In any company that sends people to fix things there are
people working behind the scenes called “dispatchers”. I currently work for a fantastic company
where I dispatch service technicians to fix people’s furnaces. (Side note:
I will refer to The Company, here, only as “The Company” because a.) I
respect people’s privacy and b.) libel suits are for wussies…. NOT for
unemployed former dispatchers with a BA in history rather than something more
employable such as finance or probably underwater basket weaving at this point).
Dispatchers at The Company, and anywhere for that matter,
tend to wear their time like badges of honor:
“I’ve been in for six months and
they still haven’t upped my blood pressure meds!”
“Seriously? Two years and I’ve only considered committing
myself twice. Sit down.”
Kind of in the same way that rednecks hold lit matches in their fingers for as long as they can just to prove... something... to someone....
This isn’t necessarily a reflection on any company that
hires dispatchers, it’s a reflection on the profession of dispatching itself. Dispatching is pretty much telling service
technicians where they need to go to do their job next. It’s also customer service front lines. Sounds pretty straight forward and sunshiny,
doesn’t it? It’s not. On any given day you can be assured that any
given decision you make will piss someone off almost immediately. It requires thick skin and no fear of being
considered a bitch. Both of which I have,
except for that last one, which I don’t have… I think… Anyway, I’ve excelled at
dispatching. However, I don't remember what that something I was trying to prove was, nor to whom I was trying to prove it... So, I have decided to quit my job.
I didn’t so much “decide to quit my job” as I did talk about
quitting my job as soon as circumstances permitted in order to attempt to find
a career that I enjoy and that I can actually generate income doing. Apparently in the world in which I reside (and
French fries don’t have calories!) “as soon as circumstances permitted” loosely
translated into “as soon as my boss and I got in an argument and I told him I’d
rather be broke and homeless than continue doing this job”. Nothing but mature professionalism there, I
assure you. The argument was over something so trivial that I don't even remember what it is now. But the fact that I could feel my blood pressure rising shot me into a "what the hell am I doing with my life" tailspin. So in my purely legitimate
rage I quit my job.
A lot of people have asked why. Was it because The Company wasn’t treating me
well? Did it have something to do with
the fact that I refer to my boss as “Ghengis” in my blog posts? Was dispatching slowly eating my very soul at
a rate so alarming those around me were getting whiplash? No. To
all of the above. Not really. I seriously went all Office Space and decided
to quit because I just didn’t want to do it anymore. I’ve been stressed out for far too long about
things that no one will really remember in a week, and I’m tired of arguing
about things that don’t really matter to me.
So I quit specifically due to an out of nowhere mid-life crisis at 29, and
set out to do what no one has done since 1964:
find myself.
And not in some weird hippie, patchouli incense sort of
way. In a much more modern, kick ass, I
need to find an actual career that I like and I need time to do so, sort of
way. Or at least that’s what I’m telling
myself.
No, I do not currently have a steady form of employment lined up. Yes, I’m aware that I should be far too smart and mature to
quit my job with no prospect for employment in the worst job market in a
generation. No, I wasn't planning on leaving. Yes, I am freaking out a
little bit because my stable income is ending in a week. No, I still don’t regret the decision. Yes, I’m looking forward to catching up on
Maury. And, yes, I’m looking at serious
options such as grad school, interning, volunteering, part time jobbing, taking
off my clothes for money, etc. Okay not
that last one. Well… Maybe that last one…
I dunno… Talk to me in a couple weeks…
So basically this is a blog to inform you all that you will
be seeing more blogs from me soon since I will undoubtedly come down with a
horrible case of the stir crazy by next Tuesday.
You’re welcome.
