Mohr or Less

Whew. What a whirlwind of the last week and a half (almost).

In my earlier post today, I alluded to us possibly making a mistake in accepting this job. I know it’s a “no-no” to “diss” one’s employer publicly. I won’t do that…not really, anyway. Why won’t I do that? Because I happen to think that just about everyone where I work is very nice, understanding and, for the most part, easy to work with. So, what’s the problem? Not really “problem,” per se, but more, perhaps, “issue(s).” Here’s my list:

1. A feeling of being mislead - Unfortunately, this feeling comes from the individual who ultimately pushed to hire me’s departure from the school. From what I’ve been told, he spent the last 10 years here, using the school to work on his masters and doctorate degrees, where the school purchased many a toy to support these programs. He used money, people and spent a lot of the school’s time on this. People, for the most part, feel very used since he left pretty much the day after he received his doctorate. Where do I come in to play? He promised me that the school would pay for my education. I came to find out that, yes, the school does, indeed, pay for one’s education via professional development. However, this is true only if one is a faculty member. Since I’m not a teacher but am considered “staff,” that doesn’t apply to me. Therefore I’m not eligible.
2. A feeling of being overworked - Obviously we work to work. When we accept a position that’s offered to us, we’re expected to perform that job fully and responsibly. I’m doing exactly that…and more. For example, it’s expected that, as part of our room and board agreement, I perform weekend duties every so often which means I’m in charge of the boarding program, should any emergencies arise over a weekend I’m on duty. This is not an issue since I did that back in Staunton. The issue I have is that I’m the only in-residence staff member performing this type of duty AND having to proctor the computer lab every Sunday from 7-10pm. I’m not sure what kind of middle or high school student wants to hang around a computer lab at 10pm on a Sunday night but whatever. I chose that time in case I wanted to take a course at UR, not knowing that I probably won’t even be able to do that (hence bullet #1). However, in all fairness, this may have been an oversight as the Residential Director is looking into this for me and considering eliminating Sunday proctoring altogether. I sure hope so considering I’m working just about every weekend anyway.
3. A feeling of being overwhelmed - Frankly, it concerns me when I’m trying to work with a server or a Netboot image at 7:30 in the morning and five people rush me at the same time because they need help hooking up their laptops to their LCD projectors because they failed to test their PowerPoint presentations the day before. I’m, apparently, expected to drop what I’m doing to tend to their needs. What’s what expression? “Lack of proper planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.” Something like that. I’ve been told that the first two weeks are hell. I’ve had periods like that in Staunton but they went away after a few days. Hopefully by the end of this week, that’ll subside a bit here. If not, I’m wearing a Kevlar vest!
4. Lack of a good routine - Okay, I’m going to sound selfish here. After all we’ve been through these last couple of months, I think I’m entitled. I had an awesome routine in Staunton. I worked out at Gold’s Gym every morning and took a spinning class three days a week. I’d hike every so often throughout the Shenandoah Valley. We enjoyed walking around Staunton and taking in its beauty and architecture. Every so often, I’d join Sha on her daily bus run to Harrisonburg and back where we’d engage in fun and lively conversations with the students. I’d play flag football with the boys every so often after lunch. I’d work hard for the school and really felt like I was part of something. I’m sorry, but I’m having a hard time feeling that here. I’m trying; believe me, I am. But it’s just not the same. And I don’t know why. Because as I mentioned, the people here really are wonderful, nice and accepting. Why is it, then, that I miss Staunton and Stuart Hall so? Why, indeed.
5. Sha - I don’t think she’ll admit this because she truly is a strong, in-control woman. But, I don’t like the way she’s being treated with her coaching responsibilities. They knew she never coached before but they were so desperate for bodies, they hired her. Now, because of issues too detailed to mention, they’re coming down on her and not the person who has showed up only twice because “he has a new job and that comes first” for whatever reason. So, she’s not happy and I’m not happy. But she’ll get through it because she is such a strong person.

There it is. Will I get chastised if my employer reads this? Possibly. I don’t think I mentioned names here. I don’t think I mentioned sensitive data such as our network configuration, etc. I’m merely passing along how I feel.

Fortunately, it’s not all bad. We’re rediscovering Richmond in all her glory such as the beautiful parks, beautiful malls (we don’t have any money to spend but window shopping’s usually fun), various outdoor activities (I want to start running along the Canal Walk soon now that I can do three miles without killing myself!), etc.

And, the biggest reason: our older kids are here. And that should be enough. Next time I post, I’ll probably talk about sacrifices we’ve made.

For now, I’ll try to keep focusing on the positives and roll with the punches. I’ll try.

Filed under: Thoughts, Work Stuff by kory