Stranger Things

I guess I'll have to pause work ranting for a while.

No, it's not because I'm no longer working at OBC, but they've surprised me quite a bit.

I've explained how, recently, they've been on my case about the time that I arrive despite the fact that the 50 miles I have to go leaves lots of room for things to go wrong. It had seemed for quite some time that, while I thought I had improved significantly, they were not taking that into account at all. It has been very frustrating, and would sure be a silly thing to be fired over. So, I did my best to improve my time. I had mentioned to Boss² that I was concerned and she said the two of us would get together and discuss it. Well, that never happened.

Yesterday, I was called to a meeting with Adolf and Boss² about this issue. I had been keeping a list of what time I arrived and why if I was late, and so brought that with me, fully prepared to shout the Q-word if they were being unreasonable. Lo and behold! They told me I had improved significantly since our last meeting nearly three months ago. They did say it could be better (I was still coming in during the 'grace period' most days) but it had improved. Well, sometimes people surprise you. I left that meeting feeling pretty good.

Later in the afternoon, one of my coworkers, who had just had a meeting with them, said they wanted to see me next. I was baffled, I saw them that morning, what could they possibly have to say now? I went, a little leery. Who wants to guess what they had to say? Don't worry, I'll tell you. They said I've been doing a great job, my work is stellar and DING! you are now level three!
Ok, that was an EverQuest reference. See, we have levels in my office to make it feel like you've been promoted. I've been level two for two years. At my last review in August, they told me I would not go any further in my current position. My attempts to change positions were thwarted by them (they weren't going to promote me until I corrected my tardiness, among other things), so I was certain I was stuck in level two until I could think of something. Level three means more work, yes, but more money too. I've been working pretty hard recently, and since I did improve my arrival time, and I guess they re-evaluated my performance, and here I am. Believe it or not, I'm feeling pretty good about work right now. 50 mile commute and all.

Stranger things have happened, I suppose, but this was pretty strange!