02.08.2002 - Am I Done?

I've been feeling pretty good about my job lately. My days have actually been fille with actual work related duties and management assured me my job would be here as long as I wanted it. In the course of a day, that all changed.

Due to some decisions made by our regional managment, my branch will soon be operating full service again and I will once again have a full-time branch manager in the office. This didn't really mean much to me other than the mild inconvenience of losing free reign of my beloved temp-orium. The new branch manager started training in Sacramento on Monday and he planned a trip out to my office today to get acquainted. I was on my best behavior all day because I didn't particularly want to meet my new branch manager while slouched in my chair with one hand jammed firmly down my pants.

Thankfully, I sat rigid at my desk entering employee information into a database when the regional vice president ambled through the doors. The new manager and his mentor manager trailed about twenty minutes behind because they had stopped to make a sales call. In that twenty minutes, the regional vice president briefed me on the state of the office.

She seemed genuinely excited to be working with the new manager because he had already brought in approximately a million dollars in business to our office. The consequence of this, however, is that she needs to hire someone full time to hold my position. Since I don't have the time in my schedule to work full time and the company allegedly can't afford to have two people filling the same position here, I'll no longer be needed by the beginning of March.

When I heard this, I felt like an elephant walked over and sat down on my chest.

I think she noticed the fact that I had suddenly become absolutely mortified, because she immediately started offering potential solutions. With the sudden influx of business there should be enough work to keep me on staff here, but if not, there's a possibility that I could float between offices. It's nice that she has my back, but I'm not sure if I can trust her. After all, she is the one that told me I could work here as long as I want.

The reason that she can't just authorize the cost to employ me is that my shitty former manager drained the area of roughly a half million dollars because she did such an awful job. There's a spending freeze in the area until we recoup the expenses. She has to justify my presence to our corporate offices. I suppose if I have to have someone going to bat for me, it's a good thing I have her.

The managers came in shortly thereafter, and I momentarily shook off the terror to introduce myself. They only stayed for a few moments before leaving to explore the territory. The next hour I spent alone in the office shouting obscenities at the top of my lungs, shaking and using the internet to scout out potential new job opportunities.

While I was in the middle of a phone interview for Wells Fargo, the management team walked through the doors and I quickly hung up the phone. The regional vice president stressed that she would work as hard as she can to save my job before she left me alone with the new branch manager.

What made things worse is that the new manager is cool as fuck. He's only a few years older than me and he used to play football for San Diego State where he was a communication major. We talked, and he was nothing but encouraging. He could definitely be a mentor to me, but unfortunately I may not get that chance. He assured me he would do everything he could to keep me on. I hope everything comes together, because I'm actually excited to work for him, and I can't remember the last time I was excited to work at all.

Half scared, half excited, I left work at five. I had plans to hit a party with Rodney and Mr. Bestfriendinthewholewideworld. I thought about skipping the party just because I wasn't really in the mood, but I decided that some distraction is just what I needed.

I'm glad I'm not a big drinker, because the combination of anxiety and copious amounts of alcohol could have been dangerous. There was plenty of liquor everywhere we went. It's a good thing I have zero ability to drown my sorrows.

I got to see the Rodzilla's new place before we headed over to a tiny fizzled-out barbeque. Even though Mr. Bestfriendinthewholewideworld brought ladies for us, the barbeque still sucked. Because there was no food for us, we left to cruise Davis in search of grub. Unfortunately, every place in town was closed by the time we left, which left a grocery store as the only alternative. I felt like I was straight representin' Wellman crew again when I gripped a loaf of french bread before heading to a party.

I think it was mostly my mood, but I didn't have such a good time at this party. There were plenty of attractive ladies there, but I didn't much feel like having awkward conversations with any of them. When one such attractive lady approached me and told me she has one of my columns taped to her wall, rather than being suave/dirty and asking her to show me sometime, I quietly said thank you and left the party.

SEE WHAT YOU DID, WORK? YOU ARE KEEPING ME FROM BEING A PERVERT.

Since Jackson had joined us at the shindig and was too ready to leave, I said goodbye to Mr. Bestfriendinthewholewideworld (who was typically trying to put his penis in someone) and Rod before heading out.

So this weekend will be spent either trying to ignore reality or trying to take control of my reality. I'll lay you ten to one on ignorance.

-- Jeffy