What’s going to happen tomorrow?

Let’s see. Where did I leave off? Ah, yes. Office Space in real life. Ok, so like, I think I told you I’d found an apartment in downtown Seattle, so that was exciting. I was going to get the paperwork on that started last week, but because of the snow, the apartment stuff got pushed back a week. But, like, today...well, no, yesterday, I started filling out the paperwork and the apartment manager started doing the background checks; the primary two being a verification of funds with my bank and a verification of employment with my employer.

Well, the bank stuff came back just fine. But for some strange reason, my employment verification didn’t come through. I asked the manager on duty yesterday if he’d faxed the verification to the apartment manager and he said he had. But when I checked today, I found that no fax had been sent.

So, I called again today and got a different manager saying that the fax had been sent. Since none had been received, I asked if another could be faxed. She said she would.

I waited...and none came.

So then the apartment manager called my employer to ask for the fax and he (the apartment manager) got lectured at by my manger that she was “trying to run a business” and didn’t have time to send the fax right now.

Umm...ok. So it looks like I’m not the only one that these managers don’t want to talk to. What I suspect is what I said in my last post; that they hired me as a seasonal but didn’t bother to tell me. I guess that’s fine, but the thing is, if they don’t send the confirmation, then I won’t qualify for the apartment and I’ll be looking for both another job and an apartment. If that ends up being the case, then I do have a Plan B. But first I’ll see what happens tomorrow...

Office Space in real life

I should have titled that last post as “Snow week”. It hasn’t left and has snowed more since…and then melted some…and then snowed again.

It’s been pretty crazy getting to and from work. A lot of cars and buses were stalled and abandoned. It was lucky my bus routes were still operational. I wouldn’t think of driving in this myself.

So speaking of work, interesting sort of communication thing going on. I was told when I was hired that a) I was not a seasonal worker and b) there would be a six week training schedule (seemed a bit excessive, but since it’d be paid training, it was fine by me).

But then on the first day of training, I was told that it was more like three weeks of training, and that the other three weeks is more going on your own.

Since I (or we, as I was being trained with one other) was training, I was not on the official schedule. So I was finding out week by week from the training managers what the following weeks schedule for me would be.

But like, at the end of this week, I was neither told what I would be working next week, nor was I yet on the official schedule.

So I asked the store manager what I would be working next week. She said to check with the scheduling manager. And I thought to myself, “Why is he going to know what my training schedule is?” But whatever. I asked her if he was in today. She said no.

So I asked another manager how I might contact the scheduling manager. And this manager said to write the scheduling manager a note. So I did.

As I was waiting for the second manager (who suggested I write the note) to show me where to submit the note, the first manager came out of her office and got angry with me for still being there and said that I need to talk with the scheduling manager. I gave my note to the second manager and then left.

The following day (the last day I’d be working this week), I looked at the schedule. Not only was I still not on the schedule for next week, but the following week I was only scheduled to work one day.

Sooo…One day in two weeks. That’s great. As more information is trickling my way, it seems the hiring process gives some indication of whether you’re a regular worker or a temp worker. It seems…and I haven’t confirmed this yet, but it seems I’ve been hired as a seasonal worker, but wasn’t told. Which is weird, because all the other seasonal workers know that they’re seasonal workers.

But who do I talk to about this since every time I try to talk with someone, I’m redirected to someone else?

*sigh*

Anyway, looks like I have free time next week to look for more/other work. I have a few ideas. I’ll see what I can do.

Snow day

Well, they said it would snow and it did...a lot. I couldn’t make it to work today, and even if I could, they were planning on closing early anyway. So I got the day off…which was nice and not nice at the same time. I mean, I need the hours and I haven’t worked long enough to be tired of it.

I was also supposed to look at an apartment today. But I’ve arranged to look at it tomorrow, weather permitting.

First two days of employment

*Ah* It’s nice to work again. So a little update. I’ve just finished my second day of training. Worked on the cash register today. Generally, it’s simple work, but there are a crapload of options that I’d never encountered when working the register at the video store I used to work at.

But I’ll get the hang of it. Um, the good news about B&N; the benefits (once I get them) are quite good. Medical, dental, vision, and chiropractic (a must for me). As for the discounts on the neighboring stores, well, Eddie Bauer and GAP were not included, so not sure how helpful that perk will be.

But the bus pass is awesome. I thought they paid $40 for the bus pass, but turns out I do. I know that sounds bad, but here’s the deal. The bus pass I currently use is the Puget Pass, which has a trip value of $2.50 (highest bus fare I need to pay for my needs) and costs $90 a month. That’s not bad compared to what car owners pay for their monthly transportation. But the Flex Pass I buy through B&N has a trip value of about $4.75 and costs $40…for four months! That means my monthly transportation cost is $10 a month! This I like.

So, I like the idea of staying here. The fact that I’ve already met a few employees that have been here between 4 and 14 years is a good sign, too.

The next challenge is to find an apartment/studio closer to work. By bus, my current location makes it a lengthy commute to work. The International District or somewhere downtown (or near the bottom of Capitol Hill would be ideal). The places I’ve found on Craigslist have been taken quickly. I’m going to try looking around tomorrow (on Craigslist and in person). We’ll see how it goes.

My big day is tomorrow

Yup. I start my job tomorrow. Looking forward to it. It may sound strange, but I really want to work.

Still, I’m uncertain how much this job will help me. Better than nothing, I know. But I did some number crunching and, even if they were to work me full-time (which they won’t at first), I’m still going to come up short with the rate they’ll be paying me. So I’ll have to look for some way to pick up the slack. I’ll be getting some help with it at first, and I still see good opportunities from working here.

I’ve been looking for apartments since I’ll only be house sitting here til the end of the month. I was thinking I’d really like to live in the International District because there are some places with cheap rent and really good Asian restaurants and supermarkets.

However, one of the efficiency studios I looked at today, albeit in a cool location, had a really musty smell that gave me a headache the moment I walked in. Also, the “walls” that separated the shower, kitchen, and, uh, toilet room didn’t go all the way up to the ceiling. There was about a foot of space, so they were more like partitions to divide the room. As the studio was only a hundred some-odd square feet, I kinda felt this was borderline violating the principal of “don’t crap where you eat”.

But I don’t know. I think it was the musty smell that bothered me the most. The view was great. A big window faced the west, so, it had a lot of natural light. Also, being small, it would be easy to heat, and each studio had its own water heater.

We’ll see. I’m checking out other places that are a smidge more and that I’d feel more comfortable inviting people to see.

Anyway, I’ll try to post soon how things go.

Hired!

I got the job I’d mentioned at the end of Season 3. It’s at B&N. I’m pretty stoked. I’ll get 30% discounts on books, 20% discounts on DVDs and CDs, and because it’s in a mall area, I’ll get ~10% discounts on neighboring stores (I’m hoping Eddie Bauer and GAP, but we’ll see). Plus, they’ll pay $40 for my bus pass. (The bus pass I use costs $90, so I’m seeing if I can contribute $50 to the pass B&N will give me to make it worth $90. I mean, a $90 pass for the price of $50 isn’t bad.)

In spite of the not-so-big wage, I’m getting discounts in all my primary areas of expense.

So, yay!

P.S. – I realize it may seem a little silly that I’m excited to be working at a place where high schoolers are qualified to work, but a) I haven’t worked in a year and a half, b) I like books, and c) I’ll be associating with people who read books. Plus, I like the area that the bookstore is in. I’m not expecting the job to be glamorous, but it’ll allow me to accomplish what I want. So, yeah.