As stressful as these last few weeks of summer are going to be, what I am not concerned about is my place at the j.o.b.

As much as this didn’t appear to be the place I wanted to settle, things are moving along.  I can say without qualification that I enjoy my supervisor position better than my prior position.

Ticketing was pretty mindless work.  Smile, type in the destination, make sure the money is right at the end of the shift.  A trained monkey can pretty much do it if I am honest.  Since I am slightly smarter, and slightly cuter than a trained monkey I was a pretty good ticket agent.

The thing about ticketing is ….well there are a couple of things.

First the pay is shitty.  It is not that I am ungrateful since I was earning a great big goose egg previously, but in Philadelphia you aren’t gonna flourish selling tickets for my company.  You are gonna earn just enough if you are 21 to live at home with your parents, mostly.

If you are me, and you have a kid, and you don’t have a significant other to help out ticketing is gonna keep you ..maybe..a step ahead of being hungry and homeless…if you have help.

I’ve been hungry and homeless, I am not interested in doing that again.

This step as lead supervisor was a no brainier if I was gonna stay at my company.  While I may not spend 30 years here I am confined by certain things so the stability and security of knowing I am gonna get 30 hours (or more) per week means I lead on.

I don’t know that I would call myself THE leader, but there are leadership things that I possess.

My shift helps.  I didn’t want this shift but I ended up here and the baggage that comes with the shift means I am taking on more responsibility than my peers.  Most nights I have to run the terminal in all her aspects.  There are nights that gets on my fucking nerves, but there are perks to being annoyed.

One of those perks is a raise.

Getting a pay increase before your calendar year in the position is pretty much unheard of in my company.  It does not happen. Except it happened to me.

My new rate of pay starts this month.  I am in need of the raise.  Shit I need a BIGGER raise if I am honest, but I am gonna be alright. I haven’t been doing this six months yet and the company said, with their wallet, we need you and we value you.

Who doesn’t need occasional validation right?

I am fortunate enough to be offered the position, turn down their first offer of compensation, and then be given a raise in record time.  Much to the chagrin of Trixie.

I’ve said it before, for a reason that escapes my rational mind she sees me as her competition.  Word on the streets is she lobbied hard for a raise. The raises were given to my peers who have been there a year…and me.

I know that it will translate to more shade headed in my direction from Trixie, but it’s summer…I need the shade.

It is a lesson though that I share even when no one listens: you can’t fuck your way into power.

If you are fuckign your way to the “top” at work, you need to also have a skill set to back that up.  Your box isn’t that special and isn’t going to keep you sheltered.  They eventually get tired of your box and at some point someone you aren’t fucking is going to evaluate you.

The tale of two leads, one got there with merit the other with head.

Merit got the money.

Sometimes the universe gets its right.

 

Aphrodite Brown