WC 1M Post Challenge - You Ready?!

[MSFTisMIA]

I'm pretty sure I never bought anything on Black Friday.

I did buy something on the old Boxing Day sales back in the day but I basically stay away from all that stuff in general.

The stuff I currently need to buy has little to do with consumer goods.

My indifference is moreso about there are some investment pieces, like the stuff for my own professional development I had earmarked to pickup this weekend - the ultra book - that's now off the tablet thanks to something last minute more pressing. Plus, there are some basic items I need to replace.

I guess another piece of my indifference is now having to put off the real phone upgrade I wanted to do - the GF to a S10+.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

I appreciate Google going back to a dark mode for its apps. I just would rather a "true black" options as well if one has some OLED panel being used.

 

[libra89]

I appreciate Google going back to a dark mode for its apps. I just would rather a "true black" options as well if one has some OLED panel being used.

I agree, that would be nice. I set them anyway.

Aside from food apps and the real estate app I use, most of my apps have a dark mode, which is so great to have now. Google has a clue, finally.

 

[libra89]

So I'm at work and I'm going to leave at 1:30 today to go to my interview which is at 3:30 on the other side of Paris. It's closer to Paris than what I am now. I can't say with any certainty that I'll be taking this new position.

I'm really tired because I haven't slept well with all the nonsense that's going on. Our landlords are being jerks and I'm ready for a fight (figuratively speaking) if I have to. They will lose but it may take time to sort it and I don't really want the expense. But I will if I have to.

Along with that the stupid agency we dealt with about a house we were interested in has asked again for the same documents FOUR times! This is just insane. I really don't want to deal with these people but if there's still a possibility of getting this place (if I stay in my current position) then it's good to keep this option open.

Ugh this sounds very frustrating. I do hope that everything went fine for you.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

I agree, that would be nice. I set them anyway.

Aside from food apps and the real estate app I use, most of my apps have a dark mode, which is so great to have now. Google has a clue, finally.

There was a dark mode. Honeycomb and Ice Cream Sandwich had one, as their menus were already in this grey style. It was when Google went away from that look with this material crap in 5.0 people started complaining about where all this white came from.

 

[Laura Knotek]

My indifference is moreso about there are some investment pieces, like the stuff for my own professional development I had earmarked to pickup this weekend - the ultra book - that's now off the tablet thanks to something last minute more pressing. Plus, there are some basic items I need to replace.

I guess another piece of my indifference is now having to put off the real phone upgrade I wanted to do - the GF to a S10+.

I hope everything works out, and you'll be able to get the things that both of you need soon.

 

[N_LaRUE]

So yesterday I was an exhausted mess. I had a decent sleep but I'm still feeling pretty rough.

Even in that mode I still managed to go to an interview and do well. Surprisingly.

The agent thinks I have the position but I am keeping my mind open to the idea that I may not. A big stumbling spot is language. So I need to assess that and find out how big of one it really is and I guess they're sorting that out as well.

The thing I was not too aware of is that I would be a supervisor or lead. So I'll be in charge of three people and also deal with exchange offices overseas. This is fine but this adds to the language issue within the department if those I'm working with can't speak English that well etc.

So I guess we'll see. Unfortunately I won't find out until Monday. Remember I mentioned that it would have been great to have the interview early in the week? Well I was right. They have the last Friday of every month off. Guess which Friday it is?

 

[N_LaRUE]

Next there's a possibility the Nokia 9 may be showing up today. Though I haven't been told about it by the company.

I also have a feeling that if it is the phone coming today (I am waiting on something else but that just came as regular mail last time) that the Sony Xperia 5 will be with it as well. It's from the same company.

I guess I'll find out.

 

[N_LaRUE]

Next there's a possibility the Nokia 9 may be showing up today. Though I haven't been told about it by the company.

I also have a feeling that if it is the phone coming today (I am waiting on something else but that just came as regular mail last time) that the Sony Xperia 5 will be with it as well. It's from the same company.

I guess I'll find out.

OK so the Nokia 9 is back but not the Sony. They're still claiming it's stuck in customs... for over a month now. Weird how the Nokia 9 got through with no issues...

We're going to start pestering them now. Going to check on our insurance with our bank etc too. This is ridiculous.

 

[N_LaRUE]

So I've mentioned how odd French systems can be sometimes. I have a perfect example for you.

I'm in the process of opening a company bank account. There's a long story behind that but in general I'm forming a company with my wife and I sort of have to legally.

Anyway, as part of the setup I need to provide the name and address of where I was born. This is for a bank account.... Let that sink in.

Thing is it no longer exists. Luckily we found the information but this is the unusual nonsense that can trip you up here in France.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

I hope everything works out, and you'll be able to get the things that both of you need soon.

Thanks. Things will work out as they are supposed to, so I'm not too worried.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

OK so the Nokia 9 is back but not the Sony. They're still claiming it's stuck in customs... for over a month now. Weird how the Nokia 9 got through with no issues...

We're going to start pestering them now. Going to check on our insurance with our bank etc too. This is ridiculous.

It's becoming quite the saga. SMH.

 

[N_LaRUE]

It's becoming quite the saga. SMH.

Yeah. Never buying from this place again. Completely lost my trust now.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

Yeah. Never buying from this place again. Completely lost my trust now.

That's highly unfortunate.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

I don't regret any of the LGs I've used over the past year. I always wanted the V30 but the display kept me away. If I had to do it over, I'd have just gotten a Korean V50 only, then a G8 second.

It's the same old two step with LG. Their handsets are very good. But they're perceived to be weaker vs others at the price point they start out at and crush some of the premium mid rangers when they fall in price. I've seen the new UX, which looks to be a bit of an improvement.

They'll need a newer design though (this current one started with the G6), and some other updates next year. If it were up to me, I'd focus on the camera and design for LG...and make the update situation better by providing bi monthly security patch releases. I don't mind the G series being the safer phone and the V series being the bigger screen with one wacky feature.

I think the ToF sensor in the G8 was a great start. I almost wished that they would make the V series phones a bit bigger an put two ToF sensors at the bottom of the display and drop the UDFS to go in with face/palm/fingerprint by air and use palm recognition/fingerprint mapping for unlocking. Study how people's hand motions are toward reaching for their devices and doing that vs forcing people to use certain gestures. I'd love them to offer secure face unlock, secure hand unlock and secure fingerprint unlock without touching the screen. And to make it more secure to study how people are naturally unlocking phones vs when someone is coercing you (blood pressure levels maybe?)

I'd do that. And keep the audio. And continue to improve on the camera. That's the kind of different I'd want from LG.

Their resale value is so horrid. It really is. Samsung was offering $300 for the V40 Asa trade in to a S10 device. Google was offering $200 to a Pixel 4. LG was just running a BOGO for the G8.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

So I'm headed into work and have to point this out. I see this housing insecure young non brown person sleeping in the train. Now, typically with my stop on the train, the housing insecure folks are brown and much older - person looks under thirty. Which leads me to suspect they could be in the LGBTQ community (vibe I got which is why I'm not using regular gender pronouns), the substance using transient influx (you've got some folks floating from other parts of the country chasing substances), both or something else.

I know this wasn't typical housing insecure because they smoked between the cars.
NYC mass transit has been smoking free for eons now. The person also moved around a lot once people started looking - because the car started reeking of smoke. The brand being smoked was Newport - a smell I dislike intensely. Most regular housing insecure try not to draw more attention to themselves.

Youth and privilege says you still do what you want, eh?

 

[MSFTisMIA]

The Axon 10 Pro is a very interesting option where the wkeend sale has the high end model for $500. It's another curved screen. Sigh.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

The Axon 10 Pro is a very interesting option where the wkeend sale has the high end model for $500. It's another curved screen. Sigh.

On the flip side, looks like B&H has the Xperia 5 on display. Seems I need to take a trip to check it out. They have it black, which of ours is the color I'd stay away from. Although, Sony's piano black has been consistently one of the best shades of black for a long time.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

Train delays - broken rail - have me crawling into work. I'm glad people traffic have been light due to the holiday. If this was regular Friday commute, the frustration would have been noticeably higher (not on my part personally).

 

[N_LaRUE]

So yesterday I was an exhausted mess. I had a decent sleep but I'm still feeling pretty rough.

Even in that mode I still managed to go to an interview and do well. Surprisingly.

The agent thinks I have the position but I am keeping my mind open to the idea that I may not. A big stumbling spot is language. So I need to assess that and find out how big of one it really is and I guess they're sorting that out as well.

The thing I was not too aware of is that I would be a supervisor or lead. So I'll be in charge of three people and also deal with exchange offices overseas. This is fine but this adds to the language issue within the department if those I'm working with can't speak English that well etc.

So I guess we'll see. Unfortunately I won't find out until Monday. Remember I mentioned that it would have been great to have the interview early in the week? Well I was right. They have the last Friday of every month off. Guess which Friday it is?

So after emailing the agent it appears he's pretty confident I'll get the position. I'll know for sure Monday.

Here's the rundown of the benefits of changing from my current situation.

Pay - I'll end up being paid more and will likely get yearly increases. Yes this is still a contract position.

Contract - Longer contract length, I currently only have a 6 month contract that gets extended for another 6 months. It's likely the new one will be 2-3 years. This works better for getting a place to live and it's likely to get extended.

Location - I have nothing against where I live currently, we had plans to move to Versailles. However, the newer area opens up better options and opportunities for my wife and our lifestyle in general.

Work - overall I'll end up enjoying this position more than the one I am currently doing. It's more in line with my discipline of the last 25+ years.

Are there any negatives? Yes.

The building and it's interior are not very inspiring. It's a bit meh and apparently recently renovated inside. It felt very jumbled and awkward feeling.

The area also lacks any easy options for lunch outside the office. Which is a bit annoying as I'm not too keen on office cafeterias.

Overall though the benefits outweigh the negatives.

On the whole I'm getting more excited by the idea and looking forward to a change. At first I was a bit anxious and nervous about the risks but I'm feeling better now. I now my current manager and some co-workers are going to be a bit upset but I hope they can see that this is better for me and not take it personally.