You know what?  God is good.

A while ago my boss, in all his messed up wisdom, decided to set up a huge meeting/demo of one of my projects.  The fun part is, he invited and told everyone… but me.  I found out at the last minute, and this demo I was supposed to be doing, I hadn’t even started on the project due to higher priorities.  So after several 11 and 12 hour days, the day of the demo came.  That was Thursday morning.  Even if I had known about it for a few weeks, I don’t think I could have done what my boss had set me up to do.  I got up Thursday morning and dreaded going to work.  On the ride to work, I listed to one of my Harvest discs.  I just felt so much better when I got to work, but I was still wondering how the day would turn out.  I called Mike and my mom and asked for prayer.  I just sat at my computer and prayed this verse:

Give ear to my words, O LORD,  consider my sighing.  Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.  In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. - Psalms 5:1-3

About a half an hour before the demo, I saw my boss walking in the door.  The big demo was about to start soon.  He im’ed my office mate and said that he was sick.  Very sick.  She asked him why he was even here.  Within a few minutes, I got an im saying that he had caught a wicked cold and was going home for the day, and that he was canceling my demo.

Thank you God, for answering my prayer.  God is good.

That’s right - I am offended.  After talking to a few people about the comments made on Oprah and watching plenty of experts on this bailout, apparently it is everyone’s fault.  Well, I am offended.

Since I was a little child, I have saved.  If you don’t believe me ask my parents.  I remember being 10 and not wanting to share a curling iron with my mom and my parents suggested I take my savings and buy one.  But that was my savings!!  I actually remember that talk with my parents about using some of my money to purchase things and how it can’t be -all- savings.  I bought the curling iron, but was sad to see my precious money spent.  I remember when people would ask me what I was going to use my saved money to buy.  A car, I responded.  At 8, I had my eyes focused on the future, and I worked hard and saved hard.  By the time I graduated from college, I had enough saved to get my super hot sports car, but couldn’t justify the cost, and ended up with a small hatchback sports coupe that was reasonable and practical.  I had my saved money in a CD at the bank making 7.2%.  Because the CD was making so much in interest, I decided to take out a loan for my new car, at 3.5%.  That car will make it to 200K, that is the plan (obviously some idiot on the highway could change that, but that is the plan).

Since then, I have paid that car payment religiously each month and I have continued to save.  My furniture is from Ikea, the furniture is tasteful, yet fairly inexpensive.  My husband needed a car.  He had gotten a used car, which ended up having very serious problems (can you say losing a quart of oil every 100 miles?  And it wasn’t a leak.).  We weren’t married at the time, but were engaged, we discussed what he should do.  We agreed that he should buy a new car and keep it for 200k, just like I had done.  He took out a loan on the car.  He got a small coupe that was well within his budget and was well within our means.  Now, my car is down to the last 6 months of the loan, and my husband’s car still has awhile to go, but if tomorrow those debts were called in, we could pay them off without heartache and would still have a rainy day fund.

I may not have a flashy car, and a big fancy home, but I am living well within my means, in fact, with as much as we are trying to save, I would say we actually live well below our means.  I cook, I do the work on the cars when I can (complex rules make that difficult), Mike and I do all the cleaning, we do everything.  Yesterday, I went out and bought plumbing stuff, because one of our toilets broke - guess what?  I am going to fix it myself, just like I have always done.  Mike and I could have easily afforded to buy that house a few months ago, but God told us we should wait.  Neither of us understood at the time - well, the houses we were looking at purchasing are now 20% off.  We could have still afforded it, and without sweat, but Mike and I realized that we needed to stay well below our means, in fact, living off of a single salary.  With the exception of my car payment, we can do that - and that will be paid off soon.

I am offended that the bailout is my fault.  I am offended!  My 401K’s are mainly in conservative and some moderate investments.  Mike likes to invest.  Months ago, I had a feeling that God was warning me about the stock market.  Mike put a small amount of what he wanted to invest into the stock market.  Well, I am glad we didn’t put much.  Most of what we invested, is sitting steady, but I am convinced that we made the right decision.

When it comes to savings, I always look for the best deal.  We have two CD’s, one at 5.25% and another at 4.5%.  The 4.5% CD has a deal where if the interest rates go up, we can raise the interest rate one time.  So, that is where our savings are now and they are making money and they are safe.  We also are proud to say, we don’t keep any of our money in big banks.  We have all our money in more than one bank that are relatively small, but not your tiny, small time bank.  These banks did not fall for the sub prime mortgage scam.  In fact, I remember talking to a counselor at one of the banks about my savings and mortgages and things after I graduated, and that was the one thing he boasted about - and he actually predicted it would get many people into trouble.  Well, he was right.

I am offended.

I read all contracts before signing them.  If I don’t understand something, I make sure I get the correct answer and have full understanding before I sign anything.  Yes, that has sometimes caused things to take much time and sometimes things don’t get taken care of that day, but it was never a waste.  It was always insurance.

My money is safe.  My investments were not overly risky.  I save.  I save.  I save.  I live without the latest video game, and the latest in technology.  I save.  I am not in debt that I cannot immediately pay off.  Our credit cards are always paid off.  I save.  I didn’t sign contracts I didn’t understand.  I save.  I leave within my means, in fact, I would say we live below our means.  I do invest, but I do not invest anything I can’t afford to lose.  I take good care of what I have, including my car, my appliances, and even inexpensive things.  My car will last probably a good 10 years if not more.  I bargain shop (and boy, can I bargain shop - but I also don’t buy anything, just because it is a bargain).  I make dinners, I make freezer meals for both lunch and breakfast.  I make many of my own things - such as my Christmas tree skirt, the wreaths and floral arrangements around the house.  I save so much by doing those things.  I also believe that everything should be done in moderation erring on the side of conservative, and never extravagantly.  We don’t take expensive trips around the world for vacation.  I save.  I work a full time job along side of my husband (even though, I probably don’t need to work full time).  I educate myself before I make major purchases/decisions.  I have always believed that if it sounds too good to be true, it most definitely is.  I believe that nothing is free.  I believe in rainy days, they always come.  Did I mention I save?

With that said, I must now tell the world how I feel when I get blamed as a part of this financial crisis - I AM OFFENDED!

And now, the most offensive part - I am stuck bailing out the people who lived beyond their means, invested too aggressively and didn’t save for their retirement or for a rainy day.  I am stuck paying for everyone else’s stupidity, and I am really not happy about it.  It is not the government’s job to bail all these losers out of the deep pit they got themselves into by being so recklessly irresponsible.  Thanks a lot.  No really, thank you.  I can’t wait to pay higher taxes because of you, and I can’t wait to have the money I have preciously saved all these years to be worth less, because the dollar was trashed while our government tried to bail you out of your mess.  Thanks a lot.

I am offended.

I am offended.

Finally, I should mention.  God has blessed my husband and me so incredibly, and He has also provided the wisdom and (especially for me) the conviction of fiscal responsibility that gets reinforced over and over, time after time.  I wouldn’t be where I am if it hadn’t been for God in my life and the mercy He has poured upon me.  I am convicted that I must show my thankfulness by using what He has so lovingly given to the absolute best of my ability.  If we (the U.S.) are going to survive the next decade, it will be by the grace of God.  I guess it always is by God’s grace, but one thing I have really noticed is that we have not been thanking God for His mercy on us, and I fear that God is taking away the great blessings He has been pouring on this country.  He knows what each of us needs.  But, I am sure that God is not happy when we thank Him with irresponsibility.  There is always hope, America is becoming the prodigal son.  Will we wake up and realize what we have done, and will we run back to the Father for mercy?  I guess time will tell.  The bailout has me worried the answer is no, but I pray we will return to the mercy seat.

Here is my top ten warning signs that your manager has a real/make-believe issue with an employee and how to get rid of them.  This list is composed of what I have seen happen to others around me over and over.  These are the top ten that seem to be the most successful.  In no particular order…

1)  The manager will make up some subject of why management needs to meet with you, such as discussing future goals, future opportunities, or some other reason that sounds like it is in your best interest.  We will call this x.  He/she all the sudden wants to meet with you right before you leave for the day.  The conversation usually starts with “So, what time are you leaving today because I want to discuss x with you?”  Run!  (see 2 for reason)

2)  If they want to meet with you before you leave on a Friday, brace yourself!  Managers do this so that you immediately leave and go home angry.  They don’t want to have to deal with your justifiable anger, they also don’t want others to know what they did to you.  They know that sometimes one evening will not be enough cool off time, hence Friday before you leave - that way you will have all weekend to get over any murderous rage you may have for your scum of a boss.

3)  If the manager is a she, you will suddenly hear her all the sudden start to say “Hiiiiiii!” to you in a high pitched voice like she is happy to see you.  Don’t walk, run!  This is a trick that many women use to make you think that they are OK/happy with you, but in reality, they are stabbing you in the back.  This is a typical female thing and is not used in management alone and should always be feared.

4)  Sudden change in response behavior.  This is a tricky one to track down, but here are some examples.  If you have instant messaging in your office - is your manager the type that always answers you right away?  Does he now suddenly go “away” or doesn’t respond for a few minutes (enough time for some manipulative response that will hopefully give you warm fuzzies, but not be of any use to you whatsoever).  Same thing can also happen with email and vmail.  Be careful not to be too paranoid, since they may legitimately not be able to respond right away.

5)  If you hear your manager all of the sudden start mentioning how much overtime (hours over 40) he puts in a week, and then brings up how many hours you work (i.e. 40).  You are obviously not committed.

6)  If you manager starts to ask when you got in or when you will leave - watch out, you are about to be accused of cheating on your time card, or you are a “clock watcher” which means very bad things.  The term “clock watcher”, in reality, should not be feared.  It should be a good thing.  It means you know when you get in and when you leave - which allows you to be accurate on your time card, which is what they tell you your first day.  However, when a manager uses the term “clock watcher” they are implying that you are lazy and don’t put the extra effort into the team, no matter how hard you work during the hours you are there.  This will ALWAYS come back to haunt you on your yearly assessment, i.e. tiny raise.  Or my personal favorite, they want grounds to fire you.

7)  You aren’t being a “team player”.  If your manager accuses you of this, it means he wants you out.   As long as you aren’t making your team miserable, and especially if you get your work done, than the only reason to be told you aren’t a team player is to make a case against you.

8)  Gossip is an excellent weapon for a manager to use against an employee.  Always listen for the buzz words that a manager will repeat over and over.  See, the key is to get people believing what you say.  For example, the key word maybe “incompetent.”  The manager will call someone incompetent any chance they get, the word incompetent is always used and repeated over and over.  Usually the reason why the employee is incompetent will be missing, but they get extra credit for using a word with more than four letters over and over to describe the employee.  Within weeks, most of the team that does not work with the employee everyday will believe the lies being spread.

9)  Like 8, this is similar.   The concept of what I would call a scapegoat.  Often you will find a manager has some major issue.  Maybe it is false time charging, or spending too much time talking to others.  These managers know what they are doing is wrong, but instead of changing the behavior, they seek to justify what they are doing.  In order to do this, you will find that managers will wait for another employee to do the same thing, but to a minor extent, like leaving 5 minutes early one day, or one day talk longer than usual to another employee.  All of the sudden, they are the time card falsifier or the employee that spend too much time socializing.  This is dangerous for multiple reasons.  Not only does it allow a manager to get away with breaking the rules, but also they will destroy another employee’s reputation in the process.  With this one, managers get to do twice the damage!  Another thing to mention is that managers use this as insurance.  If an employee complains about the manager’s irresponsibility, the manager will have already established a complaint against that employee, which will dismiss the accusation against the manager.  Watch out for these managers and run!

10)  No such thing as a straight up answer.  These managers should be feared by everyone, subordinates and higher managers alike. When a manager cannot give a straight up answer, it means things are bad.  So bad, the consequences of the actual answer being given would cause much consternation.    Eventually this will come back to haunt someone - and that person will most likely not be the manager.  This is the situation to be most feared.  Nothing says dangerous like working for a manager who manages like a used car salesman sells cars.  Time to spruce up the resume and find another job.