If I see that bitch, FICA, I'm going to punch her in the nose!

Growing up can be lame, sometimes even SUPER lame.  And, today, specifically, I say bagh to taxes and future me* taking ridiculously large chunks of my paychecks. 

Don’t they know that I just want to buy shoes and pay someone to make my nails look fancy?  Damn it!

This all started this morning when I wanted to find out if my new job would bump me up into a different tax bracket.^  So, while I was looking at everything from the 2011 Oregon and Federal tax brackets to Social Security and Medicare rates.  I even pulled up Oregon’s Workers’ Benefit Fund Assessment to find the employee assessment rate.  Of course, that was all after I calculated a few figures to see if I wanted to increase my 401(k) contribution. 

I had wanted to increase my contribution by about three percent until I realized that – after taxes, my flex spending contribution, my additional life insurance+ fee, my long term care fee, and my 401(k) contributions at my current contribution percentage – my HUGE raise calculates out to about $100 more per paycheck.

*Stupid 401(k) and being “responsible” in planning for my future.  Note to future me:  You better take totally awesome trips and have a super hot cabana boy, or else consider yourself warned.  Thirty-year-old me is NOT amused.

^It did.

+To my nearest and dearest - you’re welcome.  You bitches better appreciate me when I’m gone, because if you don’t – I’m going to come back to life and use my natural nails to fuck you up.

The real reason I drank last night

After embracing my breakdown and posting it to Al Gore’s Internet, my manager brought in a temp to start training at the Front Desk around 11:30 a.m. 

Coincidently, my manager sends out notifications whenever a new employee or a new temporary employee starts.  These notifications go to the facilities manager (who finds them a place to sit), tech support (to set up a computer for them), the receptionists (we set up the key cards, update the maps and phone lists), and a handful of other people.  It was thanks to the notification that I found out I would start my new job effective January 1.* 

I wasn’t the only one who was surprised by the news.  There were other people who received the same notification who weren’t aware that I was in the running for a new position, such as the facilities manager (who was concerned that I was getting shit canned) and a member of our tech support area (who cornered me during lunch to ask when I would return from my extended vacation^).

Also, my meeting with the department rep yesterday afternoon was all flowers and rainbows.  Not only am I heading over to the new department next week, but the rep presented me with my official offer letter.+

And, after a whirlwind day, I rewarded myself with beer, so much beer.

*[A temp] will be joining [us] today, December 28 as a temporary Receptionist.  She will be sitting at the front desk training and will be replacing [me] effective January 1, 2012.…

Please let me know if you have questions.

Thanks,

[Manager]

^I wish.

+It was less of an offer and more of a memo stating what my new compensation package would be.  Don’t get me wrong, I am very happy with the new package.  However, I was confused by the fact that a member of HR did not present it to me. 

I was under the impression that no one – except HR – was supposed to know how much anyone else was paid.  You know what?  It’s not my problem.  I’m pumped to head into a new department, and if HR is okay with people knowing how much I make then so am I.  I even let the rep who will be one of my managers make a copy of my offer letter for her records.  She was cced on the original memo, so I just went with it.

Top Five Things I Learned this Holiday Season

5.  Shopping early is key^

4.  Everybody loves name brand candies in their stockings

3.  People are suckers for sentimental gifts~

2.  I am the tea mix master*

1.  Post-Christmas sibling kitchen dance party is here to stay

^On December 27 (yesterday), I started to buy stocking stuffers for next year.  Okay, maybe number five should be changed to, "I'm a sucker for post-holiday sales."

~Since I bumped up the fancy factor on my home made gifts, I did magnets with all of the kid’s faces for my older half-sister’s husband and a necklace with a picture of my younger sister and her kid.  They seemed to go over really well.

                                                                                         

*I enjoy a 1:1 bag ratio of peppermint and Tazo Passion Tea over ice.  Also, a 2:1 ratio of Passion to orange juice over ice is also very enjoyable.

I know why I'm drinking tonight!

It was really starting to look like 2012 would be a banner year for yours truly, but then things stalled or are currently in the process of going horribly, horribly wrong.*

Picture it – Friday, December 2, 2011.  I’m 20 minutes away from starting my weekend when I’m called up to my manager’s office.  She’s the HR generalist, so when she told me that another department would like to offer me the job that I’ve wanted since November 2010 – I was pumped.+  I could expect to transition into the new position between December 15 and the first of the year, but since they don’t know my exact start date there isn’t an acceptance letter prepared for me which also means that I don’t know how much I’ll be earning in this new job.^  Even so, I accepted on the spot.

The following week was the holiday bazaar.  I didn’t quite make enough to pay for all of the supplies I purchased, but I couldn’t get over the fact that people were buying my pendants and magnets.  Sure, I wore them, but then again I wore the first generation of pendants.  The same pendants that screamed “home made.”  The second generation looked much more refined.  And, not only did I sell them, I even had a few custom orders.  All in all, I’d have to say that the bazaar was a success.

On December 9, the HR generalist sent out an e-mail indicating that a temp’s assignment would conclude at the end of December.  This particular temp would be leaving the group that I would be joining.  As best as I could tell, I wasn’t going to be replacing her.  I say this mostly because my new position requires licenses that her administrative roll didn’t need.  However, it’s distinctly possible that I would absorb some or all of her responsibilities.

The week of December 12 rolls around and I hadn’t heard any kind of updates about my transition into the new position or heard anything about the new acceptance letter, so I contacted the HR assistant.  She said that she would work with my current manager, but that I shouldn’t expect anything to happen that week.  We post my job opening to Craig’s List that Monday, at least things are moving along.  So, I try to go with the flow.

Despite the fact that my biggest supporter in the new department had taken to asking me daily if I knew of any developments, I was able to flow along until I realized that I’d be out on December 19 when all timesheets were due.  Since I didn’t know if my new position was salaried, I sent an e-mail to both the HR generalist and the HR assistant to find out if I needed to fill out an additional timesheet. ~  The HR assistant replied and suggested that I fill out the same old timesheet since I hadn’t been given a specific start date and we would deal with it if I transitioned during the current pay cycle.

My supporter continues to ask for updates every morning.  Since I have no new information, I notice myself becoming more agitated, frustrated, and negative.  All of these negative feelings seem to be directed toward one person, and I find it hard to determine whether everyone feels the same or if more and more people are commiserating while word vomit spews unchecked from me.

At the company holiday party, the head of what will eventually be my new department asks if I know when I’ll be joining their team.  Actually, my promotion was brought up a lot at the holiday party – and usually not by me. 

I don’t hear anything about my promotion before leaving for Christmas weekend.  So, when my family and friends ask me for details, I catch myself sharing that because it’s been over three weeks since I was informally offered the position and I don’t know anything more – maybe I don’t actually have the job.  Or, if I do have the position, I have no idea when I’ll start it.  The Craig’s List post has been up for two weeks.  We’ve received 190 applications, but no one has been interviewed.

The HR assistant told me yesterday that she’s still looking through all of the applications.  She’s not sure exactly what she’s looking for since she never really been the first person to review applications before.  She used to be the second receptionist, but was promoted in mid-October 2010.

I assumed the process with my promotion would mirror hers.  A temp started on October 18, 2010.  The woman who would eventually become the new receptionist interviewed on October 29.  And, the temp worked here until the new receptionist started on December 27.

Since I still hadn’t heard anything by yesterday and the HR generalist is out until next Thursday, I sent an e-mail yesterday asking if the plan was still for me to transition by the first of the year.  I never heard a response.  However, the temp who was supposed to mosey at the end of the year will now be here until the end of January.

Now I’m supposed to meet with someone in the new department this afternoon.  I’d be pissed, but not shocked if she was tasked with telling me that I’m not going to transition until the beginning of February.  Blurg.

It’s enough to drive a lady to drink!

*Yes, I’m being melodramatic.  Things aren’t that horribly wrong.  It’s pretty much just work that I want to punch in the face.

+The main reason that I was pumped was because it had been such a long hard road to get there.  I started talking to my manager about the position November 2010.  I asked her about a policy I had found on the company’s intranet that specified an employee had to be in their first position for one year before they could apply for a new one.  She told me not to worry about it, and actually encouraged me to set up informational interviews with people in that department or who had held that position to find out if it was something I was really interested in doing.  As it turns out, yes, it was something I was very interested in doing. 

I tried to formally apply for the position on January 6, 2011.  I didn’t receive any kind of response or indication that my application would not be considered.  So, I brought it up a week or two later.  I ran head first into the wall that required I spend one year in my current position, but she’d like to keep my application on file.

That’s when I realized that although the policy is on the books, it’s not always applied.  If I had someone who would fight to get me, I would have the opportunity to move into another position. 

When a manager approached me in February about joining the finance department, I went with it.  I never really thought about going into accounting before, but I could learn so, so much from that manager so I pursued it.  When mid-March rolled around, my substantial lack of accounting experience was too much to get around, so I shifted my attention back to the original position.

I celebrated my one year anniversary with the company in September.  I met with my manager a few weeks later to start talking about the position again.  I was encouraged to consider a more administrative position, which would “build off my strong points” and act as a stepping stone to the position I wanted.

After looking over the administrative job description and realizing that whether it would take me one or two jobs to get into a position where I could actually use my law degree – it didn’t matter as long as I got out of my current position as soon as possible.  My current situation was sucking my will to live.  I consider the job below me, find it hard to work with a certain person, and between temping and being a permanent employee – I had spent 16 months in my current position.  I firmly believed that I had paid my dues, and was ready to move onto another position.

So, I tried to schedule a meeting with the HR generalist to sit down and have a formal discussion about my career path.  I didn’t hear back so the day before the “scheduled” meeting, I sent a follow up.  Apparently, they were so, so busy, so we scheduled a meeting a week or two out for October 25.

During that meeting, I was told that interviews would be scheduled for the non-administrative position during the week of November 14.  Also, the administrative position wasn’t “officially” open, since there was a temp in the position.

I hadn’t heard anything about the interviews, so I sent a follow up e-mail on November 7.  Within a matter of hours of my follow up e-mail, my interviews had been scheduled.

^Sure, I could have asked, but the opportunity to work in a new department for a new manager and in a new job where I’d actually learn things was too much for me to pass up.  Plus, I figured that I’d know within a few weeks and I had already been informed by another that they bumped up against a none negotiation policy when they were offered another job within the company.

~This was also my way of trying to be sneaky, and see if any new developments had been made in my transition.

Oh, okay. So, I’m the unreasonable one.

The last month or so, I’ve spent all of my free time crafting.  It started off as something to do and if I created items that I wasn’t totally ashamed of, then I’d start showing them at a holiday bazaar.  The good news is that the magnets and pendants turned out really well.

Of course, I devoted quality time to researching exactly how to make glass tile pendants, because what I did a few years ago with a glue gun, glass marbles, and magazine cut outs would not cut it at a holiday bazaar held in Portland, Ore.’s Pearl District.* 

So, I dove into finding the best products for me.  I compared the online reviews of Diamond Glaze, Sun and Moon Glaze, Crystal Lacquer, Mod Podge, Aleene’s Paper Glaze, uv epoxies, and some other jewelry glaze that I found at Michael’s.  I messaged people on Etsy about their experiences with the above products.  And, I ended up doing an at home test of Diamond Glaze, Sun and Moon Glaze, Mod Podge, and the mystery Michael’s product in a side by side comparison to see the difference in consistency, clarity, and discover any residual tackiness after drying.  I settled on the Sun and Moon Glaze by Sun and Moon Craft Kits.

In the past month I have placed three orders with Sun and Moon Craft Kits – totaling $215.43 with shipping and handling.  However, I will not be placing another one with that company.  The products are great, the people seem nice enough and they do try to correct errors when the happen.  But, when order corrections need corrections and e-mails aren’t responded to in a timely manner (see: within two business days^), I need to take my business elsewhere.

The mistake I made was in sending an e-mail to Sun and Moon Craft Kits.+  When I sent the e-mail, yes, I did want to vent my frustration by not receiving a timely response to – yet again – an issue with my order, but more importantly I was hoping that Sun and Moon Craft Kits would do or say something to make it all better, like offer to send me the correct item or give me free shipping or 10 percent off of my next order.  Really, anything to take the sting away from feeling like they were ignoring my e-mails, which may have been a little long winded but indicate actual order issues.

Well, for a company who had issues getting back to me, I didn’t need to wait long for their response.~  Or, the addendum.**  Or, the addendum to the addendum.^^  The multiple rapid fire e-mails, were just too much for me.  I wanted to write back, but my coworker talked me out of it because I’d probably just make the situation worse and make Gina even more upset.

Believe it or not, I did not intend to upset Gina or anyone else at Sun and Moon Craft Kits.  And, I do really like their products.  In fact, I hope that Sun and Moon is able to implement a customer service strategy that will include a primary contact whose goal is to respond to all customer inquiries within a specific period of time and have that timeframe clearly posted on the webpage.

If you’re reading this Gina and/or Karen – I wish you nothing but the best.  Yes, you both did try to fix the issue.  But, I obviously have unreasonable expectations, so I feel like I need to take my business elsewhere.

*If you’re not familiar with The Pearl, imagine the hoity-toitiest multipurpose district (we need fancy shopping (see: Anthropology, Diesel or any organic baby clothing store), expensive condos, equally expensive office space, a distinct lack of parking, and more small dogs wearing hooded jackets than you can shake a stick at.

^Yes, that means if I send an e-mail on a Friday morning and I haven’t heard back by Tuesday – I consider that unacceptable.

+Sent Tue, Dec 20, 2011 at 9:53 AM to Sun and Moon

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing this e-mail to inform you that I extremely disappointed in your customer service and am currently looking into other suppliers for my craft needs.

My experience with your company has soured quickly.  I only discovered your company last month and placed my first order on November 16.  To say that a lot has gone wrong in a short period of time is an understatement.

My order from November 16 included a 30x40mm vintage cabochon setting.  While placing that order, the setting page contained a link which told me for “Glass Domes for These – Click Here” and was taken to the page for the 22x30mm Oval Clear Glass Dome Cabochons.  So, those were the oval cabochons I ordered.

Upon receiving my order, I noticed that the 22x30mm oval cabochons were much too small for the settings, so on November 27 I contacted Sun and Moon Crafts Kits via the webpage.  Karen was kind enough to respond, but it took a couple of days and multiple e-mails for her to understand that I had been misdirected by the website.

I accepted the half off shipping that I was offered and placed another order on November 30 for several items including the larger oval cabochons.  (PayPal Transaction ID [].)  The only requirement for the discounted shipping was that I had to order via e-mail, which I worked with both Karen and Gina to place.

December 9th rolled around and I hadn’t received my order or a shipment confirmation, so I contacted Sun and Moon via sunandmoon@sunandmooncraftkits.com.  I didn’t receive an answer.

I tried contacting Sun and Moon again on December 13th via the same e-mail address.  Karen responded within five minutes of my e-mail to clarify that I had not received my November 30 order.  I responded shortly thereafter and didn’t hear a response within five hours, so I decided to try again.

I sent another e-mail – this time to info@sunandmooncraftkits.com.  Twenty minutes later I received a tracking number and was told that of the two Sun and Moon team members I worked with, they each thought that the other had shipped my order.

On December 16 I received my order.  I quickly noticed that I had been sent a wrong item.  I wanted five 22x30mm Vintage Cabochon Settings (http://www.sunandmooncraftkits.com/pendant-trays/vintage-cabochon-setting-22x30-005.html), but was sent five of another 22x30mm Vintage Cabochon Settings.  I didn’t even realize that you had two 22x30mm Vintage Cabochon Settings, and no one contacted me to clarify which setting I wanted. So, again, I sent an e-mail to sunandmoon@sunandmooncraftkits.com.  Here it is December 20, and I still haven’t heard back.

I understand that Sun and Moon was hit hard by the holiday rush and I imagine that it’s a very small company, but none of that changes the fact that I have had issues since the very start.  The worst part is that I really do like your products.

In fact, I’ve been able to make beautiful items using the Sun and Moon Glaze that I’ve coupled with your glass cabochons and bezel settings that I’ve sold and given as gifts.  However, when people ask about how I made them and where I purchased supplies from, I tell them about Sun and Moon Craft Kits but then I also tell them about all of the issues that I’ve had.

In short, I really wish things had been different, because I would have loved to recommend your company to my friends, family, and customers.  But, as it is right now, I can do nothing else but tell people about my experiences and encourage them to look elsewhere for their supplies.

Sincerely,

[Me]

~ Tue, Dec 20, 2011 at 10:24 AM from Sun And Moon

Well [Me],

I am sorry you feel that way because we are the type of sellers who would go out of their way to bend over backwards to help their buyers and if you do not see that then I am truly sorry. Yes the holidays have been crazy and we had to have someone new help pack orders but we will always fix an issue.

We are a small family run business and yes mistakes do happen and we always fix any issues. Yes things can get confusing when doing phone orders that is why it is best to do it through the website or etsy.

If there is something we still need to fix we will just let us know but please do not give up on us because we would do anything for our buyers. But if this is it then Merry Christmas Happy holidays and a Happy New Year. XO, Gina

** Tue, Dec 20, 2011 at 10:26 AM from Sun And Moon

Hi Tara,

I don't know what to say except that we are truly, truly sorry for all the mishaps. It really is unlike us to get it wrong multiple times & I do understand your point. Whatever, we can do to make it right, please let us know. I'm not going to make excuses of how this holiday season was tremendous. Each & every person should be taken care of as they should.

Again, my sincere apologies, & if you would like a refund please let us know how we can make it right by you.

Thank you, Karen

^^ Tue, Dec 20, 2011 at 10:31 AM from Sun And Moon

You know reading further it is very upsetting to me to think we have tried to fix your issues and we are a small company and both Karen and I will fix any problems and to say that you like our products but you are not going to say nice things about us. Will you tell them we tried? You know I make mistakes and I worked on orders but truly whatever mistakes happen we will fix. So I am very hurt now. I try and treat everyone like they are a part of our family like on our Facebook page where we ask that buyers post links to their shops to get recognition so they can show the world what they have. We are here for the buyers and let me tell you I have busted my but and neglected my children at times to make sun and moon work. Yes we do make mistakes as you clearly state but truly can not understand how during the holiday season you can not forgive and understand. Yet you tell me that you will not give any good news of my shop. Very hurt here. Gina