Reality is Sweeter

Yesterday I was told that I would be having my 90 Day review today. I wasn’t expecting it since I’m well past day 200. It rattled me since I don’t consider these past few months to be particularly productive. I would get assigned to another job or department, do training, work a few weeks, and then get transferred again. As of right now, I’ve got four desks to call my own, each with its own set of responsibilities. I’m like a jack of all trades and I was beginning to wonder that my lack of mastery in those positions would be something that I would be criticized for.

That night I had a bad dream. For some reason, I was once again working for Wal-mart (oh, excuse me—Walmart). My hours had been reduced to 14 hours for that week. 14 hours is not going to pay the bills. And do I have bills! So I had to go talk to one of my managers which turned out to be Scott, the owner of the candy store I used to manage. Anyone who knows me well knows that he is one of the very few people in this world that I hate. Every employer I have ever worked for has had nothing but good things to say about me but this guy fired me and he had to make up crap in order to do it! Curse Indiana and its work-at-will policies. I woke up wanting to throw up.

Honestly, I had expected that my 90 Day review would go excellent just as the 30 and 60 Day had. That one little nagging doubt, however, was magnified by my dream. To make it even worse, it turns out that the Ops manager was going to give me the review herself. It sorta makes sense since I don’t really have a boss that really over me until her anyways but still I was facing someone who is pretty high on the food chain. (Depending on what I do, I can have as many as six bosses).

What happened? I am golden. I received high marks particularly in flexibility, accuracy, and reliability. The boss said that she was happy that I have been willing to take on the various projects. Other things were said but I’d feel like I’d be bragging even more than I am now. Anyways, I got a raise and will even get a month’s retroactive pay with my next paycheck. Oooh… looks like someone’s going to get some air-conditioning in their car this summer!

One of my coworkers remarked that I look a lot more comfortable and happier. I suppose that’s true. What I do, isn’t what I want to do for the rest of my life. For one, it doesn’t pay enough to start a family. But—and that’s a big but—it is rewarding in the sense that I actually feel like I am doing more than just a menial job that any teenager can do.

This work related post will self destruct in five…four…three…two… one…