Just in case that last entry sounded too much like I was on a magic soapbox of pinky clouds, here's the other side to independent contracting:
...I just erased the list I was making of all the steps it takes between a contract being written and sent to me all the way through meeting the terms of that contract and then waiting for a check because it was way too depressing.
See, because there are so many areas where something can go wrong and when even one of those things goes wrong, it means I don't get paid on time. Right now it's been an entire month since I should have received payment for five different contracts.
This happens on a somewhat smaller scale at least three times in any one school year. Considering the numbers of contracts I have each year, three times makes a small percentage in the world of errors, but that math still makes me want to puke.
Speaking of things that make me want to puke: yesterday and today have been military recruitment days at one of the high schools. Are you wondering if a White Officer came in and set up the table and then left the Black Officer and Latino Officer there to do the recruiting? Wonder no more! Are you further wondering if this school has a higher percentage of Latino and African American students?
They do have a mariachi band...
(It's not so much that there were officers of [the same] color [as the student population], but that the white dude swooped in and then left. As you were, fellas, as you were.)
Posted by Ida at December 13, 2006 11:52 AMI'll be that was because the White officer outranked the Black and Latino - who probably weren't "commissioned officers" (i.e. rank of lieutenant or higher), but rather were "non-commissioned officers" (NCO's), which would be no higher than Sargeant.
My guess is this was true A) because I'll bet dollars to donut holes none of the kids they're recruiting at that school are ever going to get a chance to go to one of the U.S. military academies in order to become a commissioned officer; and B) because they sure wouldn't want to reinforce that notion in the minds of credulous youngsters, most of whom still haven't figured out that joining the military will NOT be just like playing a video game, but with real guns.
Posted by: COMTE at December 14, 2006 02:49 PM