The Difference a Phone Call Can Make

I was ready, willing and able to sit in 'idle' mode this morning.

I didn't have work lined up for today. Lately, if I don't know where I am going to work the night before (more often than not), I don't end up working at all the next day.

That has been my unfortunate reality since I flipped the calendar page into the new year.

Whether I am scheduled to work or not, I get up at the same time. I get ready for the day, despite the fact that I don't know if I will be called in to work. I go through my morning routines and I am ready to be out the door and headed to work by 7:30 each morning. Then I wait for the phone to ring.

6:30 to 7:00 is often the time the Automated Dispatch System calls (if it is going to call); 7:00 to 7:30 is usually when a live person from our Human Resource Department will call (if they call); 7:30 to 8:00 is when I can expect any last minute changes to what I have been told between 6:30 and 7:30.

If the phone remains quiet throughout that time frame ... I can usually count on having (at least) the morning off. And more likely than not, the afternoon as well.

So when the phone rang at 6:33 this morning, I had a feeling that I would be heading out the door an hour later. I was right.

I don't love the uncertainty about this job. It's a challenge to 'psyche myself up' for the day ... when I have no idea what the day will bring. And that's the easy part.

The real challenge is the variable pay cheque. I don't know long I can afford to work like this. I hope something changes soon, though I highly suspect this is my fate until next fall.

I could be wrong. I hope that I am. All that I hope for during this Time of Great Uncertainty ... is for the phone to ring on a daily basis (preferably the night before). If I work steadily ... I can make this work. If I don't?? I'm going to have to dig deep to find out where I need to go from here.

Oh .. the difference a phone call can make as to how the rest of a day unfolds.