Life

[Dewar]

3 weeks doesn't seem long enough to me to be willing to so sacrifice my ethics, but I don't know exactly how dire your money situation is. Have you filed for unemployment? Even if you don't think you'd be eligible, you can at least try and file and see what they say.

[SuperBiasedMan]

As a fellow vegan, I fear that situation too. Unfortunately I agree that maybe you should take it for now and try hard to find something else as soon as you can? Presumably you wont be obligated to stay for very long, I'm a bit of a detached person, so I feel like I'd be able to try just putting up with it. But I have no idea just how much it would affect you.

 

It is also pretty relevant what happens when your money runs out. Do you have any safety net whether it's family or welfare? If there's literally nothing to help you out then unfortunately you don't seem to have much choice.

 

Also if it helps at all, you taking the job isn't really going to cause more animals harm. Whether you or someone else did the job, it'd still be done. That wont change the feeling of being in that environment but maybe it will reassure you to remember you're not increasing demand. (sorry if this is no help to you, I have a very pragmatic view of my veganity)

[ihavefivehat]

It's funny, I've always considered myself to be a pragmatic vegan as well, but faced with the prospect of taking this job, I've had to admit that there is a strong emotional / revulsion-based factor in my choice of diet.

 

I decided not to pursue the job, although I may regret it if I haven't found anything by the end of the month. The way I'm looking at it, though, is that the stress produced by having to handle raw meat for 40 hours a week (and having to pretend to enjoy it), is probably greater than the stress of working a menial part-time job and having little-to-no spending money. I've done the second before, and I know I can handle it.

 

edit: I don't think I qualify for unemployment because my last job was temporary. I thought they would give me some notice before letting me go, but I guess that was naive of me.

[SuperBiasedMan]

I respect the choice, I hope it goes well!

Admittedly I might feel the same if confronted with that kind of situation, because I know I'd really prefer to avoid that kind of job.

Also if you're expected to do it with a smiling face, that's definitely an added stress you don't want.

 

 

In largely unrelated unemployed news, I took the course thing I mentioned a bit back. We had a briefing and aptitude test today. I don't know for sure if I'll get in, since I have no actual experience but I think I did alright on the test part. I also found that the course seems to be relatively concise and focused, so it seems like it would actually be pretty good at teaching me if I do get it. And If I don't I just gotta make more things.

[Dewar]

It's funny, I've always considered myself to be a pragmatic vegan as well, but faced with the prospect of taking this job, I've had to admit that there is a strong emotional / revulsion-based factor in my choice of diet.

 

I decided not to pursue the job, although I may regret it if I haven't found anything by the end of the month. The way I'm looking at it, though, is that the stress produced by having to handle raw meat for 40 hours a week (and having to pretend to enjoy it), is probably greater than the stress of working a menial part-time job and having little-to-no spending money. I've done the second before, and I know I can handle it.

 

edit: I don't think I qualify for unemployment because my last job was temporary. I thought they would give me some notice before letting me go, but I guess that was naive of me.

Were you temp through an agency, or just by yourself? Unemployment laws are different by state, but I believe you'd still be eligible in Washington at least.

[Badfinger]

The mental and emotional stress isn't worth the money. Don't broach your morals for a cruddy paycheck. You'll probably regret it.

 

With regard to unemployment, I feel like if ANY employment was terminated on the part of the employer I would at least attempt to seek unemployment benefits.

[brkl]

So the job interview I mentioned a couple of weeks ago went pretty damned great. It was actually my second job interview, I got call about another teaching position after I wrote the post. I wasn't as certain about that job as this one, so fortunately I got some practice as I was really nervous during the first interview. 

 

The principals of the school had become excited about my background at a local well-respected science centre as well as my focus on the educational use of games during my studies. They basically changed the job description of the job posting to utilise my background. The interview was only two days after the job posting appeared online, so I've had to wait for two weeks after that interview to get a confirmation. I've been a wreck, but I finally got the call just now. Ugh, I almost feel guilty about how fortunate I am, especially after reading about the experiences some of you have had with looking for jobs. Those two weeks were hell on me, I don't know how I could have coped with a prolonged period of unemployment. I didn't know what to say about it until I knew, which is why I didn't answer Miffy's reply. You were spot on though: feeling like a fraud when writing the applications and acutely during that first interview. The atmosphere was great in the second one though, so it dissipated. When they started talking about what they were hoping me to do, though, I'm certain all the colour drained from my face and hands because I was so shocked.

 

Anyway, it's a dream job and it'll last the school year. After that, I'll actually get livable unemployment benefits from the union and I'll have some experience so I won't have to rely on a stroke of luck next time. I worry about the challenge since they're asking for something a bit out of the ordinary and it's my first teaching position. It's what's called a "resource teacher" over here, who are usually used to help other teachers with large or difficult classes. I'll be doing that, but I'll also have to try to help the teachers with inquiry based learning, using games and game-like ideas and such. 

 

Anyway, rainbows and unicorns all around.

[syntheticgerbil]

If this is Whole Foods in Austin, don't do it. Fuck ever driving downtown for any shitty paying job.

[Nachimir]

Great news, brkl.  How are things turning out, Miffy?

[miffy495]

So the job interview I mentioned a couple of weeks ago went pretty damned great. It was actually my second job interview, I got call about another teaching position after I wrote the post. I wasn't as certain about that job as this one, so fortunately I got some practice as I was really nervous during the first interview. 

 

The principals of the school had become excited about my background at a local well-respected science centre as well as my focus on the educational use of games during my studies. They basically changed the job description of the job posting to utilise my background. The interview was only two days after the job posting appeared online, so I've had to wait for two weeks after that interview to get a confirmation. I've been a wreck, but I finally got the call just now. Ugh, I almost feel guilty about how fortunate I am, especially after reading about the experiences some of you have had with looking for jobs. Those two weeks were hell on me, I don't know how I could have coped with a prolonged period of unemployment. I didn't know what to say about it until I knew, which is why I didn't answer Miffy's reply. You were spot on though: feeling like a fraud when writing the applications and acutely during that first interview. The atmosphere was great in the second one though, so it dissipated. When they started talking about what they were hoping me to do, though, I'm certain all the colour drained from my face and hands because I was so shocked.

 

Anyway, it's a dream job and it'll last the school year. After that, I'll actually get livable unemployment benefits from the union and I'll have some experience so I won't have to rely on a stroke of luck next time. I worry about the challenge since they're asking for something a bit out of the ordinary and it's my first teaching position. It's what's called a "resource teacher" over here, who are usually used to help other teachers with large or difficult classes. I'll be doing that, but I'll also have to try to help the teachers with inquiry based learning, using games and game-like ideas and such. 

 

Anyway, rainbows and unicorns all around.

 

That sounds fucking awesome. The librarian at the school I'm teaching at is secretly kind of doing your job as well. He successfully lobbied over the summer to get a 3D Printer for the school, and on discovering that I am also a tech enthusiast he has been pulling me into the library pretty regularly as I walk past to show me some new cool thing he's working on for the kids to have access to. 

 

My own job is going ok. Other teachers I've talked to about the position are surprised that I'm not outraged about the amount of work I'm doing relative to the other teachers on my team (they team-teach on two subjects each, I go to all of the team meetings for both teams and teach everything myself. Whups.), but in fairness this is a result of my class having been added three weeks into the school year and everything having to be scheduled in a weird way to accommodate it. I'm still benefiting from all of their planning, so it's a lot less work than developing everything myself like I did last year. I am a little disappointed by how traditional half of my grade team is though. There is one woman who is pushing hard for more fun inquiry stuff, but two of the people on the team are still very worksheet and drill-focused. Those things have their place, but I feel kinda gross using them and am trying to join the other woman in pushing weird fun stuff.

 

Contract-wise, it's getting sorted. Taking a while, but things will be worked out sooner or later. I was beating myself up real bad all weekend, and barely slept Sunday night because I had no idea what Monday would bring, but things are moving forward. Don't know when I'll get paid, but I am now at least confident that sooner or later I will.

[tegan]

I just repotted a palm that I've had for a few years. Back when I got it, it was actually one large palm and one short one; but during the brief period where I lived in a tiny basement apartment with no light, the big one lost most of its leaves and the little one lost all of them. I kept the little one just in case it ever grew any of its leaves back, but it never did. Just now while repotting, I pulled it out and...

 

there were no roots. It was just a log. What the hell?

 

(the big one has mostly spring back thanks to careful tending. It's regrown loads and loads of leaves, though they're all a little wilted)

[Erkki]

I forgot to do any Duolingo exercises yesterday and broke my ~70 day streak I'm not that obsessed over it though, as I've elready broken the "on goal" streak a few times before but have still kept going. I'm not doing the insane goal any more though, since I'm taking a real Spanish class as well.

 

I'm almost at the end of the Spanish skill tree (only 2 more "skills" to go) and this experience has made me realize that while Duolingo can be great for building a vocabulary, it isn't really enough for learning a language, as it doesn't teach you the rules and doesn't teach you to speak. A motivated person could probably learn a language by combining duolingo with other online sources, but taking an IRL Spanish class is helping me a lot. I was able to skip the very first level thanks to Duolingo, though.

[Erkki]

Yay! I conquered the Spanish skill tree. I did the last bits in the browser as my iPad's battery ran out, and realized that the website version kind of shows more of the rules than the iPad app. The website at least allows you to look at the conjugation tables of a verb.

[tegan]

I've been getting into houseplants lately because they're generally inexpensive, endlessly beneficial, and relatively easy to care for. I mentioned repotting my mass cane a few posts up, but I also recently got a dwarf umbrella plant and a money tree. Just today I decided to give into an impulse and buy one of these.

 

 

I've always wanted a fly trap, but have never seen them for sale anywhere. This one is teeny tiny and cost like eight bucks. It'll be good for dealing with the fruit flies I sometimes get in the summer. Otherwise I can feed it bloodworms and distilled water.

[SecretAsianMan]

Work is seriously getting me down again.  I had to put in 2 exhaustingly long days last week (which I spent on my feet in uncomfortable shoes stomping all around the plant), my weekend got cut short (its Sunday evening and I'm at the office), and I'm probably going to have to work an evening schedule for the next few days which is going to make getting my normal work done quite difficult.  At least I get overtime.  Oh wait, NO I DON'T.

[Henroid]

I don't even know what to fucking do with myself anymore. I just cannot win.

 

I've spent the entire year looking for work and finally found it. I just wrapped up the first week, and it was fantastic. The pay is better than anything I've gotten in my life, my coworkers and bosses already like me, I like them, the job is easy compared to others I've worked in the past. It feels perfect. So what's the goddamn problem?

 

My brothers and I look over my grandmother. It was three of us leaving here, but the eldest is moving out to his girlfriend's (which is nearby, so he's still around to do some of the 'heavy lifting' in watching over our grandmother). It's down to the two of us now, the youngest of all the grandchildren. We're capable of everything she needs, barring the language barrier (we never learned nor were taught Portuguese). My brother does the cooking and cleaning and I handle special tasks like the work in the garden (except daily watering). We've long since fallen into this pattern.

 

The problem is my grandmother refuses to cooperate with caretaking in any way possible. She isn't crazy or anything. All her health problems are just stuff like weak knees, general strength loss, digestion problems, etc. She's more than mentally capable. The problem is, she's a bully and often a fucking jerk. She treats my brother, who does the daily care stuff, like total shit because of his hearing problems (and emotional issues). She thinks he's lying about it all or something and isn't even thankful for his day to day efforts. It's like she takes it for granted.

 

But the biggest issue of all that is me. I'm my grandmother's godchild. My grandmother is from the poor country. The Azores, the Portuguese islands in the Atlantic. Heavily Roman Catholic, and they didn't get electricity until the mid 80s (though my family came to America in the late 60s / early 70s). My grandmother thinks science is a load of shit, etc. She thinks I am a fucking prince, meant to be cared for moreso than her. She harasses my brother about daily needs for me, which is absurd. She freaks out about what am I going to eat day to day, even though we have tons of food often. But she doesn't want me to choose my own meals or prepare them. She expects it to be done for me.

 

Things have gotten worse now that I've started working. In her thinking, it's a fucking travesty that I have to work for a living. Which is the norm in America and who gives a fuck. But no, that I have to work isn't right. Even if I want to work. It isn't just normal complaining; she is physically stressing out over this kind of shit. Her health actually improved when I moved in over here. Before then, she was flipping out at whoever she could call about how I was eating, etc. It's a fucked up obsession.

 

So now I'm confronted with this; I'm working for a living at last, content and aiming for a goal of moving out. It's what's needed. The problem is, working toward the goal, PLANNING It even, is literally doing my grandmother harm. But if I stop for her sake, things actually get harder around here regarding funds for food, etc. Not to mention, god forbid should she pass, I end up fucked on funds and a place to stay.

 

It is so stressful to just be in this environment. I got a preliminary diagnosis of "Adjustment Reaction" (the name has changed since) as the cause of the ulcer I developed in my teens (entirely stress driven; no smoking or overabundance of soda / coffee). My trigger for that stress is my family. The more I'm away from them, the better it is on me. But now I'm aware of the extent that my grandmother has her freaking stress issues, and if I'm away, it's doing it to her. So one of us has to fucking suffer and it's ridiculous. The easiest answer would be her just going "Oh right that's okay that you work." But y'know, almost 90, she's set in her fucking ways.

 

This post probably reads as jargon because I'm jumping all over the place. But I just need a place to vent at the moment. I don't want this positive thing I've gained in my life to become shit arbitrarily.

[syntheticgerbil]

Man, that sucks, I had an awful grandmother and I just blocked her out and didn't speak to her from 12 years old and on and just didn't bother with any family trips. My dad hated her as well so it wasn't a big deal. She just made my mom miserable and spoke awfully to her and brought down the other siblings routinely pitting them against eachother (there were 9) until she finally died in 2012. Good riddance in my mind, I wasn't sad one bit and was actually waiting for her to die.

 

I guess you are a nicer person than me, but for someone who is 90 and not my direct parent, I'd never look back. It's your turn now.

 

Work is seriously getting me down again.  I had to put in 2 exhaustingly long days last week (which I spent on my feet in uncomfortable shoes stomping all around the plant), my weekend got cut short (its Sunday evening and I'm at the office), and I'm probably going to have to work an evening schedule for the next few days which is going to make getting my normal work done quite difficult.  At least I get overtime.  Oh wait, NO I DON'T.

Why no overtime? Salaried?

[SecretAsianMan]

Why no overtime? Salaried?

 

Short answer: yes.  Long answer: my company basically refuses to pay us for extra hours despite expecting us to work extra hours

[JonCole]

Short answer: yes.  Long answer: my company basically refuses to pay us for extra hours despite expecting us to work extra hours

 

This is the worst. In my wife's company, I've increasingly been encouraging my wife to just let tasks go undone. She's in a position where they couldn't afford to lose her though, so meeting their expectations isn't as important than if she were less valuable and closer to a chopping block.

[syntheticgerbil]

That's the worst, I so wish labor wasn't continuously taken advantage of by certain companies. I'm guessing both situations all of the other employees just accept it?

[Apelsin]

Unions, man! Unions!

[Twig]

That assumes unions exist everywhere you might need one! For example, ain't no unions for game developers in Amurka.

 

Anyway, my turn to complain about my job!

First week was okay, except that the first two full days basically were setup time, so I mostly sat around doing nothing. After that, things got flowing nicely! The second week went well, too! Until I finished the tasks set before me and there were no more tasks on that project for me to do (it was a temporary thing while we squared out some Bureaucracy with a company we're working with). So Friday I spent trying to set up that shit so I could get back to work.

 

Come in today and it's done! Except... the password isn't working. I can't log into this stuff. So I'm still sitting around doing nothing on the first day of the third week, occasionally calling their help desk nonsense to get it worked out. When I'm actually DOING WORK I enjoy it! Programming is rad.

 

But right now I just want to die. I hate this shit so much. Having nothing to do AT WORK is probably the worst feeling. At least I get my first paycheck on Wednesday. INCOME! I HAVE INCOME AGAIN!

 

I think I'm going to buy a Wii U with my first paycheck. I mean, I shouldn't. I'm so low on money. Lower than I've ever been since I finished school. But after the paycheck... I won't be???

 

(Speaking of school, I finally received my master's diploma! Only almost years later than I technically was supposed to. That's kind of cool, right?)

 

I have other thoughts about my current State of Being which I threatened to share a few pages ago. THE THREAT STILL STANDS. At some point.

[aeolist]

I feel pretty lucky that I work for a small place that actually cares about their employees and has no issue with paying out overtime (it does mean they don't usually want us to work more than 40 hours/week but that's fine too). My big issue is that the only health insurance they can afford for us really sucks (think $5000 deductible) but I can't really blame them for it. It might be improving after the end of the year at least.

[Dewar]

More and more employers are changing over to the Health Care Savings account thing with high deductible insurance. I've been able to avoid it so far, but they're insentivising it a lot around here.

[Nachimir]

Sucks Secretasianman

 

I'm lucky to currently be working with a client who really cares about this kind of stuff and occasionally checks in to make sure I'm getting rest as well as evenings and weekends. Most clients are indifferent to it though, and I've occasionally had nightmare ones who ask for free extra days like there's nothing wrong with doing that.