Thursday, August 26, 2004
My life is complicated and crazy. Right now my two jobs are having a war with each other. I'm pretty sure that First Student, my school bus gig, has lost this battle. The situation is this: this summer they began working with new routing software to update and change all of the bus routes. "Streamlining the process" as they call it. The problem is, they pretty much waited until the last minute to do this, so it was very shoddily done. Somehow I managed to draw the short stick (as it were) and was never assigned a route. So I've been going to work and not really having anything to do. This really infuriated me, mostly because they've all been so dodgy about telling me they really don't need me -- on Sunday I kept calling them to see what my route would be, and they kept putting me on hold and eventually just hung up on me -- especially since I've got seniority over about a dozen people who are happily working assigned routes.
So there's really nothing anybody can do. They can't promote me to a sub driver position, because I think you have to work mornings to do that; they can't fire me because I haven't done anything wrong. All they can do is casually hint that maybe I should, if it's not too much trouble, not work there anymore.
But you know what? That's great. I don't really want to work there, really. Last year it was great because I had an awesome route and I liked my kids. But now things are way different, and I hate it. I hate the commute, I hate the ways the management element has been fucking me over, I hate the responsibility... in fact, come January, when my non-student contract expires at Cambus and I can't work there anymore, I just want to be completely out of the bus driving business entirely. Too much damn responsibility! Sometimes I just want to get a job making pizza for college students or something that isn't so integral to the progress of humanity. Plus, it's not like I really need the extra money. I mean, what would I spend it on? Expanding my DVD collection and little else.
Ughh, the days are long. Classes are great so far! Kirkwood is so awesome! Seriously, of the three colleges I've been to so far, this community college has in some ways been the most positive experience. More about that stuff later.
Today Christer turned 21, so we had a few beers at Vito's. By the time I hiccupped my way back to my bike at 1:30, it was literally covered in cobwebs.
I'd write more, but I'm getting very tired.
So there's really nothing anybody can do. They can't promote me to a sub driver position, because I think you have to work mornings to do that; they can't fire me because I haven't done anything wrong. All they can do is casually hint that maybe I should, if it's not too much trouble, not work there anymore.
But you know what? That's great. I don't really want to work there, really. Last year it was great because I had an awesome route and I liked my kids. But now things are way different, and I hate it. I hate the commute, I hate the ways the management element has been fucking me over, I hate the responsibility... in fact, come January, when my non-student contract expires at Cambus and I can't work there anymore, I just want to be completely out of the bus driving business entirely. Too much damn responsibility! Sometimes I just want to get a job making pizza for college students or something that isn't so integral to the progress of humanity. Plus, it's not like I really need the extra money. I mean, what would I spend it on? Expanding my DVD collection and little else.
Ughh, the days are long. Classes are great so far! Kirkwood is so awesome! Seriously, of the three colleges I've been to so far, this community college has in some ways been the most positive experience. More about that stuff later.
Today Christer turned 21, so we had a few beers at Vito's. By the time I hiccupped my way back to my bike at 1:30, it was literally covered in cobwebs.
I'd write more, but I'm getting very tired.
Sunday, August 22, 2004
I haven't written in here for a while. But I figure now is a great time to do so, because 1) people have been bugging me about it; and 2) tomorrow begins the academic school year and I'm in a very reflective mood.
This summer has been brilliant. I thought there would be no way to top last summer, but now that I think about it, I don't even really remember what it was about last summer that needed to be topped. It's a great little reminder that bit by bit, my life really is getting better. Or recovering, anyway, from the post-graduation recession that began three years ago.
Why is this happening? It has a lot to do, I believe, with the simple fact that I'm a lot healthier now than I ever have been. I don't eat meat anymore (except for a few isolated times this summer), I've been walking and riding my bike everywhere (I didn't put a drop of gas in my car for the whole month of July), I've worked out my problems with pretty much all my friends, and I'm finally starting to figure out this whole "self respect" thing. Yes. On top of that, I'm living in my new apartment* which transcends infinitely my previous place on S. Johnson street. Also, I turned 21 on the first of June, so now I can pretty much drink with impunity.
Yes sir, I've patched up several of the gaping holes in my life. I've been playing and listening to a lot of music, alone and with companions; I've been reading a lot of good books; riding my new bike (actually my dad's old Trek touring bike from the seventies) a hell of a lot. Everything's comin' up roses! Well, pretty much. I'm totally broke right now. And I didn't get to go on a huge road trip out west this summer like I thought I was going to.
But oh well.
This weekend was a blast. Some friends and I went camping and got totally zonkered in various ways last night. Today was really bittersweet. I did some laundromat time, during which I finished off Into the Wild by John Krakauer. Also, as tenderloin sandwiches on fairy wings began fluttering by, a moderately attractive girl started hitting on me. Then while my clothes spun in the dryer I went outside and perched on the back of my car, nursed a Mountain Dew and took in a beautiful day in the Northside neighborhood, reflecting that if you're going to be mellow and waste your life and be the object of attraction to mysterious laundromat women, Iowa City is a pretty damned good town to do it in. I shed a single joyful tear. No, I didn't.
And then Christer came over to my place and we played some music and walked downtown and got ice cream and chatted on a bench for a while. Good stuff.
I'll try to update this more often.
*Update your rolodex: 20 Evans St. #1AS; Iowa City, IA 52245
This summer has been brilliant. I thought there would be no way to top last summer, but now that I think about it, I don't even really remember what it was about last summer that needed to be topped. It's a great little reminder that bit by bit, my life really is getting better. Or recovering, anyway, from the post-graduation recession that began three years ago.
Why is this happening? It has a lot to do, I believe, with the simple fact that I'm a lot healthier now than I ever have been. I don't eat meat anymore (except for a few isolated times this summer), I've been walking and riding my bike everywhere (I didn't put a drop of gas in my car for the whole month of July), I've worked out my problems with pretty much all my friends, and I'm finally starting to figure out this whole "self respect" thing. Yes. On top of that, I'm living in my new apartment* which transcends infinitely my previous place on S. Johnson street. Also, I turned 21 on the first of June, so now I can pretty much drink with impunity.
Yes sir, I've patched up several of the gaping holes in my life. I've been playing and listening to a lot of music, alone and with companions; I've been reading a lot of good books; riding my new bike (actually my dad's old Trek touring bike from the seventies) a hell of a lot. Everything's comin' up roses! Well, pretty much. I'm totally broke right now. And I didn't get to go on a huge road trip out west this summer like I thought I was going to.
But oh well.
This weekend was a blast. Some friends and I went camping and got totally zonkered in various ways last night. Today was really bittersweet. I did some laundromat time, during which I finished off Into the Wild by John Krakauer. Also, as tenderloin sandwiches on fairy wings began fluttering by, a moderately attractive girl started hitting on me. Then while my clothes spun in the dryer I went outside and perched on the back of my car, nursed a Mountain Dew and took in a beautiful day in the Northside neighborhood, reflecting that if you're going to be mellow and waste your life and be the object of attraction to mysterious laundromat women, Iowa City is a pretty damned good town to do it in. I shed a single joyful tear. No, I didn't.
And then Christer came over to my place and we played some music and walked downtown and got ice cream and chatted on a bench for a while. Good stuff.
I'll try to update this more often.
*Update your rolodex: 20 Evans St. #1AS; Iowa City, IA 52245
