If today is a prelude to what my weekend is going to be like, this is not going to be a memorable time in the Life of Steve. It's already boring as hell, with little sign of relief. I might go somewhere with Kevin today or tomorrow, but I'm never really sure when he'll stop by these days.
Things will pick up next week though. I am starting a tax-preparation class at H&R Block that will last for six weeks, and I'm also going in for an interview at 7-Eleven to try to make some extra cash in my spare time. Things have gotten a little tighter financially around here than I'm comfortable with.
I'm probably not going to New York at Christmas like I planned because of it, but if I can find a new job and get the second job, I might be able to swing New York and some Christmas presents to boot. If the new job is good enough, I may not need the second job at all.
I'm really biting a bullet on both of these things, despite my initial optimism about them. I really have a very limited interest in tax preparation. I'm taking the tax class so maybe I'll get a chance to make some money during tax season. I know that Block gets around $60.00 for their services per client, so if I figure out what to do and can get at least $40 per client that might work out like the digital camera has: lucrative side dough.
Same thing with 7-Eleven. It's not the most appealing prospect out there, but the store I want to work at is pretty slow (no gas, no deli, in a primarily 9 to 5 office park) and I figure I can learn some things about distribution and how stores work, kind of like a living textbook. It's essentially midless otherwise, but a little extra money never hurt anyone.
Anyway, that's what I'm up to.
My former BIL did/still does the H&R Block thing. I don't know if he gets paid for piecework or if they just have him come in for 20 hours a day from mid-Feb through mid-April and pay him a wage with insane amounts of overtime. He does other stuff throughout the year.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of going this route, also, but literally disappearing for 2-3 months is somewhat incompatible with my maternal functions. Sounds like a great gig for you, though. Any and every opportunity to learn some facet of the business world is worth taking......
Thanks for the vote of confidence :-)
ReplyDeleteOK...I'm way out of the loop...I thought you were an architecht??
ReplyDeleteI am, but it's not as great as you might think. Let me explain.
ReplyDeleteFor starters, I'm an intern architect. That manes I'm an unlicensed design professional, which means that I make substantially less the dudes that actually are legally responsible for if the buildings stand up.
I have pretty much worked my internship, save for six months of supervised tenure under a full-time licensed architect. If I have that, I can sit for my exam, and in theory, become a licensed architect upon passage of the test.
Second, I work for a crappy company. When I got my job in 2001, I had been out of work for an extended period after college, and I was both desperate and naive about contracts and salaries. My peers weren't very helpful, as most of them lived in Richmond or elsewhere and never discussed what they were making.
I agreed to a salaried position that was ridiculously low for architecture, but what seemed like good money at the time. In the four years since, my salary has gone up roughly $2,000 total, which has been financially worthless.
I didn’t mind at first, since I was getting what I wanted somewhat (experience with a somewhat laid back atmosphere) until February 2004, when my frustrated architect boss left to work in DC. After that, my department became controlled by the two engineers that own the company, and it's been hell ever since.
We have a contract guy with a license that signs our drawings but doesn't work in the office, and me and Todd R. are the technicians. That keeps work in the office somewhat, but since we don't have a licensed guy around full-time, it means that all we get are design fringes of engineering projects.
On September 18, 2004, I got into a major flare-up with the president of the company over some stupid supervisory shit that's not worth talking about. After that, it's been contentious, and he's never forgiven me for something we both were responsible for in retrospect.
I've been looking for a new job ever since. Unfortunately, I believe he and the other principal of the company have "blackballed" me on the job market. I go on dozens of interviews, but I never get the new job because they make sure my work reference is sketchy. I've gone to them about this several times, but they always claim that they haven't done anything to me and suggest that I bring them proof if I believe it, which, Invariably, the potential employers I apply with do not produce.
Even faced with all of this, they have not fired me and I can't afford to quit, so here I am stuck in the middle. I can't seem to get another job, but I can't keep staying there without a licensed architect on staff.
That's the story.
Last year, when my husband was looking for a job after a lay off, he considered the H and R block thing too. He has two degrees, one in business and one in accounting. It would have been right up his alley...but as God so happened it, he found a really good job that wasnt really in his field doing something he was way over qualified for. Within the year now, having taken that other job...he moved up into management there...something that he was given both by proving he was a good employee as well as having the degrees to back up his qualifications. It was very cool how God worked it all out for good...the layoff he had gone through...a year prior to all this.
ReplyDeleteWe know the layoff situation, nightmare jobs and the struggle to find one...My husband worked for a year on third shift for walmart until he found one. He originally started working there for extra money...but then when he was laid off, he was able to go full time. Now he just works there on the weekends. Someday, he might quit ...but that discount card sure comes in handy when we shop there LOL..
I hope it all goes well for you as you figure out what to do.
It’s great how God will work things out for you if you believe and work towards a goal. I'm glad to hear that faith and hard work is working out for your family. Even if it's not all you hoped for, it's still better than not having it.
ReplyDeleteI think I'd hold on to the Wal-Mart discunt card as long as I could, too. :-)
I'll have to tell you guys about the Block expreience later tonight after class. I'm sure it'll be interesting.