Outrage Is My Favorite Emotion

Challenges of the New Job

2012-03-10T18:46:00.000-07:00

So, a little about my new job.... They have a great crew of salesmen and installers, but no one to manage inventory. The methods they have in place just don't work. There is a lot of redundance in the paperwork, and different departments track customer orders differently, so there is no cohesion. One department is tracking orders by a PO number, another department is tracking orders by customer name, and another is tracking by invoice number. This is really gumming up the works and wasting massive amounts of time--and everyone is overworked as it is. In fact, they had lost an installer to fatigue just days before I was hired. He has been replaced by a young kid named Jerry who has an excellent aptitude for the trade, but lacks experience. I'm up to the challenge, and have already suggested some promising solutions.

I'm starting out as a part-time employee, but the boss, Mark, has already suggested that using me to my full potential will quickly require a full-time schedule. (For, he intends me to redesign his website, and start experimenting with some internet sales, eventually.) This part-time schedule has allowed me to keep my other job (one morning per week) for now.

The work itself is very physically demanding, because I have to reorganize shelves of product, as well as receive incoming shipments. Then there is the pecking order that has to be established--some quiet posturing and manuevering between coworkers (and it is a company who has never employed a woman before, in a manly sort of industry). The worst part of a new job is the best part of a new job: the EXCITEMENT! I love having control of a project! I love eating, breathing, and sleeping it! But I'm exhausted physically and mentally. I work all night in my sleep, only to rise and go to work! Good thing Mark started me off part-time!

Out of Thin Air

2012-03-08T12:28:00.001-07:00

The job hunt has been a little slow. I hadn't quite gotten anxious about it yet, when the phone range one evening. A regular patron of my brother's shop asked me to meet him the following morning to discuss a position with his company. We arranged a time and place, and I hung up the phone. My husband asked who the caller was. I told him. He asked, "what did he want?" I said, "To offer me a job." Then he asked, "Oh, really? When did you apply?" I was deeply satsified to answer, "I didn't!" My husband couldn't completely help being impressed, though he tried.

Apparently, I had made quite an impression on the man. Upon discovering that I had lost my job, he immediately wanted me to work for him. In the course of my interview, he revealed that he had asked my former employers for my home phone number. A new position is actually being created for me.

Come to think of it, my previous job came to me out of thin air too! That doesn't exactly bode well.

Grandma's Reaction

2012-03-01T17:39:00.000-07:00

My sister arranged for all of the womenfolk to spend the day at Grandma's house. Since most of us are currently unemployed, we appreciated the diversion. We all took some crafting supplies and fiddled around with that for the better part of a day.

I arrived at Grandma's house before the rest and the first thing she said was, "So, how did you get the day off of work?" She said it rather accusingly, so I assumed that mom had told her that I no longer worked for my brother and his wife. So, I admitted it. No one had told her, so she stared with her mouth open for a full minute. I did not wish to upset her further, so I just said that no reason was given. Then I suggested that the economy made down-sizing a goood option. She kept reasoning out questions like: well, no one else knows how to do your job, do they? did they get rid of anyone else? etc. I just said, I don't know to all of them. She served me a beverage and then concluded, "I've always thought that she [my sister-in-law] didn't want anything to do with our family. She has just about got him [my brother] separated from us completely now."

Funny that Grandma's reaction was similar to mine.

The Margarita Theory

2012-02-28T13:36:00.000-07:00

Well, my mother asked me to help her with an errand one day, and because I was available at a time I routinely would have been working, she realized that something was amiss. There seemed to be no explanation to give her except to tell the truth--that I had been fired. Mom was very shocked. I told her word for word what my sister-in-law had said when she terminated me, and thought it best to leave it at that. Mom wanted to march down to my brother's shop and demand further explanation, but said that she had another topic to discuss with him that was even more pressing. What she told me was even more shocking than my news!

You see, my mother had been very free with her advice (crazy, off-the-chart nagging) regarding their potty training for her grandson. He is approaching 4 years old and has refused to potty train. Well, she stepped on my sister-in-law's toes pretty hard and hasn't been asked to babysit in ages. She was recently laid off from her job until springtime, so she offered to keep the child anytime now that she had unlimited free time to spend with him. Well, my sister-in-law's parents, both being retired, are his usual babysitters. They generally care for him 2 days per week, so that his mother can be free to work in the shop. However, they often lament that if they weren't tied down to him they could travel. Many times, they have asked her to make other arrangements for his care, but since he doesn't get along well with other children and he isn't potty trained, "other arrangements" don't last long and he ends up with his maternal grandparents again. Even under this pressure, my sister-in-law refuses to let my willing mother watch him.

Well, about the time my brother announced that we might be facing a temporary lay off, he and his wife were planning a night out with her best friend (and employee) and her husband. I overheard them reminding one another several times throughout the workday to call my mom. Neither one of them wanted to make the call, so I asked my brother why they kept avoiding the issue. He said, "Oh, we just want her to watch the boy while we go out to [this certain] restaurant." I said, "That shouldn't be any big deal. Mom would LOVE to watch him; I'm sure she'll say YES." He said the problem wasn't with mom and wouldn't elaborate. I remembered that my brother once said that they never ate at this restaurant (he didn't like the food), but sometimes went there for the margaritas. I thought no more of it until mom explained how the rest of that evening had gone.

Even on very short notice, Mom was glad to babysit that evening. She and my little nephew (her grandson) had a blast until his 8pm bedtime. She watched TV until my brother came home at...1:00 in the morning! My mom never stays up after 10pm, so I thought that was very inconsiderate. I told mom so. She said, "No, I wasn't concerned about that. Your brother came home alone. He said that they drank at the restaurant until it closed and then moved the party to the other couple's house for more drinks. At 11pm, my brother suggested that they go home to relieve Mom. His wife refused, so they stayed longer. Finally, at 1am, my brother decided that he could not impose on Mom a moment longer and headed home. His oldest daughter (about 14 years old) got out of bed when she heard him come in and asked, "Where is Mom?" He looked defeated, shrugged, and said, "You know your mom." She pursed her lips, rolled her eyes, and said, "Yeah, I know Mom." My mom was puzzled, so my brother said, "They offered to bring her home when she's ready to leave." Their daughter said, "I'm not holding my breath; she's not coming home tonight." Mom knew it was uncomfortable for them, so she left without showing any concern.

So, Mom suspects that she stumbled onto a big family secret about some alcoholism, or possibly worse. Since our father was an alcoholic, we are all very sensitive on the issue and have a low tolerance for the abuse of alcohol. Mom theorizes that this might have something to do with why I was fired. If my sister-in-law thinks that my mother told me of that night's events, it would be very difficult for her to face me daily, for I would surely think less of an alcoholic sister-in-law. And she could not plan their next booze binge in front of me as she had done previously. And that might account for the "walking on eggshells" defense she gave for terminating my employment.

When the Family Finds Out

2012-02-20T13:25:00.000-07:00

I have been avoiding phone calls. For one reason, I don’t care to be available to assist the staff to cover my former job assignment. Since I was fired, I can’t justify helping a former coworker locate files for example. I don’t want to explain these events to anyone in the family. I feel that my brother and his wife should have the first opportunity to defend their actions. I expect my mother to stop in at the shop in the week or so. Then, they can break the dreadful news to her. She, in turn, will denounce their actions among the family, and I will no doubt picture the victim of their heinous treatment when she distributes the news. And the ears will be in my favor, however she tells it.

This will injure my brother, but I don't see how I can or should protect him from it. He ought to exercise some control over his household, especially as it affects his business. His wife has set things in motion to undo all the success my brother has made of their company (and not just by letting me go), and who will guard them from the consequences? Even as a beloved sister, I can rightly say, "that is not my job."

I've also wondered that if she felt stifled in my presence, then what will be said and done without me there as a restraint? Odd. I have never involved myself in any conflict of theirs, marital or otherwise (although they divulged much in my company). I've actually jealously guarded their secrets. Early on, I determined to behave as an employee, not as a big sister. The cause of her fear can only stem from a guilty conscience. I certainly never gave her cause to fear being exposed.

In some ways, I suspect that my sister-in-law has purposely maneuvered events to alienate the last member of my brother's family. Nearly everyone has expressed concern over my employment with them over the course of the last year. They wonder how I can tolerate her. I did tolerate her--with some difficulty. I even wanted to like her, but then I was motivated by a paycheck. I know that she has poisoned my mother's relationship with my brother to such a degree that she is nearly forbidden to see her grandson. This she did over trifling offenses committed by my mother (complaints about the grandson's failure to potty train and his consumption of sugar). My sister has such an aversion to the sister-in-law's competitive nature that she lost interest in them both soon after they were married. With Grandpa dead, Grandma is easy enough to ignore. With my dismissal, she may have successfully cut every family member out of their lives.

Dreadful Dreams

2012-02-18T13:06:00.000-07:00

I've been reeling from the shock of being fired. I can't help but dwell on the topic. After all, I am headless in all of my dreadful dreams, and I have a massive amount of idle time on my hands that comes with being unemployed.

Perhaps I should go back to the part about being headless. Yes, the dream I had the night I was fired was a dream where I had to wear a prosthetic head in public until my own grew back. I blamed my sister-in-law for my headless state, but my mind did not expand on the idea. In the course of the dream, I was applying make-up to the blank head and thinking that it was still ugly and I would be ashamed to leave the house wearing any head but my own. It was very disturbing indeed! In subsequent dreams, I have been part of a search party looking for the heads of dead family members which inexplicably disappeared in the middle of the night. My sister and I comfort each other as the only survivors of the massacre. When we are struck with dred that the murderer and head robber might return for us, I awake!

Perhaps my dreams are hyper-vivid because I don't allow myself to dwell freely on the termination of employment during the day.

In the moments that I let myself examine the events leading up to my termination, I find myself asking many questions. For instance, why didn't my sister-in-law choose to use their financial difficulties to explain it? They were already threatening to lay off workers. If they would have laid me off, then they could tell the family a sob story about how sorry they were to have to let me go. They would have been the victims, and I would be collateral damage. I think it noteworthy that my sister-in-law chose to stand toe-to-toe with me and fire me to my face all the while claiming that I am intimidating and unapproachable. Perhaps she lacked the courage, until this manic episode.

The timing was very odd. Another coworker had just remarked how well everyone was getting along, and how smoothly things were running. I had to agree. Though I wasn't particularly happy with my sister-in-law, her mood seemed to be better than usual (characteristicly manic). The day before my termination, my brother was even altering my workstation to accomodate my petite build. The alterations would make it very difficult for any of the others to work there comfortably. They had recently included me in a staff photograph that they're having published in a sales flyer. I have 1000 new business cards with my name and contact information on them. No, there really was no sign that they had planned something this drastic for long. Something happened between 6pm one night and 1pm the next day. I think I can properly disown any causality.

Lying in Wait

2012-02-15T12:08:00.000-07:00

I arrived to work today, to find my desk covered with items not belonging to me. The pile was so high, that I could not reach my monitor. A voice behind me says very seriously, "We need to talk."

I spun around and my sister-in-law said very calmly and deliberately, "I feel like I have to walk around on eggshells because I can't deal with you. I find myself asking everyone else to do what I'd like you to do which isn't fair to anyone."

I asked, "What have I left undone that you asked me to do?"

She explained, "Well, that is just it, I didn't ask you to do anything. You're not approachable. I should be comfortable around my own employees. I'm sorry, but it just isn't working out." With that, she handed me my final paycheck and asked for my key.

I was completely shocked! For a moment, I thought I would lunge at the throat beneath that smug expression. Just then, my brother appeared in the doorway behind her with a mortified look of embarrassment mixed with empathy. I poked around the desk for a few personal items which I loaded up into my bag. My brother said that I could come back any time for forgotten items later remembered. A moment later, I found her at her station and turned in my key. She muttered something unintelligible, a syllable or two. And, I left. In Colorado, you can terminate employment for any reason, or for no reason.

I wanted to bring the house down with a fit of immense proportions, but my brother would suffer most. Besides, she really did take the lion's portion of blame by admitting that she is intimidated by me. And, if I treated my husband as she does, I wouldn't want his sister to be a daily witness to it either. She ought to fear what a family member might relate about her behavior.

And then there is the possibility that when her manic episode (I am sure she suffers from bi-polar disorder) is over, and she quits--which she frequently does--I might be asked back. Remember, she fired me once before, but recanted within 10 minutes. And she doesn't like to do actual work. Yes, she likes to barge in and shout orders, but primarily, when she is at work, she is watching videos and socializing and encouraging the staff to do the same. Everyone of us has been known to admit that nothing really gets done when she is there. Of course, most of them enjoy the fact that her presence brings on a holiday of sorts. I think that my brother and I were the only ones ever bothered by the lack of accomplishments on those particular work days.

Possible Lay Off

2012-02-10T19:13:00.000-07:00

My brother announced to the staff that we may have to lay a couple of people off for a week or two. Year end taxes nearly broke the bank. There is plenty of work scheduled on the horizon, but after this payroll, there won't be any money left. Everyone started brainstorming about debts we could collect and customers we could approach to increase our sales opportunities. It was just the response he wanted to hear, and everyone left the meeting feeling rather hopeful.

Just then his wife arrived, collected the staff together, and began haughtily, "We have let you people slide for too long! We're all going to have to buckle down--." My brother quickly cut her off, saying that he had already addressed the staff on this matter. She was disappointed because she had prepared quite a tirade.

I didn't care for the fact that her tone seemed to suggest that the fault lie with us, when she manages the money.

Later, it slipped out that me and the new guy were the ones they intended to lay off, if it came to that. I thought that somewhat odd, since my sister-in-law's skills are geared toward accounting. Yet, somehow, the girl caring for the day to day accounting, buying, and billing (also her best friend) was in no danger of being affected by the lay off.

I set to work with sales as my goal. What did the boss's wife busy herself with? She pulled everyone off of their projects to reorganize the warehouse, move furniture, change stations. Clearly, she is less concerned about making money than she is setting things in order so she can manage without a staff!

Anyway, enough monies could be collected from past due invoices to more than cover the rent and payroll.

A Setback

2012-02-07T16:58:00.002-07:00

My boss's wife pushed for several trademarked items to be listed on a certain online site where we were selling some merchandise. I ignored her as long as I dared, but she insisted more adamantly. And when I thought that my job was in jeopardy, I did as I was told. Immediately, I received warnings from the site administration and the content was removed. Her response was rather flippant, and she insisted that we push the issue and relist the items. As a result, our storefront was shut down indefinitely. This set back my department one whole year and set our online sales back to zero.

She had always thought another venue would be more profitable, though admittedly more expensive. So, I began to build a second storefront on the new site. Well, the cost was overwhelming, the results underwhelming (as I had predicted). But I had started a third and forth store on some lesser known sites that began to see steady results, so I felt that my job was secure.

She commissioned a new employee to build a stand alone website, and work on that began. I thought once of feeling threatened by this, but since the task was rather outside and above his skill level, it would take time. Lots of time. And they had ignored my warning that the site could not draw much traffic with the planned approach. It has been several months now, but the stand alone website is scheduled to launch next Friday.

I don't know what this will mean for my future with the company. I have only been consulted on the new project occasionally, which is odd since I am the Online Sales & Marketing member of the team.

Also, this week, all of my assigned tasks have been very menial. For instance, a phone was placed at my work station. I was told that the morning shift will share the responsibility of reception as always, but when my shift begins, that task will fall exclusively to me. Hmmm. Okay. Also, from now on, it is my job to take out the trash and clean the warehouse every Friday. This used to be a shared responsibility that was rotated. I suppose, that since my department is struggling financially through no fault of my own, these tasks justify keeping me on to free up other members whose endeavors are currently bringing in more money.

The day after being informed of these changes, I was busy with a customer and was carrying a heavy load from the rear of the warehouse where there are no phones. The phone began to ring. And ring. And ring. I looked around to find that all the eyes of the entire staff were fixed on me. I made a dash to the phone, knowing full well that it was a test. I was nearly to the phone when the new guy reluctantly picked it up. I swiped it from him hastily, threw a look of displeasure to everyone, and said, "no, that is MY JOB!"

A few minutes later, my brother noticed that I had started to cry, but he dared not interfere.

Setting Aside Differences

2012-01-19T10:04:00.004-07:00

In one of my most recent posts, I concluded that the job situation was doomed. I wasn't wrong, but a strange turn of events has kept me employed. The rocky relationship with the boss's wife (and sister-in-law) degraded to the point that I was almost certainly going to be fired. The next day, a young man (and mutual friend to the entire staff) was killed in a tragic car accident. My boss's wife immediately declared a truce, siting as her reason that life is too short to stay worked up about our petty differences. I agreed. We began to focus on the work. I was glad that we buried the hatchet, because only a week later, our Grandfather died. We were both grateful that we could deal with that free of resentment over the work tension. Since then, things have been fairly stable. Nothing like a series of unfortunate events to set you straight on what is truly important....

A Rash of Tragedy

2011-10-27T11:18:00.004-06:00

I want to explain to my readers why I have neglected my blog for so long. About 6 months ago, my husband's friend in his 40s died from a battle with brain cancer. A month or so later on a Friday, I attended 2 funerals. One, a dear friend in her early 90s, who left me all of her beautiful clothing. The second, a 23 year old man who died suddenly in a car wreck, who left behind a young wife. The next day, my sister called saying, "You need to get over to Grandma's house, because Grandpa is probably dead."

What is "probably" dead? Well, Grandma had come home to find him napping, but was unable to wake him. Moments later the fire department had arrived to the scene and I received a call from my brother, who was out of state on a jobsite. He confirmed that Grandpa had indeed died. My husband & I were only a few blocks from the house. Everyone seemed to arrive at once--mom, sister, aunt, sheriff. The coroner arrived shortly thereafter.

He had been up for breakfast, and had shut up the house, turned down the covers, and laid down on the bed for a nap (he frequently took naps). It was a rough patch for all of us, but at some point a friend of the family joked that he would've preferred to die with his boots on. Unfortunately, it is difficult to die in your bed and with your boots on.

Most recently, my aunt was killed in an airplane crash. Several other acquaintences died within this time frame. And it seemed that I would never have another funeral-free weekend again.

My faith in the resurrection has kept me on my feet and functioning despite the multiple losses I've suffered.

The most difficult part is forcing aside your own grief in the presence of friends and family suffering the same losses. It seems that your own internal grief could be endured, but being in setting after setting, funeral parlor after funeral parlor, witnessing the tears of so many others is nearly unbearable.

Time to Move On

2011-05-20T18:40:00.000-06:00

I have gotten a good taste of what this new job is all about, and I’ve decided that I need to develop an exit strategy. I love the work, but that is no reason for me to stay. I always love the work itself. I have always been able to say that at every job I’ve ever had, and I will be able to say that at my next job. It just means that I love to work.

My brother’s new business needs me. I could almost justify staying for that reason. Almost. Unfortunately, my job description has been altered so much that my skills no longer have any practical application to the tasks I’m being assigned. It really doesn’t matter that my expertise is internet sales and marketing when 50% of my time is spent cleaning up after the production team. I’m not allowed to do anything meaningful, at least not for long enough to see it through to any success.

I don’t believe that the business can survive. The co-owners are constantly at odds about their business plan, or they have no business plan, or the business plan changes from week to week. My brother wants to depend on word of mouth and just cruise along with a wait and see attitude. From his point of view, the lease is month-to-month and if something develops, great; and if not, they have their other business to fall back on. It’s more of a comfortable hobby to him. Having thrown my lot in with them, I’m uncomfortable with his lack of ambition. Then there is his wife, whose ambition is to be in-charge of employees. She cares nothing for customer service, quality control, or success. Having employees and a business to run gives her an excuse to leave children with someone else and affords her a measure of self-importance that she desperately needs--but then my brother berates her in front of her employees which sabotages her enjoyment completely. Every other week she “doesn’t want anything to do with the business” and then she returns with new office chairs and big remodeling plans—plans that have no money or manpower to see them to fruition. They have not put up a sign on the building. Yes, a sign shop with no signage. This does not bode well for longevity. Having a brick-n-mortar, equipment, and employees does not constitute a business.

The longer I stay, the messier this job separation will be. I’ve had very bad job separations before, but working for relatives increases the potential for a painful ordeal. I’ve gotten what I can out of this job and I have been able to learn a lot of graphic design software and how to operate special equipment.

I Was Testing You

2011-04-29T19:44:00.000-06:00

My brother and I are very messy throughout our creative process, while his wife and her best friend (my coworker) require a neat and orderly workspace. Naturally, these different approaches create some tension in the workshop.

Well, my brother wrecked the place while working on a very involved project, scattering sawdust, scraps, and tools everywhere. I considered that he might appreciate some help cleaning up, but ultimately chose to concentrate on pending client projects, reasoning that billable work ought to take precedence over cleanliness. After a day or two, I realized that no one had tidied up the mess, and suspected that there was some power play afoot. Not wishing to become the resident janitor, I decided not to clean the mess, but resolved not to add to it myself. Finally, on the fourth day, my brother (and boss) announced that he had purposefully left the mess to test out which employee would take the initiative. Which really meant that he wanted to see who would cave under the pressure—and my readers know that I’m no push-over. Then his wife (also my boss) rolled out the new cleaning schedule which they plan to discuss with us at length come Monday morning.

Although I think that all adult employees ought to be responsible for their own messes, I wish to appear cooperative. If they want to pay me a graphic designer’s pay for sweeping, then so be it. I’m not too proud to push a broom. The part of this that I find disturbing is that they are purposefully trying to stir up competition between their two employees. The best friend and I have overcome many of our fears and competitive drives and have settled into a comfortable routine and divided the workload fairly. She admitted to me that she worries that as the only non-family employee, that she might not be given the same opportunities. I admitted my concern that as the best friend and former coworker of the main decision maker of the business, she was chosen for her skills, while I was merely chosen for my connections as a relative. Now that we’ve become familiar, neither of us feels particularly threatened by the other. So, why do the owners want to bring that spirit of competition back? If they’re seeking a winner and a loser of these tests, it would seem that they only intend to keep one of us long-term.

Commission Sales Debate

2011-04-20T15:50:00.000-06:00

The bosses of this new business met with us to discuss an arrangement to earn commission on sales. I was very excited that this was going to be offered, since I’m not comfortable with outside sales, I was glad to have a reward and incentive for extending myself in this capacity. Afterall, it is a small business, so we all need to be involved in sales.

But the structure of the arrangement was very disappointing. Handing someone a business card does not constitute earning a commissionable sale. Any leads resulting from the signage on my personal vehicle do not constitute commissionable sales. Since my job description requires me to promote our products online, those sales are uncommissionable. Prospecting must be done on our own time and any orders that we collect while on the customer site will be paid out at 10% commission. They will not pay commission on any sale under $100.00. If they assign us to prospect during a business networking event, we may collect our regular wages, plus 2% commission on a qualified sale. Also, each of us would be responsible for tracking our own commissionable sales, by documenting and justifying how we earned each sale.

The root problem is, they want to create an incentive without actually having to pay out commission. Who is going to walk into a place of business and stay until they complete a sale? Prospecting is more casual than that. If I do any prospecting, I’m going to simply hand the customer a business card, tell them a sentence or two about what we do, and suggest that they contact us when our services are needed. According to these rules, any resulting sale would not be commissionable.

Sadly, the entire policy was created after this incident: I over-heard the bosses lamenting that they would not be able to attend the Home & Garden Show due to another obligation. I assumed that it was a business networking opportunity, and decided to take the inititative (they are always preaching about how they encourage their employees to take the initiative), sacrifice my weekend to attend and network. I passed out 50 business cards to prime members of our target market, and returned with several solid leads. When I asked how to record my time, I was told that I would not be paid for the time spent prospecting, since the owners had not requested that I do so. They were thrilled that I took the initiative and was so successful, and they hoped that I might earn enough in commission off of the sales to compensate for the time spent. The problem with that is I can’t use work time to work the leads or my commission rate will drop from 10% to 2% and I have no free time to spend outside of work for this. Not much of an incentive, huh?

After the new commission policies were explained, the other employee remarked that she would be happy to have 2% of a sale now and then and would view it merely as a little bonus. I pointed out to her that their objective of offering commission was to incite us to do more than we usually would do, to generate real, substantial sales--which view neither of us had adopted. And even if I could somehow achieve a “qualified sale,” I certainly have no intention of having to argue why I should be paid out commission on each sale.

Another College Graduate

2011-04-15T16:37:00.000-06:00

My mother-in-law is a Hispanic American who speaks English with a Spanish accent. She is white-headed at 60-something. She is very protective over her money, always pays in cash, and always counts her change at the register because she has caught so many cashiers short-changing her. Well, she went to pay her cell phone bill at the local office. The bill came to $30.60. So, she handed the clerk one twenty dollar bill, one ten dollar bill, one quarter, 3 dimes, and one nickel. The cashier took one look at the coin change and demanded another nickel, "you owe another nickel; this is only 55 cents. My mother-in-law asked the clerk to recount. She put her finger on the quarter and counted, "twenty-five". Finger on one dime and counted "thirty-five". Finger on second dime "forty-five." Finger on third dime "fifty". Finger on the nickle, "fifty-five." Then she repeated, "You still owe 5 cents." My mother-in-law was baffled at the woman's error. The clerk grew impatient and told the crazy old tightwad to "Nevermind, I'll put another nickel in for you." So, my mother-in-law again insisted that she had already paid in full. The clerk pointed out that as a college graduate, she was certain that she was capable of counting down 60 cents in change. Finally, the clerk realized her own mistake and felt rather silly for having been so argumentative. I told my mother-in-law that if I had been there, I might have reminded her that you don't learn to count change in college, you learn it in 1st grade elementary school.

New Job, New Challenges

2011-04-10T15:36:00.000-06:00

Now that I have accepted a job working for my brother and sister-in-law, I face all new challenges. For one thing, my husband is really uncomfortable with my decision to work for family. He feels that my brother only offered me the job out of pity. While that didn’t seem consistent with my brother’s personality, I considered that husband might be right. But after hearing the job description, I was certain that I could earn the position and please my new employers. Basically, they acquired equipment to run a sign shop, but have little time to devote to growing a second business. They want someone to help them with their online marketing, production, customer service, and graphic design. They need a self-motivated person because they cannot spend mass amounts of time supervising and directing. So, I have take initiative without stepping on toes. I also have to familiarize myself with a lot of software for graphic design. There is all this complicated machinery that I have to learn how to operate and maintain. My brother is an excellent trainer and my sister-in-law has a handle on the book-keeping and general business operations.

I basically have two bosses who are vastly different in temperament and expectations. My brother is easily impressed. My sister-in-law has higher expectations, but is not unreasonable. She is often frustrated with results that fall short of her ideal, but she is to blame for not being available to direct projects hands-on. She has clearly defined ideas, and my brother works in a more general direction and is therefore more flexible.

Then there is the problem of logistics and lack of proper tools inherent with a new business. We have no land phone, and I was given a used cell phone. The fully charged battery goes dead after one phone call and the zero button doesn’t work. We rectified that problem by trading phones. Now that we’ve added my phone to the service, we are going over our contracted minutes. We’re working from our own laptops, which we take to our prospective homes. So, it seems that whenever you need a particular customer file, it went home with someone else on their thumb-drive or their computer.

March Deals!

2011-02-28T23:59:00.004-07:00

To introduce you to some talented Colorado artisans, and to help you save money, I have put together a partial list of Etsy shops offering coupon codes for the month of March. Here they are in no particular order:

Kinsmade
http://kinsmade.etsy.com/
Coupon Code: FRST2BUY1
Discount: 10% OFF

HighResImaging
http://highresimaging.etsy.com/
Coupon Code: KINSBLOG10
Discount: 10% OFF

Loyes Vintage Thread
http://lacasa110.etsy.com/
Coupon Code: INTRO10
Discount: 10% off

By Still Waters
http://bystillwaters.etsy.com/
Coupon Code: marchmadness
Discount: Free Domestic Shipping

Green Beansie Cards
http://www.greenbeansie.etsy.com/
Coupon Code: MARCH25
Discount: 25% off everything except "Extras" Category

Whiskey Darling
www.whiskeydarling.etsy.com
Coupon code: FREESHIP
Discount: FREE SHIPPING (domestic U.S. only)

Have Your Cake and Eat It Too!

2011-02-25T10:51:00.001-07:00

After being told that I would be reduced to a one day work week, I put a shout out on facebook so that my 11 friends there might alert me to possible job opportunities. My brother responded immediately and offered me a job with a new business that he and his wife are starting. They already have a very successful business and are expanding into a related field. I will be handling their online sales and marketing.
(BTW, I’d love for my readers to visit http://highresimaging.etsy.com and http://highresimaging.etsy.com).

I’ll tell you all more about the new job soon. I explained to my brother about the possibility that I might have the opportunity to continue working at the auction house one morning per week to assist with their weekly events for a really high wage. Although he is offering me a very good wage, he can’t compete with $75 for 2 or 3 hours of work. So, he agreed to give me that morning off each week.

So, having secured the new job, I waited for an appropriate moment when the ladies in the office had gathered about toward the end of the day, and I made my announcement. "Well, ladies, I have accepted a position with another company." I expected that my boss would have one of her classic dramatic-heart-attack-jaw-dropping-shock-and-surprise moments. Instead, I got no response from anyone. They all just stared blankly as if it meant nothing to them. After the silence became awkward, one gal finally said very half-hearted, "well, good for you." Then my boss mumbled in careless agreement, "yeah, good for you" after which she changed the subject to the ring-tone on her new cell phone. I managed to utter a few polite words of goodbye to everyone before leaving. The only explanation that I can think of is that the HR director had already notified them, but I hadn’t seen the usual gossip train travel through the office.

The conversation that I had with the HR director earlier that morning was ridiculous. I told her that I had taken another job and would only continue to work the auction event if Corporate approved the pay rate adjustment. She snapped back with, "Well, they’re not going to make a decision immediately," and then threatened, "if you don’t show up next week you’ll terminate your own employment." I said, "Well, it makes no difference to me, since I have already replaced this income. But I made an arrangement with my new employer to accommodate you. I will only do so under the terms we’ve discussed. So hopefully, for your sake, Corporate will respond in a timely manner." She was very rude, but I tried to be very matter of fact and flippant about it. She was still trying to wield my employment as a weapon, forgetting that she had just whittled said weapon down to nothing by reducing my income to a measly day’s wage per week.

I was certain that I’d never hear from her and did not plan on attending the event the following week. But the night before the event, I received a frantic phone message claiming that Corporate was going to approve of the higher pay rate afterall. They were desperate to have me cover my usual position. I would just have to finish out the pay period under the current pay arrangement, and then I would have things my way. The HR director even left her personal cell phone number so that I could contact her with an answer after business hours regarding the matter.

So, I am now working two jobs. And my new job is 3 minutes from my home! And I didn’t even have to job hunt! Having my cake and eating it too!

Reindeer in the Crosshairs!

2011-02-10T14:48:00.005-07:00

I just love this item I found on Etsy! Hilarious!

Labor 3 Hours for $75 or 8 Hours for $80?

2011-01-12T20:12:00.004-07:00

Yesterday, the HR gal told me that they were cutting my hours down to one day per week. That stinks, but there's more to the story.

I work at an auction house. I was hired as an auction block clerk. I simply came in one day per week for the auction event, which lasted 2-3 hours, and I made a quick $75 flat rate. Well, I applied for several regular full-time positions without success, so the HR gal found work for me helping various departments with clerical work throughout the week. The arrangement was that I would work for $10/hr whether working the block or doing anything else. So, I sacrificed $25/hr for only 3 hours for $10/hr for 28 hours per week. But no sooner than I struck this bargain, the hours started to dwindle and each department started sending me home early or quit using me altogether.

So, when I was told that I would only be working on the auction event day, I asked the HR gal whether I could return to the earlier rate of $75. She jumped at the chance since it would relieve her of the task of finding more work for me. "You bet we can do that," she said in a you-asked-for-it-now kind of tone, "but then you won't get additional hours in any departments since your rate of pay will be too high." I reminded her that she had just told me that there were no hours available anyway. Then she realized that I would not work the counter after the sale for her best friend's department and she panicked and started pleading for me to continue on with the old arrangement. I politely declined.

Sharing a Bed

2010-12-26T15:22:00.000-07:00

Do you ever get used to sharing a bed with someone? My husband out-weighs me by nearly 100lbs and we had a waterbed when we got married. I used to get launched into the air if he jumped into bed too forcefully. As the years went by, we graduated to a firm waveless waterbed, which eliminated that particular problem. But the war over blankets raged on. So, we got separate blankets. Just when I think we’ve worked out every conceivable issue, I roll over in bed (sound asleep) and crack my eye-socket on HIS elbow that is resting on MY pillow!

The Copier Cussed Me Out

2010-12-23T21:08:00.000-07:00

I fat-fingered the fax number as I attempted to send a document to another office on our campus, and apparently dialed a phone number instead. A voice issues forth from the copy machine (multi-function digital imager, I should say), "Hello. Helllllloo?" and suddenly, "Well, F--- you then!" I nearly fell over from shock. I cancelled the transmission, which was now ringing in that annoying fax machine chime, which severed the line. But I huffed around swearing that if I could just remember how I had mis-dialed, I would call back and demand to speak to the woman's manager. At first, I thought it was hopeless. But, the copier is set to automatically print an error report--which includes, ta da!--the number dialed. I decided to Google the number first to make sure it was a business and not a residence. The phone number belonged to someone on our very campus! I dialed the number and asked my coworker why she cussed me out for misdialling.

She was completely unaware that human ears had heard her rude comments. She imagined that she was just screaming at a machine that was buzzing in her ear. So, if you have a filthy mouth, you might want to be advised about this possibility. Some facsimiles have this special direct dial function. Gotta love technology!

That Is the Correct Answer

2010-12-23T14:24:00.005-07:00

I braved the crowds at the grocery store the other day. As I navigated through the busy aisles, I observed a mother and her son whose age I imagine to be round 5 or 6 years old. The boy was chattering away, and his mother responded, "Well, would you rather have a mother who is pretty or one who is NICE to you?"

I thought to myself, "Don't answer, Kid! It's a set-up! It's like when I ask my husband if a certain outfit makes me look fat--there really is no right answer!" The woman was pretty, but had badly thinning hair and I dreaded the child's response.

But I was engaged. I could no longer pass by quietly--I had to know how it would play out. I stopped cold in my tracks and stared.

The little boy considered the question briefly, then looked up at his mother adoringly and exclaimed, "You're BOTH, mom!"

Without thinking of being discreet, I blurted out, "THAT is the correct answer! Well done."

The mother smiled, being especially flattered that someone had witnessed his precious words.

As I managed to pull myself from the scene in search of rice noodles, I thought how the young one had learned what some grown men never do.

Just adore us; what is so difficult about that? It's what women want.

Manager of the Year

2010-12-20T16:19:00.000-07:00

This year, Manager of the Year was decided by employee vote. One manager was slighted by not being included on the ballot. One name on the ballot was not technically a manager. Most employees did not even receive a ballot, and only those employees with company email accounts were ever aware of the voting arrangement. But that is typical method of operation at our workplace. The whole thing being a popularity contest--and poorly orchestrated at that--destroyed any honor that might have otherwise been assigned to the award. Bottom line: no one cared about winning. No one except for my boss who daily finds reasons to remind her staff that she is their boss as if they haven’t known the fact for years. She is anxiously awaiting the results of the vote, which much to her dismay would not be announced until the employee meeting. And she had scheduled a vacation day on the day of the meeting. When her best friend, who is the HR manager insisted that she attend the company meeting even though it fell on her day off, she began to expect to receive the award. (I’m sure her ego had convinced her that she deserved it long before her friend ever hinted at the idea.) Well, another well-liked manager, who was recovering from back surgery, was also emphatically encouraged to attend in his delicate condition, he also expected to receive the award. When the award was presented to a manager that had been hired only 7 months ago, my boss turned beet-red. Rage shown in her eyes (she despises new people, especially capable ones), and she slid from a standing position against the wall, into a sitting position on the floor. She stayed slumped there on the floor with her jaw dropped and eyes wide for several minutes before she could compose herself. In fact, it was some time after his acceptance speech before she could be coaxed up off of the floor. The girls on her staff darted glances at each other and then low giggles and comments. None of them had voted for her.

The next day, a coworker complained about the choice for manager of the year. He thought the man with the back problems should have won because of his seniority. I argued that the award ought to go to someone who could point to tangible accomplishments specific to this year’s business. I pointed out that the recipient had saved the company thousands of dollars by getting to the bottom of an issue with the facility that his predecessors had ignored for years. The man clung to his original argument, insisting that manager of the YEAR shouldn’t go to someone who had served less than a year with the company. I said, "the man accomplished more in 7 months than all of the others did in a whole year." Then he told me how several people from that department wanted to honor the senior manager’s assistant, so they staged a write in vote for her instead of casting their votes for him. I asked, "what does that say about a manager whose employees would rather waste their vote on someone who would be disqualified rather than vote for their own manager?"

What I found most interesting is that the man who did win is not the nice manager who tries to be everyone’s buddy, and it was not one who has been their the longest, or even the one with the most responsibility. It was the military man, highly organized, exacting, demanding, who runs a tight ship and holds everyone to a lofty standard. He is universally hated by all other managers because he shows up their complacency. I would have expected the majority of employees to prefer the complacent, lazy managers who cut corners and allow slacking, but I was wrong. I hope this sends a message to the other managers that we expect them to push us to succeed.

Do the Math

2010-12-18T15:56:00.002-07:00

Recently, the evil genius that is my supervisor, informed me that my hours were going to be cut even further. On Wednesdays, I would now be arriving to work in the afternoon instead of the morning. Having no options in the matter, I submitted and arrived at noon the following Wednesday. She was very upset because she had intended to work me from 1pm to 5pm, and I had already clocked in at 12:00. She began to scold me, but I reminded her that she had not specified an exact time, adding that most people consider the "afternoon" to begin at 12:00. She sent me home at 4pm to punish me, which meant that she had to complete an unfinished task that she finds particularly unpleasant.

The next day, she approached me in another department and took great satisfaction in snarling, "Oh, and Friday, I won’t be needing you, so don’t bother coming in." I just smiled and thanked her for letting me know ahead of time.

Two hours later, after considering the workload she would be facing alone, she dialed my extension, "Scratch that, I’m going to need you here at 10:00." Since most of the staff goes home at noon on Fridays, I inquired how long a shift I should expect. She said I would be needed until 2 or 3pm. I am happy to drive for 2 hours for 4 or 5 hours of pay, but not for 2, so I agreed.

On Friday, I arrived at 10:00am and was sent home at 11:30am. I drove for 2 hours to make an hour and a half of wages. That is absolutely ridiculous! I spoke to her manager about it before I left the premises. He seemed sympathetic, but ultimately could not care less. I actually sat down and did the math. After subtracting out my travel expenses, I made $4.51 per hour when I work a 2 hour day. What I need is a salary based on the 28 hours per week that I was promised; then I would be thrilled to be sent home early every day!