[OT] Away for a while and a rant

Posting a quickie just so you won't think I am (or Sammy is) being rude.

RL is kicking my @$$ right now. In fact, if you don't mind, a need to rant
a bit...

rant

A year ago I lost my job as a web architect and since the bottom had fallen
out of this job market, couldn't find another job doing this. After 4
months of unemployment, I decided to take a job as an Executive Assistant.
I had to take half the pay I was getting, but I figured, hey, at least I
won't have the job stress associated with the higher salary.

Unfortunately, part of my job duties as an EI was to update their web site.
Well, updating the web site quickly became extensively high-end programming.
*BUT*, my salary is still half of what it was and I'm still required to do
all of the EI duties (step and fetch it type stuff), PLUS they gave me 15
different vendors to handle, and just about everything else that the 20+
people they just laid off were doing. So now I'm:

- Going to get the mail and sorting and distributing it (a whole mail bin
every day)
- Doing personal chores for my CEO (paying his traffic tickets, filling out
his kids' insurance forms, renewing his passport, running down to his car to
fetch things for him, etc. - ad nauseum)
- All meeting presentations in PowerPoint
- All Excel spreadsheets with Visual Basic macros
- External and internal contact information
- All correspondence - email and snail mail
- All FedEx-ing, faxing, and scanning of documents
- All filing
- Answering the telephones
- Taking care of all repairs of all telephone, cellular, and computing
equipment
- Coding invoices for 15 different vendors for accounts payable processing
- Taking care of resolving invoice problems for 15 different vendors
- Creating all graphics, multi-media, interactive forms, and code for a 250+
page web site
- Filming and editing a safety orientation video for the company

I feel like I'm going to drop dead from exhaustion - I'm going crazy with
stress. For instance, they gave me the project of creating a Safety program
on our web site that is about 25 pages of interactive forms using 10+ tables
in a SQL database, and editing about 700+ pages of Safety forms that need to
be put on the web for downloading. When I worked for a web services company
as a consultant, years ago, the web service company would have taken the job
and put 4 people to work on it, given the client a 3 month time frame for
completion, and charged the client $100,000 for the job. I was given it a
few days ago and told the roll-out date is February 1, 2005! I've been
working 16-hour days and this is the first time I've forced myself to take a
break to come read the group a bit.

/rant

I promise to take some time this weekend to write a couple of "With Mommy"
stories.

Hugs,

CatNipped

I'd say put Sammy on the case. =o) (If you get REALLY fed up with these
cheap greed heads who lay people off and then expect one underpaid
person to do the work of 20 people, and are on the verge of quitting
yourself.)

Some possible titles

Emptying the Mail Bin with Mommy

Scanning Documents with Mommy

Shredding the Boss's Parking Ticket with My Very Own Claws

Doing Power Point Presentations with Mommy.

Just kidding, as I realize you're under stress. But it sounds like you
either need to rebel, or find a new, more reasonable job, or both.
Melissa

"Shiral" wrote in message
oups.com...
I'd say put Sammy on the case. =o) (If you get REALLY fed up with these
cheap greed heads who lay people off and then expect one underpaid
person to do the work of 20 people, and are on the verge of quitting
yourself.)

Some possible titles

Emptying the Mail Bin with Mommy

Scanning Documents with Mommy

Shredding the Boss's Parking Ticket with My Very Own Claws

Doing Power Point Presentations with Mommy.

Just kidding, as I realize you're under stress. But it sounds like you
either need to rebel, or find a new, more reasonable job, or both.
Melissa


I know! Like Dr. Phil says, people treat you the way you allow them to
treat you. The problem, *MY* problem, is many-fold. I have ADHD and am a
bit (OK, a lot) obsessive compulsive - in other words, I not only want
everything I do to be perfect, but I usually have the energy to keep working
at it until it is. I have a *VERY* hard time saying, "I can't do that."
So, they keep piling things on and I keep just doing them (and as far as the
web architecture, I do it so fast and make it look so easy that they,
techno-plegics that they are, have *NO* idea of just what an intense,
complicated job I'm doing). I just keep moving faster, and faster, and
faster - until I just can't go any faster without breaking the sound
barrier!

The thing that gets to me the most, I think, is my sh*t-head boss yelling at
me for things that I have no control over. We have problems with our
telephone lines breaking. Even though I am responsible for getting the
phones lines fixed, I can't fix them myself. He was on the phone today and
his long distance call was dropped and he screamed out at me (my desk is
right outside his office), "GET THESE F*CKING PHONES FIXED NOW!!!!" Well, I
had called the phone company - 6 times - but they still hadn't gotten out
there yet. He's always yelling at me for something like this - while I'm
trying to code a very complicated page for a project that has a deadline of
two weeks!

Sigh, I'm ranting again - sorry!

Hugs,

CatNipped

On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 01:12:50 +0000, CatNipped wrote:

"Shiral" wrote in message
oups.com...
I'd say put Sammy on the case. =o) (If you get REALLY fed up with these
cheap greed heads who lay people off and then expect one underpaid
person to do the work of 20 people, and are on the verge of quitting
yourself.)

Some possible titles

Emptying the Mail Bin with Mommy

Scanning Documents with Mommy

Shredding the Boss's Parking Ticket with My Very Own Claws

Doing Power Point Presentations with Mommy.

Just kidding, as I realize you're under stress. But it sounds like you
either need to rebel, or find a new, more reasonable job, or both.
Melissa


I know! Like Dr. Phil says, people treat you the way you allow them to
treat you. The problem, *MY* problem, is many-fold. I have ADHD and am a
bit (OK, a lot) obsessive compulsive - in other words, I not only want
everything I do to be perfect, but I usually have the energy to keep working
at it until it is. I have a *VERY* hard time saying, "I can't do that."
So, they keep piling things on and I keep just doing them (and as far as the
web architecture, I do it so fast and make it look so easy that they,
techno-plegics that they are, have *NO* idea of just what an intense,
complicated job I'm doing). I just keep moving faster, and faster, and
faster - until I just can't go any faster without breaking the sound
barrier!

The thing that gets to me the most, I think, is my sh*t-head boss yelling at
me for things that I have no control over. We have problems with our
telephone lines breaking. Even though I am responsible for getting the
phones lines fixed, I can't fix them myself. He was on the phone today and
his long distance call was dropped and he screamed out at me (my desk is
right outside his office), "GET THESE F*CKING PHONES FIXED NOW!!!!" Well, I
had called the phone company - 6 times - but they still hadn't gotten out
there yet. He's always yelling at me for something like this - while I'm
trying to code a very complicated page for a project that has a deadline of
two weeks!

Sigh, I'm ranting again - sorry!

Hugs,

CatNipped


Digging out one of my old sayings: "If you will -- you may".
MLB

On 2005-01-13, mlbriggs penned:

Digging out one of my old sayings: "If you will -- you may". MLB

I'm dumb; explain please?

(I was going to ask for an explanation in smaller words, but, um ...)

--
monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!*

On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 19:00:05 -0700, Monique Y. Mudama wrote:

On 2005-01-13, mlbriggs penned:

Digging out one of my old sayings: "If you will -- you may". MLB

I'm dumb; explain please?

(I was going to ask for an explanation in smaller words, but, um ...)
That was as small as possible. Here it is with more words:

If you are willing to put up with the c*ap, they are willing to let you.





MLB

On 2005-01-13, CatNipped penned:

I know! Like Dr. Phil says, people treat you the way you allow them to
treat you. The problem, *MY* problem, is many-fold. I have ADHD and am a
bit (OK, a lot) obsessive compulsive - in other words, I not only want
everything I do to be perfect, but I usually have the energy to keep working
at it until it is. I have a *VERY* hard time saying, "I can't do that." So,
they keep piling things on and I keep just doing them (and as far as the web
architecture, I do it so fast and make it look so easy that they,
techno-plegics that they are, have *NO* idea of just what an intense,
complicated job I'm doing). I just keep moving faster, and faster, and
faster - until I just can't go any faster without breaking the sound
barrier!

Heh. I have the same problem from a different angle. I easily get distracted
from work, so if I'm behind schedule, I feel like it's my fault, so I should
somehow be able to fix it. Not always possible. Besides, for every two days
where I get half as much done as everyone else, I work a day where I get four
times as much done as everyone else. I just can't seem to keep a consistent
work habit. I also work best after-hours in an environment where all my
co-workers are earlybirds, but that's another issue ...

The thing that gets to me the most, I think, is my sh*t-head boss yelling at
me for things that I have no control over. We have problems with our
telephone lines breaking. Even though I am responsible for getting the
phones lines fixed, I can't fix them myself. He was on the phone today and
his long distance call was dropped and he screamed out at me (my desk is
right outside his office), "GET THESE F*CKING PHONES FIXED NOW!!!!" Well, I
had called the phone company - 6 times - but they still hadn't gotten out
there yet. He's always yelling at me for something like this - while I'm
trying to code a very complicated page for a project that has a deadline of
two weeks!

Here is where you really do need to say no. Your boss is being verbally
abusive. Tell him in calm tones that you are working on it, but that you
don't deserve to be treated this way.

Of course, only you can decide if it's worth the risk to stand up to your
boss. But if I were doing the work you're doing, with the added stress of a
boss like that, I'd be sick constantly. To me, my health is worth more to me
than the paycheck.

I agree with whoever said that it's easiest to get a job when you already
have one. It's hard to aggressively job hunt when you're working full time
(let alone double time as you are), but you need to somehow find that time.

Sigh, I'm ranting again - sorry!

Can't speak for anyone else, but I don't mind. I hope your situation
improves.

--
monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!*

in article , Shiral at
wrote on 1/12/05 6:48 PM:

I'd say put Sammy on the case. =o) (If you get REALLY fed up with these
cheap greed heads who lay people off and then expect one underpaid
person to do the work of 20 people, and are on the verge of quitting
yourself.)

Some possible titles

Emptying the Mail Bin with Mommy

Scanning Documents with Mommy

Shredding the Boss's Parking Ticket with My Very Own Claws

Doing Power Point Presentations with Mommy.

Just kidding, as I realize you're under stress. But it sounds like you
either need to rebel, or find a new, more reasonable job, or both.
Melissa

Or certainly tell them what you told us about the realities of what they are
asking for and what they are getting at a cut rate price. I mean, with all
you do, it's not like they will fire you, so maybe a little straight talk is
in order. Purrs for stress relief.

On 2005-01-13, Karen Chuplis penned:

Or certainly tell them what you told us about the realities of what they are
asking for and what they are getting at a cut rate price. I mean, with all
you do, it's not like they will fire you, so maybe a little straight talk is
in order. Purrs for stress relief.

I agree. One of two things is going on.

1) They know damn well how much work you're doing and are happy to let you
work yourself to death while they save money

2) They're so naive that they *don't* understand how much they've asked you to
do

Either way, the only way to enact change is to take a stand. I'd recommend
actually scheduling a meeting with your boss and having an agenda prepared
ahead of time.

I am always afraid to admit that I can't finish something within the deadline
allotted, no matter how unrealistic the schedule is. But I've found that my
boss is actually pretty flexible if I talk to him. The trick, though, is that
he has a lot of things on his plate, so unless I tell him about it, he's not
going to know.

--
monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!*

"Shiral" wrote in message
oups.com...
I'd say put Sammy on the case. =o) (If you get REALLY fed up with these
cheap greed heads who lay people off and then expect one underpaid
person to do the work of 20 people, and are on the verge of quitting
yourself.)

Some possible titles

Emptying the Mail Bin with Mommy

Scanning Documents with Mommy

Shredding the Boss's Parking Ticket with My Very Own Claws

Doing Power Point Presentations with Mommy.

Just kidding, as I realize you're under stress. But it sounds like you
either need to rebel, or find a new, more reasonable job, or both.
Melissa

What Melissa said -- if you're that good at what you do you're probably
quite indispensable to them and I wonder about using that as a point to
negotiate to get either or all of --
a pay raise
an assistant
a clear understanding of what you can and cannot do for these people based
on the number of hours in a day you are able to work

all of the above?
And now you need hot chocolate, a massage, medicinal purrs, and a bubble
bath!
hugs and purrs
Christine (feelin' feisty on your behalf)