what, no warning signs?
so its been forever and a day since i've written in this waste of space, so hi, haven't seen you in a while, how've you been? since you don't know what i've been up to, i'm willing to tell you a little about the odd life i've been living as of late. about two weeks back, i answered an add looking for people to work for the CCE, a local Citizens Campaign for the Environment, an organization that seeks to get mandatory limits set on greenhouse gas emissions, stop dredge spoils in the Sound, get GE to stop polluting the Hudson, and other good stuff like that. i set up an interview with the staff director, Matt, who seemed cool and nice, even though i got those creepy cult-vibes off of him. he has the right look for someone aspiring to pick lonesome teens off their feet, make some friends for them, and then conduct a mass suicide involving styrofoam cups and kool-aid. i digress.
so i go in for the job at their local office, expecting to see deodorant-less hippies with no bras or socks. guess what?- they were FOUND! i quickly adapted to the environment, making nicery with the smellyfolk, not really sure what the job would consist of. see, my meeting with matt was vague. in a nutshell, what my job would be is to educate the public about our negative affect on the environment which is being seen through our global warming crisis. now, any of you that know me personally know my stance on the issue- the earth goes through cycles. there will be ice ages, there will be droughts and hurricanes and all that nonsense. the fact that we've had cars only 100 yrs hardly makes a mark on the ground we tread, and its egocentric to think that we are that important in the grander scheme of things. so basically, i will have to talk to people and essentially lie about what my own beliefs are. well... hmmm... i could do that. the job will only be for 2 months, so i think i'm capable.
so what happens after introductions is the aprox. 30 people who are present get broken into groups of anywhere between 5-8, we pile into cars/chevy suburbans, and drive to a local neighborhood to "canvass." what is canvassing, you ask? good, because i didn't know what it was and certainly didn't realize what this job entails. from the hours of 4pm-9pm mon-fri, you are required to knock on doors on the turf you are assigned to "canvass," blow some smoke up peoples' asses, ask them for money and to write brief letters to congressmen. here's the kicker: you aren't paid for showing up to work, walking the streets alone in the dark with cash in your pockets, or spending about 10 hours of your day working with the organization. if you bring back $100, you'll see half of it in your paycheck. if you bring back $18, you'll see $9. whatever you earn, if you do earn anything, you see half of in your weekly paycheck. there is a nightly quota to bring in $180. however, this goal is hard to meet, say, if you're in a tough area where no one is home or you just get doors slammed in your face. it is possible to meet that standard, but it takes a lot of patience with people, which is something i lack severely. so, your weekly goal is $880, that's working mon-fri, getting to the office at 1pm, going out to "canvass" and not going home until 10:30pm. so you get $440 for the week if you meet that goal. sweet deal for some, not a sweet deal for me. first off, you don't know me, you've never heard of the organization i work for, and someone with a similar campaign came by not too long ago and you already contributed to their cause. why help me? the absolute worst is when i walk up to those houses where there's plexiglass in the front screen door and i can see my reflection staring right back at me. sure, all girls will pick out their favorite flaws (my hair's a mess today, my hips look wide, etc) but then you face that harsh reality that you are the person that no one, with very few exceptions, wants to see. so, it blows. and i'm quitting ASAP. i went for a casual interview at a friend's job today, and what's going to happen is i'll be called next week (monday or tuesday) to schedule what days i should come in to just try things out. this job entails what any retail job does, which i'm perfectly fine with, considering the fact that i'll only be there for 8 wks. it also opens up the possibility for me to transfer to another store up the line where i'll be living in the fall, which is gnarly for the Gabby Cause. the money isn't great, but i won't be walking by myself on poorly lit streets, i won't be eaten by mosquitoes, and i'll be dealing with people who want to be where they are, or they would have never come in to the store. retail is one of those things that you don't appreciate really until you don't have it anymore.. i mean, i'm not making a life of it, but it will help with the bills through school, ya know? the money is never as great as it should be, but you can really dig out a comfy niche for yourself and not be out in the elements, god forbid it rains (BECAUSE ITS NOT FUN!!!) also, if your store gets busy, the day will fly by. unlike canvassing, wherein people see you, don't answer the door, and the day will drag. sure, the extensive walking saves me money from not opening up a gym membership, but i don't need to say again how dissatisfied i am with the work. people don't care. all they buy are SUV's, and the Hybrids are only in their driveway because they save money at the local Mobil. fucking losers. anyway, dinner's ready, that's enough of a rant, and i'll catch you up on this a bit more later. and i'll post about the new job... hopefully.
so i go in for the job at their local office, expecting to see deodorant-less hippies with no bras or socks. guess what?- they were FOUND! i quickly adapted to the environment, making nicery with the smellyfolk, not really sure what the job would consist of. see, my meeting with matt was vague. in a nutshell, what my job would be is to educate the public about our negative affect on the environment which is being seen through our global warming crisis. now, any of you that know me personally know my stance on the issue- the earth goes through cycles. there will be ice ages, there will be droughts and hurricanes and all that nonsense. the fact that we've had cars only 100 yrs hardly makes a mark on the ground we tread, and its egocentric to think that we are that important in the grander scheme of things. so basically, i will have to talk to people and essentially lie about what my own beliefs are. well... hmmm... i could do that. the job will only be for 2 months, so i think i'm capable.
so what happens after introductions is the aprox. 30 people who are present get broken into groups of anywhere between 5-8, we pile into cars/chevy suburbans, and drive to a local neighborhood to "canvass." what is canvassing, you ask? good, because i didn't know what it was and certainly didn't realize what this job entails. from the hours of 4pm-9pm mon-fri, you are required to knock on doors on the turf you are assigned to "canvass," blow some smoke up peoples' asses, ask them for money and to write brief letters to congressmen. here's the kicker: you aren't paid for showing up to work, walking the streets alone in the dark with cash in your pockets, or spending about 10 hours of your day working with the organization. if you bring back $100, you'll see half of it in your paycheck. if you bring back $18, you'll see $9. whatever you earn, if you do earn anything, you see half of in your weekly paycheck. there is a nightly quota to bring in $180. however, this goal is hard to meet, say, if you're in a tough area where no one is home or you just get doors slammed in your face. it is possible to meet that standard, but it takes a lot of patience with people, which is something i lack severely. so, your weekly goal is $880, that's working mon-fri, getting to the office at 1pm, going out to "canvass" and not going home until 10:30pm. so you get $440 for the week if you meet that goal. sweet deal for some, not a sweet deal for me. first off, you don't know me, you've never heard of the organization i work for, and someone with a similar campaign came by not too long ago and you already contributed to their cause. why help me? the absolute worst is when i walk up to those houses where there's plexiglass in the front screen door and i can see my reflection staring right back at me. sure, all girls will pick out their favorite flaws (my hair's a mess today, my hips look wide, etc) but then you face that harsh reality that you are the person that no one, with very few exceptions, wants to see. so, it blows. and i'm quitting ASAP. i went for a casual interview at a friend's job today, and what's going to happen is i'll be called next week (monday or tuesday) to schedule what days i should come in to just try things out. this job entails what any retail job does, which i'm perfectly fine with, considering the fact that i'll only be there for 8 wks. it also opens up the possibility for me to transfer to another store up the line where i'll be living in the fall, which is gnarly for the Gabby Cause. the money isn't great, but i won't be walking by myself on poorly lit streets, i won't be eaten by mosquitoes, and i'll be dealing with people who want to be where they are, or they would have never come in to the store. retail is one of those things that you don't appreciate really until you don't have it anymore.. i mean, i'm not making a life of it, but it will help with the bills through school, ya know? the money is never as great as it should be, but you can really dig out a comfy niche for yourself and not be out in the elements, god forbid it rains (BECAUSE ITS NOT FUN!!!) also, if your store gets busy, the day will fly by. unlike canvassing, wherein people see you, don't answer the door, and the day will drag. sure, the extensive walking saves me money from not opening up a gym membership, but i don't need to say again how dissatisfied i am with the work. people don't care. all they buy are SUV's, and the Hybrids are only in their driveway because they save money at the local Mobil. fucking losers. anyway, dinner's ready, that's enough of a rant, and i'll catch you up on this a bit more later. and i'll post about the new job... hopefully.