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11:30 PM - 2004-08-13
Chronos
I've been searching for a particular button for several months now. Nothing extra-ordinary - just a black button of a certain size and width to sew on the waistband of a pair of black cotton pants I own. I haven't worn anything but long skirts to work for a few years now, but my intuition is saying it's time to change the pattern. Ok fine, but I need the universe to work with me on this one. I can't afford to be out spending money right now, so using what I've got is the theme. Buttons are not usually expensive, but that particular button didn't seem to be available anywhere. The other night I was digging through my closet trying to find a few light pieces - tops and bottoms - so I would have some variety in the clothes I have to wear in this heat. Lo and behold out drops a button - the very button that I need - AND one black full length slip - slit on both sides. I must have been a good girl lately, eh? Wore those pants and a light black cotton shirt that one of my guys has outgrown today and it felt good too. New old clothes - recycling.

The reason for the continued financial vigilence? Well, let's start with the plumber. He came today and my youngest called me at work with the bad news. $450. Why? The house is old, the plumbing is antique and the parts for what we have no longer exist. The existing system is worn out and has to be rebuilt or replaced. Well, logically things aren't going to change or get better and the amount of money spent on water leaking out of the bathtub and the money to heat it will eventually cost me considerably more. Short term pain - long term gain. I hope.

Next reason? That contract thang. As my friend the astrologer noted - with all the retrogrades and aspects/transits happening in my charts right now, things will be offered but will fall through or circumstances will delay gratification - skinny Christmas. So how did that play out at work today? Well, I had e-mailed my supervisor last night about the change in the scope and expertise needed in this assignment. With the liaison out of town for another week and no line of authority available to negotiate, it means I either have to do the job and hope I'll be fairly treated by the client or I have to quit. The first option isn't likely to happen here - past history being a strong indicator of deception and manipulation in play.

I started in on the files I had been assessing the day before - the stuff that had generated the e-mail to my supervisor. I needed to go to the software that I was told I had to use. My account that was just created doesn't include that package. But the brother was on the records admin computer - "use the liaison's account on her computer" - he needs the admin computer all day. Nuh uh, not after what happened a couple of assignments ago at this place. Security on these computers is nil and I don't want to be set up for a fall by whoever is causing me problems already. "You must." Called the IT department to see if they could install the software I needed on my account. After an hour of trying, I was told it "wasn't allowed". Instead, they would reconfigure the liaison's password so I could use hers. So let me get this straight. "You put the lime in the coconut and drink it all up" - Nilsson Schmilsson. The company will let a contractor alone to work on a key administrator's account that contains a lot of confidential and proprietary data, but won't install a piece of very commonly used public software on the much more secure contractor's account. Right.

Next was a discussion with the brother about liaising with the old e-scanning company to find some missing data. Apparently, every so often boxes of the clients' documents that have just been scanned into the database by the discontinued service provider just show up in the records center - like today. How much material do they still have? No one knows. This service contract was terminated abruptly in May. Nothing has been done to retrieve the data they were still working on. Well, that is a good way to ensure the security and integrity of critical documents isn't it? I'll call them and ask for a spreadsheet that lists what they have, ok? Fine.

Next up, near the very end of the day, my supervisor called me on my cell phone. He was down in the lobby. Could I slip out to meet him so we can hash the problems out privately? He was obviously very concerned about a few things. Yes I could. I'd spent my lunchbreak chasing down the lost data and trying to find someone in the old e-service providers' company who could provide the spreadsheet for the files they still had, so I could justify leaving the floor. It's an unwritten rule in most of the industry's companies that one conforms to their break schedule, but near 4 pm I still hadn't had one since my arrival at 7:30 am.

There are several sitting areas in the common areas of the complex on the main floor. The reason is that there are six towers of offices served by the common areas. Our tower is the highest at 50+ stories but the other towers are nearly as high. I met my supervisor in the area near the offices of the client I just finished up with - friendly territory. People came and went in the grouping of settees where we settled down to talk, a lot of people rushing by trying to leave their work early on a hot sultry Friday afternoon too. Privacy is sometimes easiest to gain out in the most open spaces.

We discussed the change of scope in the project. It almost appears to have been pre-planned that I would be brought back in just as the liaison was going on holidays, leaving no one designated to act as a contact with the executive side of the business. There is no one to report to or to take direction from. My supervisor was very concerned about the variance of the terms of our agreement - that hasn't been signed yet - from the standpoint of liability, the lack of direction, the neglect in securing my consent and the disregard for the fact that the work is at a much higher skill level without offering compensation for the additional value adds I am being asked to supply. In addition, he was worried about my health and safety given the events over the past ten days I've been working there. When does the liaison return from holidays? Not for another week? Do I feel there is an intent to act in good faith? Not given past experience. I am feeling manipulated and exposed from a liability and security aspect as well. Don't know what the purpose of the behaviour might be, but I am very uneasy about it all. The brother has a soft touch, but it is still evident that he means business when he tells me I must work on the data and that I must work on his sister's computer account.

What would I like to do? Well, not going back in until she returns is probably the wisest recourse, since she has left no contact information, but a) that is an extreme action when you've been left with the belief that you are to be in attendance every day at the worksite. It would not be unreasonable to expect that the liaison will use that as an excuse to terminate the negotiations for the contract and, in fact, that may be the intent. It obviously is not the intent, as far as it stands now, that the work that was scoped out for me is the work that they intend me to do. Bait and switch, more expensive service, less pay, much higher risk for me. Then b) I can't afford the loss of wages - I only get paid for the hours I work, right? And the astrologer is bang on again, isn't he?

My supervisor suggested a course of action. I know he's right, but I'm the one stuck in the middle and I'm the one who will bear the full weight of the consequences. I don't know what to do. My gut says not to go back into the workplace at all. My brain says that the risk and penalties in that is maybe more than I can manage. If my supervisor had other work for me it would make the choice simple and straight forward. The client has materially breached the negotiations around the terms of the agreement in several ways, so it could be said that negotiations are ended. The client could say that the circumstances were beyond their control and it would be comforting to believe that. However, that is not likely true given what I've seen of their actions before. So back to the button, dear universe. I need a sign - or a few good nights sleep and a drop of temperature so I can think clearly.

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