By the time I'm done my shift on Sunday morning I will have put in 40 hours at work this week. Not bad for a gig that was only supposed to net me 30-32 hours a week. Of course, next week could very easily be back to 30 hours or less, but my fingers are crossed that I get more. I mean, I did say that I wanted at least 32 hours a week when I was interviewed. As long as I get enough to pay for rent, bills, groceries, and bus fare it's all pretty good. Anything extra is a bonus.
I know that I've surprised more than a few folks at work with how hard I can work for an old bat. I turned 50 a couple of weeks ago and I'm the oldest employee in the store. Not that I mind at all, because being around younger folks helps to keep me young as well. Although right now I'm feeling my age due to how sore my feet and legs are after all the rushing around the store and back room I did this week.
It seems that I will be routinely getting at least one overnight shift a week, although I'd rather not have to work them at all. But it gives me hours that I badly need, so I'll suck it up. And next week I've got a day where I'm off at 7am and then back in for 3pm. For at least one of those shifts I'll be taking a taxi either home or to work. I will be pestering the manager to try to get M-F day shifts only, and try to get the students to work the other shifts as they are available. Why? Because to me it makes sense to have your non-student employee work during school hours. Or at least the f/t non-student employee. We have an overnight person who apparently has a f/t job with one of the insurance company call centers during the day...I don't know how he does it working two f/t jobs, but some folks likely don't have much choice in the matter. For me, I wouldn't be able to work two f/t jobs if my life depended on it. If it came down to not being able to afford to live on my own, I'd suck it up and get a roomie...and this time pick a roomie who won't flake out on me like the last potential roomie did. Her loss.
I'm off tomorrow and my goal is to do some housework, do some writing, and a lot of vegging. My next shift starts at 11pm on Saturday, so I know that I'll also be doing a fair bit of napping over the next couple of days so I can be ready to go for my shift. I haven't worked an overnight in years so this will prove interesting. Especially as I'm in a sketchy location for work. But such is life. I'll just have to be my witchy self and do my best to stay safe and protected.
I'll be off at 7am Sunday morning and then likely heading over to the nearby Tim Horton's to do some writing while waiting for the first bus to come by. Or for my friend to meet me there for some writing. Whatever happens first. It will probably be me taking the bus home so I can crash for a couple of hours before getting up to ensure I'm ready for my next shift after that. Which is Monday at 7am, or as soon as the first bus of the day gets me there, which is usually a couple minutes after 7am, but at least I show up relatively on time and it's understood that I have no choice in how I get to work from living in the downtown area to up near the Marine Institute. But I work my ass off almost from the moment I get into work until I leave. And I will work extra hours if it means I get paid a decent amount of moolah. And working the overnight shift also means I get a bit extra per hour for that shift.
Getting paid weekly is definitely a bonus with this job. It makes it easier to get from payday to payday without having to worry too much about how I'm going to eat for the next week, or how I'm going to pay for bus fare. And once my schedule gets more solidified I will then buy a 30-day bus pass instead of buying 10 rides at a time.
The hotel I used to work at seems to be going through a bunch of bullshit issues, all stemming from my former boss' inability to manage effectively. Not that I'm at all surprised by this. And for whatever reason, they seem to think that my friend who still works there is willing to work all weekend for them, despite the fact that she made it clear months ago that she was not available Sundays, and that she works a f/t M-F job with Eastern Health - she needs at least one day off a week! But I'm sure that they're scheduling her for those shifts because they want to her to be the weekend supervisor...if she took on that role it would be a huge fucking mistake. I know that it what my old boss and the new AGM were aiming for, and at one point my friend was considering it, despite knowing that she's at her wits end with the place.
I basically had to tell my friend off for being so stupid as to even consider taking any sort of management/supervisory role at the hotel. It's like she forgot the sort of bullshit I went through in my role at the place, and that she's already dealt with how Nicole hates giving up any sort of real power. The role comes with a title and certain expectations, but it's pretty much an empty role because you don't have any real supervisory or management power where it really counts. And I had to remind her of that several times since she got back from her holidays outside of the province. They're already pushing her boundaries to see if she'll fold and they will only get worse if she gives into their bullshit.
I've decided that I don't ever want to go back to work there. I don't want the headaches or stress that would come into play if I were to go back, even under new managers and/or owners. Even if I were given the opportunity to run the place. Why? Because I'd have to clear house and start over with all new staff. And I'm the sort of person who would do it all at once - close the place down for at least two weeks to hire and train all new staff, and ensure that all the repairs and maintenance are finally taken care of. And only then would I allow the place to reopen. I also would deal with issues as they happen instead of waiting until things fall to shit and freak out about it.
Management dragging their feet instead of dealing with issues - especially problem employees - has always been a pet peeve of mine. My old boss is notorious for it, which is why the predator is STILL there instead of having been fired back when he was still in his probation period. For whatever reason she chose to believe that I was the only person who had issues with him, despite all the emails and phone calls from other staff in the building about him, and the multiple guest complaints. Sure, I was usually the person who brought these up with her, but I was also the only one on the management team who refused to just brush over the continued bullshit. Her actions have only caused the predator to grow bolder and more entitled over time, and it's only gotten worse since I left.
Staff there keeps asking if/when I'll go back, and it breaks my heart to have to tell them that it's highly unlikely. Way too much needs to change, and short of the owner selling the place and a new owner getting rid of Nicole, well, it will never happen.
Honestly, I rather like the fact that I don't have any sort of management role right now. I needed this break from all the stress and continued bullshit that was going on at the hotel. Sure, I've started vaping since I started my current job, but it's minor compared to the ramped up drinking I was doing during my last several weeks at the hotel. All due to my trauma response to what was going on and not feeling like I had any healthy outlet left to me for as long as I was working there. As it was, even during my first week at my current job I bought alcohol to take the edge off of my continued trauma response to what the hotel did to my mental health.
But for now, I'm mentally and physically exhausted so it's time for me to crawl into bed. It's still early, but I've also have three days of having to be awake by 5:30am to catch buses, and I was still up really early today even though I didn't have to be at work until 11am today. Woo? Sleepy time now.
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