Coming up to Austin, there was no doubt, I was on the poor side of things. It was fine, I was going to school, I wasn't even 21, so I couldn't even get into the nudie bars my first year up here. I made my own futon sofa, to save some bucks. My parents came and found a CHEAP but new table for like $100. I brought my waterbed and other bedroom paraphernalia and I was set. Anyways, surrounded by other poor, cheap students, it's all good, even if the apartments were a little 'hood.
If I had just stayed poor, like some of our friends, then that is all we would know, plenty of families get by with the parents making $12-$15 an hour, contrary to the bullshit we hear to strive to be the best, and to always push for the top. I am thinking that is a ruse to suck all the good "jelly" we have in us, only to be discarded when we get a little drained.
I have always pushed myself at work to be and do the best work I could. It all seemed according to plan, slowly climbing, even if for the last 9-10 years we haven't seen a raise, I was still in a very good position, making an enviable salary. I thought that was what was supposed to happen when you go to school like they tell you, don't abuse drugs, act responsibly, never miss work to have fun randomly. I finally had a five year plan where I could see us getting out of debt, and living a freer life. Funny, what a couple meetings with the board of directors can do to your dreams.
They came through early in the week, laid off three guys, good guys, just were stuck in positions with tools that did not yield financially. I felt the slowing down last year and started pushing to move myself to the chemistry section, where all the new work seems to be coming to. I was even pushed back, as my supervisor did not want to lose the headcount in the section I was in, but there were too many nights when I came in and just sat watching Netflix, as there was no work. I can enjoy that once or twice, but not week in and week out. Even after I was pushed back, I persisted, and now they are only too glad I have migrated over, as we are on the verge of picking up a major customer that promises to give us more work than we can handle.
Here is the rub, even with the three layoffs, we all had to take a pay cut, and not evenly across the board. It seems that the more you make, the more they took. One coworker who always said she makes less than me, got a 5% cut, me and another coworker that I discuss our salaries openly, got roughly a 15% cut. This is going to affect my lifestyle, not just make me a little uncomfortable. This freaking leg injury cost me $4000, the IRS just took $3200, Boy's tuition is $1200 over what his loans cover every semester, Boy was complaining about his wisdom teeth recently, why not?
I have these awesome extra bills, meanwhile, some of my poorer friends managed to get free gastric bypass surgeries, which we can't even look at because we know we'd end up paying $12,000 and up.
This is now about the 8th layoff I have survived since I started working here in 1995. Yes, I make more money than back then, but nothing is guaranteed. Had I stayed poor, I could bounce from one mediocre job to another and make roughly the same income. Instead, I have climbed so high over here, I am now forced to grab even tighter to my job in hopes I don't loose it, and with it, our house, and way of life. I have put myself in a tight spot, waiting on you, Wifey, to come and save me. Help me believe that education really matters, because right now it is all sounding like too much horse shit.
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