Collegiate Station, I Have No Kind Words

I'm getting the hell out if at all possible this summer.

It's been two and a half years of complete unprofessionalism from the management and much of the office. And today was the icing on the cake.

Yesterday, I was asked by the Vice President of Kappa Kappa Psi if I could reserve the Collegiate Station party room for a fraternity event this Saturday. Ok, no problem. It's kind of short notice, but I'll see what I can do. We've used it many times before, and have never had a problem with them regarding their party room, so I figured if it was open this Saturday, there wouldn't be an issue.

Let me make it clear, one of the primary reasons we've used it in the past is because it's the perfect size, and it's free to use provided the person reserving the room is a) a tenant at collegiate station, and b) a member of the organization reserving the room. I can think of at least seven times in the past four years where either Kappa Kappa Psi or Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia has used the room, and it's worked out perfectly. Most recently at the PMA Christmas party this past December.

So anyway, I swing by yesterday before the office closed, asked about reserving it. I was assured that it wouldn't be a problem, the room was open, just fill out the form, etc etc. I was told this by one of the office members who I trust. He's the guy who usually takes me rent/utilities, answers my questions, etc. Very reliable, respectable guy. Only caveat was that the manager wasn't in the office. (Her official hours, from what I've been told are 10:00 to 4:00 pm, typically. But I wouldn't know, because manager's hours aren't posted, and she's not always there during those times, and is typically very reluctant to meet after those hours.) She would have to approve the request, but of course, it shouldn't be a problem.

Ok, fine. Fill out the form, assured that it would be open Saturday evening.

Received a call just ten minutes ago from one of the office members. Apparently the manager came in and said that they would require a $200.00 deposit for us to use the room, in case something breaks. Or because it's after hours. Or something. He didn't seem clear on the point.

So I griped at him. (I hate griping at the messenger, but the manager didn't have the stones to call me herself.) This has never been the policy before, when did this change? Well, uh, in case something breaks... How am I supposed to come up with $200.00 in less than twenty four hours? Silence. We [Kappa Kappa Psi] have used the room at least four times in the past couple years, and we've never been charged before, nor was this mentioned yesterday. Why is there a charge now? More silence. Fine. I'll have to cancel. I can't pull $200.00 out of thin air.

Which leaves Alpha Psi without a place to hold their rush event Saturday.

My guess is the manager didn't want to bother with opening up and closing the room Saturday evening, and decided to arbitrarily put up a soft barrier to prevent us from using it, avoiding the hassle on her part. It may be a malicious assumption, but maybe not.

I still remember last semester, when we were trying to sort out a question regarding how much money, if any, I owed CS. I was asked to come in and talk to the manager about it, because she was the only one that could sort it out. That was when I learned she kept 10:00am to 4:00pm work hours. I'm just going to go ahead and assume that there's a lunch break in there. Of course, when I tried to explain to the girl working the office that I was student teaching, and I had work from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm, she didn't quite seem to understand me. It was if I was supposed to some how adjust my ten hour work day to accommodate the manager's brutal six hour work day.

Since I moved in, there have been no less than three different managers in two and a half years, possibly four. Kind of hard to say when you rarely actually see the manager working. I have to base my judgement on the 'Under New Management!' signs that are routinely put out.

Well, I've learned my lesson. 'Under New Management!' ought to read, 'Caveat Emptor! Something is amiss here!' Either a good manager got the hell out of dodge, or the owner has a trend of hiring poor managers. My experiences here make me suspect the latter.

Not Enough Hours in the Week

Mondays are fourteen hours long, Tuesdays the same. Wednesdays are nice, only up at the school then hours then. Thursdays? Those are twelve hours, and Friday's have football games, so they're typically sixteen hours long. Then either rehearsals or contests on Saturdays. Which leaves me Wednesday evenings and Sundays to take care of all the extra stuff I need to get done.

Stuff like trying to find time to order my cap and gown. (I can't make it to the WT bookstore during the day, how am I supposed to manage?) I need to sit down and find time to order graduation announcements. I need to take my GRE in case I don't get hired on in Canyon, so I have a back up plan for the next year, i.e., graduate work at WT while I tech and teach lessons with the CHS Band. (Although hopefully, I'll just get a job. I'm working on the assumption that nothing will open up, however.)

I also would love to find time for extra sectionals with my drum line. I hate pulling them out of rehearsals to work on music, because then they're missing drill work which they really need. But what options are left to me? With the lessons I teach, classes I have, and set rehearsals I've already set up, the only time I can do outside of class sectionals is Tuesday or Wednesday nights at 7:00, or Sundays. That obviously wouldn't go over well for a variety of reasons. I'm willing to give up the time, but I don't want to ask that of my students, or their parents.

I wish I had time to sit down and figure out all this graduation/graduate work stuff. I think I finally have graduation set up and good to go, but I want to be taking grad school courses in the spring (unless my dream job opens up over Christmas...) and that's a whole other test and application that I haven't even started on.

Honestly, I'm just glad I managed to squeeze my music certification test in and pass it. Squeezed it in on a Sunday no less, I was lucky. Only Sunday testing option in the panhandle this semester. I think I was blessed that opportunity was available. Now I only need another few small miracles, and my life will be on it's ideal course.

Regardless, I need another weekday to fit everything in. One where the banks aren't closed, and the world doesn't shut down like on Sundays. Because Sunday afternoons are great for rest, but just don't cut it when trying to catch up on life.

Deep Breaths

If a background check is mandatory I shouldn't have to pay for it. Unless we're dealing with the government, of course.

I think what frustrates me more about it is the absolute lack of warning. If one of my friends hadn't said something, I would have walked my happy butt into the administration building of CISD and filled out the paper work, then had to walk right back out, because I can't shell out the money. I have to choose between eating and putting off my background check another week and a half? Yeah, that's a hard one.

We received an email from the education department telling us to get the background check done, where to get it done, etc, etc. But not one mention of a mandatory fee, cost, price, money, anything of the sort.

Unlike every other major on campus, I'm already student teaching. Been doing it off and on since May, hitting it hard the past two weeks. I don't have time for a job. I'm poor. Yes, probably poorer than you English Major. That poor.

I hate surprises. I hate fee surprises even more. And mandatory fee surprises just might be the most pernicious and evil of all.

To be fair, apparently this will cover the cost of the hard copy of my Teaching Certificate, once I manage to miracle the money to take my last certification test.  Why finger printing and a piece of paper cost fifty-five or sixty dollars is beyond me, other than a tax on would be educators. I guess it's the same reason my electronic certification tests, which are all multiple choice, cost $125.00 to process and email me my scores.

*sigh*

Yeah, most underpaid profession I think is right.