Book of Jamez

55 y/o malcontent, something of a writer

Author: Jamez

  • 4 Months of Success – and many returns

    This marks month four of exceeding the financial goals for the new company. This means that we are doing better than we had planned in our budget – billing out approximately 10% more a month that we had anticipated.

    The best part? We’re just getting started! Clients keep calling us for work, and despite the other company’s hilarious attempts to roadblock old clients files, we’re stacking up projects right and left.

    In May we launch our Website and will be sending out a Marketing letter (we didn’t have to hire anyone at $50,000 plus 3% of advertising income to accomplish these things either) that will drum up even more business and hopefully lead to more growth in the company.

    Honesty, determination, and a belief in a power greater than ourselves is what is helping us to continue our success. Thanks go to God, and everyone who believed we could do it.

  • Destiny – on the Happy Road

    I guess it was almost 14 years ago that I first met her. Such a happy girl, full of spunk and a tongue that just wouldn’t stop – Not like that… Destiny Rose, a black and white Shih tzu, who had a serious tongue fixation. She was Suzanne’s dog, her best friend for 14 years. Suzanne had to have her put to sleep recently, which I know was a hard decision to come to. Destiny had gotten pretty old, was blind and deaf and had started to growl at anyone who came near her, even Suzanne.

    Looking back, I will always remember the sweet puppy that licked me non-stop, licked anyone non-stop and always wanted to be with her Momma. She was more than a dog to Suzanne’s family, more than a dog to me too, she was an essential part of every day life.

    I had the opportunity on numerous occasions to dog sit for Suzanne. And let me tell you, Destiny knew just how to manipulate me. She was a master con artist when it came to treats, and she always knew just when you were about to fall into a deep sleep (she’d bark right then). If her Momma were there it wouldn’t have been that way, she almost always listened to her Momma.
    (See this old post for a fine example of her conniving: http://mrjamezq.blogspot.com/2006/02/why-i-hate-destiny.html )

    When I was a young boy, attending Sunday School at a southern Baptist church, I recall the teacher telling me that animals don’t have a soul and wouldn’t go to heaven. Let me assure you, Destiny proved her wrong, she had more soul, more heart, more everything than you could possibly imagine.

    Rest in Peace Destiny.

  • The Cult Leader Visits DC

    Bill Maher did a spectacular job of speaking on the Catholic Church and the Pope on Friday’s show.
    http://www.billmaher.com/?page_id=232

    So I wonder when CNN says: “Security precautions have been taken in the air, on land and in the water for the visit.”

    Do you think someone is protecting the children, altar boys or underage?

  • Broadway

    So I had my first weekend trip to NYC to see a Broadway show. I took the train up, as i find it much more relaxing than the airplane. I had downloaded the movie: Starfall to watch on my way up which was very enjoyable, and there was a cute guy sitting across from me too – that’s always a bonus. I arrived around 12:30, had lunch at the Ruby Tuesday that was right near the hotel (stayed at the Newark Airport Residence Inn) and checked in early. Took a 2 hour nap and waited for my friend Suzanne to arrive. Suzanne and I had dinner at the JW Prime Steakhouse (at the Marriott at the airport) and then headed back to our suite. The two bedroom suite was very nice, though we hardly used the kitchen at all.

    The plan on Saturday was to spend the morning shopping, before we headed off for Times Square; but when we were preparing to leave we discovered someone had broken into Suzanne’s car over night, the drivers side window had been smashed in and glass was everywhere. They were apparently looking for her GPS system, which she had in the room with us. They left her Ipod, her CD’s, and DVDs all in the car, so the only loss was the window and shopping time.

    Time Square was a real treat, my first visit there and I really liked it (despite the people). I could spend a day there shopping.

    In the theater, waiting for Suzanne to arrive out of the mile long ladies restroom I swear I saw Leslie Jordan who had a recurring role on Will and Grace over the years, that was a treat in itself. The play, Young Frankenstein, was stupendous, even with two understudies standing in for the lead male role and the Inga role, it was still VERY good. Suzanne and I especially loved Igor, he stole the show.

    Saturday night we headed to a local mexican restaurant that Suzanne loves and met up with a guy that she went to high school with and his girlfriend, then it was off to an AA meeting, which was also very good.

    Sunday, Suzanne took off fairly early and I headed back in the afternoon. All in all, it was a great trip and I hope to spend more time the next time I go see a show.

  • Death of a Thousand Cuts

    I found this on Wiki and it seems oddly appropriate for what’s been happening:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_slicing
    Slow slicing (simplified Chinese: 凌迟; traditional Chinese: 凌遲; pinyin: língchí, alternately transliterated Ling Chi or Leng T’che), also translated as the slow process, the lingering death, or death by/of a thousand cuts, was a form of execution used in China from roughly AD 900 to its abolition in 1905. The term língchí derives from a classical description of ascending a mountain slowly.The process involved tying the person to be executed to a wooden frame, usually in a public place. The flesh is then cut from the body in very small pieces. Often drugs were administered throughout the process to keep the victim from dying.The punishment works on three levels: as a form of public humiliation, as a slow and lingering death, and as a punishment after death. According to the Confucian principle of filial piety or xiaoto alter one’s body or to cut the body is a form of unfilial paractice. Lingchitherefore contravenes the demands of xiao. In addition, to be cut to pieces meant that the body of the victim would not be ‘whole’ in a spiritual life after death.

    Who knew he was planning to shoot himself in the foot at the same time as he was being sliced? Go figure.

  • The Question On Everyones Mind

    “So, Jamez…” they say, “I’ve been reading your blog and was wondering if you’ve been unemployed since January.”

    No actually. I haven’t been unemployed all year, well half a day I guess…

    Jim started up his own company and I’ve gone to work for him, doing the same things we did at the last place.

    Its been very interesting, setting up an office, choosing furniture, computers, supplies. There are so many things you just take for granted in an established company that slip your mind. Who do you get for your internet service provider, what phone plan… it’s been crazy.

    Jim is known and trusted by so many clients he just kept on working. Several clients since have asked to have their files, photos, and such transferred over to the new company which is keeping us very busy. The big client from the last job recently divvied up the jobs between the two firms, the old company with three surveyors in the office got 20 properties, and us… with one surveyor, 15, so I think we made out alright.

    We’re meeting our financial goals for the company, doing volunteer work for organizations that Jim has been involved with for years and generally having a good time. There are no newsletters, no meetings to renumber all the files (we went alphabetically A comes before B you know), no wet blanket entering the room – ruining the fun.

    So things continue to look up, clients continue to come in and if all goes well, it would be nice to hire more people by the end of the year (and according tour our financial plan, we could actually do that soon).

    So there you have it, life goes on and not much has changed at all in my life. I pray, when the resentment gets to strong, for that certain someone to get better. And I pray all the time for the people that are left with him, they certainly need it.

    In the meantime, I’ll try to focus on the more positive aspects of life and try to let go of some of my anger. So look here to see how we’re doing with the company, our growth plans and any thing else that comes up that’s entertaining.

  • Let's Be Perfectly Clear

    I was fired, you sent a kill command to my blackberry, my computer and told me to vacate the premises.

    So when you have employees call up or email and ask where files might be, I am under no obligation to answer. I was willing to stay with the firm for 30 days, and remain reachable beyond that for questions and support, your ego wouldn’t allow that to happen.

    As a result: Do I have any idea where such and such file might be? Yes. Am I required to help you find it? No.

    You created and implemented a new filing system for all the files on your network that was going to “streamline” your business…. try using that road map to find your files.

  • Where there is smoke…

    I had started to decide in November, during the company retreat to Cancun that I needed to move on. The amount of animosity between my two bosses kept growing and growing. Both of them were talking to me about what was going on, but neither would talk to the other.

    I expressed to John, while in line to go back to the US that if I quit, he and Jim would be forced to reconcile for the business to continue on. John said that if I quit the company would fail… seriously, he said this.

    So, in December, at a low point in the company when I returned from a vacation – I decided to leave the company. My resume was being worked on each day as I came to work.

    John’s behavior continued on as if nothing were wrong. He submitted a strategic plan for the coming 3 years that had no financial plan at all – when a staff member pointed this out, he appeared at least a little embarrassed – but still believed in his 3 year plan to sell the newsletter, the website, and a massive data base of information people would pay to see. I realized it would be like this regardless of who was working for him, his pipe dreams to make millions instantly are the core of his company.

    So I let Jim know in Mid December that I would be giving notice by February 1. He tried to talk me out of it, but at the time he still had hope he and John could work things out.

    The day before John fired Jim, I again pleaded with him to reconsider. To give it two weeks where everyone could think about it. But he plowed on and said it had to happen that day, December 31st. Which again leads me to believe his entire motivation for firing Jim was financial – he has to help pay for the Commune in MN.

    People who know the company were shocked that day, shocked… not one of them saw this coming at all, not one of them took me seriously when I told them, not one of them thinks the company has a future now that the one person to counter John’s lunacy is no longer there.

  • When did it start? and why?

    I don’t know the why of it… I can speculate that he was having troubles making payments on his credit cards and to investments groups that he belongs to (he has a habit of discussing his financial issues in the open office for all to hear).

    In the summer he first started to talk about changes, and made me start to wonder what was going on. He mentioned selling staff and consultants shares of Company stock to get them more invested in how the company was doing. I was skeptical, and made it clear that the employees seemed pretty dedicated to their jobs already.

    In July or August he decided that we should honor Jim for one of his drawings and show the company’s appreciation, during our Fall trip to Cancun, for all the hard work he had done over the years… now this might not come as a shock to anyone reading, good companies do that… but at this company I was told over and over and over again that they don’t do that… they recognize employees all year long in salary and bonuses. (my hinting at Administrative Professionals day got me a talking to). So, I started to create a plan to do a slide show with photos of those who know and have worked with Jim over the years… John stepped in and said: Jim isn’t dying and he isn’t going anywhere. He didn’t want it to seem funeral like (Jim’s mother in law had passed away and her grand daughter made a slide show – it was a good slide show). So the idea was scraped.

    It wasn’t even a month after that that John approached me about changing the structure of the firm and hinted at getting rid of Jim. I approached him about checks and balances and asked if Jim weren’t there to stop him or advise him, what was to keep him from doing crazy things. He said “you Jamez”.

    The only things that I know happened between then was he and his siblings are trying to buy property in MN, (I edited the document for him) and if he was struggling to pay his credit card bills and his investment group, how was he going to afford this?

    Perhaps that’s the motivation, I don’t know.

    When I said in early fall that getting rid of Jim was a mistake and he needed to rethink it, he agreed. Then it came back in October, and I again said it was a bad idea. In December, when he was about to fire Jim, the night before I said: Don’t fire him, give it some time… He said he couldn’t wait any longer. These are fine examples of him listening to someone.

  • Hypothetical Math

    So the two Principals of the firm both billed out (each) $350,000 annually
    The top architect, under the Principals billed out about $250,000 annually
    Then approximately (by the rest of the staff) about $142,000 annually
    and add in consultants billings are about $101,000 annually
    Bringing a grand total of billed amounts to clients at $1,200,000 roughly

    You have annual payroll of about: $965,000

    The President of the company decides to hire someone to be the “marketing manager” to sell the website and the newsletter, which have already been proven to be a huge success (note sarcasm). And wants to pay that person $50,000 plus 3% of all advertising and lets assume bonuses. This person does not have billable work, really… just to sell the newsletter, and given how popular and how many years its been making money this is a lot of work (again with the sarcasm). And you budget $40,000 towards a revamped website ($10,000 every other month until July).

    So how do you afford to pay this person and this huge project? You fire your top earner… that’s right, you fire one of the people bringing in $350,000 worth of income annually. Not only that, but you also raise salaries and billable rates of all employee’s by 5%. This not only pays for the new person, but it also means there is a significant pay increase for the owner.

    The employees may not get bonuses this year. The Profit Sharing plan, can be rewritten now that the Board of Directors is only one person, he can make up the rules as he goes along. The profit sharing is due to go in very soon, so its likely he’s already changed the rules to make this not happen. Lets say he hires his new office manager at $62,000, this is a $10,000 increase in the amount of salary he was paying his last office manager.

    I wouldn’t let this guy near my checkbook, he doesn’t seem to understand simple math.