Thursday, March 01, 2007

Fog on Thursday, Clearing by Monday

In the comments from my last post, Aaron said:
Just remember - you're interviewing them as well - only the best for my Ouiser

Did you sense something, old pal? I did interview them, far more than they interviewed me. I came out of that interview so disgusted that I decided during the car ride home that, if by some slim chance they did offer me the job, I would turn them down. It was one of the worst interviews I've ever endured. That guy in that unimaginative tie would never in a million years appreciate me, my skills, and everything I have to offer. He was a robot. Good riddance.

I don't need 'em anyway because! >drumroll< I am now gainfully employed at a lovely spa about 20 minutes from where I live. It's... rather corporate in a lot of ways, which may be part of the reason why I'm comfortable there. They were very up front about what they pay, how the payroll works, what the policies and procedures are, and what they expect from me. None of this loosey-goosey "come in and give a few massages and see how you like it" crap. None of this waiting to see what someplace else is offering before quoting me a commission percentage. They made me a solid offer. I said yes.

Right now I'm hoping to keep in control of my own schedule. This place has a lot of business and they will overwork me without a second thought. I'm brand new, fresh out of school, and I've never done anything more than three 1-hour swedish massages in a row! I need a little adjustment period before I start doing five a day, with some 90- t0 120- minute ones thrown in, plus learning new modalities on the fly. So far I've managed to hold my ground.

Today I'm "on call," which may become something more regular, or something I'm not willing to do. I'm trying it out.

I've never been in this position before, where I have some say over my hours. With a normal job you are informed of the hours you will work, and that's that. Here, I'm aware of the spa's greatest needs, and I've agreed to fill some of them, but if I took on all their hours of greatest need, I'd be dead, and I'd lose all semblance of "work-life balance." So giving them as much coverage as I think I can, and I just had to say no at a certain point. I can do this or that, but not both. I'm glad I had the chutzpah to be honest and up front, rather than simply saying I'll do whatever is needed, like I normally would.

A big motto of mine is "never make a committment you aren't sure you can keep." I told my new boss this, and I think she appreciated it. I'm not willing to be enslaved by this new job, like I was by my old ones, but I genuinely want to do as much as I can.

One thing I'm doing is bringing in a friend of mine who may be able to work some of the peak hours, and if that works out, I'll cover a different day. That would be a great scenario.

When you boil all this down, things still feel somewhat uncertain. My schedule isn't set in stone yet, neither is my monthly earnings picture. I may take another job at a different spa, on one or two of the days Haven doesn't need me. Then again, I may not, and use the extra free days to plan my wedding, or relax. Maybe see friends. Or go into the city. :)

When this fog clears... I'm sure I'll find something else to stress about. But - this has been the primary stressor in my life for a long, long time, this enslaved-to-a-shitty-job crap. That's why I called this blog "My Friday-to-Sunday Life" - I felt that I only lived outside of my job, that from Monday morning to 5:00 Friday, I was dead. I'm finally getting to the culmination of two years of hard work at trying to change all that. So far, it feels really, really good.

I guess I can't call myself unemployed anymore either.

Whoa.

5 comments:

Judy said...

Congratulations! This is wonderful news...Although it is amazing that as soon as one stressor leaves, another one comes in. I'd say, take care of yourself the other couple of days, your mind, body and spirit. You deserve it, after such hard work! :)

Anonymous said...

Congrats on your new job honey! I'm sure everything will work out just fine.

Anonymous said...

Wow! Good for you. What a great feeling that must be and something so great to look forward to. That's what I keep telling myself every morning on my way to work!

Seriously...good for you Girl. You deserve ALL good things ALL the time! Go get em!

Pua

Jess said...

Congrats! I'm very happy for you!

Jess said...

P.S.--now you have to change the name of the blog AGAIN! ;)