The General Rant/Bitch/Moan Thread.

RedAngel wrote:

1) NC Labor Laws do not govern work breaks, so it's totally legal that my supervisors have me working 8-10 hours at a time with no break at all. The girl who trained me admits she sometimes takes the phone into the bathroom (should it ring) and just hopes no one comes in the front door while she's in there. Looks like I'll need to ask about breaks in my continuing job search.

NC is a right to work state, so you are essentially a slave to your employer. They can hire or fire you based on their own prejudices and the burden of proof is upon you if you suspect discrimination (but that doesn't stop them from manufacturing a reason to fire you.

Diva: That sucks. :/ Likewise, there's no way to complete all I have to do in one day unless I come in early and stay late, which means they're getting free labor out of me. There are lots of small things about my job that add up to a pretty crappy situation, and I know I'm not alone; a lot of good workers are getting used these days thanks to "the economy."

Ginger: That's right. I used to consider that a boon b/c as a worker my actions are not dictated by the actions of a union, but I hadn't thought about the negative repercussions. I was so excited to be employed again, but I'm really disappointed to find they were concealing some essential details when they hired me.

This is nuts. No business should be screwing the people who help them make money.

It has been illegal to be forced into a union and if you aren't in a union, they cannot force you do things in accordance to their will. Even if you don't join a union, their very presence is beneficial to you because it forces non union employeers to provide the same level of pay (that way you don't have to be forced to make do with whatever your state has deemed minimum wage--which itself is not a living wage) and same benefits such as health care coverage.

^^ Oh. Things I didn't know b/c I spent most of my working life in a right-to-work state.

My time working in CT was mainly on-campus, apart from one summer job I had at a drugstore (where several breaks in a working day were part of company policy).

Well, if nothing else, I'm learning a lot about labor regulations right now. I'll know what types of questions to ask of future employers.

RedAngel wrote:

^^ Oh. Things I didn't know b/c I spent most of my working life in a right-to-work state.

My time working in CT was mainly on-campus, apart from one summer job I had at a drugstore (where several breaks in a working day were part of company policy).

Well, if nothing else, I'm learning a lot about labor regulations right now. I'll know what types of questions to ask of future employers.

I live in and am surrounded by RTW states, so I couldn't find a job that supported unions if my very life depended upon it. The reason why I know this is because I am a socialist who opposes RTW legislation.

nsanelilmunky wrote:

^^^What's keeping you from moving anyway? If it's just your house and you don't think you could sell it in this economy, you could always rent it.

RTW states tend to have really low wages for workers, so even if you completely abandoned your house, you couldn't afford to move into a neighboring state because you couldn't even afford the gas.

Grr, allergic reactions....

nsanelilmunky wrote:

^^^What's keeping you from moving anyway? If it's just your house and you don't think you could sell it in this economy, you could always rent it.

A couple things: 1) In the past, when I've tried to get hired across state lines (looked for a job in the DC area while still in NC), potential employers have been reluctant to hire -- even when I tell them I would cover my own moving costs and came up to interview with them. There was also one occasion of bait-and-switch when I went to Alexandria, VA for an interview only to find the job to be filled was nothing like what was described to me.

So why not move first and get a job later, like I did when I came to NC in '99? That brings me to the 2nd point: I really don't know where to go. I don't know which area has a job market strong enough to support the gamble of a major move. And looking in advance brings me back to that first point.

There's also the reason of G being content here -- someone else in his shoes might consider whether I'm content too, but that's an issue that really hurts to come to grips with at the moment...

Ginger_Snaps wrote:

RTW states tend to have really low wages for workers, so even if you completely abandoned your house, you couldn't afford to move into a neighboring state because you couldn't even afford the gas.

From what I know, this is true. Cost of living here is ridiculously low compared to the Northeast or many major U.S. cities.

Look, I don't mean to hijack this thread. There are definitely things I need to sort out, and the best path isn't clear to me yet. What I do know is that I'm getting used in my current job, and I've got more irons in the fire. I'm just trying to take it one day at a time.

RedAngel wrote:

Look, I don't mean to hijack this thread. There are definitely things I need to sort out, and the best path isn't clear to me yet. What I do know is that I'm getting used in my current job, and I've got more irons in the fire. I'm just trying to take it one day at a time.

It's the ranting thread. The only way you can hijack it is by posting loads and loads of pictures of kittens and puppies playing.

^^ Thank you Nsane. These are great resources.

The risk of failing even bigger in another city is really scary to me right now, but that will have to change I think. Friends used to tell me "you can do so much better than the gallery" and yet I'm doing worse now -- so it's hard not to see moving as a gamble. Hell, though, it's all a gamble -- coming here was a gamble; marriage was a gamble too.

I hate feeling less strong and confident than I used to.

Hmm, Greensboro...

I am ready to smack my possible future roommate.

We found the -perfect- apartment. It's affordable, right in Boston, and has everything we wanted (plus a working fireplace!!!)

Will and I had all of our paperwork in over a week ago, but our third roommate keeps stalling. The main issue is that his parents are lawyers and don't want to cosign for him due to some legal problem I can't quite figure out (all the paperwork is pretty standard and clear-cut...)

Our realtor took our hold off of the apartment, and until the paperwork gets in, it will stay on the market.

I can't call roommate #3 right now, because it's 6:30am, but will call him at 10. If he can't have his paperwork in by 1pm today, I'm just flat-out dropping him. He's a great guy, and I really don't want to hurt him, but I am sick of living in s**t hole apartments and do not want to lose this one. It is the only nice apartment I have seen in my price range...

DarkDreamer wrote:

If he can't have his paperwork in by 1pm today, I'm just flat-out dropping him. He's a great guy, and I really don't want to hurt him, but I am sick of living in s**t hole apartments and do not want to lose this one. It is the only nice apartment I have seen in my price range...

Sounds like a good plan -- bottom line, sometimes you need to put yourself first, especially when the one(s) you worry about hurting aren't considering your well-being anyway. Go for that apt. (as long as any questions you might have about it are answered)!

Red, that's terrible. I can't believe that such draconian labor regulations still exsist in this country! Here, breaks are mandatory if you're working more than six hours (I think it's six?)

Since you mention that you worked on campus in CT, it begs the question, what sort of degree do you have? Is it an art degree (the gallery work is leading me to that assumption...) and if so, what field? I know of a few opportunities out there for artists... give me your field/skill set, and I'll tell you what available jobs I know of.

Also, what else might you be interested in? There are some things that you can do with a bachelor's degree regardless of major... the main thing that comes to mind here is teaching. There are others as well. I just can't think of any right now, but will be sure to ask my dad about it later, since he knows a lot about it...


Then there's also the list that nsane posted. It seems pretty accurate. I am in one of the low-unemployment areas and I have -never- heard of any of my local friends being without a job when they've needed one. The cost of rent is high, but is still feasible with a low-paying job, and the quality of life here is fantastic.

RedAngel wrote:

DarkDreamer wrote:

If he can't have his paperwork in by 1pm today, I'm just flat-out dropping him. He's a great guy, and I really don't want to hurt him, but I am sick of living in s**t hole apartments and do not want to lose this one. It is the only nice apartment I have seen in my price range...

Sounds like a good plan -- bottom line, sometimes you need to put yourself first, especially when the one(s) you worry about hurting aren't considering your well-being anyway. Go for that apt. (as long as any questions you might have about it are answered)!

Well, it isn't really his fault per se. He works a lot and doesn't have much free time, and the reason his paperwork is stalled is due to his parents reluctance to cosign for him, so I feel like I'm punishing him for things that he doesn't really have control over. But we looked at the apartment over a week ago, and given the Boston real estate market, if we don't get the place soon, we won't get it at all...

The only thing that has been saving us so far is the fact that it's being listed by one realty company instead of several, but even that won't keep the place on the market forever...

Oh yeah, aside from my health issues, i was rear-ended by some douche in a taxi. Thanks a$$, that's $500 to get my truck fixed and will have to wait like two months to see it back in my account.

Slightly annoyed with my friend/classmate who'll be sharing a room with me in Minneapolis during our residency in July. I sent him an email earlier today providing details about my flight, the hotel room and how he should pay me for his share of the room, just so that we could be on the same page about everything, but he seemed nonchalant and disinterested in his response. Doesn't that a**hole realize I'm doing him a favor?

nsanelilmunky wrote:

^^^If they rear-ended you, it's considered their fault and they should be the ones paying for it.

My insurance is going to repay me the money they'll get from this taxi comapany's insurnace, but I'm still going to have to drop the $500 at the mechanic to get the truck fixed. $500 i don't have while I'm getting beat up by these co-pays and sh*t, just spent $100 co-pay at one doctor, all my money is going to gone by the time school starts. Sucks.

Spooky wrote:

nsanelilmunky wrote:

^^^If they rear-ended you, it's considered their fault and they should be the ones paying for it.

My insurance is going to repay me the money they'll get from this taxi comapany's insurnace, but I'm still going to have to drop the $500 at the mechanic to get the truck fixed. $500 i don't have while I'm getting beat up by these co-pays and sh*t, just spent $100 co-pay at one doctor, all my money is going to gone by the time school starts. Sucks.

This is how poor people stay impoverished. It's not that they don't know how to save money, it's that they are constantly getting billed for one thing or another--most of which they cannot avoid.

Had a disagreement with one of the higher ups yesterday and it's been bothering me. My supervisor will be paying me a visit in a little bit and I hope to discuss this issue with her.

Ginger_Snaps wrote:

Spooky wrote:

nsanelilmunky wrote:

^^^If they rear-ended you, it's considered their fault and they should be the ones paying for it.

My insurance is going to repay me the money they'll get from this taxi comapany's insurnace, but I'm still going to have to drop the $500 at the mechanic to get the truck fixed. $500 i don't have while I'm getting beat up by these co-pays and sh*t, just spent $100 co-pay at one doctor, all my money is going to gone by the time school starts. Sucks.

This is how poor people stay impoverished. It's not that they don't know how to save money, it's that they are constantly getting billed for one thing or another--most of which they cannot avoid.

Ding ding ding, totally correct.



Oh yeah Munky, the same thing happened to me in middleschool after my toenail was split while playing baseball. It grew back, but grew into and under the corner of the toe where it should normaly overlap and became pretty painful. My mom brought me to a doctor to have it fixed up, but a few years later it started growing silly again out of the blue, so I just took a razor and scissor to it and fixed it up. Oh, and don't do that, just because it worked for me I've been told by many a doctor my success was dumb luck, that university clinic sounds like the way to go.

Come to think of it, I've played patch adams too many times for my own injuries; fishingline stitches for my arm, setting fingers with pieces of metal, relocating my shoulder... no wonder this week has been my first trip to a doctor in 7 years.

^^ Ginger is right; I agree.

Spooky: It's understandable that you haven't seen a Dr in that long, and it illustrates the gap in affordable healthcare that still hasn't been properly filled. It's very tough to find even a good walk-in clinic and then the funds to go there. I know I don't "know you" know you, but I'm genuinely worried. When you get your results, please let us know if you're in the clear or if you need help coping with something they've found. Hopefully you'll have a clean bill of health, and can find an affordable clinic in your area for regular checks. Health is more fragile than we tend to realize.

You know what's inappropriate? Drunken after-hours calls from the male co-owner of the business where you work. Calls in which he congratulates you for doing the very thing for which they hired you (i.e. booking appts), and also orders you to put his # into your phone so "you'll know it's me who's calling you."

Boundaries, you sick f***.