Brian Fields

So I guess it’s official. I woke up today, went downstairs and saw today’s mail on the table. On the top of the pile was a cardboard envelope from Cincinnati State with the words "Do Not Bend" on the front. I knew what it was before opening it, but I still grabbed it and ran upstairs with it right away.

Sure enough, my degree is now in my posession. I guess there’s no denying it now. I figured I would get a letter saying "blah, blah, blah, congratulations, etc. etc.", first.

So whoo-hoo! It was a nice topper to a good day.

I stayed up until 2 or so today. I’ll probably be tired as hell tonight, but at least I enjoyed myself for a little while.

I have a habit of seeing how far I can push my car when the fuel light comes on and I’ve gone as much as 40 miles with it on. On my way home from school it came on… so I figured if I was only going to work and back it would last at least until the weekend.

Today Mike and I were going to meet Joe for lunch, so I figured I would have to stop and get gas before getting on the highway. Within 1000 feet of the gas station, it finally happened. I finally pushed my car too far and I ran out of gas. So Mike hopped in the driver’s seat and I pushed it the rest of the way. I want to say I’m stupid for letting it happen, but I actually think it’s pretty funny, and was somewhat entertaining… it was also a hell of a workout! haha!

I went looking at Bikes today. I really want to get a bike so when the weather is nice I can have some good motivation to go outside and do something. I went to the bike shop on Oakley Square today and talked to one of the guys there, who gave me some good info on how to choose a bike and such. I wish I could afford to buy one of their bikes, but their cheapest one is more than I want to spend for some casual rides here and there.

So I think I need some more sleep… so for now…

See ya.

I know. All of my loyal fans never get to read much about me any more. It’s a habit that comes and goes.

But really nothing has changed. It should have, but hasn’t.

I finished school. There was a whole mess where I never really got registered for my co-op, but Jason fixed it up and basically just wrote the class off, so I’ve been waiting for it to be confirmed by the school that I’m done. I’m still taking a class just for the fun of it. I signed up for flash 2 originally because the co-op made me wish I knew more about flash, but now I really just want to get it done with because I’m sick of perpetually being a student. Yeah, I’ve learned a bunch at college, but I first started college over 5 and a half years ago. It needs to be over with.

So now my quest in life is to get a new job. I had one prospect that started out promising, and just went downhill from there. I responded to an ad in the classifieds for a Graphic Designer for a outdoor sign company, which, although not the dream job, would be a decent start. I got a call back the following morning and the call went something like this:

Him- So how well do you know Illustrator, scale of 1 to 10?
Me- Probably an 8 or 9… good enough that there really aren’t boundries.
Him- Okay… so the position starts at $10-12/hr, but you could work your way up, is that okay?
Me- (not really, but it’s not a factory job, might talk him up to $13)… I might be able to swing that.
Him- Well, the job would be about 40% design, 40% making the signs, and 20% doing installs
Me- (Well… that’s not really a grahic design position… but still better than factory work.) I can deal with that.
Him- Okay, now here’s the problem, I need someone by next Sunday because I need them on a plane to dallas for some training.
Me- No big deal. (free vacation, I guess.)
Him- Because we’re paying for the plane and hotel, it’s unpaid.
Me- (Uhh, the plane, hotel AND time down there are a result of your company.) I don’t know if I can do that.
Him- Well, we might be able to work something out.
Me- (Humor me.) Howabout an interview.
*mutal agreement for Monday at 9AM*

His phone skills… horrible. At one point he was yelling to a co-worker without taking his mouth too far from the phone… then he had to answer a phone and forgot who he was talking to when he got back on the phone with me… but I figured I’d at least see what we can work out. I figured that if I got him excited about me, I could talk him into paying me while I was in Dallas and upping the pay to $13, which I could deal with. It would be an extra 50 minutes of driving everyday, and that extra dollar would basically foot the bill for fuel usage. Seemed fair to me.

So this morning, (SATURDAY, for reference), I was downstairs for a bit, went back upstairs and had a voicemail waiting…

“yeah, this is xxxxx from yyyyyy… I may be wrong, but I thought we had an interview scheduled for 9 this morning, it’s 9:30 now, so gimme a call if you can.”

That was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
The other stuff I could put up with. It could get better. But it’s apparent to me that this guy would be a terrible, unorganized boss. I could just imagine at the points when I should get a raise (that with that wage, I would NEED) that it wouldn’t happen, or he would forget that it would be a certain amount and make it smaller.

He had to come to the site to get my resume, so I hope on Monday he sees this post. Maybe he’ll understand why I didn’t come for a Saturday interview and why, even if called and reminded him of the right day, I won’t be showing up for a Monday interview.

I know entry-level jobs can be kinda unfavorable, but that was just plain dumb. I’ll take my chances on passing, even if it means a few more weeks… even months… at Cast-fab.