Janicek.com

We vented 84 sticks of 24 gauge metallic copper Z flashing for a customer this morning. This was my first time seeing the perforator in action.

I think this metal stuff is cool.

“That thinking’ll kill ya. Just do the thing.”

I don’t remember the context. But she said that on the phone a few minutes ago.

Early in the Fall we kind of decided we’d rip out the deck and have a concrete patio poured. We’d wait until the weather cooled off and we’d slowly start disassembling the deck. Late Fall came. Winter came. Steve and Joanne came down for Christmas and we’d recruited them to help take apart the deck.

Taking apart the deck never happened. And we had quite a few rotted and broken boards. We left the deck in ill repair for a lot of months. We had coolers and pots strategically placed about the deck to cover the holes and bad boards to prevent anyone from having a brush with gravity.

It’s starting to get hot and realistically we’re not going to take down the deck this time of year. So I decided we’d invest a little in some new 2×6’s and we’d fix the deck.

Quick and easy.

A few boards turned into 10 boards. Removing those 10 boards exposed joists that were rotted, so I removed a lot more boards than planned and replaced the rotted joists.

What started out as a quick Friday evening and Saturday morning chore turned into an all weekend job. Elise helped me pull old boards and remove rusted screws (Deckmate screws are horrible. They’re cheap alloy steel with a painted coating that easily scratches, exposes the metal, and causes rust and corrosion. This time I went with 2.5″ GRK multipurpose screws). She also fastened most of the boards on section we repaired and, while I went to lunch with some old high school friends, she took everything off of the deck and pressure washed it.

With the deck now all spacious, safe, and clean, we all hung out on it last night while I grilled chicken and we had a long-overdue dinner outside.

I’ve been at my job for almost 90 days. There have been two times where it would’ve been convenient to instant message my boss to ask a question. One of those times I got up, walked to his office, and asked my question. The second time, today, I found the answer myself.

I don’t miss Slack, Teams, Google Chat (and ICQ, Skype, HipChat, and which other instant messenger tools I’ve used in the past) one iota. I get it though. Instant messengers are pretty much required, especially in remote office environments. I’ve used them for the past 20 years. Maybe that’s why I don’t miss them.

Somewhere in my first week on the job I asked my boss if we used Teams in the office. He said, “F*ck no! And if you try to get me to use Teams I’ll kick your ass.”

And that’s when I liked my boss that much more.

Yesterday the leadership team of an “AI-powered engineering intelligence platform” concerned themselves with preparations for laying off the majority of its staff. My good friend was part of that layoff today.

Yesterday I sent 12 tons of steel coil to my customer down the highway. Then I went back to my office and sold $10,000 worth of metal roofing supplies. Then I got on the telehandler and loaded 1600 pounds of flat sheet metal on a customer’s truck.

I was more productive and profitable yesterday than I can remember being at any recent tech job.

I don’t know how to articulate any kind of theme I’m shooting for here. I know I’ve pigeonholed myself into roles where technology, software, and money were the priority.

It’s a shift in personal priorities. That’s the easy part. Finding something that aligns with your priorities and harnesses your skills and interests can be the tricky part. What I’ve learned about myself in recent times that technology and software aren’t as exciting or important to me as they once were. I thought it was the role I was in software sales. I still enjoy sales and customer service, but I enjoy it more in metal than I do in SaaS.

We left the house at 3:00 a.m. last Saturday flew into Cleveland Ohio to get there in time to rent a car, drive 30 miles out to Painesville for lunch at Brennen’s Fish House, and then to Lake Erie College. We were finally able to see one of UC women’s lacrosse games in person. It was a bit chilly and very windy, but really exciting to be able to watch a game live. The Golden Eagles won 18-3.

Maly rode with us the four hours back to Charleston. Maly had a late lunch provided by the team, and Elise, Mara and I were still okay from our big lunch. We got to Charleston late and hung out in Maly and Mackenzie’s dorm room for a bit before we needed to head out to find a hotel. Mara then decided that she was hungry, so went to Sheetz where I’m sure we got her something fortified with all kinds of essential vitamins and nutrients. We also witnessed a homeless guy shoplift about a dozen Red Bulls.

On Sunday the girls (including Mackenzie) went to mass. While they were at church, I went for what I was thinking would be a nice, peaceful, and relaxed 5 mile run. I planned a route that would take me down Virginia Street to the capitol, and then I’d hook back up Quarrier to our hotel. As I was heading out, I couldn’t help but notice the black sky in the west above the mountains. I figured I could beat whatever was coming if it came. What I really figured was that whatever was above those mountains would blow north of Charleston.

I made it to the north lawn of the capitol and started heading back west. I was met with a 20 degree drop in temperature and a 40 mile per hour headwind that rocketed dust and leaves straight at me, to the point where I had to turn around in place and duck down. I still managed to get a lot of dust in my eyes and contact lenses. After the coast cleared a bit, I chuckled and trudged on, knowing that my remaining two and a half miles might become interesting. And that’s when the rain started. I’m no stranger to running in the rain. I actually enjoy it. It was a little colder and windier than I’d’ve liked, but I survived the 2018 Boston Marathon, so I welcomed whatever Mother Nature had in store. Well, she heard me, and she deployed a monsoon of pea-sized hail. That was interesting. Thankfully I was in town and was able to duck under the Dollar General’s awning to wait out the short-lived hail storm.

I got back in time to shower and then the girls picked me up and we all went out for lunch at First Watch. After lunch Maly and Mackenzie went back to UC, and Elise, Mara and I made the long and windy haul out to Snowshoe. I’ve decided that while Charleston is great, it’s not until you venture out, even if it’s just on main highways, where you start seeing the beauty that is West Virginia. The thick trees, the rolling and sometimes towering Allegheny Mountains, the hollers, the Monongahela forest, the rivers, the land, the history, and the homesteads.

Something I’ve learned to appreciate is that most everything slows down in Appalachia. Especially the driving. 150 miles might take you a couple hours in a car in Texas. In Appalachia 150 miles can take twice as long, if not more, depending on a myriad of things, but most notably the winding roads. You’re driving through the mountains and our experiences have always been met with what I consider is a beautiful part of the country. I love it out there. It’s the mountains and flowing rivers and creeks and branches that do it for me. I want to have a place out there somewhere. I just don’t know where that somewhere is. We haven’t seen most of West Virginia yet. Some of it is very scary, and that’s part of the appeal. It’s scary because there is so much out there that has never, and probably never will be seen with human eyes. There’s so much unknown out there. As the state’s license plates read: Wild Wonderful.

We made it to Snowshoe at around 7:00 p.m. We’d stopped at an IGA in Marlinton to pick up some random sundries and ingredients for pepperoni rolls. Fun fact: the pepperoni roll was invented in West Virginia. We settled into our condo. I made pepperoni rolls. Mara found the Life on Earth docuseries on Netflix that is narrated by Morgan Freeman and we got pretty hooked on that for our evening entertainment for our late season ski trip.

We woke up and headed to the Snowshoe resort early on Monday. We paid for our lift tickets and ski rentals. We were too late to book lessons, so we were on our own. We started our little ski adventure just outside the ski rental shop where we somehow managed to teach Mara to stay upright on skis. After a couple hours of us all figuring out how to ski, we decided to try to head down Skidder and Log Run to the base. It was late in the season, so there wasn’t enough snow to blanked a wide enough swath for Mara and I to make the turns to keep us at a comfortable speed in order to get down the mountain on skis. I wasn’t having any faith in myself so I decided to call it and just walk down the run in ski boots. Mara decided to do the same. Walking down a moutain in ski boots is not fun.

We rode the lift back up and had to give Mara a crash course in getting off of a lift. She and I both ate it. Elise takes to skiing like riding a bike. Me, not so much. I don’t know if I’d say I have PTSD, but snow skiing makes me nervous. I broke my ankle the first time I snow skied. I wasn’t afraid to give it another go, but I think my subconcious is getting a little conservative on me in my older years. And we currently don’t have health insurance.

We had a late lunch at Foxfire Grille. I’ll spare the food review. Thankfully our meals were affordable by ski resort standards.

At that point we were already tired and beat-up (more so Mara and me from humping it down a steep frozen hill in ski boots) so we called it a day.

We got a late(r) start on Tuesday. We wanted to get our money’s worth. Tuesday was a prettier day. It was in the 50’s and sunny all day. Elise went on a bunch of runs. We found the lift for Skidder, so Mara spend 4 hours going up and down her little run with the other novices and ski school kiddos. She had a blast, and I had a grin on my face the whole time watching her gain confidence in snow skiing. I was really happy that the girls got to go skiing. And Mara had a great time and was totally content making her loops. And I was content watching her and hanging out in the sun.

The girls closed the mountain and wrapped up on two day skiing adventure at Snowshoe. Since our lunch at Foxfire Grille the day before was horrible, I found a restaurant within walking distance that looked promising. Unfortunately it and its two sister restaurants were closed for a staff event, so we drove down the mountain to a little IGA mini mart convenience store where I thought we could procure some dinner ingredients. Mara said she wasn’t very hungry, so Elise and bought a big can of Campbell’s Chunky Clam Chowder.

We came home, made our soup, and tried to wrap up our game of Monopoly while we watched more episodes of Life on Earth.

We taught Mara how to ski and play Monopoly. I’d say that makes for a Spring Break vacation parenting win.

We had to check out and head out early on Wednesday to make our way up to Philippi for UC’s first MEC conference game against Davis and Elkins. But first we had to make a couple stops. The first was at the Green Bank Observatory. I had no idea this place existed. Talk about weird and very cool. A two and half acre radio telescope nestled in the Allegheny range. A radio telescope nestled in the National Radio Silent Zone. A radio telescope that listens to things millions of light years away. I would’ve loved to take a tour and learn more, but we were pressed for time and had another stop to make. I really wanted to learn about the weird stuff the telescope has “heard.”

Our next stop was at Seneca Rocks. Again I wish we could’ve stayed longer and hiked to the summit, but instead we hung out at the edge of the North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac River. The weather was amazing. The river was beatiful. But we had to get gettin’.

We made it to Philippi 8 minutes into the first quarter of the girls’ game against Davis & Elkins at the former campus of Alderson Broaddus. This was our first Mountain East Conference game and the girls put their flag in the ground with an 18-5 win. I don’t know about Elise, but it was a proud parent moment to watch your child take the field in an NCAA conference game. And it was a warm and beatiful day, which made for an awesome day to be outside watching our child play lacrosse.

After the game we scooped up Maly and the four of us drove the 3 hours back to Charleston. We swung by Maly’s dorm and decided to head back out the South Charleston for Vietnamese food. We spend the rest of the evening between Kroger and Walmart to stock Maly and Mackenzie’s dorm, and we hung out with Maly and a dormroom full of friends before we called it a night.

We didn’t realize that there was a high school basketball tournament in town, so we had to drive out to Cross Lanes and stayed at a Wyndham that provided us with about four gallons of hot water and no shower curtain.

On Thursday morning Elise, Mara and I got breakfast at the hotel, went out and shopped storage units, took a quick tour of the capitol building, did some shopping at the UC bookstore, and then picked Maly up after lift to take her to her last physical therapy appointment with Hugh (and to pay her bill), and then had to get Maly back to campus for practice. Elise, Mara and I drove back out to Dunbar to just drive around, and then to the famous Spring Hill Pastry Shop in South Charleston.

We went back to our hotel and Mara and I conked out (probably a sugar crash). The evening was upon us and we headed out to the South Hills of Charleston to meet Maly and Mackenzie for dinner at 1010 Bridge. The restaurant is charming. Our waiter was great. The food was good.

But it was getting late. Maly had to get back and study for her accounting test on Friday morning, and Elise, Mara and I had to hit the road early to drive up to Cincinnati to catch our flight home. We had to say our goodbyes in a restaurant parking lot in South Hills. It’s not what I’d’ve wanted, but it’s probably better that way. Maly had things she needed to do, and we needed to get up early and hit the road.

I silently drove us back to our hotel but didn’t let on that my eyes were sweaty. When we got back to the hotel I immediately commandeered the bathroom so I could “take my contacts out,” but really I went in there to have my moment of already missing my daughter dearly. I know, in my heart of hearts, I would’ve been worse off, but my daughter that I miss dearly taught me to don’t make it sad. She’s doing just fine and I’m proud of how she’s doing it.

There were parts during the trip where I was anxious to get back home. But looking back, I cherish the spring break and the time with the girls.

I used to really enjoy Facebook. It took some arm-twisting to join back in 2007 because I didn’t really understand the reason for or value of social media. But I joined, and realized its value because I could share life updates — specifically our life with our new daughter — with distant family and friends, and I could get a glimpse into the lives of those same distant family and friends.

And Facebook allowed me to try to make people laugh. I’ve always tried to “produce” instead of “consume.” Granted I’ve done my fair share of mindless scrolling and consuming, but I always liked to contribute something to the internet, and I like to think that I’m kind of witty* and I firmly stand by the adage that laughter is the best medicine.

Nowadays Facebook puts people who I don’t know on my feed and less from people who I actually know. And then there are the endless “reels” (I’m putting “reels” in “quotes” here because in five years, whenever “reels” aren’t a thing any longer, we’ll all remember the time wasted watching 30 second videos of mindnumbingly stupid “content.”)

And then there’s the politics. This was an election year. Donald Trump was voted in as president again and while I’ve been pretty good about not letting politics eat into my overall well-being, the divisiveness thereof has taken its bite, and I can, fortunately, control that by simply changing the channel or just switching the damn thing off.

I’m not closing my Facebook account, and I’m not leaving or ignoring Facebook, I’m just taking it out of my pocket.

*some of the internet do not think that I’m very funny.

Today started week 2 at the new job. It’s a long story, but I’d been in tech and tech sales for a lot of unfulfilling years. Some things lined up, some luck happened, and I found myself getting hired by some good folks to run the business operations of a local metal roofing supply company. I don’t know much about the metal roofing industry, but I’m going to get to learn.

Today Saul and I went on-site to roll panels for a job. The process is fascinating. We lugged custom formed and cut panels off the back of the machine to the home’s driveway.

I’ve always envied that last scene in the movie Office Space where Peter says, “this ain’t too bad. Makin’ bucks. Gettin’ exercise. Workin’ outside….”

My job isn’t to go on-site and roll and lug metal roofing panels, but I’ll do it whenever I can. It beats the hell out of emails and Zoom meetings.

As Saul and I were driving back to the shop after rolling panels, we talked about family, home, former jobs, cars, the NBA, and all kinds of stuff in his broken English and my terribly broken Spanish. We laughed a lot. The universal language. We listened to David Pabon and Celia Cruz. Saul bought me a Coke at the 7-Eleven. He knew I’d get thirsty and need the calories even though I told him I’d be fine. He knew better.

I don’t know when, why, or how it became a tradition to take a photo with the girls and me on my birthday, but I’m glad Elise did it. There are some years missing; I’m not sure why. I know in 2024 we were in College Station for the Maly’s senior year at the Aggieland Lacrosse tournament.

I have three more days at my current job. As I type this I am employed by a software subsidiary of a big, corporate, Fortune 500 company.

Early in my job here I met with all of my peers individually, just for introductions and to solicit guidance and best practices so I could do my job successfully. I specifically remember the conversation that I had with my friend Cameron. He’s been with the company for many years and is always a top producer. He told me that he thought I would do just fine at this job as I had the tenacity, experience, and attitude to be successful. He went on to tell me about some previous employees that just weren’t a fit and didn’t last very long. He said there were a couple who were “mouse jigglers.”

I didn’t know what a mouse jiggler was so I looked it up. A mouse jiggler is software used to simulate the movement of a computer mouse. It can also be a mechanical device moving the physical computer mouse. I guess in most implementations it’s so that an employee can be away from his desk, endeavoring upon other fruitful and enjoyable pursuits while tricking coworkers and managers to think that he’s at his desk, busy writing emails and accepting many meeting invitations.

I only have three days left at this job. I’ve had conversations with my bosses since I submitted my resignation. I have nothing to do at my current job other than a couple exit interviews and await a pre-paid postage box that I’ll use to ship my work-issued laptop back to headquarters.

So I spent a few minutes this morning to learn more about “mouse jiggling.”

I mean, if you can’t have fun in your last days at a job, what else are you going to do? Jiggle your own mouse?

Twenty two years ago today I started a job at Wellness Works. After being there for a couple years, my boss promoted me, handed me the keys, and taught me how to run the business.

This Friday will mark the 1-year anniversary that I was wrongfully fired from my job at a run club, denied unemployment compensation because my then-boss lied to the Texas Workforce Commission, and made for a really stressful and frustrating 2024.

This Friday will also be my last day at my current job. There’s a bit of a full circle thing happening and I’m excited about it.

It’s been a whirlwind of a week. Not what I’d expected, but pleasantly refreshing. This was the first week after holidays and that time of year when we’ve historically just been thrust back into normal life. And I always kind of dread this week. I get the post-holiday winter blues.

I was doing okay all through last weekend, and even early on Monday morning. I didn’t make it sad. But when the buzzer went off at 8:00 a.m. and it was finally time to go back to normal, I sat at my desk and then it hit me. I dreaded going back to work. I just didn’t want to do it. I wasn’t motivated. I wasn’t inspired. I didn’t want to be there anymore. I felt like I didn’t belong there, doing that job. It was 8:04 a.m. and I was already depressed.

I knew I had just just start doing something to make progress in figuring out what I was going to do next. I decided I’d just start the slow and arduous job of looking for a job, sending out resumes, maybe get some interviews, and just see where my journey takes me. But in my heart of hearts I knew that the standard job search wasn’t going to work. So, for grins, I went to our neighborhood’s “job board” Facebook group and saw a post from back in early September. A neighbor was looking for a Director of Operations to manage their business. So I sent her a message. I knew it was a long shot since her post was four months old. As luck would have it, she messaged me back, told me that they’d hired someone for the role, and his start date was supposed to be that very day, but he no-showed. She asked me to send her my resume, so I obliged. She then asked if I’d be able to come in for an interview that week. I gave her my availability, so we settled on an interview the next morning at 10:00 a.m. By 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday I had a job offer. I put in my resignation with my current company at 3:00 p.m.

I’m so excited about this new job. It’s just too much to list here, but it’s like life has come full circle. I used to do a similar job in another life 20 years ago. I’d lucked into that job by way of being a dedicated and trustworthy employee. My boss promoted me and taught me how to run the business, and I like to think I did a good job at it. I loved that job. I got to make decisions, I got to be creative, I got to be a servant leader, I got to build relationship, I got to learn every day, I got my ass kicked and I got back up. But that company was sold, and my team and I weren’t part of the acquisition. I lost that job. So that lead me down a long and different career path that, if I’m being honest, a lot of it hasn’t been as fulfilling.

So, long story short, my week and upcoming months that I was set to dread turned into a fast and furious and amazing change for the good, and I’m really, really excited about it.

Maly went back up to Charleston past Saturday. She was dreading it (to a degree). The first day of school was canceled because of snow and ice. She doesn’t have classes on Tuesdays or Thursdays, so her first day of class was on Wednesday. After my good luck on Tuesday and Wednesday, I sent her a text message to see how life and classes had been. She said it was a good day. That made my day that much better.

It’s high time we have a series of fortunate events.