I realize I’ve been a bit negative lately. Sorry about that. Let me tell you a bit about what’s been going on…
Wednesday the 18th, I went into school for a meeting with the head of the upper school and the business manager. I knew this couldn’t be anything good, and when I asked what the meeting was going to be about, I got no response, so I was extra sure that it wouldn’t be anything good. Sure enough, I was informed that my position was being reduced to a part-time position and that, effective July 1st, my salary would be cut in half and I would lose my benefits. I was told that this was completely a budget issue, but then I was also told that there were people who were disappointed with my performance and who felt that I hadn’t lived up to expectations. Needless to say, this came as a shock to me as I was never told of any dissatisfaction, nor was I ever really told what was expected of me. Anyway, I left the meeting having been told to think about whether or not I was still the right person for the job.
I spent a lot of time thinking about it, and realized that I certainly could not continue to do the job I was doing for the salary they were going to offer. The problem is, regardless of whether or not the hours for my job were full or part-time, the job itself is full time. The hours are spread out over 7 days a week with no consistency, and it requires a person to be on call 7 days a week, as well. In a normal part-time job situation, you know which days of the week you’re working and what hours, and you are able to work another job in order to make the rest of the money you need to make. Not so with this position.
So, instead of just telling them that I couldn’t take the job, I’ve now asked that they more clearly define for me what the job is before I can make any decision. Who knows? If they change it so that it can be done within more reasonable hours, maybe I’ll take them up on their offer. It’s not that I didn’t like the job, and I certainly like(d) the people, so, we’ll see…
In the meantime, I’ve actually picked up a few paper routes for the Trenton Times. I start that on Monday. It’s not ideal, but it’s something I can do to pick up some extra cash, and it’s during hours when I wouldn’t be doing anything else, anyway. I have somewhat mixed emotions about that. I mean, at the beginning of the month I was feeling really good, thinking that I had such a great situation going on. Now I’m the paper boy, and, well, I’ve gotta say that it feels like shit. This certainly isn’t the way I wanted things to go.
But I’m trying to remain optimistic. I’ll try to put more effort into the business and see if I can’t pick things up there. I’ll do what I have to do, and we’ll survive. I just wonder when it gets easier. I thought I was settling into something, and then it all fell apart.
Anyway, on top of that, I just found out that it’s going to cost me almost $900 to fix the air conditioning in my van. I’ve been to the dentist twice in the last 3 days, and I’m going again on Tuesday. That’s been uncomfortable. Plus, it’s the summer, so all possible work for me is incredibly slow, which always leads to me being more depressed than usual. It’s hot, I’m bored, and I really hate the summer. I’m just trying to look forward to September. Things usually get better once September comes around. I’m just trying to stay positive. Things tend to happen when I least expect them to, and most things seem to happen for a reason. Just…need…to stay positive….