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2007-04-24 - 9:23 p.m.

"I'm so thrilled to finally be failing..."

So, the big news is I no longer work for Miller.

That's bad?

No, that's good.

"Do you enjoy not working at Miller anymore?"

Yes, actually, I do. I highly recommend it to all of my friends out there. Not working at Miller's tour center is one of the best things you can do for yourself.

So you quit?

No, I was fired.

Why?

See, that's the funny part- they wouldn't give me a reason. There was no specific incident or trend that caused it, at least that they would say. If i had dropped my pants in front of a tour group or told the president of the company to go to hell, then I would imagine they'd probably say that.

"Ken, we're letting you go."
"Why?"
"You gave a tour to a group of elementary school kids yesterday and your fly was open the whole time. We got complaints"

See, that I would totally understand. (that actually did happen once, by accident, but no one noticed but me, and there were no complaints. I was embarrassed though...) Basically waht it boiled down to was that the overall manager, (the top one of the 8 that are working there. 8 managers for a total of 17 employees. And not spread out over a large command structure, i mean 8 managers in the same building as the 17 people working for them. Seriously, we had a meeting once where they outlined "so and so is your actual manager, but all of these people can and will give orders.") she and i never liked each other very much. It's the only reason i can figure, because there were people skating on far thinner ice as far as their job performance who are still there. I refused to kiss her ass, (although to be fair i also wasn't shy about my refusal to do so) and since Wisconsin is an at-will employment state, she could legally let me go without having to give any reason, which is what she did. I was also up for a raise in a month since it was time for my annual review. My raise would have been a whopping $.15 an hour. This is how much a multibillion dollar company values its spokespeople.

And I can't say i'm all that sorry to be gone, either. I was jobhunting anyway because I'd figured out that I can't really make any progress towards paying off my student loans when i only make $9 an hour.) So this provided me the kick in the ass i needed to actually get serious about sending out resumes. And lo and behold, yesterday I got a job offer.I feel like the first rat off a sinking ship. The job used to be cool< i'll admit. The last few months htough...there was no fun in it anymore. 8 middle aged women harping about useless garbage and expecting me to give a shit wasn't worth it anymore.

So i feel like the first rat off a sinking ship. The job used to be fun, I readily admit. Last summer was a blast, even though i had to work the saturdays. but lately it had gotten to be a real drag. The little things were getting to eveyrone, not just me. I pointed out a couple times that morale was low, and the managers just kept getting bitchier (I don't mean to sound totally misogynistic, but I'm going to- working for 8 middle aged women is the worst thing ever. hell, many WOMEN i've talked to said they would hate to work in that kind of situation. especially when half of them don't lke the other half. I could rant more, but i'll just say, gynocracy sucks. yeah, i'm a terrible person.) and the just was just not worth it, especially when the pay was...well...shameful considering the supposed "importance" of what we were doing (being glorified shills) So i was pretyt much at the point where i didn't give a shit anymore..

So maybe that's why you were fired?

no, because my tours didn't suffer. Hell, i was giving my best tours right when i left. it was the only part of the job that didnt' suck ass because it was the only part where i didn't have some dumb box (or two or three) looking over my shoulder the entire time. it was just me and some tourists and i could tell them about beer and make a few jokes and they'd laugh and ask me questions and i'd answer and they'd be awed by how much i knew and tell me how much fun they were having. and then at the end i'd give them some free beer and they'd leave thinking i was the greatest guy ever. Seriously. i was giving extra extra long tours just to avoid having to go back to the break room.

But it doesn't matter anyway. It's done, everyone who i cared about or considered a friend who worked there knows the truth and keeps in touch (and according to them the place is getting even less fun to work at by the day) and like i said, i have another job already, so i'm feeling liberated.

I'm back working at AIM again, the first company i got a job with after River falls ended. and yes, for those keeping score, this is in fact, the third time they've hired me, fourth if you count when i went from being a temp to being a permanent employee. I guess you could say they still love me there.

So what will you be doing?

nothing interesting, i can assure you. At my last ocuple stints with AIM, i was an assistant to the RAM (Regional Accounts Manager). Now I am going to be a RAM.

What does a RAM do?

A RAM (heh...i got a RAM job. liz, al, we can never stop giggling about that one.) goes to a hospital and looks through their billing records to find instances where the hospital was overpaid on a medical bill, either by the insurance companies or the patient or both. I would then look over the paperwork for that account and crunch the numbers to figure out how much money is owed and to whom, then give that paperwork to the hospital and they will cut a check....to AIM.

AIM keeps a bit of the omney recovered as a finders fee (unless the refund is to a patient. patients get all their money) which is how they make their money. it's cheaper for th einsurance companies in the long run cause they get their money back a lot faster, and it's free for the hospitals to help get their books balanced. Plus it kinda helps people, in the sense that sometimes patients get the money they are owed, and the insurance companies recovering more of the money they are owed keeps premiums down (not a lot, but a little)

So i'll get a base salary (not hourly anymore, but no nights/weekends/overtime, ever) and a 1/2% commission on every dollar i recover. that doesn't sound like a lot, but remember, this is medical billing, where bills get into the hundreds of thousands of dollars frequently. I start job training in tennessee on may 7th for 2 weeks, then a week back in milwaukee, then one last week in tennessee. And that's the last time i'm going to explain what i do to anyone. Suffice to say it's boring as hell, mostly just doing high school math, but how hard i work will, for once, directly impact how much money i make. and i will have weekends free for fun things, and my nights are my own to continue doing milwaukee theatre. it'll be a good job to have for awhile to get ahead financially for a bit, until it's time...

Time to what?

Time...to do something i've been thinking of doing for a long time now. And when it happens, trust me, you'll know. it'll be stellar.

Remember? if i had a superpower, it'd be winning. I got fired, and now i'll make twice as much for half the work. i have to buy my own beer again, but i can afford stuff that doesnt' suck ass now. that's right, world. pwned.

yeesh. Shoot me if i ever use that term again. Everyone gets one. and that is your quota for a lifetime. leetspeak needs to die, and quickly.

In lighter news, a sex offender recently moved into our neighborhood. we got a flier stuck on our door telling us about him. And it was detailed. who he was, what he had done (raped a woman at knifepoint) his description, a picture, where he'll live, where he'll work, his car make and model and license plate, everything. if i were a little more hacker-savvy, i could probably steal his identity pretty easily with all the info they supplied. the community was a bit outraged and upset over this (although to be fair, the guy isn't on parole, he was sentenced to 15 year in 1992. that means his sentence is up. he did the time)

A big town hall meeting was held for the residents of the community to voice their concerns, and from that meeting another flier was sent out, this one with the intent of easing peoples fears. I didn't keep that flier, but i can paraphrase some of what it said.

"We know you're concerned about the convicted rapist moving in next door, but it's relaly nothing to worry about. If you check the registry on the internet of convicted sex offenders, you might be surprised to find how many already live in your area."

Um....

HOw the hell is that supposed to make anyone feel better? I'm sure that poor old lady living next door to him who had never heard of the internet is feeling relieved to know that he's not the ONLY sex offender living within striking distance of her, something she may not have considered before that comforting message. Nice work guys. that'll ease everyone's mind.

"Many of these sex offenders were convicted of having consensual sex with someone under the age of legal consent."

Ok, that i won't argue about. I odn't believe it should be a crime for an 18 year old high school senior to have sex with his 17 year old girlfriend, but in some places that's actually a felony and requires sex offender registry.

"Others were convicted of sexually assaulting a family member"

I'm gonna hope by that they mean someone who raped their spouse, and not anything weirder than that. Sorry guys, rape is still rape. And anyway, those two arguments are beside the point...

This guy raped a woman at knifepoint. How is the fact that some guy who nailed a 16 year old or raped his wife is already in the area make it somehow palatable for an actual rapist to be joining the sex assault squad?

I shouldn't be so concerned about htis. I'm not a target, although for those few times when i can lure a woman over to my place i'd prefer not to have to explain why i need to walk her back to her car later. I'm just dumbfounded at the way the city officials have handled this, insofar as they managed to actually make people feel worse about it in their half-assed attempt to make people feel better. Seriously. Some poeople's children.

So...some angry ranting, followed by arrogant boasting, followed by longwinded dry explanations of something no one cares about, followed by more ranting in a story that no one will care about. yep, all the bases are covered.

Ken

Say you better pack
Better get your things together
Don't know where to go
Until you wind up there
Better grab a coat
You can never tell the weather
Let's hope were gone forever

Someday soon
Gonna sail the big blue ocean
Gonna cause a big commotion

Someday soon
Keep it down below the radar
See beyond the brightest big stars

Mama said your life wouldn't be too easy
That's about the only thing she said at all
Still those words are all you're left to cling to
They're all that seems to ring out true

Someday soon
Gonna sail the big blue ocean
Gonna cause a big commotion

Someday soon
Keep it down below the radar
See beyond the brightest big stars

Someday Soon
Someday Soon

The towns pass by
Like a car crash chase
The nights blur into
Another endless race

Just slow it down
Stop running from your ghosts
Just slow it down
Just slow it down

Say you better pack
Better get your things together
Don't know where to go
Until you wind up there
Until you wind up there

Someday soon
Gonna sail the big blue ocean
Gonna cause a big commotion

Someday soon
Keep it down below the radar
See beyond the brightest big stars

Someday Soon
Someday Soon

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