Well, how quickly things can change from one moment to the next...



About five minutes after I published yesterday's quirky post, I got a call from my supervisor from my "day job". Seems the project that I have been working on, the project that promised us a "long-term relationship as we forged optimistically into the 21st Century", the project that swore that we were too valuable to lose and that new business was on the immediate horizon...pulled out effective March 15th. A skeleton crew will be needed to tie up loose ends, but those jobs will be over by June 15.

In other words, I'm out of a job.

Damn. I kinda liked that job. It was really really good pay for the work I did, the hours were flexible (well, for me they were...you know the saying, make yourself indespensible and they will beg you to work for them-- HA! Worked for me, just not our team -- go figure), and I really liked the people I worked with.

Listen to me writing about it in past tense already. I still have a job at least til two-weeks from Monday...and most likely, since I have senority, I'll have a job til June 15th. Might be nice to have a summer vacation...

But there is just one hitch. Well, two really, but one hitch hinges on honother...er..I mean another.

I have the "option" (the quotes will make more sense in a bit) of jumping to another project. If I choose to do so, I can still stay on my surrent project til the bitter end, and go into the last 4-week training class for the other project. I would keep my senority, pay scale and benefits and I could continue to choose hours that work for me.

Sounds like a win-win situation, right?

Wrong. It sucks and it sucks BIG. Here's why:

The project that we have the "option" to join (yeah the quotes again..I'm getting there...) is one that cannot KEEP employees. It is horrid. It is complicated. It is hard.

It's customer service work for a cable company. If I thought c.s work for a computer manufacturer was annoying, how am I going to keep my cool when Mr. Smith from Crappytown, USA calls up and wants to know why we turned off his cable, and he will truly be oblivious to the fact that his account is 4-months past due and has a balance of $650, of which $400 is pay-per-view porn. Then he will be completely incensed when I tell him that a $50 payment, even over the phone will not be enough to get it turned back on.

Oh yeah, can I PLEASE do this for a living? I don't talk to nearly enough clueless people, and I welcome the honor of getting cussed out. It fills me with such a warm, fuzzy feeling....

So, no, this is not a great "option" for me. Now for the reason I kept putting "option" in quotes.

If I don't take this "option", then in effect, I am resigning from my job and I won't be eligible for unemployment.

How ya like them apples?

So I have some decisions to make, and not a whole lot of time to make them. Feel free to chime in with your thoughts...I'm sure many of you have opinions...we are, for the most part, writers.

I'm going to go check the mail, and if my child support is in there, go have a Big Mac, Fries, and a vanilla shake. Oh to hell with it, even if the check's not there, I'm going anyway. :-)

Later all!
- posted by Kim @ 12:55 PM