stripping,

Last week, I was thinking about the thread stripping test I need to kick off regarding the screws on my steering gear. I go up to Ken, the 30-something-year-old engineer who knows everything and ask, “You know that stripping thing I’m going to do?” As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I was paralyzed. I could not believe I just said that! He simply responded, “Yeah?” and I broke down in giggles! Oops! Everyone got a good laugh out of that line.

On a related note, my favorite sweatpants to wear to the gym are wide-legged dark grey pants with no elastic around the ankles because they’re easy to take off.

One of the middle aged engineers who I work with has Notorious B.I.G. ‘s “Big Poppa” as his ringtone.

I needed to ask my boss a question one day when he was in and out of meetings. I finally caught him the fifth time I walked by his office. He looked to be rushing off to another meeting. I said, “Wait, I have just one question, can I follow you and ask on the way?” To which he replied, “Well, I’m going to the bathroom and I don’t think that’s allowed.” I was a little embarrassed. If I was a guy, it would still be weird if I followed him to the bathroom to ask a question, right?

I think everyone has seen that forward that got e-mailed around about borderline inappropriate/silly announcements that have been read at church. For example: “At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.” “The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.” “Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B.S. is done.” “Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.” “Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.”

At church a couple weeks ago, we had our own version (though not quite as funny as the e-mail.) There were 6 or 7 announcements read and one of them was, “After mass today, stop by the usher’s table and buy a delicious Easter ham.” The very next announcement was, “In two weeks, St. Isidore’s will be hosting a blood pressure screening.” Someone had a good time writing the announcements. I wonder if they did that on purpose.

I needed a couple months to write this

It’s finally time to talk about what happened in December.

I got laid off from my beloved airbag job with Company A. It was sad and traumatizing and embarrassing and awful. They insisted that it was not a decision based on performance (how messed up is that?) but I took the news really hard. Things had slowed down at work but as young cheap labor, I figured I’d be one of the last to go.

Two months before it happened, I had applied for a job as a crash test engineer for NHTSA in DC, so I already had my resume together. Plus, it had only been 2 years since the last time I was seriously job hunting. The day it happened though, I had absolutely no idea that it was coming.

Sometimes, when kids fall down, they start crying, more because they’re scared than from the hurt or physical pain. I think that’s what happened to me, at least initially. I bawled my eyes out for three hours, while I was trying to get my stuff together, during my exit interviews with HR, while I called my brother, etc. I just kept thinking, “No one is hiring in Detroit, Even if I do find a job here, it’ll never be something I actually want to do, my new commute will be awful, I’ll never have another great boss, I’m going to have to sell my condo for a huge loss and move away from my family and church and gym and softball team…” I was inconsolable.

During the exit interview, I actually had to take a break to get more Kleenex.

But it’s really amazing how things work out. The company gave me a pretty nice severance package. They hooked me up with a professional service to help me network and job search. They helped me get an interview in a different business unit. It didn’t totally suck.

And even though Detroit news is mostly Doom and Gloom, I ended up having three interviews for three great jobs, three job offers, and got 7 weeks off at Christmas. I collected unemployment and five days before Christmas, I accepted a job with a competitor that would start three weeks after New Year’s. I asked for a modest raise from what I was making, not expecting to get it, and they gave me even more than I asked for. If the story ended there, that would be a pretty happy ending to a pretty sad story. But there’s more.

I started my new job with Company B and for the first week, things were pretty great. I was catching on fast and was extremely impressed by the new company’s business practices. It’s no wonder that they actually make money.

During my second week, my boss (the guy who hired me in who I very much clicked with), got re-orged out of his management position. He was still in the group but I wasn’t reporting to him anymore and he was working on different projects. I was sad about that. The guy who took his position was new to the company. I was new to the company. Another guy from the group started a week before I did. That’s three new people (one is the manager) in a group of 7 people who are new to the company in the last 3 weeks. I didn’t like that very much.

During my third week, I literally was sitting at my desk thinking, “this is not what I signed up for” when my cell phone rang. It was company A. They wanted me back, but to work in the different business unit. I was delighted but confused.

I asked company A for a ridiculous amount of money. They agreed to meet me halfway between my new salary with company B and my ridiculous suggestion. I went home that night and made a list. The categories were Reasons to leave company B, Reasons to stay at Company B, Reasons to go back to company A, Reasons to stay away from company A. Coincidently, I was meeting with most of my family that night for family togetherness/watch-my-brothers-coach-high-school-basketball time. They told me that they would support me in whatever decision I made. (In retrospect, I realize that support was key.)

There were lots of factors that I weighed during my decision-making process but in the end, my list told me that I should definitely go back to company A. It was an agonizing decision to make and even though company B is more financially stable, I decided I was ready to do something new. So then I needed to figure out how to leave company B without completely burning all my bridges, and convince them that I didn’t need to give them 2 weeks notice.

I wrote a letter of resignation and planned to meet with my boss and give it to him on the Friday of my 5th week there. I made my announcement to the boss at 8am. An hour later, I had to announce it to his boss. Another hour later, I had to announce it to the guy who hired me in. They told me HR couldn’t meet with me for my exit interview until after lunch. So I took a long lunch and when I got back to my desk (I’ve never told anyone this part of the story) my thumb drive was sitting on my desk. I had dropped it somewhere on company grounds. Someone had found it and figured out that it belonged to me based on the identifying file that had my name and address on top followed by, “Dear Boss, Effective today, I am leaving Company B…” I don’t know who found it but I’m so glad that they returned it to me, even after figuring out that I was leaving. Pretty classy.

The following Monday, I started in the steering division for company A. I’ve been working for 10 weeks on steering gears and it’s been fabulous. But that’s not the end of the story…

When I left company B, I exchanged contact info with the guy who hired me in (who got re-orged out of his management position). We lamented about not being able to work together after looking forward to working together.

Two weeks ago, I got an e-mail from him and he told me that Company B laid him off. And the guy who started a week before I did. And two other people I worked with. And 20 some other people at that office. He congratulated me on dodging a bullet. I’m sure that if I had stayed with Company B, my head would have been on the chopping block. Not sure how I would have handled being laid off twice in 4 months. That’s the end of the story. (Well, except for that on the first day on my new job at Company B, I got to make a triumphant return and say hello/goodbye to all the people I used to work with. That rocked.)

I’ve grown up a lot. It’s scary to make decisions that affect how your life will turn out and knowing you will have to live with them. It was good for me that I got to experience this at a young age. (To get laid off for the first time when you're 45 with a family to support would be awful.) There were many lessons learned.

And now, for a public service announcement:
Things you can do if you know someone who has been laid off:
1) Invite them over for dinner. Do not offer to take them out to dinner. Taking them out for drinks could be acceptable.
2) Stay in touch. Call, e-mail, pick their brain about the specifics of their daily life. They don’t get to socialize all day. They are alone with their thoughts all day long. Allow them to express their frustration, concern, and anger. They need someone to bounce ideas off of.
3) If possible, help them network. Ask for their resume, what they’re interested in doing, etc.

What to do if you’ve been laid off:
1) Email me. I can help.
2) Try to think positive thoughts. Lots of people can come out ahead, no matter how desperate the situation. Being positive also makes networking easier.
3) Network – call professional contacts, e-mail, let everyone know that you’re looking for a job. You never know who knows someone who needs someone like you.
4) During the exit interview, try to remain calm and avoid expressing animosity. Think about what you want other people’s parting memory of you to be. (I have long since accepted that there are 3 people who’s parting memory of me is me bawling my eyes out).
5) Don’t take what doesn’t belong to you.
6) Collect Unemployment.
7) Don’t spend money to make yourself feel better.

I survived. So will you.

There are a couple things that helped me get through that rough time in my life. The first was my rainy day fund that I had been contributing to since I got my first job. It was nice to know that while I was laid off, money would not be one of my concerns, (at least not for a couple months). If you don’t have a rainy day fund, start one now. Today. Seriously. Even if it’s only with 50 bucks. Put it in mutual funds. You can get to it if you need it but you won’t be tempted to raid it for frivolous things.

The other necessity was the loving support of family and friends. There is always a special place in my heart for people who were good to me when I really needed them. (“I was hungry and you fed me, I was naked and you clothed me…”) There’s no way to truly express my gratitude. I can say thank you, but I never feel like it’s enough.

Highlights From a Week-Long Design Review

The crazy customer specification I described in a previous entry has a name - the Siberian Tow Truck spec.

Last week, engineers from offices all over the world (England, Germany, Mexico, France, and ummm, Tennessee) gathered at our location for a design review. This means 50 people made presentations during the week about their specific contributions to the design while everyone else took turns assaulting them with hard questions. Since I’ve only been with my group for 10 weeks and have yet to earn my title as Queen of Fasteners, I was excused from presenting. I didn't think it would be fair to grill people without having the opportunity to be grilled (like a George Foreman, grilling should go both ways), so on my own, I excused myself from asking questions.

On the first day, everybody introduced themselves. There were 50-some participants. Most are engineers. Three of us are female.

I think I’ve mentioned before that lots of times, the things we say about our steering gears can be taken out of context and that gives me the giggles at work sometimes.

Land Rover has a requirement that its steering gear must be fully operational when submerged in water at ambient temperature. This is called a submersion spec. Mazda took this spec one step further and requires that its steering gear is cooled to something around -40C and then is submerged in hot water. It must not crack, it must not let water in (ingress?), and it must function. At the design review, one of the British engineers called this a hot wet soak. Who doesn’t like a hot wet soak?

On the third day, we discussed my personal favorite component – the ballnut. As much as I love the ballnut, I can't tell you much about it. It is a key component for transforming input force to rack movement which in turn, allows turn. From what I can tell, a lot of the discussion focused on how to properly make the ball bearing in the ballnut. Someone asked our resident ballnut expert, “What happens if it loses one of its balls?” To which he replied, straight-faced, “Well, it would not be robust. If we go to the assembly line and see a bunch of balls on the floor, we know we have a problem.” You think?

One of the reasons I love my new job is that I am being made aware of all the holes in my engineering knowledge base. The number of potholes is frightening. I want to re-learn things I used to know so that I never forget them again. The most recent topic that I'm diving in to is pulleys and rope tension and mechanical advantage (in my mind, that's all one topic.)