As if I have to give another reason why I have to leave my job, here's Reason No. 25: Unprofessional jackasses. I can't sum it up any better. These people are your typical alpha males who feel somehow they are better than everyone else even though they really don't do anything. It's a sad realization that some of these people I deal with on a daily basis would be jobless without where I work. They couldn't work anywhere else. Working here, you're allowed to be incompetent and rude; it's almost seen as a part of the job. I had a run-in with a fellow that fit this description. Clearly a man who should have retired 10 years ago, he'd become curmudgeon and basically a real asshole. He pretty much yelled at my boss for two minutes before realizing how big of an idiot he was. I feel bad for her. As much as she does (even if it's unnecessary and useless), she's still disrespected. Being a woman in this line of work is tough; it really is an old boy's club and nothing will change that. Most of the senior positions are male-dominated, as are the other departments we work with. I just hate the fact that people think they matter in the grand scheme of things around here; they're just glorified paper pushers who are similar to a tenured schoolteacher: they're untouchable, can never be fired, and are just collecting the paycheck until they can retire with a fat pension. I don't want to be that guy who is just working for a solid benefits program. While it's assuring to know I'd have good job security and free healthcare after I retire, but I don't want that to be the driving force in me staying somewhere. I'd rather be at a $40,000 a year job for a year and be happy than a $60k and be miserable.
But enough about that. Let me explain the ineptness of my commute. Recently, the brain surgeons over at NJ Transit decided to create this new bus/train combination terminal near my house. While the commute is virtually the same distance going, coming home my travel time is cut down by almost 10 minutes. Which is fantastic; no one likes to sit in traffic at rush hour, especially on a street with about 100 traffic lights. Anyway, I've been going there for about a month and a half, and it's been fine. Parking is the big issue there now; as the lot consistently fills up and many are shut out. I never have to worry about that, as I get there at the ass-crack of dawn (well really about 5:55am), so there's plenty of spots. And with parking not costing me anything, it's a tolerable evil, as commuting sucks the big one, but what can you do right now when you still live at home.
But recently, those bastards decided they weren't making enough from us on just a ticket alone, so parking fees went into effect a few days ago. While $25 a month won't kill me, it's still really annoying. It's like wearing some ripped jeans and accidently putting your knee through them once you buy them. You can still wear them, but they look a bit ridiculous. That's how I feel with this parking. The only problem is, they only made enough monthly passes for about 10 people, because they sold out in minutes. So I am stuck with the $2 daily pass. Something I have to buy everyday until the end of the month. That's about $40 a month. And they don't mark off the daily spots close to the platform at all; you're about 100 miles away. This morning was the first work day of this new rule, so all I saw was NJ Transit workers trying to direct confused commuters around the lot, like those parking attendants at the beach parking lots. While the monthly parking is right near the front of the entrance, the dailys are consigned to the back of the bus so to speak. Just add it to the list, I guess.
Enough ranting. I'm hoping to throw a birthday party next week, and it'd be awesome if more than 2 people showed up. We'll see who's really my friend if they trek it out there.
The End of the World: Where to begin? Seeing a co-worker at lunch take off his sock and shoes, then the other sock in front of me (I guess we're getting close), someone saying they heard rumors I "get shitfaced at New York Dolls (wherever that is)." The same person, in response to saying that was what he does, replying, "If I pay $100 I want the whole thing." Hearing my boss and this jerkoff argue over a BBQ. Who knew food could cause that much hostility? Oh wait, I can see that.
