Chori chori kare dhadak dhadak jiya jiya

Tough decisions were never my strong suit; heck, look at my waffling over college for the easiest proof of that statement.

Now, I have a different choice I have to make: Working. Not whether or not to work, obviously, but where. Here's what's going down: I applied at Wal-Mart on a lark after my successful (or so I thought) interview with HEB.

HEB never called. They said they would, approved or denied (But that something really weird would have to happen for me to get denied at that point). There's a few possibilities there - first, I put the wrong phone number. Unlikely, for a few reasons. I double-checked the apartment phone number that I put down, and it's correct. Failing that, I definitely know my cell-phone number; I've had that for a few years now and am not likely to get that one wrong. Second, that they lost my paperwork, that it got misplaced, shuffled around incorrectly, something along those lines. Quite possible, especially given my luck lately. Third, that they rejected me and never called. Also quite possible, but Lisa - the supervisor that conducted my interview - assured me that they would call me either way; I asked because of this very possibility. I've tried calling back to explore the chance that they lost my paperwork, forgot about me, or rejected me, but I haven't had much success treading that path. I looked them up in the phone book, but the number that it gave me doesn't seem to work very well. The first time I called it, I got an answer, but the lady told me to wait a few days. Ever since, the phone has just continued to ring with no answer. Very disheartening.

So Wal-Mart called, i've gone through two interviews and a pre-NHO paperwork session/drug test. Haven't been called back conerning the results on that, expecting a call this week or very early next week.

CRI went very well - I went the pre-employment screening, did very well on all the testing. Impressed the lady with my typing test skills - got a 97 wpm with 94% accuracy. Not the best, but almost four times the 25 wpm they required. Good to know that I do have decent typing skills, and I'll use that fact on future job applications. So that was a few days ago, had my NHO yesterday. Have my first real shift today.

Here's where the complications begin. CRI's shifts end at eleven. Walmart's shifts begin at 10. Obviously, I can't work both on the same day. There's the chance that I can get them scheduled on alternating days - I have a set schedule at CRI already, I'd have to see if Walmart would let me take the other days. The immediate problem I foresee with that, though, is that when I was talking to Louis during one of my interviews, he specifically confirmed that I didn't need specific days off, and mentioned that that was one of the problems they were having in filling this position. At the time, I didn't, but now, I do, and it sounds like it might be a problem. Given their large corporation status, they're also less likely to work with me and make concessions towards my specific needs.

That's where the decision stuff comes in, if Walmart can't accomodate my scheduling request, which I would totally understand, given that they didn't exist when I applied. That all means that it sounds like here shortly, I'll have to decide between CRI and Walmart.

Note: Yes, I realize that these are both fairly crappy jobs, especially if they're my primary occupation and the only major thing filling my time right now. I fucked up bad, I know that. I'm working on it. Moving on.

Each job has its own benefits. CRI, I'll have no problems getting 40 hours a week. It's a lower base pay, but much more incentives for high productivity. Heck, you get a higher base pay just for working 30 or more hours a week. However, they don't allow overtime, which sucks. I've always been a huge fan of overtime. Additionally, the people at CRI all seem a lot cooler than anyone that works at Walmart. It's hard to say which job will pay me more. I don't know if Walmart has productivity incentives, but I suspect it doesn't. I imagine there's a raise after a certain period of time, but that's about it. I don't know how they feel about overtime. Eitehr way, I think I really want a second job, since it appears that these two are incomptible. Wal-Mart would be a lot easier to get a second job that has more traditional hours, since my availability would be something like 8 am - 9 pm, contrasted with 12 am - 2 pm at CRI. About the same number of hours available, just shifted four hours or so. There's just no real clear-cut victor after looking at everything, and I don't like having to make these types of decisions. I guess, though, that's a huge part of being "grown-up" - making these tough decisions that are going to have both an immediate and long-lasting impact on your ilfe.

Luckily, I have a little bit before I really have to make this decision. Walmart probably won't finish processing my stuff for another few days, either the end of this week or early next week (not that I'm entirely confident in corporations' ability to process paperwork; thanks, HEB). I suppose I need to start looking for a second job either way, I'm just not sure which hours of availibility to put down. I guess I'll put down CRI's, see what happens.

Oh, the one thing I forgot is that I can still turn down Walmart and not feel like a total shitbag. I've been on the clock at CRI, I've committed to these hours. I'm not exactly eager to just say "Yeah, well, fuck you!" to them. I've never really espoused integrity, not that it's ever come up, though, in retrospect, I guess that's why I've left both Sonic and Domino's. I think I'd enjoy the work more at Walmart, I'm not entirely certain doing phone surveys will leave me feeling terribly satisfied. Well, restocking a large retail store won't either, but I think the argument could be made about *relative* satisfaction and all.

I'm just frustrated at the whole situation - one that I created, not trying to shuffle blame off on anyone else (though HEB not calling when they said they would is a little annoying). It's really easy for that to spill over and color other things - lack of a social life, religious presecution, the current administration, school prospects, you name it.

Aneela ft Arash -- Chori Chori (Great Barrier Radio Edit)