I lost my job.
Remember how my new friendly boss had said, go ahead and have a week with your mom? The reason she was able to do that was because she had to juggle her budget around and essentially create a new position for me. According to university policy, she had to post it. Little did we know, that according to university policy, people who have been laid off from other departments have first dibs on open positions.
So Monday I went in. I wore this cute skirt my mom had made me when she was here. I immediately loved everyone in the office and didn’t even care that I didn’t have a computer or phone yet. We all had a great lunch together and talked about our hobbies and our boyfriends and so on. During that day, while I was filling out the employment forms, new friendly boss gets the word that some dude who was laid off last month sent his resume for this job. Apparently, if he wants it, he gots it, because I’m not technically hired yet, even though New Friendly Boss said my start date was the 22nd, even though I am physically in the office, blah blah blah. NFB freaks out about this and buys me an ice cream sandwich and tells me that she’s going to meet with this dude…whom I can tell she already hates…and try to convince him he doesn’t want the job. He’s in his fifties and is way overqualified for it…I mean, I’m way overqualified for it, and he’s more so. I told her not to worry and that I was going to go to work the same as I would normally the next day, to show that I’m dedicated or whatever. So I go…I had to go to a hospital with one of the other girls in the office, and by the time I got back to the office, NFB is about to cry again. She said she met with this guy and emphasized the bad pay and the, uh, frankly, shit work aspect, and so on and so forth, and I guess pretty much gave him the idea that he isn’t welcome, but he doesn’t care. University policy.
She left it that she’s going to bring in her supervisor and appeal it and so on and so forth…and I believe her, because I don’t think New Friendly Boss is trying to screw me like Old Crazy Boss kind of did. It’s just that…oh, man, yall. I was so happy. I was all proud of myself and I was excited about getting paid and having benefits and I told everyone, and I even bought a new mug and some tupperware to bring to work, and I was feeling really good about the people I was going to work with. Do you know how long it’s been since I didn’t loathe, absolutely dread, going into work? Since 1999, folks. Okay, I admit I don’t loathe going into clinic to see clients. But you know, work work. I haven’t had a sympathetic supervisor for so long, and then when I get one, someone else takes her away from me?
To be fair, it’s not really anyone’s fault, I guess. Certainly not this other dude, or NFB, or even the university’s. It’s just…it’s just that I was thisclose. I don’t know what to do now. Fortunately for me, I hadn’t yet told the unemployment folks that I’d got a job, so I’ll continue to get that for a while, I guess. But this doesn’t bode well. It’s been three months now. I just don’t know what to do.