In approximately 14 minutes, I think I have a meeting to go to. I’m not exactly clear on the whole time concept but I know for certain there is a meeting at some point during some part of this evening.
I got an e-mail last week telling me the time but our school’s e-mail system seems to be down right now and I can’t check. I tried calling up the place of the meeting but no one is answering the phones there. But inaccessable e-mails and phones aren’t the reasons I’m not going to this meeting.
The meeting is for the school newspaper’s editorial board. First meeting of the semester. Mandatory too! A get together howdy do and by the way would you like to write 12 articles for press time on Thursday? I know if I go they’re going to assign me something (or somethings) to write. But fear of commitment isn’t the reason I’m not going to this meeting.
I could blame it on either of those two things. It would be so easy to do. Gosh, I’m sorry, I tried my best to get in touch with you guys but I couldn’t! It’s a fairly legitimate excuse.
But no, I’m not going because I’m a passive aggressive prick and this is my way of fighting the system.
Last semester I was on the editorial board. In fact, for the last three semesters I’ve been on the editorial board which is longer than anyone else that will be at this meeting this evening. Nevertheless, they wanted me to reapply for the position for this semester. I thought about going all mock prima donna on them and making a big to do about how they expected moi to lower myself back down to the level of those plebes and newbie editorialists. In the end, I decided that’d come off more as pretentious than funny so I just handed in my application, resume, writing samples (lo and behold, from the very newspaper I’m applying to!) and suggestions for new article ideas.
I did this for one reason: I didn’t just want to be on the editorial board. I wanted to be a columnist as well which allows for less editor oversight and more creative control on my own pieces.
When I handed the application in to them, they said they’d call me on Thursday to schedule an interview.
Thursday came and went and I received no phone call. Then Friday came and went…and Sunday…and…hell, that was the begining of December. I didn’t even think too much about it until around Christmas when I bumped into someone else who was going to be on the board and he congratulated me too. Guess what? I’m on the board! Well hip hip hofucking ray. Had he not told me I was on the board I wouldn’t have even found out about it until maybe three days ago.
So basically, they made me go through the process of completing an entire application when I was going to be accepted anyway.
They told me they’d call me for an interview and they didn’t.
They hired me back without even contacting me themselves to say I got the job.
Most importantly, I specifically checked the box that said I wanted to be a columnist too, not just an editorialist. Had we had the interview, I could have discussed my wishes with them. Had they called me up, I could have discussed my wishes with them. Had they read my fucking application which they made me fill out, they’d have seen my wishes.
So here’s how I get back at them: passive aggressive bitchiness. Now they HAVE to call me up and ask me why I wasn’t at the meeting. Then I get to tell them.
And if they don’t call me back? Well, I guess they don’t really want me to write for them this semester. Either way, problem solved I suppose.