Back on the clock again

After more than 18 months of actively searching for a new gig, I finally gave notice at Kyocera. My last day was Thursday, October 18, 2018. So I managed three and a half years out in Concord. 

 I had given myself Friday to decompress before starting a new contract on Monday, October 22, at Kaiser Permanente. However, things didn’t work out that way. While there wasn’t any issue with my background check, or my drug screening, or my education reference, the IT group couldn’t commit to completing my account and hardware setup by that date. The slight irony here is that I took a role with Kaiser IT. But hey, everybody takes a number and waits their turn. Especially when you’re a contractor. So they told me to wait. Then they said Wednesday. Then they said I might as well take the weekend and we’ll start fresh on Monday. New week and all, etc. So I ended up with a sort of vacation. Got in some reading, did some house projects. Drafted a new flash piece. I also worried a bit. For reasons:

For the first time in four years, I was moving into a completely new role as a contractor, with few benefits and no guarantee of a paycheck. It also meant getting back into the strict 40-hour headspace and showing up at the office every day. All day. And no aloha shirts.I was returning to a company that had downsized me after a lot of turmoil in the department (4 bosses in 13 months) and a general realignment of finances, i.e., reduction of force. Would that count against me?

So what am I doing as a Technical Consultant in User Engagement and Enablement? Herding cats, basically. Updating the IT group’s WordPress sites, writing copy, tweaking workflows, doing meetings (lots of those), helping with strategy, advocating for users. You know, general web stuff. If all goes well, the contract will turn into a regular gig. In the meantime, I’m…

• Figuring out the best configuration of limited parking optionsLooking to take the bus a few days/weekWorking from HOME on Fridays. Huzzah! Seriously, this group likes to be away. They gifted me with a dedicated remote access point so my laptop thinks it’s directly connected to mothership whenever I take it home.Extending my insurance with COBRA because it was actually cheaper than getting coverage from the contracting agency. Jeez.Making myself useful. I brought Finnish chocolate and Swedish tea this week.Dialing down the snark to appropriate levels

It’s going to be interesting, that’s for sure. I have to work in locked-down corporate systems, and security has no sense of humor. Try forgetting your badge or modifying your config files and see what happens. Still, the money will pay the bills for now, my core projects have immediate and obvious goals, and my contributions are improving the bottom line for healthcare. Certainly beats documentation for printer drivers. Oh, and my customers and team members are based in the US. No more late night/early morning conferences with lousy connections to Germany and Japan. That’s an improvement.

Does this mean I can’t decorate my cubicle with swords?