aqua Letifer]

@LuFins-Dad said in Shit level: cranked up to 11.:

FFS. Will keep you guys in our prayers and thoughts.

Any particular prospects for Elena (sp?)?

Hard to say. Her now-former co-workers are all putting the word out on their end, and unlike myself she's in touch with basically everyone she's ever worked with, so I feel her chances are pretty damn good. On the other hand, the job market is bizarre right now. The memes about companies desperate for employees but not hiring anyone are true in many places.

On my end, there will be some epic behind-the-scenes fights about AI, so it's not entirely a foregone conclusion. But I'd still bet on the other guys.

[LuFins Dad]

The problem is that you are going to have to go through this fight every frigging 3 months.

[Aqua Letifer]

@LuFins-Dad said in Shit level: cranked up to 11.:

The problem is that you are going to have to go through this fight every frigging 3 months.

Well, two things: For the sub-team I work for, there's only one me. Both my boss and my HR person have tried to put in a good word to get me and a couple other people hired full-time. But they have absolutely no say whatsoever. As Renauda would say it's all up to the bean-counters. And it really is.

Outside of that, I always knew this situation would probably be temporary. The problem is how I was going to position my work experience. It was dead obvious a year ago but now, it's different. For example, in the journalism world, companies using AI are pumping out 800+ articles a month. The quality is amazingly terrible but for now, the articles are doing their job: ranking the company higher in Google SERP and creating inbound traffic. Google doesn't want to lead people to shitty articles, but the algorithms haven't yet caught up with the AI content windfall so for companies, this dumbass strategy appears to be working perfectly.

As society becomes acclimated to AI bullshit, the demand for real things is going to increase quite a bit. But that too will take time.

[Aqua Letifer]

@Horace said in Shit level: cranked up to 11.:

Sorry to hear about all the stress. I hope you and your family make it through ok.

Thanks, Horace. Fortunately, I was pretty convinced the world was going to end in 2020 and I haven't yet been convinced otherwise, so I started socking some serious money away. We can make it about 6-8 months with no income if we had to. There goes the house downpayment, but a roof overhead is worth two tomorr— you know what that doesn't really work.

[LuFins Dad]

I trust you guys will be fine. The two of you have good heads on your shoulders, and one thing I know for sure is a strong work ethic.

[Aqua Letifer]

Thanks, LD. One thing my parents did a good job on was brainwashing me into a Puritanical outlook on work and employment generally. Which only means I'm constantly worried about it, not that that fear actually translates to a work ethic. But here's hopin' it does.

[Jolly]

Don't see how this could happen. Ax has reassured me repeatedly the economy is all hunky-dory.

Bullshit.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I hope things go well for you and the wife finds something very soon!

[Aqua Letifer]

@Jolly said in Shit level: cranked up to 11.:

Don't see how this could happen. Ax has reassured me repeatedly the economy is all hunky-dory.

Yeah okay. I'm always looking out for other stuff—Puritanical fear and all that—so I'll take the conversations I've had with recruiters, freelancers and colleagues over any horseshit the White House says about employment, any day.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I hope things go well for you and the wife finds something very soon!

Thanks, Jolly. We'll probably figure things out, but I wish Auden were around to see what we're going to see in the coming decade. Would make for one hell of a sequel to Age of Anxiety.

[cathys]

@Horace said in Shit level: cranked up to 11.:

Sorry to hear about all the stress. I hope you and your family make it through ok.

Aqua +1
Glad you have an emergency stash, here’s to praying that you don’t need to use it.

[Klaus]

Wow, that's really fucked up. Sorry, man !

[Doctor Phibes]

Sorry, Aqua. This sounds like really messed up corporate stuff. Bean counters and people who play politics are the worst. Hopefully you can through it quickly

[Jon]

@LuFins-Dad said in Shit level: cranked up to 11.:

I trust you guys will be fine. The two of you have good heads on your shoulders, and one thing I know for sure is a strong work ethic.

This. Hang in there buddy.

[Renauda]

Aqua, sorry to hear that your family has to endure this third party initiated crap that is beyond your control. It has always struck me that it is the productive employees who suffer the consequences of the dubious decisions of unproductive administrators and disconnected managers.

[taiwan_girl]

@Aqua-Letifer Sending positive thoughts to you that things will work out as you wish.

[89th]

Ever considered remote IT work? May not scratch your writing itch but I know you’re a pretty l337 h4x0r behind the scenes.

[Jolly]

Do you someone who does that?

[89th]

Me? Yes, I do remote IT work.

[Mik]

Me too.

[Aqua Letifer]

Thanks, @Renauda and @taiwan_girl. Day at a time I guess.

@89th said in Shit level: cranked up to 11.:

Ever considered remote IT work? May not scratch your writing itch but I know you’re a pretty l337 h4x0r behind the scenes.

Yeah, I think just about anything's up for grabs right now. I'm going to ride this out for a little bit, see which way the wind's gonna blow. I don't have nearly the level of information necessary to even make a guess, so I guess we'll wait and see. Part of the problem is that this isn't just something happening in my industry. Graphic designers, financial advisors, lawyers, medical professionals and business analysts all share the same uncertainty. "Interesting" times.

My wife's had some interviews this week that quite frankly she kicked ass at—she's far better at such things than I am anyway—so here's hoping something turns up.