Yesterday and today

Five years ago today my Dad died. I was living in a different place then and was only a temp worker at the job where I work now. Things have changed over those past five years. The most significant change is the relationship between my Mom and me. She was not home much when I was growing up, she was always gone working. Sometimes she worked nights and I barely saw her. Other times she was away from week for weeks at a time. Only recently, after my Dad died, have I really gotten to know her. I have gone out to see her every Sunday (when I’m not traveling for work) since then. The visit has turned into a pleasure, not a chore and has become part of the weekly rhythm of my life.

Yesterday: OMG! An announcement was made yesterday morning during the regular weekly staff meeting: the big boss is stepping down from his position to work on special projects. Just guess who is taking his place, who the new big boss is?

Guess?

Bet you guessed it, it’s
O
S
S
Z
I
L
A
Of course! Yikes and double-yikes! Is this the consequence that HR was talking about giving her for being such a she-beast to me on our last trip? It opens up a whole new line of job worry. Not to mention, her little evil pal, the even worse Least-favorite Co-worker, who is a she-beast times two will probably fill in her place as my new supervisor!

I should just go out and get that deer rifle right now—just kidding, just kidding!

The ironic thing is on Monday morning (without knowing any of this, of course) I wrote a long work rant for my blog posting. At the last minute I took it off and quickly wrote something more cheerful for that day.

I didn’t post this on Monday, I meant to spare you. But lucky for you, you get it today instead!
(cut from Monday's post)
I take minutes for the staff meetings, unfortunately, since they never hired a secretary/receptionist to replace the one (regular employee) and a half (temp) who left. They just gave their job duties to me in addition to the job for which I was hired. Having never performed any actual clerical office work, they (especially least-favorite co-worker) have the arrogant view that the secretary/receptionist duties are so easy that anyone could do them, and that I can just do the two additional jobs in my “spare time”. I am, obviously the only one out of the department of eight who does clerical work, shipping or that sort of thing.

The really ironic thing is that after working there five years (counting the temp time, which was good) I still don’t know what exactly most of them actually DO! They come in late, take two-hour or more lunches and leave early. They work from home several days a week. Least favorite co-worker just finished three weeks off using her comp time, not vacation! They don’t even work regular hours let alone extra time so I have no idea how in the world she racked up any extra time! But actually it was pretty nice to have her gone from the office all that time! Ex-favorite co-worker and I appear to be the only ones who actually perform any work there.

I did the whole complaining and going to HR procedure when the job change thing first happened, two long years ago now.(of course the entire two last years have not been hell. My job is actually interesting) The only result was I was called “Not a good team player.” Plus they HAD interviewed two job candidates the previous day. Ostentatiously for the secretary position but it was really in case I walked out (when they ganged up at the staff meeting and told me I’d now be doing both those jobs plus my regular position) after hearing that news. They had a person ready to fill my place if I would have left. I really wanted to just leave, but stopped myself when I realized I would get no unemployment, no good references, nothing, and I don’t believe in burning bridges. Jobs are just too hard to find around here, especially at a decent wage and with good benefits. The momentary satisfaction would not have been worth the repercussions. I need the job. Nobody else is paying my bills or the mortgage; I could have easily ended up like SLA, losing her home.

It’s kind of funny, but recently a co-worker asked me in a demanding sort of a way where a particular day’s meeting minutes were at, as she couldn’t find them in the folder. I’m almost never gone from work, but that was one of the days—and nobody else took the staff meeting minutes! Imagine my great pleasure at informing her that I had been gone that day! It really took the indignant wind right out of her sails.

It’s not at all surprising that nobody even thought to take the minutes when I was out of the office. They all would think it’s far beneath them, like cleaning the conference room or cleaning up in the kitchen. They talk like they are oh so fussy and particular about germs and dirt but I know the truth: they’re little piggies who don’t clean up after themselves. Part of the reason I love them so. NOT!

Thanks for listening to my anti-work and co-worker rant! I just started writing it and all by itself it turned into a long lament, I hadn’t even meant to go there. No time to redo the post now (but actually I DID redo the Monday post!). Well, at least the job pays the bills. Guess I’ve really not been a happy camper lately but the funny thing is I probably sound much more negative in writing than in real life, since most people who know me accuse me of having rose-colored glasses. I’ve just gotten accustomed to letting it all out in my notebook journal, because it really helps to unload and then go back to living life in a fairly positive manner! But the most positive act of all would be to find another job. Maybe after the two events I will have time to job hunt again.

Hope your co-workers are lots better than that, or at the very least, decent human beings! Have a great day!