Job stuffs
I feel like Alladin in that moment when he says "For once, things are starting to go my way", completely oblivious of the hands that were descending upon him as he uttered those fateful words.
I'm settling in to the new gig pretty nicely. It was a rocky start at first as I kept stumbling and feeling like I'd get fired at any second, but I caught on and settled into something of a routine, of sorts. I really like the job and finally feel as if I've found my "place". No resentment or feeling as if I've been bait-and-switched, the job is pretty much what I'd expected.
Pay's gotten MUCH better with the holidays. The only commodities I could offer the company were my time and enthusiasm, and so far it's paying off. I'm matching what I earned during my better days at Super Shuttle almost half a decade ago, and this is still our "slow" season. I still haven't even gotten into the stretches or buses yet, where the real money is. A good portion of my upcoming earnings will be in refunding deposits for furniture I took last year that I won't be able to complete. I expect to clear out that debt by the end of March.
I tend to forget how many of the "little" things that make life more pleasant or easy get lost or forgotten during a lifestyle of austerity. Take headphones, for example. It took me until tonight to buy a decent pair of headphones for my laptop. Clothes, too. I have nice clothes for the first time in my life, and feel positively fantastic when I wear them. I'm taking care of myself in ways I never have before in personal grooming habits, hygiene, and dress. That's all because I have a damn good reason to, now, I have a financial incentive to do so. Mom always told me "When you look good, you feel good". She was right. I later turned that into "Confidence begets competence": not being worried about my hygiene or appearance allows me to focus on the job that much more. I'm also keeping a written accounting of my cash flow in a way I never did before, what was a struggle before has almost become an imperative now. I never HAD to give a shit to this level of detail before.
A couple of weeks ago, I had a conversation with our sales and marketing director about my suburban hotel shuttle idea from two years ago. She was intrigued and asked me for more info. I responded on Monday with a 6-page abstract including all the intel I'd originally gathered and updated with what I've learned since.
Earlier today, the owner of the company calls me into his office and lets me know he likes my idea and wants to talk about it some more in the next couple of days. What that conversation will entail remains to be seen, but it marks a critical step in getting this thing going.
Normally, I wait until AFTER the conversation before posting, but things have been going so well lately, I thought it appropriate to spread a little non-angst, for once. I've been experiencing a steady diet of overall satisfaction lately that's been a long time in coming.
I mentioned a while back that someone stole my smartphone. I replaced it two weeks ago with the HTC Evo V through Virgin Mobile. I knew there was a risk involved with a reputation of dropped signal and calls not going through, but I figured it worth taking the chance. Well, I took the gamble andI lost. My first day with the new phone, and my dispatcher couldn't even get through, my phone never rang. After a couple of weeks of bitching and threatening to jump ship to Verizon, I managed to compensate for the phone/service shortcomings and it's become an indispensible tool in helping me do my job. I'll still go to Verizon when I can afford it, but that's still weeks away.
On a slightly negative note, my shop landlord and I agreed it was best that we part company without me finishing his storefront. We simply don't see eye-to-eye on how to accomplish a common vision, and the relationship has turned toxic to the point of a mutually hostile working environment. Despite my bitching, he DID do good things for me in the last couple of years, and I owe him a debt of gratitude as well as money for putting up with my bullshit as I crawled out of my psychological hole. As a result, I'll be signing all of my tools over to him as partial compensation for what I owe him. The silver lining is that I am ethically and morally released of this obligation which makes one less loose end to tie up before moving on.
Here's to hoping the good mojo keeps on trucking.
I'm settling in to the new gig pretty nicely. It was a rocky start at first as I kept stumbling and feeling like I'd get fired at any second, but I caught on and settled into something of a routine, of sorts. I really like the job and finally feel as if I've found my "place". No resentment or feeling as if I've been bait-and-switched, the job is pretty much what I'd expected.
Pay's gotten MUCH better with the holidays. The only commodities I could offer the company were my time and enthusiasm, and so far it's paying off. I'm matching what I earned during my better days at Super Shuttle almost half a decade ago, and this is still our "slow" season. I still haven't even gotten into the stretches or buses yet, where the real money is. A good portion of my upcoming earnings will be in refunding deposits for furniture I took last year that I won't be able to complete. I expect to clear out that debt by the end of March.
I tend to forget how many of the "little" things that make life more pleasant or easy get lost or forgotten during a lifestyle of austerity. Take headphones, for example. It took me until tonight to buy a decent pair of headphones for my laptop. Clothes, too. I have nice clothes for the first time in my life, and feel positively fantastic when I wear them. I'm taking care of myself in ways I never have before in personal grooming habits, hygiene, and dress. That's all because I have a damn good reason to, now, I have a financial incentive to do so. Mom always told me "When you look good, you feel good". She was right. I later turned that into "Confidence begets competence": not being worried about my hygiene or appearance allows me to focus on the job that much more. I'm also keeping a written accounting of my cash flow in a way I never did before, what was a struggle before has almost become an imperative now. I never HAD to give a shit to this level of detail before.
A couple of weeks ago, I had a conversation with our sales and marketing director about my suburban hotel shuttle idea from two years ago. She was intrigued and asked me for more info. I responded on Monday with a 6-page abstract including all the intel I'd originally gathered and updated with what I've learned since.
Earlier today, the owner of the company calls me into his office and lets me know he likes my idea and wants to talk about it some more in the next couple of days. What that conversation will entail remains to be seen, but it marks a critical step in getting this thing going.
Normally, I wait until AFTER the conversation before posting, but things have been going so well lately, I thought it appropriate to spread a little non-angst, for once. I've been experiencing a steady diet of overall satisfaction lately that's been a long time in coming.
I mentioned a while back that someone stole my smartphone. I replaced it two weeks ago with the HTC Evo V through Virgin Mobile. I knew there was a risk involved with a reputation of dropped signal and calls not going through, but I figured it worth taking the chance. Well, I took the gamble andI lost. My first day with the new phone, and my dispatcher couldn't even get through, my phone never rang. After a couple of weeks of bitching and threatening to jump ship to Verizon, I managed to compensate for the phone/service shortcomings and it's become an indispensible tool in helping me do my job. I'll still go to Verizon when I can afford it, but that's still weeks away.
On a slightly negative note, my shop landlord and I agreed it was best that we part company without me finishing his storefront. We simply don't see eye-to-eye on how to accomplish a common vision, and the relationship has turned toxic to the point of a mutually hostile working environment. Despite my bitching, he DID do good things for me in the last couple of years, and I owe him a debt of gratitude as well as money for putting up with my bullshit as I crawled out of my psychological hole. As a result, I'll be signing all of my tools over to him as partial compensation for what I owe him. The silver lining is that I am ethically and morally released of this obligation which makes one less loose end to tie up before moving on.
Here's to hoping the good mojo keeps on trucking.