It's the Economy, Stupid

Remember those words from the Clinton era? Is anyone even old enough to remember that line? It won Clinton the election.

The economy came to my workplace this weekend. And it's interesting how US labor laws differ from so many other places in the world. For example, as a US employee, I'm entitled to an automatic 5% pay cut starting in mid-March, no ifs, ands, or buts. In other places in the world, employees must agree to the pay cut. They are also cutting several other benefits, including, oddly, the value of my life insurance. This last because the value of my life insurance is tied to my salary, and if my salary goes down, so does my life insurance. The company is looking at mandatory vacation and a lot of other options. Good times.

The good news of course, is that I still have a job, as does everybody in my department. We seem to be a cash machine at the moment, so life goes on as best we're able.

Back-trip

After a lot of planning and thinking, I've decided to head back to the States in March and June. In March, I'll be taking care of some personal business. Especially, I'll be interviewing some painting contractors in order to have my house in San Francisco painted. Then in June, I'll oversee the painting, and head back to the East Coast to visit the family and take care of some family business.

I'm looking forward to visiting with my friends in San Francisco, and my family. It's been quite some time since I've seen everyone.