#1 ·
...So, I roll up to the job site this morning, having a little back-and-forth with the crew, and I tell them I’m heading over to the office to grab some blueprints for the boss. On my way, I figure I'll hit an ATM to see if my paycheck cleared. I walk up, shove the card in, punch in my PIN, and hit "Account Balance." The machine just starts grinding. It’s just stuttering away. I’m thinking, damn, maybe this thing is broken. Then, out of nowhere, this stupid little slip of paper spits out. I grab it, look at it, then look down at my hand—wondering if I accidentally grabbed someone else's card—but nope, it's mine. I look behind me, nobody's there. I try again. Card in, PIN in, and the machine just grinds and grinds... and spits out another slip with the exact same numbers. I look closer and realize it says I only got half my pay. I couldn't believe it. I thought it was some kind of joke. I head straight into the bank. I get to the teller and ask, "Excuse me, could I please get a printout of all the deposits and withdrawals from my checking account?" And this lady, acting all high and mighty, looks at me and goes, "Well, sir, do you use the internet? Because if you used online banking, you could check your transactions there." I was absolutely livid. I'm sitting there cursing my boss under my breath, and now this bird is lecturing me about the internet. I told her, "Look, lady, I've still got a rotary phone at home, my walls have wallpaper, my TV is a giant tube, and in my spare time, I read tea leaves. Now, can you just give me the printout, please?" She looked offended, but honestly, I didn't care. And when she finally hands me the statement? My heart sinks. They really only deposited half my check. I almost passed out right there. I start doing the math in my head—after I pay back what I owe, pay rent and bills, buy groceries... there's basically nothing left. I walk out of there sweating. I'm driving along thinking about the state of things, wondering if I'll even have enough for the electric bill. I hop in the car, turn it on, and the low fuel light is blinking. Great. I remember I still have to make my $327 monthly car payment for this piece of junk. I shut the engine off and drive to another bank to pay the loan. This one has those big double swinging doors. I push one open, walk in, let it swing back, and accidentally slam it into some old lady behind me. "Oh, excuse me, ma'am!" I said. She just looked totally lost, turned around, and walked right back out the door instead of going in. I pay off that damn loan, and after the half-pay situation, I'm even more broke than before. I get back in the car and call the accounting office. A woman answers. I tell her who I am and ask if they received a certain notice. She asks, "What notice?" I tell her it was from the local community center. She says they haven't received anything and asks why they would need to send us a notice. I explain that they were supposed to send a notice explaining that it's standard practice to pay the full amount upfront. She paused for a second, realized what I was getting at, and said, "Well, the director gave orders that way." I asked, "Who? The director?" She said yes. I just said, "Well, thanks for that." At least now I know why. I look at the clock and realize half my workday is gone. Whatever. I did my part. I call the foreman at the site and say, "Hey Ivan, it's the boss." He asks if I'm bringing those blueprints. I tell him, "Yeah, I'll bring them, but not until Monday morning. I'm not working the afternoon shift." So I head to the gas station and fill up with $17 (which is like 80 percent pure American gasoline). I'm just done with the company, the director, and this whole job. I'm going home. If they only pay me half my check, I'm only working half the day. Plus, the drive home was mostly downhill, so I just coasted in neutral.
p.s. So where is Part 3 heading?
p.s. So where is Part 3 heading?