Heather R.'s Diary Entries Diary Navigation: Choose A Diary Entry -------------------- Latest Entry: 11/30/01 -------------------- 10/25/01 6/21/01 5/10/01 4/8/01 3/30/01 3/23/01 3/15/01 3/7/01 2/27/01 2/20/01 2/12/01 1/29/01 1/17/01 1/1/01 12/27/00 12/19/00 12/1/00 11/13/00 -------------------- Heather R.'s Introduction

February 12, 2001

What a weird, weird, weird week and a half this has been.

It started with the good news that we were getting a new apartment. We had been looking for a house, as you may recall. That whole voyage didn’t work out. We found a house we liked, but the landlord ended up not even running a credit check on us. It turned out that he had a “problem” with me being the primary wage earner instead of John. At least he ended up giving us our application fee back.

So we kept looking – but couldn’t find anything that we liked AND that was within our price range. We started looking at apartments.

Early last week we struck paydirt: A 3-bedroom apartment in a brand spankin’ new complex in a great area. It’s more than 350 square feet larger than our current pad. And the complex is filled with families. There is a swimming pool, and a hot tub.

We were all ready to sign the all important lease agreement – just a few more checks were in the works and we’d be all set. Then a new twist hit.

My employer, one of the biggest insurance companies, made the decision to move my little office, and hence my job, to a new office 50 miles away. I already dislike my job because it’s monotonous and boring. I’m underpaid and unappreciated.

But this was asking too much. The commute, if I decided to commute, would add about 2 ½ - 3 hours to my already too-long day. Gas and car upkeep would also be an issue – as would the pay. That’s right, since it’s in a cheaper city, the pay scale would be lowered.

The kicker was that they wouldn’t be offering relocation or severance packages. We are all expected to foot the commuting cost, even at a lower wage, or move and absorb those costs. The final straw, so-to-speak, was that the two top guys in our region opened the meeting by having a little “contest” to name our companies business strategies, and gave free long-distance cards to those who gave the right answers. They were acting all jaunty and up-beat as though they weren’t about to change the lives of the 26 people who work in my units. If this is not a sign that these two are not connected to reality, I don’t know what is.

That was the deciding point. When they led-in with that crap, I knew I was gone. I’ve given this company 5 years of my life. To be fair, they were great when I was pregnant – I’ve gotten tons of sick time and most of my leave with both pregnancies was covered. They are great when it comes to nursing – in the regional office I worked in in California had an entire section, complete with private rooms and two company pumps, that we could use.

But it’s irrelevant now. I’m as good as gone. So what am I going to do?

When in doubt, go back to school.

This was kind of the plan anyway. But I don’t think there is any turning back now. I’m going to school in the fall. We are going to live off of financial aid and our wits, I think. Can’t imagine that we’ll have a lot, but I am going to do it, damn it – a degree in English, emphasis on Creative Writing. And if I can, I’m gonna squeeze in a few filmmaking classes as well.

We signed the lease anyway – and are all set to move in this weekend. As for Valentine’s day, I truthfully haven’t had a moment to think about it. I think I may get John a video game – sounds so unromantic, but I think it may be the only thing he wants.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

-Heather