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September 20 A little happy danceGot notice yesterday that Unemployment is affriming my claim. Thought for sure since I was out-lawyered (aka I didnt bring one) that it was a done deal that they would rule against me. Yahoo!! The "little guy" won for once!!!!! Course, my former emplyer can and probably will contest it. If they do, I will bring my lawyer. She's pretty darn good and doesn't take any bs. I don't know if they'll bother though since I started working on Sept 8th.
Have been trying to report that, as today is the day I need to file. (every two weeks) I've logged in a few times, but they are having trouble with the website. Every time I submit it, it goes into a loop and doesn't complete. Go figure.
Had an interview last Weds with another district. They called back both Thurs and Fri. I've returned the call only to be sent to voice mail. Will try the call again tomorrow morning, along with re-submitting that I am working to UE. I am leaning toward taking the closer job. Much less money, but the communte is less than half the time ($8/day in gas I figured for the present job) and really I am just dissapointed in how things are run where I am now. I'm supposed to be sending email updates to the mom but there aren't computers available for me to use. (school is having this great program they got a grant for where all of the teachers and students are being loaned a Macbook-no I don't have one. There are a few desktops in one regular classroom and a support classroom and one in the library I can use IF the librarian is not teaching a class) There's the whole just throwing me into a building with no direction at all, no one telling me there was a time sheet to fill out until well into the 2nd week, etc. I hate to think what would happen if there were an inexperienced or unethical interpreter in this placement.
I go to fill out the video relay service paper work on Weds. That will be nice. Not sure how I will schedule that training into either new job, but I have to.
Gotta go put my stuff together for tomrrow. Night! September 16 startsStarted the new job on Sept. 8th. Not much guidance as to my job description, which in some ways is a good thing. You have much less flexibility if your every move is in print. The student is a nice kid, which helps when there is only one. There are a number of inclusion classes in my schedule. That's kind of cool because I get to know some of the kids pretty well. (there are a few in my classes that I see 3-5 times in a day)
It's weird though - I do not have a home base per se. It would be nice to have a place to put my junk and not carry it around all day - as the weather gets colder, gee it would be nice to have a place to hang a coat. I understand that this district has not provided interpreting services directly for a deaf student before... but gee, shouldn't the principal and maybe my supervisor do some research and get some info? Not so much that I can see. What I cannot imagine is, what if there was a newbie or unethical interpreter in this situation? That would not be so good. The only thing the districts are looking at is saving money and getting better ranking under the Gaskin Ruling. (schools and districts are rated according to how many special ed students they send out of district/ in district how much special ed kids are out in regular classes)
Weirder yet, I got a call from the district I live in. They are now looking for an interpreter. They didn't hire me back in June-beginning of August - hired a much less exp, non certified terp. It would be great to work so much closer to home and they offer some benefits. The kicker is, even with factoring in the cost of providing my own benefits equal to what they're offering, there's about a $7k difference. Went for another interview with them today. They used the same questions. (different interviewers) They're supposed to get back to me next week. We shall see.
The kids are pretty good. Liam is going out to Vegas tomorrow. Neat that he is getting the opportunity to go. Where they're staying is cheap and the airfare is super cheap. Hope he has a good time, but not too good a time. Jamie is back at school and enjoying having fewer classes and not having to also work. She made enough money over they summer that she is fine. She'll work the haunted corn maze she always does this time of year and then find something. She will be graduating in Decmeber. I'm so happy for her and proud. Colleen is doing a great job in Starbucks. She's pretty neat to watch - she makes incentive boards for the "partners" and plans different events as well as her barrista duties. Eddie started at the Community College and seems to genuinely like his classes. He's been working additional hours at Sbarros. He complains, but I think he'll feel better if he has a bit more money to work with.
Had an unemployment hearing this morning. My former employer is appealing my ue. Lovely. They cannot just let me go... they have to stick it to me one last time. The thing is - the head of hr (in front of the head of special ed) flat out told me that once the board voted on my furlough I could apply and they would approve it. WTbleep? I was out-gunned this morning and I do not think it went well. If the decision goes against me, I will bring my lawyer in to contest it. It was stupid of me not to pay the money to have her there. Ironic too that I had to take a day off the new job to go to the hearing.
Still... I have great friends that are helping me through all of this. Thank goodness for them. In many ways I am so very lucky. September 04 what is tatooed across my forehead?Since the conference, I thought I was moving toward steady, dependable employement. I took a job at a local (30 mins away) school district. The students start on Tuesday, Sept. 8th. My new supervisor just called me yesterday morning to tell me for sure I have the job. I knew there were no benefits. I even negotiated a higher amount to at least be able to pay my own medical and life insurance. Today when I got to the offices, I had to sign a 1099. Ok, I'm thinking I can handle this. ... only as an independent contractor I have to pay my own federal, state, local, social security and medicare taxes. WTF. Which means I need to hire an accountant so I don't screw this up.
... so the relief I felt about finally having steady work if pretty much gone. So is the excitment of staring the new job, getting to know the school, the students, etc. I just feel like I'm screwed before I even start.
I will be actively looking for another job, and will not hesitate or feel bad about leaving if/when I have to. God only knows what they're going to have me doing if the kid I'm interpreting for is absent. Seesh. The state mandated 20 hours a year training I need? On me. This is just pissing me off.
On a good note, Eddie started at the community college and seems to like it. Jamie is in her last semester at her college and has a graduation dateSo proud of her. I'm going to find something to have fun with this weekend. |
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