richard's notions.

hello.. more exciting news.

virginia western is willing to match what h-s offered, and, in addition to that, increase my annual salary by about six hundred dollars in a month or two, as soon as the main office approves that inband adjustment.

i never knew good news could be so stressful for a person. :)

posted by Richard Okimoto at 15:59.

SO....

i talked to my boss, here at vwcc, about these recent events. he is speaking with the head of human resources about a counteroffer. we'll see what they say... but i won't settle for less than ten percent. hehe.. how's that for boldness? not really that much, actually. it's only about 500 dollars more annually than what h-s offered.

personally, i don't think they'll make that high a counteroffer. i've worked here since january 2000, and when i was hired i was told that i would get two raises each year. one each june, and one each november (the latter being for an increase in cost of living). well, last june i didn't get a raise because they said i hadn't worked here long enough. well, despite the fact that they told me i would get that raise when i was hired, i didn't complain. let me just note that this raise in june is based on performance. and it's an all or nothing deal, you're either good enough to get a raise, or you aren't. my supervisor checked me off as being good enough. november came around, and i got that raise. a mere 3%, but hey... that's something. this past june i didn't get a raise, yet again, this time because state budget problems. hey, i can understand that, and i didn't complain to anyone about it. but come on... i should be two pay brackets higher than i am now, and they can't really expect me to ignore that, can they?

anyhow... that's the situation update.

posted by Richard Okimoto at 10:22.

ladies and gentlemen, may i present to you an absolutly perfect picture of man's lack of faith...

right when i get all whiny and self pitying about that job... (see last post) they call me and make an offer.

now, i'm not sure i'm going to take it because they had no idea how much i make now, and their guess wasn't quite there. (i just used their and there in the same sentence.) so she's going back to her boss to see about upping the salary. i said i'd at least need what i make now. i assume if they want me to work there, they will offer me more than i make now. we'll see.

either way i'm happy. i don't suck! hehe. we have a truly amazing god. when we think nothing can be done in a situation, he redeems it. of course, if you are a cynic or an alledged free-thinker, you might think i'm giving credit to a god that doesn't exist for a turn of events that would have happened regardless. but that's okay, because they are fools.

now... what am i going to do about this job and their offer and talking to my boss about a possible counter offer. oh, the questions the questions. prayers are appreciated.



posted by Richard Okimoto at 16:04.

wouldn't you know it, i change my mind about that hampden-sydney job and don't get called back about it. oh well... i guess i just suck.

posted by Richard Okimoto at 08:03.

boy, it's early. i'm here, at work this early in the morning and there are no labs until 2 o'clock this afternoon. what's worse, even those labs are already set up. all i'll have to do it make sure things are in order, which of ten minutes for three lab rooms. what a day.

monday i don't have to come to work... isn't that nice? do you?

the computer is set up at home, and all systems are go... megan will probably be online at some point.

what's that? oh, you want to get me a house warming present? sure... here, let me help you... wishlist

posted by Richard Okimoto at 07:51.

i'm in a rut, i do believe. i think it's some sort of emotional downer. i had a really exciting weekend, but it has left me with quite a ways to come down. so i'm feeling melancholy today. i don't even want to blog.

i was reading chris's blog today. he says some good things. check him out

it's been over a year since i started this blog... check out the archives (on the left <---)

posted by Richard Okimoto at 09:21.

we're moving this weekend! saturday i am saying goodbye to roanoke, finally. whew. all our things are getting packed up, into little boxes to be transported down the highway. to our cute three bedroom house. exciting times, they are. this, of course, means that the majority of my cds are packed into a dark, little box. poor things. but even moreso, poor me. :)

as i was driving to work this morning, and didn't have the cd i wanted because it was lonely in a box, i listened to the radio. this woman had called in and asked if they could play a song and dedicate it to all the parents that were sending their kids off to school today. (today was the first day of school for roanoke county public schools). they talked a little bit about it, and dick daniels (the radio guy) asked her if she was happy about it. "Oh yes! YES! I am SO happy!" was her response. they went on to talk about how good it was that she didn't have to deal with her son anymore, except that it was going to be a pain to get him up and make him go for the rest of the school year. then they went on to play the song dedication for the parents sending their kids off to school. "...It's the most wonderful day of the year!"

disgusting. is it really any wonder why our culture is ruined? it certainly was an eyeopener for me as to just how far gone we are as a country; just how saturated our country is with these problems.

posted by Richard Okimoto at 09:24.

maybe i'm not 'in' with society, but how can a christian willingly and readily watch a movie that is overtly about sex? a movie that is rated R because of "strong sexual content, crude humor, language and drinking". it seems so strange to me. oh, and sinful.

posted by Richard Okimoto at 13:52.

this morning i had a meeting, along with all the other faculty and staff of virginia western community college. they gave us breakfast. i was excited about breakfast. i shouldn't have been. i had a ham biscuit that was too much biscuit, not enough ham. oh well. there was also something black in my orange juice.

the new president talked for a little while. he seemed like a nice guy. one thing he said, in particular, has stuck in my mind. he said we need to work on getting women and afro-americans into administrative positions and other positions with authority. when he said that, a bunch of people clapped. i rolled my eyes. what we need is good people in those positions. i don't care if they're black or white, male or female. i don't even care if they're homosexual. they just need to be good. this attempt to get minorities into these positions is crap. which brings me to a funny little story. when we walked in the auditorium, we were each give two packets. one was just a copy of the powerpoint presentation he was going to go trough. the other was a survey he would like us to fill out and return to him. when he said that bit about women and blacks being put into these positions, i started thinking about how i could tell him what i thought of it. i decided i would tell him it was crap, just like i did here. shortly after making that decision, he said that people having problems with each other and not discussing them is crap. i laughed to myself. oh, another funny thing the new president (bobby) said about that topic... he was saying how at a previous school he worked at, the dean of a college couldn't stand three of the faculty members. and the faculty members hated him (the dean). so bobby worked with these individuals, and got them in a room - just bobby, the dean and the faculty member. and they talked about the problems. he said two out of the three got worked out. then he said "the third? no hope..." it was humorous.

remember my plan about not really wanting this job at hampden-sydney college, but wanting them to offer me the position so i could come back here and tell them to give me more money? well... i've changed my mind. i think i'd rather work at hampden-sydney. i hope the pay is better, and i hope they offer me the position. that would be nice.

next weekend (not this coming weekend, but the one after that) we'll be moving. we're excited. we got a nice little three bedroom house (for rent) right across the street from one of the elders of our church. i'm excited about that. in fact... i'm going to call the realtor and find out when we can sign the lease.

posted by Richard Okimoto at 11:29.

right now i wish i were as cool as sco.

posted by Richard Okimoto at 11:22.

i'm working on this stupid template. i don't want to hear any complaints.

if you don't like it, make me a nice pretty page... i will be happy to use that instead.

posted by Richard Okimoto at 11:08.

if i were really artsy, i could write some stuff here that would make you go 'wow'. oh well.

posted by Richard Okimoto at 13:34.