Old Notes To Self  

An "Aha!" Moment (June 17, 2008)

So here's the 411. I recently quit/lost my job, but I was lucky enough to find a new one. The thing about it is I had to swallow a few ounces of pride and accept the position offered to me despite the fact that I had to go back to the phones again; sort of my own personal demotion, so to speak. In other words, I had been feeling a little depressed and disgruntled these past few weeks and my ego was a shot away from being crushed. But I am still grateful, and I'll tell you why.

Today as I was on my way home from training, a man got on the bus I was riding in and started talking to anyone who would listen about the issues they've been having with the bus company that they've been working for. Apparently, the guy was some sort of union leader and he explained how the management of the bus company had deprived them of certain benefits such as vacation leaves and their 13th month pay. He also explained that the management did not abide by the terms of their CBA or Collective Bargaining Agreement, so their workers' union decided to go on strike. He asked for some financial assistance from all of the passengers on the bus, and he seemed like he would get on as many buses as he possibly could just to be able to convey their union's message and earn some sympathy. He said the money they would collect would be used to keep their strike going in order to fight their company's oppression. I saw how passionate and sincere this man was with his cause. In fact, I actually gave the guy some change (which I don't normally do, being the tightwad that I am) to help their cause despite the fact that I had barely enough money for me just to be able to get home. That's when I realized how lucky I was to be able to receive not only a fairly competitive wage but also a decent compensation and benefits package from this new company that I work for. I know its not much to brag about, but hey - at least I am still able to feed my family.

I'm sure many of us have had the same woeful dread of waking up on a Monday and agonizingly dragging our feet to the office. I say this because in the last few years that I have been part of this industry, I have met a lot of people and, let's just say that some of them aren't exactly jumping for joy with what they do for a living. I've also had my share of grievances before. In fact, I learned the definition of the word "disgruntled" from all of the issues that I've had with Management, HR or Payroll. This afternoon's experience just made me think twice about complaining excessively about how miserable my career has been, simply because in more ways than one, I am still fortunate.