Ill
I tried to work last night (Thursday). But it was verrrrry slooooow, and there were too many cabs on the streets, and I felt like shit. I shouldn't have tried to go to work in the first place. So the night involved me sitting in the cab (as opposed to driving it), trying to drink as many fluids as possible, listening to horribly scary sounds come out of my throat whenever I breathed too deeply, and feeling absolutely exhausted.
Having had pneumonia before, and given that my illness was behaving in ways very much at odds with how the doctor I'd seen while out of town had predicted, I got even more anxious as it became apparent both that I wasn't in very good working condition, and that I'd have to see another doctor, and soon. This was more than a little frustrating, as I don't have health insurance and had just spent large amounts of money on Christmas presents, plane tickets, and all of that other fun stuff in the past month. And not worked in a couple of weeks.
I'd been counting on two things: spending very little money in the next few weeks, and making a sizable amount of it this weekend. Plans (always a dangerous thing in this business) centered around these two assumptions, with an eye toward grand financial events whose foundations would lie in the simultaneous austerirty spending measures and higher amounts of income.
Instead, I actually ended up making a net of $.40 an hour for five hours work, unless you count the cab I had to take home, in which case I lost money. If you count the hospital visit (I figured what the hell, I was feeling horrible and unlikely to get to a discount doctor or clinic in time to be seen on Friday), I lost a lot of money. Given that I'm not working Friday night, and may not be working Saturday, I'm pissed, especially since I wasn't thrilled about working New Year's and was hoping a good weekend would allow me to bail out of it.
I am now officially in "bad financial shape" for the short term. I'll be able to eat and pay my rent and bills and everything like that, but the holidays/vacation/illness combination fucks me. And I'm so fucking angry, and the only one I have to blame for this situation is myself, and the decisions I've made to get myself in this position (paying down debt rapidly while only saving enough for a cab downpayment).
Fuck, I'm furious. I want to kick a dog, or have hours of hot sex with a beautiful woman, or engage in some other climactic physical activity which I'm not in any kind of physical shape for.
The point of this post, if there is one beyond indulging my self-pity and narcissism, is that sometimes there are very severe drawbacks to having a job where you aren't guaranteed a wage and your employer offers no benefits.
Having had pneumonia before, and given that my illness was behaving in ways very much at odds with how the doctor I'd seen while out of town had predicted, I got even more anxious as it became apparent both that I wasn't in very good working condition, and that I'd have to see another doctor, and soon. This was more than a little frustrating, as I don't have health insurance and had just spent large amounts of money on Christmas presents, plane tickets, and all of that other fun stuff in the past month. And not worked in a couple of weeks.
I'd been counting on two things: spending very little money in the next few weeks, and making a sizable amount of it this weekend. Plans (always a dangerous thing in this business) centered around these two assumptions, with an eye toward grand financial events whose foundations would lie in the simultaneous austerirty spending measures and higher amounts of income.
Instead, I actually ended up making a net of $.40 an hour for five hours work, unless you count the cab I had to take home, in which case I lost money. If you count the hospital visit (I figured what the hell, I was feeling horrible and unlikely to get to a discount doctor or clinic in time to be seen on Friday), I lost a lot of money. Given that I'm not working Friday night, and may not be working Saturday, I'm pissed, especially since I wasn't thrilled about working New Year's and was hoping a good weekend would allow me to bail out of it.
I am now officially in "bad financial shape" for the short term. I'll be able to eat and pay my rent and bills and everything like that, but the holidays/vacation/illness combination fucks me. And I'm so fucking angry, and the only one I have to blame for this situation is myself, and the decisions I've made to get myself in this position (paying down debt rapidly while only saving enough for a cab downpayment).
Fuck, I'm furious. I want to kick a dog, or have hours of hot sex with a beautiful woman, or engage in some other climactic physical activity which I'm not in any kind of physical shape for.
The point of this post, if there is one beyond indulging my self-pity and narcissism, is that sometimes there are very severe drawbacks to having a job where you aren't guaranteed a wage and your employer offers no benefits.
posted by Crabbie at 4:18 AM
4 Comments:
I'm sorry you're sick, I'm in the same boat, basically, but I work for a diff. cab co. here in Ptld. I was actually thinking about switching to yours because I heard they offer insurance for an ugly amount per month (but better than nothing). Is that not true?
Take care, and be thankful you aren't going to be out there w/all the drinking drivers and idiot cabbies in a hurry. Amount of money you're missing out on aside.
Happy New Year.
awwwww cabbie....I am sorry you are so sick and feeling so down. I would bring you some homemade chicken soup...feel better soon and Happy New Year....it can only get better!
Don't knock paying down debt, I know it is cold comfort at a time like this. Imagine though if you didn't pay any down, sure you'd have more money at this time but you'd also have more bills.
Michelle - The company does indeed offer health, dental, and supplemental insurance. For the health insurance, individually purchasing it directly from a carrier usually ends up being a much better deal, and allows you to pick your coverage. This had been my brilliant plan, which I'd been procrastinating on with the attitude that I'm young and healthy. The deal you get on dental and supplemental insurance is actually pretty good.
There are a lot of other pretty good reasons why driving for us is preferable to the competition, if you've got any questions you should feel free to drop me a line.
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