On Wednesday, Emme and I went to breakfast together at Panera. Panera is one of those little places that makes Tuscaloosa feel like civilization, especially now that the town’s only independent coffee shop has closed. That used to be Capture Café. It was an internet café / digital photo studio, and also a front for Church of Christ recruitment operations. I shouldn’t put it that way. That makes C of C sound like a cult. They’re not a cult, just tricksy. They lure young men and women with other young men and women, sushi nights, bowling, etc. I’m sure something sinister is behind all of this, moll_cutpurse ’s assurances to the contrary.
Later that day, Emme covered a shift for a missing co-worker. He wasn’t really missing. We knew where he was – New Orleans. He asked Emme to sub. This was unexpected goodness – somebody here needs a paycheck.I was LAID OFF from UA last month. I’d never been laid off before, so I didn’t quite realize what was happening when it happened. I had a summer job advising incoming freshmen and transfer students. Each new student must see an adviser, in person, to register for classes. UA maintains a cadre of professional advisers year-round, but they hire temps in the summer. We help get the freshmen through the system in the small amount of time allotted.
Early in July, we started seeing a drop-off in clients. We worked 2 or 4 hour shifts. Often, we wouldn’t have enough students to fill a 2-hour shift. I started getting sent home 15 minutes early, then 45, then 1 hour and 15 minutes early. Finally, they started telling us not to come in at all – first just for a shift, then for a week, and another week, and finally the rest of the summer. Additionally, they couldn’t manage to pay us. I got my June paycheck last week, and there’s no telling when we’ll see the July check. My supervisor has mysteriously vanished into a cloud of e-mails. Maybe I was in the cult and never knew. I feel so dirty.
I ended up the last person in the apartment my family had lived in, and when I was moving out, it turned out the couch would not go out any of the doors. I…
Lifting over the banister was easy. Figuring out the angles to get the thing inside was impossible. After consulting with a professional mover, it seems that I have a couch for sale :(
moll_cutpurse ’s assurances to the contrary.