No new things

[flexagon]

I forgot to mention that I've set some sort of kooky record for maxing out my 401(k) for the year -- yes, for 2012, on January 13! They not only paid our bonuses out earlier this year than they've been doing, they also raised the maximum allowable withholding from som ithing like 60% of one's paycheck to 100%. Being the nut that I am, I cranked it up to 11, and WHAM. One paycheck for which my net pay was $0.00, one bonus and it's all over. Awesome.

So will I do "no new things" time this year -- the couple of months where I don't buy physical objects, that used to usually end at bonus time? Yes. I'm pretty sure that I actually started on the 10th, before which there was the usual little spasm of "okay, I'm going to order about five things that I really want, first". (I bought a knitting technique book, and dragonfly wall decorations, and a couple of books, and pens.) So my plan is to go until March 10, even though nothing dramatic marks the end of that time.

Interestingly, it's my first "no new things" period -- and that needs a catchier name, doesn't it? -- with a Kindle. I don't necessarily plan to buy more books (my friends left me very well-supplied with that sort of thing, both the Kindle and dead-tree kinds), but this year for the first time I could.

Comments

[flexagon]

Interesting! I'm curious how the "can't quit or be fired" thing works. Are you not a permanent salaried employee, then? Also, what if you download child porn onto the corporate network or murder a co-worker or something?

I would take quite a significant pay cut in exchange for "can't be fired", even at the cost of "can't quit", I think. Assuming the time periods involved were of reasonable length.

[niralth.livejournal.com]

The "under contract" thing is a weird side effect of working for a movie company. They put everyone who works directly on the movies under contact so they can't leave or strong arm the company into unreasonable raises or bonuses near the end of film production. That part makes perfect sense. But they also put some folks in R&D under contact.

My contract is a pretty standard one for R&D here: 3 year duration, pre-determined raises (this part is great), I can't quit, they can decide once a year if they want to end the contract (this doesn't mean being fired, just becoming a normal at-will employee). My contract renewal dates are in January, so I know I'll be employed at my current salary until at least next January.

New contracts are made if you are promoted, which gives you an opportunity to renegotiate your salary but it also probably restarts the 3 year clock. The length of the contract can be a negotiating point. For example, if you don't like the base salary or increases they are willing to offer, you say you'll only sign a shorter contract.

If I did something like download child porn or post the unreleased movies to YouTube or something they could probably fire me. :) I don't plan on doing anything like that, so I think I'm safe.