The Buhner.com Blog

The holiday season is one of those things that causes stress in any family, regardless of finances or family or anything else.  It just happens - people freak because they’re making food for more people or seeing people they don’t normally see or spending money they normally wouldn’t - it’s a lot of work and stress in order to have that day/weekend/whatever of happiness.

Of course, with as much stress as it causes, people do it every year because they enjoy it - a sadomasochistic practice if there ever was one.  We’re no different, although our stress is probably going to be different in future holiday seasons. We’re two weeks and two days from that observed guess towards Jesus’s birthday and our #1 stress point (like so many others) is money.  As is the unfortunate case, the time of year that you spend the most outside of your regular spending also happens to be the time that you hear about how much more the following year is going to cost you.  In our case, we found out about an increased mortgage payment (adjustment for escrow due to whatever - I haven’t had time to look at it), our homeowners association dues are now yearly instead of quarterly (and of course due January first - let’s not hesitate here), we apparently have two homeowners associations that we pay fees to (huh?  I’m pretty sure we own one house), and probably other things I’m blocking out right now.  Things could definitely be worse, but it’s not really convenient right now.

On the flipside of this, my job (which I enjoy surprisingly enough) is still temporary, and on borrowed time.  What was originally a two month assignment has been almost five months now, and while at first I thought there was some possibility of it becoming a full time gig, I get the occasional reminder that the company I’m working for is still going to outsource my job when they get everything settled with the company they’re going to do it through.  Of course, they said this several months ago (and that company, which does our first level support, hasn’t been making any positive impressions) and I don’t hear much otherwise.  So I work blindly, waiting for the ax to fall, looking for other jobs in the process.  The people that I work with want me full time (both the people I support and the people in IT who I take the load off of) and all pretty much think it sucks, and to my “supervisor”’s credit (he’s not really my supervisor, since my manager operates out of Texas somewhere, but I basically take his leads and suggestions) he’s tolerated my occasional bitterness over my rolled-eye attitude when things are mentioned taking place in the future.

The temp thing has other flaws outside of the uncertainty.  I have zero medical benefits; the company I temp through offers them but at no discount (or at least there doesn’t look like there is).  I’m paid on an hourly basis, which means any day I don’t work, I don’t get paid.  I don’t have any days off, so if I’m not there, I don’t have money in my pocket.  That includes days that the plant is closed.  The agency is willing to pay for holidays only if the day before and after the holiday is worked; this Thanksgiving break saw me have to take a day off for the 10+ hour drive back to New York.  I lost 8 hours for the Wednesday I had to take off, 8 hours for the Thanksgiving holiday (since I took the day off prior), and 8 hours because the company wasn’t open the following day (I wouldn’t have been paid for it anyway).  Either way, if I’m salaried for that week, I wouldn’t have lost 60% of my paycheck that week.

Again though, things could always be worse, and I’ve been on the job hunt.  I found what looks to be a great job here with the USPS that would be both a nice raise and benefits (and not out of line with what I’m already doing).  The application was huge and required a narrative that I probably blew because I can be a bit wordy (but you knew that if you read me) but I think if they gave me a chance, they’d see that I’d be exactly what they’d be looking for, if not more.

It’d be really great to get that job.  The money situation right now if stressful, but mainly because of those increase warnings, the short paycheck the week of Thanksgiving, and the recent increased spending because of holiday preparation.  Everything will eventually settle down, but I’ll be happy when it calms down a little and everyone’s just enjoying the holiday.  We’ll work it out - we always seem to.

Oh, and tomorrow’s my birthday - a traditional day of suckitude.  The wife’s going to try to make it nice, but my general “don’t feel like being happy right now” attitude will probably counter that nicely.  I’ll try to be good, I promise.