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Tomorrow, Automatrons R Us (where I am “just a temp”) has it’s annual “Our Future’s So Bright We Can Hardly Stand It” celebration. In the past when I’ve been a contractor, these soirees were “for employees only” and “justatemps” were not ALLOWED to attend. So imagine my surprise when I was informed about a week ago that my attendance at this function is MANDATORY. And I have to be there an hour before my normal start time. And it’s farther from home than my normal workplace. Yeah, I’m thrilled.

Now, I suppose there are some people who would see this as a glimmer of hope that maybe they were going to be brought onboard full time. To this I say “nay nay” gentle reader. And here’s why I say “nay nay”…

When I was first hired, there was talk of my getting a company cell phone. I hadn’t heard anything more about it so I decided to probe a little today and was told that “Bossman doesn’t think it’s a good investment for Just A Temp”. Allrighty then… this says to me that my “Just A Temp” status is not likely to change.

I hadn’t been told by the agency pre-interview why the position was open but it slipped in the postmortem that I was covering for someone on maternity leave. The person on maternity leave is due to come back mid-June and they hired someone internally to cover for her absence and will be (allegedly) keeping him on after she returns. What I don’t understand is why would they tell the agency something that isn’t true? Why say I am covering for a maternity leave when I’m not? And most maternity leaves aren’t six months. So… maybe they didn’t want to admit it was a couple of month position and not a 6 month position? I know that there are people out there who would jump at an 8-12 week gig where they weren’t going to be brought on full time. I was told by the company in the interview that this could become a permanent position. Was that a ruse as well? Were they afraid that if they were honest I wouldn’t take the job?

I finally have access to the programs I need to do the job I was hired to do. However, I need some training to be able to use them. No one seems interested in giving me any training. They all seem as apathetic about that as they did about getting me access to the programs in the first place. (I find it very difficult to believe, especially since I know how to read their IT tickets, which are being emailed to me, that they escalated the situation at all. Everything I’ve seen so far was done 2 weeks after I was TOLD it was done/requested and everything is marked “low priority” or “not critical”).

Meanwhile… another company I haven’t heard from in well over a month let me know that a position they had allegedly submitted me for almost 2 months ago has been filled. (insert eyeroll here). But I am “on the top of their list” for the next opening at The Evil Empire. (See this? This is me not holding my breath…)

::SIGH:: I’d better get to bed. I need to be up early to be all “Rah Rah for the company that will never hire me…!”

So, I’m almost through week 3 of the job and I get called into the bosses office today. Apparently, Tudie has reported that I am “rude” to her all the time.

After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I was informed that I could lose my job if I don’t change my attitude. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor again.

Now, my friends, I have been called MANY things in my time, but RUDE has never been among them, especially not in the workplace.

So, WOW… just Wow.. I was just stunned by that. I’ve bent over backwards to help out every person I work with. I’ve done everything from filing to making copies to making coffee (none of which is “my job”). I brought donuts the first Friday I was there.

Now I have to decide whether to try to stick it out for the length of the contract or whether I should start actively pursuing other employment. My gut says it’s time to hit the bricks again because when you’re dealing with someone like this, who has been with the company for a while, there’s no way to win.

I’m too old for this “she hurt my feelings” bullshit, especially from someone who has been as rude as she can possibly be from day one. Plus, honestly, this is a really toxic, negative group of people. I’m not quite sure how to work this, the whole interview thing and all when I’m working and can’t take time off, but I don’t think I really have a choice.

And hey, the touch of trying to make me feel guilty for “all of the time and money you’ve invested in me….” did you REALLY go there? What about the time I’ve invested? What about the fact that you knew I was coming a week before I got there and did nothing to prepare?

Ugh. That’s really about all I have to say is UGH! So frustrating and it doesn’t HAVE to be that way.

Well, I’ve made it through two weeks at the new job. The most significant thing to happen this week is that I did actually get a computer. It doesn’t have access to the program that I need to do my job, but I did get a computer. So, now people can email me and I still can’t do a damn thing to help them.

So, hopefully soon I will have a computer and access to what I need to actually do some work.

You know, if you hire someone because people are drowning in work and then don’t give them the tools to do the job you hired them for, it’s like sending someone to sit in a rowboat right out of the reach of a drowning person… “Hey look, help is here…. but NOT!” (I think my analogies could probably use some work but the cubicle fumes have gotten to me the last couple of weeks).

My desk is clean. I have office supplies (I went out and bought some of my own because Tudie is in charge of office supplies and people are ALWAYS complaining that we don’t have something and I figured it would just be easier to get my own than try to argue her into ordering what I want.

This weekend will be spent catching up on all of the things that I haven’t had time (or motivation) to do this week.

Then Monday… back to the grind. But at least there is a grind to go back to, right?

So, the place I am working knew a couple weeks ago that they were hiring me. They had pretty much a whole week to prepare. And they did NOTHING. No phone installed in my cubicle. No computer ordered. Nothing.

98% of the job I need a computer to do. Without it, I am pretty useless to them. A fact they like to keep reminding me about.

I found out at 4:50 this afternoon that the request for my computer has JUST been approved. Which means it will likely be ANOTHER whole week before my computer arrives.

I am somewhat less than amused.

So I found out this morning that my computer still hasn’t been ordered because temps don’t have employee ID numbers and you need an employee ID to get a computer. I am not sure how this is going to get resolved. I would guess that this means that they seldom (never?) use temps. How I loathe the term “temp”.

There is a real lack of leadership. I feel like they think I am a major inconvenience. And that they are blaming me for not being able to be more productive.

Tudie contines to be a thorn in my backside. And NO ONE there communicates for shit.

I’m just really frustrated. And I am feeling like a liability. Not a good feeling.

I bet there are a lot of people who would love to sit around and get paid for doing nothing. I wouldn’t mind so much if I had internet access or maybe there was a chance of getting picked for a jury. I have things I COULD be doing and things I WANT to be doing and none of them involve sitting at a desk all day with no internet access, no work and no shot at maybe getting to decide someone else’s fate in the eyes of the Law.

Now I have to get to bed or I will end up snoring as I sit around doing nothing tomorrow!

So I still have no computer and found out that the phone at my desk doesn’t even work. So things are still a total clusterfuck and who knows when they will get figured out? I am not optimistic that it will be anytime soon.

I guess if they want to pay me to sit here and take up space I am willing to take their money.

So the up side for today is that I can do my blog post at my desk and then at home I can edit it and get it uploaded. (If you are seeing this, then count the experiment as successful!)

I also wrote a big to do list. Maybe I will have time to enter that this afternoon. (Got that about 1/2 done)

Over the weekend I acquired a new phone. Now I can surf the web from my phone so I am a happy little gearslut. I am hoping I will be able to learn to work efficiently with it soon. There is definitely a learning curve.

I hate this feeling of being unnecessary and expendable. And it is irking me no end that I’m not even getting calls for interviews. (Not that I want to be out interviewing but are you seriously telling me that this is as good as it gets? A six month contract job is the best I can do?) Really?

Whether or not it’s actually true, I keep telling myself that it’s the economy, not me. Because sometimes the truth isn’t particularly palatable or necessary.

I am still working on getting into the habit of having a routine. It’s tough to get myself to go to bed and tough to get up so damned early in the morning but it will come with time. So will getting in a routine for keeping the house in order and getting the chores done.

And I have to figure out better, more efficient ways for getting things done. The trash has needed to go out for a week and this weekend I had an errand turn into a huge time eater.

I’m sure I will figure it out. And I have some other things I need to get done ASAP. Hopefully the weekend time-eater activity will turn into some ways to SAVE time.

And now… it’s PAST time for bed. Goodnight!

I am a little late in getting the ol’ counter reset but it has now been updated. Yes, I have a job at long last. That’s the good news.

The down side? It’s only a contract position. Six months.

But, for now, it’s a job. If only I could stop getting them to refer to me as “just a temp”. Ugh.

So far… I am tired. I am sore because all they’ve had for me to do is filing because the job I was hired to do requires a computer and they didn’t even order that until after 5 on Monday night.

And… I don’t really have to worry about whether I’ll have friends because, I won’t. Remember, I’m “just a temp” and pretty much treated as very disposable.

But, yeah… all the filing that they’d put off for months? Done.

The gal training me.. Let’s call her Tudie (because of her piss-poor attitude) gripes that having to train me is taking her away from her oh so important work. Yeah, that’s why you’re at less than 20% of your collections goal, sweetheart… it’s ALL MY FAULT. That you haven’t made your collections goal once this year… NOT MY FAULT… Maybe if you knew something about collections, it would be different. And the attitude you have… yeah… not impressing me. Why is it people with the “it’s not my job” mentality and the “oh, that didn’t get done? yeah Whatever” mentality have jobs and I can’t find a full-time regular job to save my life??

Tudie admits she has never trained anyone before and that she barely understands how most of the systems work. (They implemented a new system a month and a half ago, after MONTHS of training).

So… this could be an interesting 6 months. They made a HUGE deal out of “how is your attendance”? at the interview. I think I understand why. I have an inkling that Tudie has a bit of an attendance issue. Along with her attitude problem. And right now most of my dept. is sick (if you include being with child as an illness, then everyone but me is unwell right now. Pray that my immune system holds)!

I’m gonna go now. I’m exhausted and have lots to do before I can hit the pillow tonight!

But… rejoice! The counter has been reset!

P.S. Not that there was ever any doubt, but my drug test came back squeaky clean! yay!

I may actually get to reset that counter soon, my friends. But first, I must pass the pee test. Oh, I’ve not done anything to make the test come up positive, but you see, there has been a little…issue… with the test.

On Tuesday morning I studied hard for my urine test (drank fluids and didn’t “go” before I left for the test center. I usually “go” before I leave the house for pretty much any reason). I was the only person in the test facility when I got there so I was processed pretty quickly and then back on my way.

The test results were supposed to be done within 24 hours.

Wednesday passed. No word. Then the 24 hour turnaround was bumped to 48 hours.

All of this was very vexing because getting the job hinges on passing the alcohol and drug test and having a clean background check.

The background check came back clean by Wednesday morning. The alcohol test came back clean late Wednesday afternoon. Still nothing came back on the drug test.

At 5:30 Thursday evening I was informed that the lab allegedly never got the instructions to run the tests on my sample. Which was now disposed of. Which means I need to go BACK to the lab and have the tests run AGAIN and then wait some more. Because, you know, my stress levels weren’t elevated enough.

So… hopefully I’ll get to reset that counter soon. But I’m not holding my breath.