Jobs, Jobs, and More Jobs
So, it’s been a little while since I moved, and a lot has happened. I’ve finally unpacked and organized all my stuff! I’ve figured out which bank to go to for laundry money and which Wal-Mart is closest for grocery shopping! I’ve even explored two – count ’em – TWO bookshops in town!
…Oh, and I’ve had three different jobs
Holy shit, has it been a whirlwind of craziness. Once I surfaced from the all-consuming task of unpacking, I jumped immediately into “full-time” work. I write “full-time” because, though I was working 40+ hours each week and therefore meeting the generally accepted definition of full-time employment, I was not doing so via one job, but rather two part-time jobs.
And why on Earth would I do such a thing?
Simple: I cannot relinquish my dinky, part-time, online job
It is absolutely perfect for me. It doesn’t require me to interact with people. There is basically no accountability. I don’t have to do hard labor. I am compensated a decent amount per hour with no paycheck withholdings. I can stay in the comfort of my apartment while I work, finishing chores, cooking as needed, and freeing up precious hours each day to write. And finally, I’ve been doing this job for almost a year now and I know the ins and outs of it. That means I know how to play the system so I get the most paid work time for the least amount of effort.
And that just makes me feel like a badass.
Plus, I signed a non-disclosure agreement so when people ask what I do, I get to mysteriously tell them that I have an online job but nothing more, leaving the exact details of my employment to their furtive imaginations. They usually conclude that I work for some top-secret government organization.
I can neither confirm nor deny.
So this job is invaluable to me at this point in my life
And sure, there are occasions when I can’t complete my daily hours because there isn’t work available (which then necessitates working on my day(s) off). And there are times when weird glitches happen with the client or the annotation tool or the hours tracker. And there’s also the week it takes to get any kind of response from my “employers” after I submit a ticket regarding any of the aforementioned issues.
But so far, I’ve always gotten paid for the hours I’ve worked (sometimes more!) and it all pans out in the end.
It’s just unfortunate that I can’t support myself solely on my earnings from this job
You’ll hopefully remember from my previous post that the prospect of going out on my own with only this dinky, part-time, online job to support myself caused me a tremendous amount of stress and fear.
As a result, a few weeks prior to moving, I sent out a slew of applications for quite a variety of part-time positions in the hopes that I might have a job waiting for me when I finally did arrive at my new, fabulous apartment.
And it worked! A couple weeks later than desired, but still.
In fact, before the end of August, I had begun a shiny, new, second job
And you’ll never guess where…
…a luxury dog resort and hotel.
Ha! It makes me chuckle just to write down – the title is so comically self-important and grandiose. In actuality, it was just a regular doggy day care and boarding place. I was essentially tasked with ensuring a group of dogs didn’t hurt or mate with each other while in day care. Once the dogs had been picked up by their owners or sent to the “hotel” (aka kennels) for boarding at the end of the day, I then performed various cleaning tasks. Little human interaction, little thought required. Plus, I actually had experience working with and taking care of dogs so I felt qualified.
It all seemed pretty straight forward, easy, and mindless to me as the position was explained during my interview. I had chatted with the hiring manager about working four or five hours each evening during the week in order to accommodate my other part-time job.
That schedule seemed to be in order and I officially signed onto the team.
And then I proceeded to work mostly eight-hour shifts during the mornings and afternoons
Oh, and the hiring manager neglected to inform me that during some of those shifts, I was not allowed to leave work until my coworkers and I finished a list of arbitrary cleaning tasks. I discovered this rule just as I was leaving after my first grueling eight-hour day – all of which I spent standing, by the way (excluding lunch) – when I was desperate to get home and rest my aching feet.
Needless to say, I was pissed, and I made my discontent known…in an entirely reasonable way, mind you. I’m not a jerk.
These eight-hour shifts continued through the two-week training period and beyond, despite my patient (I promise!) discussion with the scheduling manager during which I thought I had successfully negotiated shorter, more regular shift times.
But when I received the schedule for the next two weeks and saw that I would eventually be working an 11-hour shift, I immediately made the decision to quit.
I ended it the next day
It was the first time I’ve refused to give two weeks’ notice to an employer. But there was no way in hell I was going to stand for 11 hours straight (excluding lunch).
So, despite my best efforts, I was supporting myself on my dinky, part-time, online job after all
I flirted with a too-good-to-be-true job at the local university’s library, even making it to the final round of interviews thanks to my two years of college library experience. But, alas, I did not make the cut. Oh, it was so lucrative, though – it would have covered ALL my living expenses! I could have used the income from my dinky, part-time, online job to pay off my student loans super early.
Sigh.
Every time I think of what could have been with that job, a little bit of my soul dies.
So I try not to think about it.
Sometime during that library interview process…
…an unexpected email from the company for whom I work my dinky, part-time online job arrived in my inbox. Believe it or not, it was for another dinky, part-time, online job in the same vein as my current one! The qualifications were simple enough; I studied them for a few hours, passed the required exam, and seriously, just like that, I had TWO dinky, part-time, online jobs!
I think I was in shock
But once I recovered and realized I was finally fully employed, a weight lifted from my shoulders. I was set! And I had hardly done anything! After all the effort I’d gone through with the previous two jobs, this one had just fallen into my lap. It was definitely another “God thing”.
So I started working eight hours a day online. It was great! I used an improvised standing desk (okay, two music stands) so I wouldn’t hurt my neck and back through prolonged sitting. I got caught up with all the things I had been neglecting during my days away at the dog place. I basically got my life back in order.
Until I realized I wasn’t earning enough money
And the saga continues! Trust me, it felt never-ending then, too. But for all the disarray and disappointment in this post, there will be just as much relief and stability in the next post. Find out how I resolve my financial crisis tomorrow in “Jobs, Jobs, and Even More Jobs“!
Post featured image: “Odd Job Names 1” by Alan Levine