Down, but Not Done

The good thing about this unemployment thing is my time is my own. The bad thing about unemployment is no money, and I seem to only socialize with my kitties (not bad) and have 'fake' conversations with head hunters and hiring managers. At least I'm doing that! It is what is is.

Weekend
I spent a lot of this weekend as a 'Tornado Tourist' and I'm not ashamed. I had to meet my former employer downtown to get my stuff from my former office. I think they (my former bosses) were just as pissed with these guys as I was and they played their end of the game. My Bosses made the contractor come downtown to meet me, get my badge and give me my stuff. I'm almost positive they didn't want to do it, I certainly wasn't driving to Alpharetta to give it to them. So I met with the guy at a snack bar, gave him my badge, got my stuff and all is good. Unfortunately they didn't give me all my stuff, but that's another story. So I left a bit earlier to just walk around. I took Marta to the CNN/Phillips/GWCC station and walked. I walked down Techwood, skirted Centenial Park, took Luckie towards Peachtree. All the glass, the bricks, the tree branches. What a mess.

Then I got an Idea.

All the glass in the gutters, in the grass, all over, and so pretty in the sunlight. The glass from the Equitible building was a smoky brown, there was clear glass with a silver tinting on it, and there was thick glass from street lights or head lights. Wouldn't that make some great earrings/necklaces? I need to smooth the edges, but wrap it in wire and that would be unique. So I started collecting glass. Yes, I got some strange looks, and I felt a bit strange going thru the trash, but I got a lovely collection. I need to borrow a tumbler and get to work.

On Saturday, a friend and I joined Hands On Atlanta an hundreds of other volunteers in Cabbagetown to help with the clean up. The damage was pretty sad, mostly roofs covered with tarps, some decks and porches destroyed, a few cars with trees growing out of them, and lots of trees felled. We were directly behind the Cotten Mill Lofts, so we could see where the roof was blown off of that and the path of the tornado. As with most things HOA, it wasn't the most organized. They signed people up, turned them over in groups of 10, to a guide that took them to a street to help. We were taken to a street after another group went, and they didn't have enough work. So we started roaming. It was funny, a band of 10 people armed with chain saws, hammers and tarps looking to help someone. I called us 'Roving Angles'. We found some places to help, cutting trees, moving branches, picking up shingles. We stayed until around 1:30. Cabbagetown is a pretty interesting place, very eclectic (which I just love!), but old, tiny houses. Smaller even than the one I live in.

Saturday evening/night I went to cookout at a friends house, to celebrate their new addition of a deck and sliding glass doors. It looks lovely, they've done wonders to that house. It was fun, but I didn't stay long, I was tired.

Job Hunt
OK, so I had a phone interview on Monday, I've got an interview with a head hunter tonite, the IIBA (Business Analyst professional organization) is meeting tonite, and tomorrow is the Decatur Seekers in the morning, and a PMI professional lunch (Project Managers), then maybe dinner with some friends. I'm keeping busy for now.

Interview Questions
If you've ever asked a great question, let me know. I need to get some good questions to ask the prospective employer what their style is. Two questions that I will use:

'What kind of direction will management give?'
'What behaviors do you feel will make a successful employee?'
'Do you have staff meetings? How often? How long do they last?'

I've had issues with micro managers in the past, and most recently very little, if any direction from managment. I want to get to the bottom of this during the interview. No micro-manager will admit to being a micro manager, but there has to be some way to determine that before I get the job. I've been in departments where there is no communication, and most recently, the meetings lasted 2 hours at least. That is a waste of time. Any suggestions ?

BTW
Mr. Not a CoWorker Anymore has made NO Effort to contact me, I did call him and he never returned the call. ( I called him and told him I wasn't going to be home that night.) I sent him an email and he answered. What should I do? Let it slide? Try one more time? I need to keep this guy in my network, only for employment leads, now and in the future.

More to come...
As things happen, I'll be posting. Thanks for taking the time to read. You're opinions are welcome but if you have to start calling me names, don't bother, I won't read them. As my Dad says 'Opinions are like a**holes, everyone has one.'