Shy teenager

toypup wrote:
"Jeff" wrote in message
[snip]
One thing that really struck me is that he enjoys hanging out with his
little brother (and presumably with his brother's friends). 13 can be
such a funny age. At 13, there are kids who are full-fledged teens,
and there are other kids who are still little boys. Is it possible
that your son is just a little behind the curve of his peers, so he
really doesn't have all that much in common with them for the moment?
I lost interest in a lot of my old friends at that age for just those
reasons. I was secretly playing with dolls while they were having
make-out parties and smoking.

Excellent point. If he is 13 in 8th grade, he is probably one of the
younger kids in class. A lot of kids are 14 or 15. The other boys and
girls in his class may be also be getting interested in dating, but he's
not ready for this. As he gets older, this may resolve itself.


Really? When I was in 8th grade, kids were 13 or 14. 14 or 15 yo's were in
9th grade. Of course, nowadays, there is more redshirting.

I'm not too up on age/grades in the US, but I do think Jeff and Barb
have a good point. If he is one of the younger kids, *and* a late
developer, he is going to be a long way behind some of the other kids.
His developmental age could be 18 months or two years behind
older/early developer kids, even if they are all in the right class.

--
Penny Gaines
UK mum to three

Penny Gaines wrote:

toypup wrote:
"Jeff" wrote in message
[snip]
One thing that really struck me is that he enjoys hanging out with his
little brother (and presumably with his brother's friends). 13 can be
such a funny age. At 13, there are kids who are full-fledged teens,
and there are other kids who are still little boys. Is it possible
that your son is just a little behind the curve of his peers, so he
really doesn't have all that much in common with them for the moment?
I lost interest in a lot of my old friends at that age for just those
reasons. I was secretly playing with dolls while they were having
make-out parties and smoking.

Excellent point. If he is 13 in 8th grade, he is probably one of the
younger kids in class. A lot of kids are 14 or 15. The other boys and
girls in his class may be also be getting interested in dating, but he's
not ready for this. As he gets older, this may resolve itself.


Really? When I was in 8th grade, kids were 13 or 14. 14 or 15 yo's were in
9th grade. Of course, nowadays, there is more redshirting.

I'm not too up on age/grades in the US, but I do think Jeff and Barb
have a good point. If he is one of the younger kids, *and* a late
developer, he is going to be a long way behind some of the other kids.
His developmental age could be 18 months or two years behind
older/early developer kids, even if they are all in the right class.

I sent my daughter to a horse camp when she was almost 11. She had a
fine time with the horses (which she loved), and she was comfortable
with the camping part of it because she had been at camp before and
also camped with us, but the ages for the camp were 11 to 14, and she
was basically miserable because the other girl were into clothes and
fixing their hair and nails, and boys and that wasn't even on her
radar yet.

When I graduated from HS, I was 17 and 7 months, and my sister was
around her 17th birthday (because she skipped first grade) when she
graduated. When I was in 9th grade, there were some boys who were
still really children in my homeroom. They were physically as small
as most 6th graders.

My son graduated from HS in May when he was 18 and 4+ months, so in
8th grade at this time of year, he would have been 14 and 2 months.
His was a January birthday. Both my older daughters were 18 for their
whole senior year (August and September birthdays), and the youngest
one had just turned 18 when she graduated. So I think 14 in the 8th
grade would be the norm here.

OTOH, when I was teaching 7th grade, there were kids there who were 14
or almost 15 already because they had been held back.

"Jeff" wrote in
news:VjoJh.1529$2%3.1432@trndny06:

Employees who are janitors and such may make a marginal
living. However, I think the vast majority of employees,
here in the US and abroad, make a living that is above the
mean and median income for their area. If any of the
employees have trouble making ends meet, I think it is
rarely because the means are not adequate. I am not saying
that employees can expect a life of luxury, however.

no, you don't understand. almost *all* the Microsoft
employees in the US are contract workers. that means they do
not get any benefits. they are paid salary, which means they
work more than 60 hours per week with no overtime pay, & their
job can be terminated at any time for any reason (like only
working 55 hours)
lee
--
Question with boldness even the existence of god; because if
there be
one, he must more approve the homage of reason than that of
blindfolded
fear. - Thomas Jefferson

enigma wrote:

"Jeff" wrote in
news:VjoJh.1529$2%3.1432@trndny06:

Employees who are janitors and such may make a marginal
living. However, I think the vast majority of employees,
here in the US and abroad, make a living that is above the
mean and median income for their area. If any of the
employees have trouble making ends meet, I think it is
rarely because the means are not adequate. I am not saying
that employees can expect a life of luxury, however.

no, you don't understand. almost *all* the Microsoft
employees in the US are contract workers. that means they do
not get any benefits. they are paid salary, which means they
work more than 60 hours per week with no overtime pay, & their
job can be terminated at any time for any reason (like only
working 55 hours)
lee

I've been a contract employee and so has my dh. It isn't really that
different. Lots of people work more than 60 hours a week whether they
are paid a salary or not. I did more than 60 hours a week sometimes
(and was paid a salary which was why they got out of paying overtime)
when I wasn't a contract employee.

And that is irrelevant anyway. Bill Gates is what he is, and he's
just the most visible geek ATM

"enigma" wrote in message
. ..
"Jeff" wrote in
news:VjoJh.1529$2%3.1432@trndny06:

Employees who are janitors and such may make a marginal
living. However, I think the vast majority of employees,
here in the US and abroad, make a living that is above the
mean and median income for their area. If any of the
employees have trouble making ends meet, I think it is
rarely because the means are not adequate. I am not saying
that employees can expect a life of luxury, however.

no, you don't understand. almost *all* the Microsoft
employees in the US are contract workers. that means they do
not get any benefits. they are paid salary, which means they
work more than 60 hours per week with no overtime pay, & their
job can be terminated at any time for any reason (like only
working 55 hours)
lee
--
Question with boldness even the existence of god; because if
there be
one, he must more approve the homage of reason than that of
blindfolded
fear. - Thomas Jefferson

That one's job can be terminated at any time for any reason is actually a
common thing. I think that is true of most software engineering types of
work. This is most likely true at Google, Yahoo and Sun, too. One of the
reasons why Google has otherwise good workiing conditions (doctors on site,
day care nearby, buses to work, lots of free food) is so that their workers
will work long hours.

Can you please define what you mean by contract workers? And can you please
cite some references? I am curious about this.

According to Microsft's 2006 Annual Report (on their website) there are
28,000 Research and Development employees around the world. Microsoft spent
about $6.5 billion on R&D, about $232,000. This probably includes about $80k
for average salary (my guess). Fringe benefits, stock options, etc.,
probably cost about $25,000. The rest of the cost includes the cost of the
buildings, electricity, recruiting, computers, etc.

You're correct about no overtime. But that's part of the deal. $80k a year,
but long hours. Personally, if I ever went to work for a company like
Microsoft, I would make it clear that I would be working from 0900-1700 or
whatever, but, that I would also expect a salary reflecting that those are
the hours I worked, not 0900 to 1300.

Anyway, that's my take.

Jeff

Jeff wrote:

That one's job can be terminated at any time for any reason is actually
a common thing.

Sadly, that's absolutely true--contract worker or not.
Most US states are "at will" states, where your employer can fire
you at any time and for any reason, unless you are a member of
a protected class and you can show discrimination. If you're
fired "for cause" you might be able to fight the reason;
however, the employer doesn't have to fire you for cause. You
can be fired just because, at which point the employer doesn't
have to have a reason for firing you. Actually,
workers with a work contract often have more protections, as
the work contract often specifies some conditions to be satisfied
upon termination, or specifies a certain period of performance.

Best wishes,
Ericka

"Ericka Kammerer" wrote in message
. ..
Jeff wrote:

That one's job can be terminated at any time for any reason is actually a
common thing.

Sadly, that's absolutely true--contract worker or not.
Most US states are "at will" states, where your employer can fire
you at any time and for any reason, unless you are a member of
a protected class and you can show discrimination. If you're
fired "for cause" you might be able to fight the reason;
however, the employer doesn't have to fire you for cause. You
can be fired just because, at which point the employer doesn't
have to have a reason for firing you. Actually,
workers with a work contract often have more protections, as
the work contract often specifies some conditions to be satisfied
upon termination, or specifies a certain period of performance.

Best wishes,
Ericka

I agree.

Jeff

"Jeff" wrote in
news:GJyJh.9088$S06.53@trndny08:

Can you please define what you mean by contract workers?
And can you please cite some references? I am curious about
this.

they're hired from an employment agency or are "independant
vendors", so that M$ doesn't have to pay benefits, like
healthcare. most workers at M$ do not have healthcare,
retirement (although i guess only upper management get that
sort of thing anymore anywhere), etc.
IOW, most M$ employees aren't actual employees of M$. they're
contract workers or temps, & therefore excluded from benefit
plans.
You're correct about no overtime. But that's part of the
deal. $80k a year, but long hours. Personally, if I ever
went to work for a company like Microsoft, I would make it
clear that I would be working from 0900-1700 or whatever,
but, that I would also expect a salary reflecting that
those are the hours I worked, not 0900 to 1300.

and then you wouldn't get the job.
lee
--
Question with boldness even the existence of god; because if
there be
one, he must more approve the homage of reason than that of
blindfolded
fear. - Thomas Jefferson

"enigma" wrote in message
. ..
"Jeff" wrote in
news:GJyJh.9088$S06.53@trndny08:

Can you please define what you mean by contract workers?
And can you please cite some references? I am curious about
this.

they're hired from an employment agency or are "independant
vendors", so that M$ doesn't have to pay benefits, like
healthcare. most workers at M$ do not have healthcare,
retirement (although i guess only upper management get that
sort of thing anymore anywhere), etc.
IOW, most M$ employees aren't actual employees of M$. they're
contract workers or temps, & therefore excluded from benefit
plans.

Can you please provide a link about this? It is the first I have heard about
this.

You're correct about no overtime. But that's part of the
deal. $80k a year, but long hours. Personally, if I ever
went to work for a company like Microsoft, I would make it
clear that I would be working from 0900-1700 or whatever,
but, that I would also expect a salary reflecting that
those are the hours I worked, not 0900 to 1300.

and then you wouldn't get the job.
lee

In my last job as a software engineer, I worked 1000-1820. If there was a
project that really needed to be done, I would stay late or get in a bit
early. I also did things from home. I got really ****ed when I had to stay
late to get something done when it didn't matter if it got done then or the
next day. When I didn't take their hints to move to California, they moved
job out there anyway.

Jeff

--
Question with boldness even the existence of god; because if
there be
one, he must more approve the homage of reason than that of
blindfolded
fear. - Thomas Jefferson

enigma wrote:
"Jeff" wrote in
news:GJyJh.9088$S06.53@trndny08:


Can you please define what you mean by contract workers?
And can you please cite some references? I am curious about
this.


they're hired from an employment agency or are "independant
vendors", so that M$ doesn't have to pay benefits, like
healthcare. most workers at M$ do not have healthcare,
retirement (although i guess only upper management get that
sort of thing anymore anywhere), etc.
IOW, most M$ employees aren't actual employees of M$. they're
contract workers or temps, & therefore excluded from benefit
plans.


I don't know anything about the situation with Microsoft, but being a
contract employee doesn't preclude having benefits. I'm a contract IT
worker and I'm eligible for health insurance, disability insurance, and
a 401K plan - the benefits come from the contracting agency, not the
company I actually do the work for. If I were salaried instead of
hourly, I'd get paid sick leave and vacation. The previous contracting
company I worked for offered the same benefits.

Clisby

You're correct about no overtime. But that's part of the
deal. $80k a year, but long hours. Personally, if I ever
went to work for a company like Microsoft, I would make it
clear that I would be working from 0900-1700 or whatever,
but, that I would also expect a salary reflecting that
those are the hours I worked, not 0900 to 1300.


and then you wouldn't get the job.
lee