What the Pho? (Pre-Basic Training) 5 Days until Basic

Pho is a Vietnamese soup that is a staple of Vietnamese cuisine and culture. 
Many Vietnamese people eat pho for breakfast rather than as an evening meal. 
Pho can be made in more than 20 variations, but always has either a flavorful 
beef broth or a chicken broth base.

 

Today was my second to last day at work. My boss took me to lunch at a local Vietnamese food restaurant. I’ve never tried Vietnamese food before, so I decided to try one of their standard dishes called Pho. It has been described as “The National Dish of Vietnam” and is pronounced “fuh”. I would describe it as kind of a noodle soup with beef and a number of spices in it. The soup was excellent and I can now say I’m no longer a pho virgin. 

I had two exit interviews today. One was the formal exit interview with the HR Director. I was shown a bunch of paperwork and signed some papers. The company had my last day marked as today, but in reality it is tomorrow. It makes a big difference because tomorrow is the 1^st of the month and if I work on the 1^st I will keep my benefits for the entire month. That will give me a little piece of mind just in case something happens between now and when the military benefits kick in.

The second exit interview was at the end of the day with the general manager. It was a bit more informal and we just went over what I thought was going well with the company and what wasn’t. What is going well with my department and what is not. Also what would I change if I were CEO for a month? I honestly told him that I thought the company’s best asset is it’s employees and being a smaller family owned company. I came from a larger corporate newspaper and my experience here has been much better. What would I change if I were CEO? That is a tough one. The only thing I could come up with on such short notice was to add some sort of tuition reimbursement plan. I started to try and finish my 4-year degree, but the cost was just a little too overwhelming. Helping your employees gain an education will help the company as well. 

-- On a side note I know times are tough, but I also wouldn’t have frozen wages. I think the thought of no hope for raises coupled with rising health care costs and no 4-year degree is what ultimately made me start considering my future. I knew if I stayed put that I would be in the same exact situation I am in right now. I want to do something exciting, I want some adventure, I want to know that I can grow and advance both personally and professionally. (Also it seems there is no bright future for newspapers. I believe the staffs will continue to shrink and they will face increasing competition for advertising revenue). The newspaper business is in a slow death spiral!