Black Friday

Really disenchanted with my company as this week ends...lot of little things. Plus I'm second-guessing myself for not giving them more of a fight about the responsibilities they took away from me and the pay I could be losing. It's such a delicate balance...I mean, I've been with them 9½ years, so it's not like I'll impress them if I suddenly grow a pair. They know enough about me, how I operate, to already have all their notions in place as to who I am as an employee. And I've never been one to buck authority or slam my head against a wall when it's obvious that's what I'd be doing. I admit I didn't balk because the boss I had to deal with intimidates the hell out of me. But it's also about maintaining peace. The last thing you want (say it with me, "in this economy") is to give any part of your company the idea that you're unhappy. Everyone's replacable. They're already unhappy enough about how much (read: little) they pay us. Man, I was thinking about that on the way in today....how minimum wage went up to $7.25/hour. The average copywriter at my company makes $8-$9/hour with incentives that drive it up to $11-$13. When the question of raises was broached at an all-hands staff meeting about 6 months ago, we were basically told that thanks to the economy, we should just be grateful we have jobs. The thing is, I'm finally getting that the economy is just an excuse, a wonderful excuse for them to lean on while they maintain their sweatshop mentality. I haven't received a raise in 7 years! They're lucky the copywriters don't walk.

So I'm motivated. Charlotte has web design and advertising agencies coming out of its ears. That's good and bad, means I have some significant research ahead of me as I weed out the weak from the apparent strong, see where I might fit, where it's smartest to put out the feelers. The good news is how much easier it is now...my gosh, the last time I was doing a significant search like this, it involved a telephone book and a legal pad. Now you just bring up the agency's website.

Hindsight being what it is, I'm almost glad they're dissolving the supervisor position. I'm lousy at towing the line and in adulthood, I've discovered the freedom of saying what you think. Holding my tongue, not so good at. And the fact is that while I do make a good wage, it's very hard for 2 people to live on that wage. So I'm hitting the computer this weekend and starting the process of planning for our move...

While I'm bitching incessantly about lackomoney, our quarterly bonuses came in. Whine decreases just a tad...it'll be nice to have something in the savings account again.