#my boss and coworker aren’t living paycheck to paycheck like I am so of course they can take the time away

[kellerybird]

Somehow…

I feel like I had more freedom when I worked full time

Yes, 8 hours of my day five days a week was spent at work, compared to the ~4 hours a day four days a week I average working part time now…

But life was steady, stable, and secure

Arguably that feels more freeing than the extra free time

I didn’t need to stress about making ends meet, about being able to afford food, about what to do with myself, abut not being able to afford to take time off

I’ve been looking casually at full time jobs for a while, but I think it’s time to push forward with getting one

[swampsail]

I have been panicking lately about paying next month’s rent, hahahahaha

even though I have gotten a much needed second job, first job whipping the rug out from under me has really fucked me over. Needing to take Lyft or Uber to get to the new job on the opposite side of town is really hurting my bank account

I have $165 in my account right now, and THAT’S ALL. Soon I’m going to need to spend $50 on my phone bill, and about $30 or so on my water bill, and then I’m going to need to buy tampons because GREAt it’s almost period time (at least $7) and cat food (another $20)

That doesn’t leave me much for groceries or Lyft. If I want to save money by not taking Lyft, I will need to ride the bus instead, which I can do, but it will take me at least 45 mins to get to work. Which is fine I guess, except that I’d need to catch the very first bus, which comes at 6:15 am, which means I’d need to be up by 5am at the absolute latest. And this scenario ONLY works if I need to be at the new job by 8am. If I need to be there at 7am, I am Fucked unless I take lyft.

these ride apps, however, are massively flawed in that (at least in athens) the drivers are really biased about where is best to make pickups at. I live on the east side of town. There can be 9-12 drivers out on any given morning, and they are ALL downtown, 15 mins away. I can be pinging for a ride for upwards for 45 minutes and not a single person will take it. TWICE now I’ve scheduled a ride a full day in advance, and NO ONE has taken it, despite plenty of drivers being out. I was late on my SECOND DAY of new job because not a single one of those assholes would pick up my ping.

The thing is, I wasn’t in a very comfortable spot to begin with... but I was doing okay for what I was working with. Moving set my financial situation back pretty far, but I was starting to gain some traction again and I had my bills, rent, food all figured out based around what I was making with 23-25 hours a week. Because those hours aren’t so bad when you’re making $10 an hour. It was OKAY for the most part. Not ideal. But okay. I felt kind of confident

And then my bosses took my hours away. Not because I was fucking up. Because they wanted to save money. The college kids were out of town and the parking deck was slow, so they cut all day shift hours.  I don’t have a car right now, so I can’t pick up any night shift hours. I’m working at this job maybe 17 hours a week, only sat-sun.  My bosses KNOW I just moved, they KNOW I don’t have a car and can’t afford another one. They KNOW I’m struggling. I’m struggling enough that one of my coworkers brought me 3 crates of canned food from a food bank. I’m in a situation where I’m gladly taking handouts from people, and my bosses STILL said “well we’re cutting out day shift” These bastards could more than afford to keep their employees working during the SINGLE FUCKING MONTH the college students are gone. This parking company? It makes well over 500k a year. they are not hurting for money

you know who’s hurting for money?

ME. I AM.

So... now I have a second job, which is VERY GOOD. I’m mostly relieved. Getting there is going to be a huge hassle, but it’s the only place that ever even got back to me, and I’m in a spot now where I have to take what I can get, even if it’s far away, even if it’s less pay hourly than the first job.

and, of course, AS SOON as the new job started training me, not only did I get a call from a job closer to home, but my boss goes “Oh, by the way we’re bringing day shift back now that the students are coming in again”  Despite wanting to TEAR HIS GODDAMN FACE OFF, I very politely told him that I was still only available on the weekends, and that I was going to devote more of my time to the job that is actually going to remain consistent and, you know, HELP ME PAY MY RENT. I’m sure that without me there to work day shift it’s going to be a pretty big inconvenience for you, but like... That’s not my problem. That’s your problem. Not being able to pay my rent because you’re all greedy bastards happens to be a pretty damn big inconvenience as well, and you didn’t seem to bothered by MY situation, so I don’t see why I should give a singular fuck about YOU feeling “inconvenienced” by needed to rework the schedule.  I’ve been working there 5 years, I have covered for literally everyone who’s called in. I have taken extra hours, I have worked late, I have fixed shit when the managers don’t bother coming in to do their jobs. I have gone above and beyond what’s in my job description without so much as a thank you. If yall wanted me to be available, maybe you should have treated me better. As it stands, I don’t fucking CARE if you’re gonna have day shift issues without me there to cover for you and every other fuckup that can’t do their jobs properly. 8)

My boss’s reaction to knowing what a struggle this has been for me, and how frustrated I am?  He fucking SHRUGS and gestures towards his boss’s office and goes “well you know how it is” No, I don’t. Because you and your boss can afford a house. You can afford food, and heath care, and fun things you don’t need. You can afford to go scuba diving off the reef, you can afford a boat, vacations, A CAR to get you where you need to be. You can afford new shoes and new clothes and a professionally done hair cut, and whatever the fuck else you want. 

I, on the other hand, can’t afford ANY OF THAT. Because YOU CUT MY FUCKING HOURS.  You have the gall to come up to me and tell me about the new video game set you bought for your kid, while I’m eating cold beef ravioli out a can I got from the food bank, with a plastic spoon I had to get from some fast food place. I’m not eating that shit because I enjoy it. I’m eating it because it was free, and you can’t even be assed to provide your employees with a microwave in the workplace, even though you have them working 8-10 hour shifts. Excuse the actual fuck outta you.

but well. *SHRUG* You know how it is

GO. FUCK. YOURSELF.

Anyway, now I have $165 and that’s all. The one saving grace I have this month is that August has three pay periods for the first job crammed into it, and I thiiiiiink there will also be enough time to get my first paycheck from the second job. So if I’m very lucky, I’ll be getting 3 checks before I have to pay rent on the 1st of september. I will still need to talk to my landlady though, to explain to her that I might not be able to pay her on time. Which is a great feeling. This is great. If anyone is wondering why I don’t bother going into first job until 11 when I’ve been scheduled for 10, this right here is the exact reason. Because I need a little bit of extra free time in the morning to fucking cry and convince myself that I still need the money enough to bother showing up at all

[gt-lifetime-blog]

The Bigger They Are: Owen

Part I - Sunday, October 1, 2017

“He said what?” I gasped in disbelief, throwing my towel on the floor. “Dude, I’m sorry, but Boss said you’re fired,” my coworker, Tommy, said.

“What did I do?” I asked him. “‘Owen’s expendable,’ he said,” the other tried to explain, “‘Why do you think he’s been stuck washing dishes?’ and then he said, ‘When I had him serving, he kept dropping the plates, remember? Apparently they were too heavy for him.’ I mean, I tried to argue with him. It’s not your fault that you’re four feet tall. I mean, that’s the reason, right?” “God, Tommy, I swear... One, I’m four feet and three and a sixth inches tall, and, two,” I grinded my teeth in frustration, “I’m gonna talk some sense into him, ‘cause that’s bullcrap. The plates were heavy, by the way!” A few moments later, yelling and screaming could be heard from behind the kitchen, and I stumbled out, my blue eyes puffy. I threw my invalid employee tag on the floor, groaning as I sat in a booth where my friends waited. “That’s the third job I’ve lost since July,” I whined, “All conveniently before the paycheck!”

Giovanni and Zachary, my two friends, were waiting in the booth and awkwardly patted my back. It was a horrible attempt to cheer me up, but at least they tried.

Okay, let me tell you a bit about myself. I’m Owen, I’m going to be thirteen in about a month - wait, no, exactly a month and one day! I’m a midget in the eighth grade, but that doesn’t stop me from looking fabulous! I mean, I think I look pretty attractive. Anyways, I have fluffy dirty-blonde hair with some blonde highlights, blue eyes, a skinny frame, and a high-pitched voice, which irritates me sometimes. Aren’t I adorable? Just kidding, don’t call me that, or I will kill you.

Some people say I’m stubborn. I wonder why...

Anyways, when I had calmed down, we ordered our food from the same worker that had broke the news of my firing to me. I was the last to order, taking the same thing I had every time. “Hey, Tommy, can I get the, uh, Dix Hills Delight?” I raised my eyebrows when I got no response, “Hello?”

Tommy snapped out of his trance after staring at me, apologizing, “Oops, sorry! Was it the Dix Hills Delight?” “Yup,” I responded, and Tommy walked away.

“So, from here, we’ll walk to Elwood Cinema, okay?” Giovanni confirmed.

“Yeah, sounds good. It’s, like, a block away, right?” Zachary asked.

“Correct, but no. It takes me longer than you guys,” Owen complained. “Then we’ll carry you!” the other two chimed in unison.

“Very funny…” I rolled my eyes, but saw that their faces were unchanged, “Wait, you were joking, right? Gino? Zach?”

I should’ve sucked it up and walked, but, no, I had to be a stubborn son of a biscuit. Zachary carried me, hands on my butt (fun fact: I’m supposedly “thicc”), while Giovanni took a video and multiple pictures, much to my dismay. He probably posted them everywhere, and I knew because I had many notifications on my phone. God, being short sucks.

Once we arrived at the theater, I was dropped down quite roughly, and I punched Zachary where it hurt. I’m not gonna say where, since that’s inappropriate. I didn’t hurt Giovanni, though, because he threatened to pick me up, like Zachary did, and I wasn’t going to challenge that.

“I can’t wait for Kingsman: the Golden Circle, even though we’re right here!” I literally jumped up and down, but slowed to a complete stop when I saw my friends’ confused expression. “Owen, we’re seeing IT, not Kingsman,” Zachary explained, and my face fell. “WHAT?!” I screeched, and I felt all eyes on the ticket line focused on me, “Guys, you know how much I hate horror movies!” Zachary gave Giovanni a worried look, to which he responded with a guilty one. He squatted, which only furthered my anger, and gazed at me with serious eyes. “I, um, I said we were gonna watch Kingsman so you could come, Owen,” he apologized, “But, c’mon, it’s not that bad! If it scares you, cover your eyes.” I would’ve argued, but I noticed that people started to take out their phones, taking pictures of the argument between the midget and the taller, probably for some Tumblr crap. Sure, I might’ve laughed at the difference, but I was not in the mood. However, one thing certified my ambition to not be a wimp - one of the most popular kids at school, more popular than Tommy, had just walked in. If I made a fool of myself, word would travel like a wildfire from his snappy lips, so I needed to make sure I was “cool.”

“Fine,” I muttered, and Giovanni ruffled my dirty-blonde hair, but my eyes followed the sight of the boy.

I might seem like a wuss for being cautious to watch IT, but here’s another fun fact: I’m easily scared. Tap me on the shoulder? I scream. Yell when I’m not expecting it? I scream and run! So, you can understand why I was frightened, however, the basically-famous kid was there! I didn’t want to seem namby-pamby. Now, come to think of it, I am.

“Hey, Mike!” I called, practically dragging my friends toward where he was sitting. “Hey, Owen!” Michael greeted, standing up from his seat awkwardly.

I noticed myself staring into his eyes, but shook my head to concentrate on the movie. However, I didn’t watch the movie that much, rather, Giovanni was covering my eyes (thanks), but it wasn’t enough to keep me calm, for I still heard poor Georgie’s screams. After a while, I got used to it, for there weren’t many jumpscares, and I could close my eyes when I knew something was coming. But what if I didn’t?

It was the projector scene - I remember it perfectly - Eddie, my favorite, tore down the map, screaming at the rest of the Losers, when the projector started to move on its own. I knew I should’ve closed my eyes, but Michael was stealing glances at me! I couldn’t look frightened. I was brave! I was strong! I was fearle-

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” I screamed, the jumpscare making my stomach lurch.

My eyes closed - I felt sick. I ran out of the theater, refusing my friends’ accompaniment, for I couldn’t ruin their night. Slamming the bathroom door, I stared at myself in the mirror. Wait, let me fix that - I stared at the tip of my forehead in the mirror. I turned away, looking for a garbage can to vomit in if I needed too, then looked back, finding my forehead gone! Okay, it wasn’t literally gone, but the mirror wasn’t showing it! I lifted myself onto the garbage can to look in the mirror - okay, not invisible. I would thank God, but I knew something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

I finally vomited, but, of course, I was on the trash can, so it got all over my new shoes, which felt surprisingly big. Mother hubbard! I slipped them off and onto the counter, jumping off the trash can, and - wait, what the freak?! Not only could I not reach the sink, but I was at lower cabinet level. And, let me tell you, the lower cabinets were a foot tall. A foot tall?! I realized how loose my clothes were, just like my shoes, and the only thing stayed put was my shirt, since the collar was still smaller than my shoulders. Why am I so calm, you might ask? I didn’t mention how much I was screaming, but, a mistake on the theater’s part, the single bathrooms were soundproof, so it doesn’t even matter if I talk about how my throat hurt after screaming so much. “So, this is what it feels to shrink?” I said to myself, then realized, “How am I going to live?! I’ve seen videos on this shit - I’m going to die! I’m going to die! I’M GOING TO DIE!”

I started to run as my shirt finally fell, almost trapping me as I got smaller, when the door was burst open by some random guy. I craned my neck to see the details of his face, and I didn’t notice the enormous structure swinging at me…

SMACK! I was propelled across the room, and the man didn’t even notice. My vision started to get blurry, and I couldn’t see straight, couldn’t even make a sound. My hand traveled to the back of my head and came back with gushing dark red - blood.

The last thing I saw was the blinding ceiling of the bathroom.

My eyes closed.

The last thing I heard was Michael, Zachary, and Giovanni calling my name from outside the bathroom.

I fell unconscious.