Mike's Blog

Good morning world! Well, as I said before ... quite a lot has been going on ... let's see if I can update everyone on where I am now. First off, for those who do not know, St John's closed the clinic I was working for in Tulsa 2 weeks ago. The new management (PSSI) walked in one day, turned off the phones, and locked the doors. I hate to say that I was right, but ... I have been telling people that our jobs were no longer secure since the original mention of selling off the WorkMed clinics was brought up last summer. I guess now I know the true reason behind my decision to move was valid - had I remained in Tulsa, I would have purchased a house and be way up the feces creek right about now! I am glad that SJMC is giving the employees a 4 week severence package, but that is small consolation for those who have given their sweat and efforts to the company - especially from what I was told was said to the employees at their last meeting concerning the severence and closing of the facility. I am convinced that the closing of the Minor Emergency Center was more based on personal conflict at the upper management level between the CEO of MEC and the administrators at PSSI, not on financial loss as was claimed. As a side note, in my last paystub (August 25) there was a letter from SJMC claiming that no layoffs or reduction in staff would be occurring - any staff reduction necessary to save funds would be achieved solely through attrition. hmmm. Guess what happened less than 1 week later? I have had several employment offers over the last 2 weeks - however I accepted the LabOne - Med Tech offer as being the best overall - not just for monetary compensation, but the benefit package is awesome! I find it hard to believe that the unemployment rate here [in Kansas City] is almost at 6% - and most everyone I have talked to tells me the job market stinks here - I am more inclined to believe that people do not truly want to work. If I had not been so picky about where I wished to work, I could have been working from the first week I moved here. [It's hard to believe that I have only been in KC for a little over 2 weeks!!] My brothers both were around last week - that was cool. We had an impromptu family reunion. I haven't seen Jim [eldest] in over a decade - of course I blame him since he moved to Florida and refuses to leave the "peninsula"!! Now that I am living in Missouri again, I will probably see my other brother, Bob, and his family more often ... you know how far it is to travel between Tulsa and Pryor - we just never seemed to get together. hahaha Also last week, since I had already accepted the offer from LabOne and did not start work until August 11th, I travelled with my sweetheart [Phyllis] to St. Louis to meet her sister. It was too cool! I had only flown over and driven through the city, so I was very happy to spend a few days exploring the Arch and Union Station. We did not go up into the Arch - we had decided to save that for our next trip to St. Louis. Phyllis and I also found a house for me last week - just west of the Country Club Plaza in KC, MO. The Plaza is sort of a combo of Utica Square, Brookside, and Cherry St districts in Tulsa - multiplied by about 100! Lots of shops, cool architecture, eateries, pubs, etc all in one location. We happened across a 1 bedroom house while driving to an apartment building we had been told about. The rent is about average for the area, and I get to have a 650 square foot house for me and kitties instead of an apt!! WOOHOO! 9-foot ceilings and hardwood floors throughout, all appliances, and even a basement! Phyllis took a few pictures, and I will post them soon. So, I started working again yesterday. I have been unemployed for just over a month (most of that time was spent packing, moving, looking for work, etc...) and was I ever ready to get back into a work mode! I will be working M-F evenings 3-1130pm, with a rotating Saturday shift every 3rd week or so. Coming from such a small lab as I did - this facility is quite a change of pace for me. The analyzer I was working with last night is capable of running around 300 samples/hour. At the clinic in Tulsa, if I performed 30 tests/shift it was a "kinda busy night" LOL!!! This is cool - I just need to brush up on some real tech stuff to get in the groove. Of course, once the semester starts up again - I'll be very busy there as well so I had better get up to snuff this week! :o) Well, I have lots of reading and some more paperwork to complete for work that I want to have done today, so I am going to sign off for now. The Dweeb