On Monday, I'd had enough and outed my kids and their struggles. After my venting session, things have worked out for the kids. While maybe not in the way anyone expected, but that's the way life can be at times.
Oldest child now has housing for next year. He and two friends have rented a three bedroom furnished townhouse apartment. The rent is beyond reasonable, and they are on the bus line. They are about 5 miles from campus, but the bus stop is right across the street from their front door. Funny note- they can see the football stadium out the back windows.
Middle child has a job. Monday afternoon, the camp where he used to work called him back. They were desperate for help this summer, and were wondering if, by any chance, he might be available. 3 hours later, I had him delivered to camp for the week. Bad news, though. On Wednesday night, a wicked, wicked storm rolled through and felled trees and power lines. They were trapped in camp with no power until early Friday morning. They spent much for Thursday and Friday with chainsaws, cutting up the trees that had fallen, and bringing down trees that were in danger of falling on campers. He is happy as a clam. This summer, he'll be working with the kayaks and canoes at the pier, teaching campers how to kayak.
Youngest child has a job. She signed the paperwork Tuesday, and begins this week. She had her college orientation this week. They took the train down to her college. They thought the overnight train would be a blast. They were mistaken. They had a fretful infant in the seat directly behind them for 12 hours, and a pair of hyperactive preschoolers who were bouncing around in front of them. Even worse, the train was running more than 2 hours behind schedule. Fortunately, they made it to the orientation welcome speech just as it was beginning. This is good for us to know, because if the train is going to be consistently late, we don't want to send her back on an overnight train, thinking that she'll be in town by the time classes start. It might be time to rethink how we're going to get her back and forth this next year. (We really don't want to drive 12 hours to go get her and another 12 hours to bring her back more than twice - once in the fall, and once in the spring.) They're coming home this morning, and last I checked in with them, they were more than an hour behind schedule. Something to think about.
I am having a colonoscopy on Thursday. I know, you are thrilled to hear this, and you're wondering how you ever managed without knowing this information before? Rest easy, you know now! After Mom's colon ruptured in October last year from a blockage caused by colon cancer. (Not once, but twice, and her stoma failed and had to be redone. AND her fascia tore...The entire wound took 6 months to heal. SIX FREAKING MONTHS with an open wound on her stomach.) Yeah, a colonoscopy seems like a walk in the park. I'm going to be reminding myself about that a lot this week. Especially through the day on Wednesday. I can afford to lose some weight anyway, so this counts, right?
Anywho.... thanks to everyone who took the time to read my rant earlier this week. I felt better after writing it, and I feel even better now that things seem to be working out for everyone.
Showing posts with label rant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rant. Show all posts
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Monday, June 22, 2015
A Brief Rant
Lest you think all is perfect and hunky dory in the land of the Mini Van Mom, I am about to vent a few frustrations with my kids HERE - instead of at them.
Oldest Child-
Is going to grad school at a major state college in a major university town. He and a friend of his are planning on rooming together this fall. They've been to this town - TWICE to look at schools. Neither time did they actually sign a lease, they just looked and came back to do more research.
Oldest child has to report to school on Aug. 14. That means he should move in a couple of days before, don't you think? And, with just a little over 6 weeks to go, you'd think they'd have a place to live all lined up, wouldn't you?
The answer is NOOOOO! They had planned on heading up over the weekend to sign a lease on an apartment. They had an appointment at the apartment they wanted on Saturday. Thursday afternoon, they got a call letting them know that their last apartment vacancy had just been filled. I called around Thursday afternoon and found that there were only 6 - SIX - complexes with unfilled vacancies.
Honest to God, just a little over 6 weeks away, and they still haven't found a place to live? In a major university town? They're competing for space with other grad students, undergrads, and new professors who are just moving into the area. AND - he doesn't want to drive - so anyplace they look has to be either within walking distance or on a bus line.
Now that's not asking too much, is it?
Middle Child-
Had lined up what he thought was a "sure thing" job. An internship. He applied back in December, before the deadline, and the person who told him to apply told him "not to worry, you'll have a job come summer".
I know the idiot who promised him a job, and told him not to count on it. He told me it would be great because it would pay for his tuition this year.
You can already see where this is going, can't you? He was offered other jobs. Real job offers. He turned them down, because this idiot had promised him the job. He even called the idiot a couple of times to check on the progress of the job, so that he didn't turn down actual real job offers, and was promised that "HR is working on it."
5 days after school let out in May, he finally got a notice from the HR department that they weren't going to hire him.
I'm more than a little upset. First, I'm upset because he passed by on solid job offers that he would have loved because he was chasing the all mighty dollar instead of going for at least one job that would have made him happy all summer long.
Secondly, I'm upset with the idiot who didn't have the guts to say to him "Hey, it looks like this might not work out. If you've got another job offer you should take it." Even more insulting, we saw the idiot last weekend at Relay for Life. He wouldn't look at middle child, or speak to him, and didn't have the guts to say "I'm sorry that didn't work out." Even after middle child went over to him and said "Hey! How's your summer going?" He still wouldn't talk to him. He looked through him as if he wasn't even there.
And that really, really, really cheeses me off!!
Youngest Child-
Has been applying for jobs consistently since spring break. She's been called in one at least one interview a week. Obviously, she hasn't been hired yet, but here's the bigger question:
WHY DOESN'T ANYONE LET YOU KNOW WHEN A POSITION HAS BEEN FILLED????
Honest to God, I know I had this happen to me multiple times when I was searching for this job. HOW do people NOT let anyone that they've interviewed know that they weren't chosen for this position? For God's sakes, this is the computer age. You have to apply for a job electronically, how long would it take for someone to send an e-mail that says simply, "We hired another candidate. We enjoyed meeting you. Thank you for your time?"
Where is the courtesy?
WHERE?????
Just in case if you're wondering - oldest child and his friend went up to the college over the weekend with their fathers and instructions to NOT return until they had signed a lease. They managed to find a beautifully built, new townhouse apartment ON the bus line, within 4 miles of campus. The rent is more than reasonable. OK, when you live in the DC suburbs, every rent everywhere else seems more than reasonable - so what I think of as reasonable might not actually be all that reasonable to someone from somewhere else in the country.
One problem down.....
Oldest Child-
Is going to grad school at a major state college in a major university town. He and a friend of his are planning on rooming together this fall. They've been to this town - TWICE to look at schools. Neither time did they actually sign a lease, they just looked and came back to do more research.
Oldest child has to report to school on Aug. 14. That means he should move in a couple of days before, don't you think? And, with just a little over 6 weeks to go, you'd think they'd have a place to live all lined up, wouldn't you?
The answer is NOOOOO! They had planned on heading up over the weekend to sign a lease on an apartment. They had an appointment at the apartment they wanted on Saturday. Thursday afternoon, they got a call letting them know that their last apartment vacancy had just been filled. I called around Thursday afternoon and found that there were only 6 - SIX - complexes with unfilled vacancies.
Honest to God, just a little over 6 weeks away, and they still haven't found a place to live? In a major university town? They're competing for space with other grad students, undergrads, and new professors who are just moving into the area. AND - he doesn't want to drive - so anyplace they look has to be either within walking distance or on a bus line.
Now that's not asking too much, is it?
Middle Child-
Had lined up what he thought was a "sure thing" job. An internship. He applied back in December, before the deadline, and the person who told him to apply told him "not to worry, you'll have a job come summer".
I know the idiot who promised him a job, and told him not to count on it. He told me it would be great because it would pay for his tuition this year.
You can already see where this is going, can't you? He was offered other jobs. Real job offers. He turned them down, because this idiot had promised him the job. He even called the idiot a couple of times to check on the progress of the job, so that he didn't turn down actual real job offers, and was promised that "HR is working on it."
5 days after school let out in May, he finally got a notice from the HR department that they weren't going to hire him.
I'm more than a little upset. First, I'm upset because he passed by on solid job offers that he would have loved because he was chasing the all mighty dollar instead of going for at least one job that would have made him happy all summer long.
Secondly, I'm upset with the idiot who didn't have the guts to say to him "Hey, it looks like this might not work out. If you've got another job offer you should take it." Even more insulting, we saw the idiot last weekend at Relay for Life. He wouldn't look at middle child, or speak to him, and didn't have the guts to say "I'm sorry that didn't work out." Even after middle child went over to him and said "Hey! How's your summer going?" He still wouldn't talk to him. He looked through him as if he wasn't even there.
And that really, really, really cheeses me off!!
Youngest Child-
Has been applying for jobs consistently since spring break. She's been called in one at least one interview a week. Obviously, she hasn't been hired yet, but here's the bigger question:
WHY DOESN'T ANYONE LET YOU KNOW WHEN A POSITION HAS BEEN FILLED????
Honest to God, I know I had this happen to me multiple times when I was searching for this job. HOW do people NOT let anyone that they've interviewed know that they weren't chosen for this position? For God's sakes, this is the computer age. You have to apply for a job electronically, how long would it take for someone to send an e-mail that says simply, "We hired another candidate. We enjoyed meeting you. Thank you for your time?"
Where is the courtesy?
WHERE?????
Just in case if you're wondering - oldest child and his friend went up to the college over the weekend with their fathers and instructions to NOT return until they had signed a lease. They managed to find a beautifully built, new townhouse apartment ON the bus line, within 4 miles of campus. The rent is more than reasonable. OK, when you live in the DC suburbs, every rent everywhere else seems more than reasonable - so what I think of as reasonable might not actually be all that reasonable to someone from somewhere else in the country.
One problem down.....
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