What's so affirmative about it?

I realize that I may be painting a metaphorical bull’s-eye on myself by exploring the topic to follow. However, this justifies the name of my blog. For some time now, I have not been thrilled with affirmative action. Granted, if people were always fair and selected new hires or students based strictly on qualifications, there would be no need for this. It’s a shame that we need to establish such practices. I worked for a few months in the Equal Employment Opportunity section of a federal gov’t Human Resources office. While I was there, I learned that career fairs and recruiting must be conducted in a diverse environment or in several locations so as not to give one race more exposure to the opening. I somewhat saw the reasoning. So, I posed this question to my non-white supervisor. “Can a manager recruit strictly from Harvard or just Ivy league schools?” The answer was a somewhat anticipated “no”. The reasoning, of course, was that these schools are predominantly attended by white students. Here is the problem. Harvard has already done the recruiting, from the very diverse entire country, for the manager. High school students across the country know about Harvard. If someone is among the elite, he or she can be accepted. This is without regard to who you are or where you live… e.g. white in Montana, Hispanic in southern Texas or Miami FL, Asian in a Chinatown, or black in center city Philadelphia. If you are the best of the best, the best schools will want you. Of course this policy extends across national borders and oceans, but that isn’t pertinent to the issue. The rules of recruiting are not even the biggest problem. Not only are schools and businesses scrutinized or penalized for not selecting a variety of ethnicities, but quotas devalue those who are hired. I would like to be hired based on my ability to add value to a corporation, not because they need one more person of whatever background occupying a cube. If affirmative action gets you a job, you’ll get paid, but wouldn’t you prefer to have the job because you are superior to the other candidates? Naturally, you would. Such is the story of another good intention gone wrong. This makes me ask myself… “Would I state my race as Hispanic for my own advancement?” I’d like to say not. Ignorance is bliss…

What we have here, is a failure to communicate...

Leave it to the government to do something with its right hand and somehow keep the left hand in the dark about what is transpiring. Here’s a for instance. Let’s say there is a DoD financial trainee program. In this program, fifty naïve minds are drawn in under false pretenses each year. Bait, including: substantial yearly raises, a cushy job with future security, and holiday and time off benefits which surpass many entry-level positions in the private sector, is used to lure the oblivious into its clutches. Once a person takes the job, he will soon learn that the job can be mundane at times, the interdepartmental shifting can be a hassle, and the notion of leaving town once for two months has now evolved into at least twice for four months. Excuse me; I digress. Regarding the matter of communication failure... Trainees are expected to pick up and go elsewhere in the country for four months at a time. If this is less than a two hour drive, it isn’t a big deal. A weekend trip is certainly not out of the question. However, if a person is going to work across the country, paying a couple hundred dollars to fly back for a few days is tough to justify. It might be worthwhile if the vacation were longer, but there are rules against taking an extended break while on a travel assignment. Sure, the federal employee gets a fair amount of vacation time, but with a traveling schedule, when could he use it? It turns out that trainees can actually have two trips home, per four month rotation, paid for by the government. Isn’t that nice? That trainee’s taxes are coming full circle and allowing him or her to go see family and friends twice, while away. …but wait… “Why? What’s wrong?” you ask. Herein lies the rub. The trainee program was never authorized to pay for trips back in the first place. * insert despondent sigh here. For those who found out about these return trips late, they are now back in Screwedville. …hopes boosted …hopes shattered, and no free rides home. Such is the story of a benefit not advertised, a benefit realized, and a benefit reinstated as nonexistent. O well. There is always per diem to hoard…

Blog kick off and word to the wise

I needed an outlet to express some creativity. That leads me to pt. 1 of the title. Thanks to Jackscolon's Poetry and Scotch, this site has been brought to my attention as a means to make accessable my ramblings. As of this moment, my blog and my girlfriend share a birthday, albeit more than decades apart. If you know who she is, this is your cue to congratulate her.

Moving on... The word to the wise for this weekend comes at a price. After a very enjoyable couple days with friends from home, the weekend took a bad turn last night. After playing some games and hanging out, my friends and I made our way out on the town to celebrate the aforementioned occasion. First we went to an establishment known as the Boneyard. This place had peanuts everywhere. This is not a big deal if you aren't allergic. However, I am. We made our way next door to the Winking Lizard. This is a clean, fairly well lit, sports bar. After a few drinks there, we found out that they closed at 1am. The birthday girl and I made our way over to the previously visited Boneyard to hang out a little longer. My other friends parted to get food and return to the hotel. The Boneyard had several TVs featuring sports, but I don't know that I'd call it a sports bar. It was much darker and featured louder music. The peanuts were avoided by sitting at the bar rather than at one of the booths. Due to a lack of knowledge in preferences and the desire to broaden her beverage horizons, the bartender was given the request for something fruity. Well, he took it upon himself to stray from the path of the traditional. Rather than a martini, or daquiri, or margarita, or anything that could be found on a menu, he concocted a mix of citron, raz, lemon juice, cranberry juice, lots of sugar, and perhaps one or two other ingredients. This amalgamation forced a 180 on an unsuspecting consumer, who for the better part of the past 24 hours, has been sick, feeling sick, and is only now recovering. Happy Birthday, from your local bartender. I realize that it's not completely his fault, and we shouldn't have given him free reign. It's not like walking into a coffee shop and saying that you want more mocha than java...surprise me. Be aware of what you are doing. Don't trust your best interests to those who are not proven to be worthy.

Hopefully, in the future, I'll have a variety of topics to entertain, educate, and share things of interest.