freezing

chancer was very quiet and a bit off with both me and the guy who has been there about 4 years and worked with me on my project for the last 5 months. there was a definitely a tension in the air. it might have been because the guy i used work with made it plainly obvious that he was not happy because depsite chancer and him being given some work to do this week, chancer did none of it and left it all up to the other guy to do it all.

he was not happy about it at all and understandably so. i just kept out of it mostly, and although i didn't shit stir i did tell him what i thought about the chancer. also because we had hardly any work to do over the last week, we did discover why the project that the chancer is working on is taking so long. its because they are working at snails pace and they are exiting their datacenter at the rate of around 15 servers a month. to put that in perspective, we exited our datancenter at the rate of around 30-40 servers a week. that will take a while when you are dealing with hundred of servers and it took us around 5 months. at this rate it will take the chancer just under 4 years to finish off his datancenter exit.

anyways we think the chancer might be in a bit of a predicament. it looks like the bank has a policy where if a contractor has been there for 2 years, they tend to be asked to go permanent or leave. this afternoon all the long term contractors were being called into meetings with the bosses and we suspect they were being offered permie positions. the day of reckoning is coming for the chancer. he will have to either go permie and take a very large pay cut (around 40 grand), or if he has balls, he will walk and see if he can get another lucrative contract elsewhere.

the problem is that we are all overpaid for what we do. i know i am and can acknowledge it but unfortunately the chancer actually thinks he is worth it. i can tell you for free he ain't. he has no recent exams, no big projects or experience or exposure, and on top of that, he is lazy. you have to be either clever or hardworking. he is neither.

i think it would be hubris if he tried to get out there on the market and competing with other guys for contracts, because he ain't that good and will never get the money he has become used to. shit, i am miles better than him, and i ain't that good. i have met lots of people far better than me. lots and lots. i have also met a few people on my travels that are shit, and he is one them.

its one of the advantages of being a contractor that moves around a lot. you get a sense of perspective of the level of the talent and people out there and it makes you aware of your own shortcomings or weaknesses. you are putting yourself out there and putting yourself under scrutiny when you get grilled at interviews and if your ego can handle it, its good to be judged by other people even if its negative.

by far one of the most positive things that has happened to me was being rejected by goldman sachs after 3 long rounds of interviews culminating in a 3 hour final interview with 5 department managers and techies. they didn't end up offering me the job but they gave me good feedback and i used it to work on the things i needed to improve. ever since then i have never found myself phased or worried in an interview after having the experience of a grilling by the brains at goldmans.
chancer wouldn't have got through the first round let alone to the final 3 candidates at the 3rd interview.

anyways, its my last week at the bank next week. a few other contractors from my project are leaving as well in the next couple of weeks as well. we shall what the future has in store for us. they were all good people and i enjoyed working with them. they will end up getting something good somewhere hopefully.

gym and cycling this weekend is the plan. its freezing cold in london town and barely above 0C during the day. i played football in it last night. will be out on my bike in it tomorrow. feel cold just thinking about it.

today i have mostly been listening to the smiths - please let me get what i want. 2 minutes of genius.