Friday, June 11, 2004

Asshole

As it turned out, the tour manager I was working for was the source of all the drama.

Quite simply, while he'd been telling my my rate was X amount, and that I'd be paid X for per diem, and that I'd get my own room, and that I was also hired through next week, and that he'd been trying to get me promoted to tour manager after next week...

Every one of those things was a total lie. After word that I was about to walk off the tour made it to the company head, he gave me a call to find out what was going on. Talking to him, and others over the next couple days, I discovered that:

-The room situation was never discussed with them.
-That the tour manager had told them all along that I was unavailable next week.
-The tour manager never once suggested me to be promoted... in fact, he'd told them I was unavailable.

So, I got my own room, but now I don't have work next week. I'm not that disappointed, but the circumstances suck: I took this gig for little money, and at a lower level than I've had in years so that I could have an in with the company... and then I learn that the guy I'm supposed to be impressing is a compulsive liar.

On the bright side, the day after I wrote the past post, the tour manager was pulled off the tour, so I don't have the opportunity to have fist fight.

And as the last couple days have passed, the event team has assembled a long list of other huge lies this guy had told...

But, best of all, and the only thing that matters, is that through it all I had the full teams support. When I put my foo down about the room situation, a couple guys told me I was doing the right thing. Having my own room wasn't the point, it was merely the principle... and once I called foul on that, it caused a chain reaction, uncovering the source of every gripe I had with the job from the beginning...

Definitely a life experience - I gambled and it paid off. I was seriously less than an hour away from boarding a train before I ended up getting a call from the "top dog", who let me know that they were never on the loop on any of the drama until shortly before his call, and that he wasn't totally surprised because of other problems coming from the same direction.

Indeed, its much more complicated, and in some way, sillier that what I can put into a few paragraphs. But, for my ten loyal readers, hopefully its enough...

So, now I'm psyched that instead of trekking up to San Jose tomorrow night, I'm going home to see Claire. My Saturday and Sunday will be spent sleeping in... and so will my Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday... no, wait, on one of those days we'll be going to Disneyland.

Life is balanced again. Until mid July when I start work with ESPN for a month, I'll be unemployed again.