GlobalSuit.com

Layoffs Keeps Me Up at Night

Alexander — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 07:43:46 +0000

I can’t sleep and it is mixture of this damn cold and the economy going belly up. Ironically, I just watched a report on CNN that reminded me that Citigroup was laying off about 2.6% of their global workforce (or 9,100 employees) and Goldman Sachs is laying off about 10% of their global workforce (or 3,200 employees). Granted, Citigroup is a staged layoff over 12 months, but it is still a sizeable downsizing. Fidelity Investments is laying off 1,300 according to news reports.

While most of my friends won’t shed a tear for the traders and investment bankers who are losing their jobs, I think it still signals a trend. Layoffs are coming and who is next? That is what is keeping me up at night.

Free Fall

Alexander — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 00:27:16 +0000

If you asked me a week ago how I felt about the economy I would have said optimistic. But now after reading the news today about four major retailers filing bankruptcy and liquidating, I am not so sure anymore. I am sure most of you are well read and heard that today we are losing a lot of retailers who are shuttering their stores (some or all): Circuit City, Tweeters, Linen N’ Things, Mervyns, Sharper Image, and Shoe Pavilion.

What does this mean for us? Well it means we lose some options in retailers. If you shopped at Circuit City or Tweeters, you have to switch to Best Buy, and well…Best Buy. No more Linen N’ Things, you now have to go to the pricier Bed, Bath & Beyond. Brookstones is your gadget alternative to Sharper Image. And I never shopped at Mervyns or Shoe Pavilion so I can’t really tell you what your other choices are there, but I am assuming not much. Where it gets scary is that each retailer that closes stores creates a vacancy in a mall or strip mall. This is turn puts pressure on the big operators (e.g., General Growth Properties, Simon Property Group and Westfield Group) and pretty much screws the small operators. Who knows what will happen, but don’t be surprised if you go to a mall and start to see more and more liquidation signs.

The only tip I can give you is to spend, spend all of your store credits you have. If you have giftcards use them soon, because once a company goes bankrupt they are not obligated to accept it. I know a lot of friends who had Sharper Image giftcards that were essentially worthless.

Scary times my friends, scary times.

The more they change, the more they stay the same

Alexander — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:55:05 +0000

Well it has been some time since the election results have sunk in. We have made history as a nation by electing our first African American President the other night. I felt that Senator McCain was very gracious in his conciliation speech. I was pleased that he was putting aside the petty partisian politics that could often creep into a loss and instead of trying to delay the inevitable, or try to wait it out, he concided. That shows a lot about the character about Senator McCain. While some people hated him, for his being a Republican, he was in the end gracious in accepting his loss. Unlike, Hillary Clinton or others before who have refused to see the writing on the wall and just bow out gracefully.

Now, as far as my personal feelings about the election, I have mixed feelings. I was never really strongly for or against any of the two candidates. Both brought a lot to the table, and some brought some baggage as well. I was a strong supporter of McCain in the beginning when it was likely that it was going to be a Clinton ticket. Don’t get me wrong, I liked Bill back in the early 1990s during his first term, but Hillary is no Bill Clinton. And to be honest, even Bill Clinton let me down during his first term. He promised change, hope, and renewal to what made America great, but in the end he back peddled on a lot of his promises deciding the fight was too hard. That being said, I wasn’t thrilled about his second term either.

I see a lot of parallels between between Clinton and Obama, they both preached the same things. The question is whether Obama will be able to deliver on his campaign promises. Here is a summary of what he is promised the American people:

Middle Class Tax Cuts
Energy - Alternative Energy and some offshore oil drilling
Afghanistan - A refocus on pulling out of Iraq and moving troops to Afghanistan
Healthcare
Bipartisian - Inclusively getting all parties together

I think I will take a wait and see attitude. I hope that Obama doesn’t make the same mistakes Clinton did his first 100 days in office. Don’t try to change to much too soon. Listen to the moderates, and don’t go too far left.

Do not be Creepy

Alexander — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 14:02:43 +0000

Last night I went out for a friend’s birthday and while we were out, a couple of girls who were with us tried to enlighten me on the “creepy” guy syndrome. Thankfully, I don’t think I fall into that category, but they explained to me that there are a lot of guys out there who are creepy. So what makes a guy creepy, they said it is hard to define per se, but it is a feeling the guy gives you. Maybe he stares at you too much, the way he walks up to you staring, and then moves away still staring. Maybe it is the way he doesn’t take a hint when he is talking to you and your group of friends.

How can you tell if you are creeping out a bunch of girls? Well, first if you notice when you approach they start to circle around each other like a roman phalanx. Second, do you get the vibe that they are excluding you from their conversation. Lastly, do they immediately change the conversation when you approach.

Body language is hard to tell and women by nature want to be nice to you. However, sometimes if you see women rolling their eyes, pulling away, and trying to avoid you. You should regroup, rethink, and maybe just leave them alone.

Economic Downswing

Alexander — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 00:40:19 +0000

I don’t know if you remember, but back in the early 2000s there was a website called FuckedCompany.com (which by the way is dead) that chronicled all of the dot com layoffs, implosions, etc. I wish we had something nowadays that listed what is going on with Corporate America. Sure we have an imitator FuckedStartups.com but that really only focuses on dot coms (or as many of you know the Web 2.0 crowd).

I am more interested in reading about Corporate America, the Fortune 1000s, because that is where most of my money is invested and a stronger indicator of where the Economy is going. I heard rumblings of layoffs and Chapter 11s, but the closest thing I could find was TechCrunch’s Layoff Blog that seems to have some information on what is going on Corporate America.

I am scared that within the next year we will see a major US airline file bankruptcy and go under (hopefully not the one I have over a half million airmiles on, but since they haven’t partnered with anyone they are the likely one), a major US car manufacturer going under (ironic, since most foreign car manufacturers make more cars in the US than our US car manufacturers who oursource), and more banks will consolidate and merge.

Upgrade Successful

Alexander — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 17:03:42 +0000

So, I re-provisioned my webserver to the latest Linux OS, and I was holding my breath when I was done. You never really know what will happen when you get it back up and running, and if you will be able to import your old blogs. Well, whew, it came up and with a little configuration and tweaking it was up and running as good as new.

*sigh of relief*

Mildly pleased

Alexander — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 03:07:24 +0000

I am slowly starting to get into my groove at DC. I have been commuting for a few weeks and I kind of don’t mind the commute. I can listen to the radio while driving in, which you can’t do while commuting on the Metro. As you sit in traffic you get to think, and I am not talking about the “where am I going to have lunch today” (although that thought usually hits at about 10am), but more about what am I going to accomplish today, how am I am going to accomplishment, and what I will require (and who) to do it.

I know it sounds crazy, but I am starting to become a fan of writing a “To Do” list now before I start my day. I rewrite what I didn’t finish the day before and try to spend some time (15 minutes) planning my day. But while I am commuting, it is time pre-think my day. Weird? Yeah, I guess, but it works for me.

Commuting Around DC Metro

Alexander — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 02:21:48 +0000

Today was the first day I had to commute in the DC Metro area. While I was thankful I was doing a counter-commute, it still was a bit of a bear in parts. I was heading west on the 66 to get to the 495, and while I was going against the traffic going into DC there was still a fair amount of traffic. It took me a hour to go 20 miles. I guess that is better than what some of my friends say…they have told me stories where in Tysons Corner they crawled along 3 miles in an hour. I can’t imagine doing that, and to be honest, I hate traffic.

Funny, while living in San Diego I almost always did the counter-commute, whether I was living in Pacific Beach or UTC. There is something to be said for zipping by the long strand of cars inching along to work, heading away from them as you get closer to your destination with each passing second. When I look for places to live, I always think about the commute, because I know people who commute to DC who take an hour to metro, train, or bus in. Some who take 2 or more hours to get in, and I can’t imagine my life spending 2-4 hours a day commuting. Some people get up at 3am to be in the office by 7am. That is crazy…and yet, I have to grudgingly admire them for their constitution.

Me, I plan on living off the Metro line, close enough to DC to make the commute bearable. But far enough to get to other places if needed. Until then, this commute to my client site is barely bearable, but I just remind myself it is only a month, and then on to another (hopefully closer) site.

All good things come to an end

Alexander — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 22:23:24 +0000

Wow, a dramatic title…haha, I still have it in me to come up with something clever! Tonight was the night I had to remove my California license plates and replace them with my Virginia license plates. I had put off the inevitable for as long as possible, but my tags on my California plates expired today so I didn’t want to chance it driving to the client site on Wednesday. So sad, my last remnants of California living are no longer on my car. It was so much fun driving around town and having people look at my plates and think “oh he is from California, that explains it.” I would love to flash people “hang ten” hand signs from my car, with my shell necklace hanging from my review mirror…

Oh well, as my title says, all good things come to and end. The good news is I can keep my plates and put them up somewhere…maybe make a plaque for them. Since the damn Virginia DMV took away my California Drivers License when they issued me their Virginia Drivers License.

Where to take this wild ride

Alexander — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 18:39:24 +0000

So I was thinking the other day that I really should try to figure out where to take this wild ride of a blog. I have in the past blogged about a variety of things. My observations in corporate america, my day to day life in corporate america, about juggling school and work, and traveling the world and what I saw on my travels.

Now I have started to realize slowly (through the help of my friends and fans) that my blog while entertaining does not really have the edge it used to. As such, my decision to merge CorporateSuit and GlobalSuit may have been a mistake. Editors note: Yes I am admitting a mistake, heh.

So I think I may revise and rethink the concept of my Blogs. For now, I am thinking GlobalSuit will stay as my personal blog, with my musings. And CorporateSuit will shift back to be focused more on my musings on life as a Corporate worker and tools and tips I come across.

The jury is still out…and we’ll see what I decide.