I caved; life sucks OR When the bad guys win (long, whiny)

The BBQ Pit
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About a month ago I started this thread about quitting my job and how ecstatically happy I was about it. At the time we had all our finances figured out to where we’d be okay for a couple of months.

You’d think I’d have learned by now that if I make plans of any kind, some bloody-minded deity somewhere will immediately focus all its energy on tearing them to shreds.

Unexpected bills came up. No one’s hiring anywhere. And this morning, to top it all off, my husband (a state employee) announced that he’s not going to receive his holiday/vacation payoff on the 15th like he has every year for the last 4 years. Thank you Governor Blunt. Asswipe.

We don’t have this month’s rent yet. I’ve lost track of the resumes and applications I’ve filled out; the only phone call I’ve gotten isn’t hiring until July 1st, and that’s if you pass their tests. This morning I was so low I even applied at Wal-Mart. How many different ways are there of asking someone if they’re a stoner?

So this afternoon I sucked in my pride and called my old job back. The assistant director sounded glad to hear from me. “What are you up to?” she asked.
“Well, nothing…that’s why I called…”
“Do you want to come back?”
“Yeah.”
“Come on.”

She doesn’t have final decision, I still have to go talk to weasel-face cooter-sniffing spineless double-dealing - whoops, excuse me - the director, but she called me back and said it looks really good. I figure if they can re-hire people who have been fired for insubordination and verbal assault, then they can re-hire me.

I’m trying to look on the bright side. The cops will be thrilled to have me back as a dispatcher, I know. My old crew will be, too. And if I can get back on graveyards, the job is pretty much gravy. Surf the Internet while waiting for the phone to ring. I was just so PISSED OFF when I left, and nothing that pissed me off has changed. The director’s two favorites are still calling all the shots, our training is still outdated, our certifications are still expiring left and right. But I’ve got two kids to feed, so I’ve got to just bend over and take it. They’ve won, that’s what gets to me. I gambled, I lost. The fuckers won.

:frowning: :mad: :frowning:

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Oh Giraffe, here boy. …

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Yes, I’m so upset I forget to pay attention to where I am.

Come work your long-tongue magic, Giraffe. I’m ready.

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From what I understand reading my AFSCME newsletter, Blunt just generally hates state employees. I think it’s psychological or ideological or one of those -ogical things…

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You didn’t lose. You took a shot and it didn’t work out. Most people wouldn’t have had it in them to try. Good for you.

Haj

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:eek:

You know I just move threads and stuff, right? :wink:

Anyway, this one is actually on the borderline between the Pit and MPSIMS. The rant itself has some real anger behind it, along with some delightfully colorful phrases. I think I’ll leave it here for now – there’s potential for shared anger and commiseration in addition to the usual hugginess.

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What does it mean, “long-tongue magic”?

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Just because you went back to them doesn’t mean you have to stop your job search.
If your job allows you to as you put it “surf the internet all day” you have a great opportunity to job hunt. And with a nice resume as a Word document you can apply right from work.

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Have you ever seen a giraffe’s tongue?

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Was it good for you?

Thanks, hajario. That does make me feel a little better. I guess I’ll just chalk this one up to experience, go back to work, and hope like hell the AK-47 in my purse doesn’t accidentally go off and mow anybody down. And I hope that smug bastard doesn’t make me cry when I meet with him tomorrow, I’ll really be pissed at myself if he does. And I hope my best friend understands why I’m doing this; one of the reasons I quit (she quit later) was because the director lied right to her face about a promotion she was expecting; said the position wasn’t going to be available due to lack of funds, then two days later turned around and CREATED a position for one of his dicksuckers, giving the raise to her instead.

jayjay, I think the word you’re looking for is “pathological.” Or “dungweasel.” My husband has more, I’ll check with him later…

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Yeah, but I don’t see the reference beyond the obvious sexual innuendo, which I can’t spell anyway.

But I hijack, and apologize.

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I’m a career counsellor, amongst other things. I don’t know if it will help you at all, but a large number of people leave their job because, like you, they do not like the values of the organisation or the executive level. Also, it takes on average between 6 months to 2 years to find the job you really want to be in. So you really didn’t give yourself a chance.
I’m not sure about the US job market, although I know unemployment is high. It sounds like you did the usual sending resumes and looking for job ads in papers and online - this tends to have a low hit rate unless there is a shortage of skilled labour. Apparently only around 20% of jobs are ever advertised - so you have to be creative to tap into the ‘hidden job market’. An excellent way to do this is to target specific companies or organisations that you would like to work for. Find out as much about them as you can, then try to set up an ‘informational interview’. This involves talking to someone in the org. about the place and jobs within it - take along a resume (just in case). Even if you don’t get offered a job, you will find out more about the type of work you’re interested in or the organisation. You are also networking, so should something come along at a later date, they may remember you.
There are lots of other great ideas for finding jobs in the old classic: What color is your parachute.

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Governor Blunt eats shit.

He says that raising taxes is “immoral”, but cutting Medicaid to balance the state budget isn’t.

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Apparently they’re 18 inches long and prehensile. :wink:

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Well, it went better than I expected. The sonuvabitch was reasonable, dammit, and after I spent all day yesterday thinking up new names for him (I was particularly proud of “doofernuts”). We talked, worked some things out; I’m even getting to come back as a supervisor, once he boots the person (read: Professor Umbridge) whom he had put into my slot (not as heartless as it sounds; they only put her there because they were desperate, and she put conditions [like no weekends] on it, and no one likes her anyway). So my return will be marked with hate and discontent.

I knew if I looked hard enough I’d find a bright side.

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Except for the quoted post was spelled perfectly.

And I apologize for hijacking the hijack.

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Marlitharn First of all, congrats on getting your job back, even though you don’t really want to be there, it’s better than nothing, for now. It’s also possible this may have positive effects down the line. Second, I want to expand on what Hampshire said above. Use your frustration with your job, with the fact that you had the courage to leave, but were forced back by circumstances to fuel your search for a new and better job. I have so many lame friends that don’t like their job and all they seem to want is to gripe and moan about how unhappy they are and then they want sympathy. But too many conversations go like this.
Satch: Okay, it sounds like you’re really unhappy and the place you work is not a good place to work. What did you do today towards finding a better job.
Lame friends: Nothing.
Satch:Okay, I can understand that. What did you do this week towards finding a new job.
Lame friends: Nothing.
Satch: Okay, maybe it’s been a really busy week for you, I can understand that. What did you do this month towards getting another job.
Lame friends: Nothing.
Oooookay then. So, how about them Knicks?
Please note, I am NOT bagging on Marlitharn here. Just passing along a “don’t be that guy” anecdote. My lame friends have other good qualities and I don’t browbeat them about this stuff or I wouldn’t have any friends. :stuck_out_tongue: But they don’t get much sympathy from me either.

Best of luck to you, again, who knows, maybe they’ll appreciate you more now that they know you will leave.

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I don’t know where you live, so my suggestion may not be helpful, but I’ll pass it along anyway. An ex-neighbor worked as a dispatcher at a trucking place. The business found drivers with cabs for companies that had trailers that needed to go somewhere. There are apparently quite a few places like this (trucking is pretty big around here), and good dispatchers are hard to come by. The job sounded pretty hectic, but it paid well, and they were very accomodating of my neighbor’s personal life (two grade school boys).
So, if you haven’t considered the trucking industry, you might look into it.

And please don’t feel like the bad guys have won. You’re doing what’s necessary to take care of your family, and that’s what is truly important. Sometimes I feel like I get paid to eat shit, but at least I get paid for it.

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Spending 8 hours a day telling truck drivers where to go and not getting fired for it (unlike the truck stop where I used to work) sounds intriguing. :wink:

But I think I’ll stay in the field I’m in. I enjoy the work; I’ve delivered a baby over the phone (best. call. ever.), I’ve talked people into putting down the gun or through CPR successfully and saved lives. The cops trust me. I’m good at this job. But the work environment was just becoming poisonous, unprofessional and petty and backstabbing and bitchy and duplicitous, and I wanted out. I used to wake up before my alarm went off and I’d be having little pains and twinges in my stomach, and I’d lie there and pray for a burst appendix or something so I wouldn’t have to go in to work. The problem with being an emergency dispatcher is there’s only - lemme see - 4 other agencies within commuting distance that pay more. And believe me, I’ve got applications in at all of them. Meanwhile, I’m learning how to meditate and throw up shields, so maybe I can stop the workplace from sucking me dry night after night.

Thanks for the kind words and advice, guys. Stay tuned, this could get interesting after Monday, after the director talks to Professor Umbridge; she’s an older-middle-aged Mary Kay Commando who once threw a screaming stamping foaming-at-the-mouth hissy fit in the radio room because she thought people liked a couple of other dispatchers better than her.

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Update.

Doofernuts did NOT talk to Professor Umbridge yesterday; he said he would talk to her this morning. We’ll see if he actually does it or if this is just Round 2 of Blow Smoke Up Marlitharn’s Ass. Meanwhile I had to work 2nd shift last night, joy! With the people who were part of the main reason I quit in the first place. Is it normal to brag about taunting your fiance’s ex-wife with pleasantries like, “You like your couch? I fucked your husband on that couch. In your bed, too…”