I've moved coremud.org (including this seldom-visited blog) to a new server. I've been having problems getting the blog software working on the new server, so here's another test to see if I've got it right THIS time!

The contracting firm called me late Wednesday afternoon to let me know that IBM Global Services signed the Purchase Order for my contract. An hour later, I was in my car making the 250 mile drive down to Tulsa, Oklahoma.

I'll be working as a subcontractor on the Williams account. I'm not intimately familiar with their business model yet, but apparently Williams is an energy company that deals with natural gas and pipelines.

Their headquarters is in downtown Tulsa and they're big enough to have their own tower (named, appropriately, "Williams Tower"). My little contractor cubicle is on the 32nd floor. And yes, my ears pop in the elevator ride.

I'll be commuting on the weekends and staying in a downtown hotel during the week for the next few weeks. I'll be able to work from home after I've settled in and have had a chance to meet all of my customers.

The drive to Tulsa takes just a hair under 4 hours. I had to drive last time due to the uncertainty of when my Purchase Order would be signed (meaning I couldn't make reliable flight reservations). The drive is straightforward enough. I'll probably have to switch to flying, though, because half of the trip is somewhat nerve-wracking for me. There's a heavy amount of trucking traffic between Tulsa and Joplin. The speed limit for that stretch of highway (actually a toll turnpike) is 75mph, and I've seen some pretty aggressive driving by the truckers at those speeds.

So if I fly, I can probably get there faster and leave the "driving" worries to somebody else.

On the other hand, the benefit of driving is I can leave when I want. I can ride in leather comfort with plenty of legroom the whole way without paying through the nose for it. I don't have to take off my damned shoes and put my toiletries in a plastic bag so that Homeland Security can make me stand in a line and give me the illusion that they're screening the passengers appropriately. No sitting in an airport terminal for hours due to cancelled/delayed flights.

Hmmm, maybe I'll keep driving after all. We'll see!

My background check came back clear, and all of my enrollment paperwork has been received and accepted. Now there's just one more step before I'm "official".

Because the company that wants to hire me is in a hiring freeze right now, they're having me go through a subcontracting firm so I can be brought on board as a subcontractor. Then once the hiring freeze has been lifted, they'll convert me over to a permanent employee.

But to get that far, higher-ups in the company need to approve a Purchase Order and send it to the subcontracting firm. That finalizes my billing rate and gives me the all-clear to start working.

There's hope the PO might come through sometime tonight. That would be ideal as the company wants me to start on Monday. There's still another 2 hours to go, as the person processing the PO is 2 time zones west of me.

As stated in my previous post, all companies will remain nameless until the deal goes through. :)

One of my former Managers from Sprint is now at a higher position at another company, and there's a opening on his group that I'm a great match for. The position doesn't require relocation so I can work remotely (from home) most of the time.

I'd need to travel there to meet with key clients on occasion. As long as that isn't a weekly event I think I can handle it just fine.

The only hitch is there's a hiring freeze, so they're going to try to get approval to bring me on as a contractor. They'd convert me from a contractor to a permanent employee after the hiring freeze is lifted.

I'll need to pass a background check and then they'll have to get a Purchase Order approved for my contract. We also need to negotiate billing rates, etc. Once those things have happened, which can take anywhere from 5 days up to 2 weeks, I'll consider my job hunt officially "over".

I'll post another update and name the company if everything falls into place. Please pray for me in the meantime!

There's a post over at the DailyTech Science blog that's generating quite a bit of heat over global cooling. Check it out!