Miss me much? I’m sorry I’ve been so quiet, but I’ve been busy starting something new. The university is now behind me. I started working at my new place of business a little over a month ago. I just got my first real paycheck. I just bought a new computer. I almost feel like a grown up. Almost.
Working at my new place of business has been an experience beyond description this past month. I’ve been working 12-hour days, weekends included. There are a thousand different things being thrown my way and most days I feel lucky if I’m just keeping ahead of my deadlines.
I love it.
I thought that I wouldn’t. I thought that I’d end up hating it. I thought that I’d go crawling back to the university begging them to take me in. I thought that sooner or later someone was going to take a look at my work and ask me how the hell I got hired. I really did. Deep inside I was just sure that I wasn’t ready, wasn’t qualified and just not able to work there. I don’t really know why, but that is how I felt.
The job has taken some getting used to. There’s a lot of shit going on all at once. Political moves, backgrounds I’m not aware of, and work that just accumulates without end. There’s always something else to add, one more point to make, another angle to take. And the press is just waiting for something to get by, someone to slip up, to pounce. It is, after all, their role in this game.
In my first month the press secretary was asked to leave… fired, I guess, is as good a word as any. Considering the amount of tension between her and the new boss, the woman who hired me, I can’t say that I’m surprised. Still, having someone fired in your first month at a job that scares you to death is not a good thing.
My new boss doesn’t seem happy working for the BIG BOSS. Maybe she’s just overworked – and considering that she’s been out of the office sick for the past 3 or 4 days, maybe she’s just not been feeling well. But there’s a part of me that says that she isn’t happy here. That she wants out. That she’s going to bail as soon as she gets the chance.
And the fact that she was sold down the river a couple of weeks ago doesn’t help at all. Without getting into too many details, my boss released some information to the press, under protest, that ended up making an executive staff member look bad. It wasn’t the BIG BOSS, just one of his personal favorite cronies. The press took this info and used it to the best of their abilities. Which, as I pointed out, is in their job descriptions. The guy in question, when interviewed by a member of the media, told her that my boss was wrong and that the information she released was wrong and that he had no idea where she obtained her information to begin with.
Talk about livid! She was sooooo pissed! Rightly so, but extremely angry. So the decision is does she keep her mouth shut and safeguard her job or does she set the story straight and jeopardize her position? Because, obviously, if my new place of business didn’t object to the interview when it happened, then they just thought that someone had to look bad and it was better that it be one of the lesser people than someone important. And my boss has a big chunk of her credibility destroyed.
Would that make you rethink your job?
My goal is to last 6 months here and look for something else. I’m already making good contacts. I’ve been doing things well, dealing with the media and should have some nice pieces to add to my portfolio in the next few months. I’ll be able to find another job without any problem, I think.
Anyway. Gotta go, I need my sleep.