In Which The Already Thick Plot Thickens

Well! Another turn on the roller coaster. My boss called me into her office today, which by the way brings out such a called to the principal's office, I'm in trouble vibe, doesn't it?

But actually I wasn't in trouble: she wanted to tell me that she's filing the paperwork to extend my position "into next year", that I'm doing a great job and catching things even she doesn't see, which is great, and ... and ... I wanted to ask why she hasn't told me this before, why her feedback has consisted of telling me twice in four months that I'm doing well on a project, why she waited until two weeks before the end to mention any of this.

And no, I didn't open that particular can of worms, just said that it was nice to hear, period. But when she pointed out that the original term end date is coming up, I also wanted to say, "Did you think I'd forgotten that?" Which I also did not say.

She asked if I was interested, and I said that well, I've started to make other plans (she looked surprised), but nothing that was firm yet. She said that she would put the paperwork in, and I could let her know if I was interested, and I agreed.

This was, by the way, about an hour after I called back The Guy who called about The Job, but it went to his voice mail. Pins and needles...

So! Pros and Cons!

Pro: It is a job in the most basic sense: it provides a paycheck, with which to pay my bills.
Con: It does not pay enough for comfort. If my mother wasn't a generous person, I would have been pinching pennies big-time this summer.
Pro: It is a job that I already have. No interviews, no waiting and hoping, no selling myself to a stranger. I know the routine and mostly what to do, when, and where.
Con: I hate-hate-hate the commute. And if I hate the T in rush hour in summer and fall, how much will I hate it in winter? Freezing and snow and slush? Coats and boots and scarves and complications?
Pro: It is more or less what I want to do. I don't love the company itself, the way they do things, but it's so much better than the last job.
Con: Very basic benefits. Basic medical and dental, but no paid vacation or sick time.
Con: No certainty. It's still a temp job. I know better than some how there's no guarantee at any job*, but with a permanent job, there is the illusion of certainty.

*Since I moved back to Massachusetts seven and a half years ago, I've worked for four different companies--and at one of them, I had three different jobs.

And as my mother pointed out, if I agree to stay past October first, that doesn't commit me to staying as long as they decide they may want me to. (Someone in the department told my neighbor that his end date was supposed to be last year, and here he still is.)

Have to think.

In other news, I tried on the sock-in-progress tonight, and doesn't it fit! Like it was made for me.


You can see that the yarn vulture was supervising me closely.


He really wants to grab the dangling ends. No!


He can't understand me at all.