Temp Worker

I’m Jason Rall. I don’t have a regular job, working for someone else. I have never had a regular job, working for someone else. I probably never will have a regular job, working for someone else. However, I work pretty much a 40 hour or more work week. I get paid about 150% of what a full time employee of my skill and experience would earn. Actually there is probably no full time employee who has my skill set. However, there are advantages and disadvantages to my temp work life style.
When I was still in college, I got a work study gig with the Lozenge Corporation. I was assigned to work for one Matt, a Project Manager. I found that Matt was a very intelligent, totally lazy, worthless piece of incompetent crap. However, I did the work that Matt assigned to me and I learned a lot, in the process. Since Matt was an incompetent, I moved from fire fighting task to fire fighting task, cleaning up the messes that Matt’s underlings left behind them. I did get some college credit for what I learned, doing the work that I did for Matt.
As I worked for Matt, I came into contact with several people that I would encounter again and again, as a temp worker. The people were:
No load Norm or Norma. Norm or Norma did no productive work. They would sit at a desk and shuffle papers until a delivery was due. Then Norm or Norma would deliver a speech that Baron Munchenhausen would have been proud of. There was no work to deliver, thus work study boy was plugged in, to create the missing work. Once I had done the work, the results were credited to Norm or Norma and life at the Lozenge Corporation went on.
Pierre le Merde. Pierre was a trained and skilled programmer. Unfortunately, Pierre really spoke no American. Because of the language problem, there was no work for Pierre to deliver, thus work study boy was plugged in, to create the missing work. Once I had done the work, the results were credited to Pierre and life at the Lozenge Corporation went on.
Polly Poontang. It might be said that Polly walked into an office area. Walk is like a muted drum cadence. What Polly did to perambulate was an entire symphony. Polly would check in about 10AM, drink coffee and then disappear into a ladies room, for quite some time. What Polly did with make up in the ladies room, was maybe something like what Reubens did with paint and canvas. Polly couldn’t program a computer, but work study boy was always on call. Once I had done the work, the results were credited to Polly and life at the Lozenge Corporation (mainly after work) went on. (Later I found that Polly, working under the nom de plume, Fifi le Jugs, starred in several artistic video triumphs, along with the Louisiana Longhorn.)
As I staggered to the finish of my college career, I had learned a lot of valuable things. I had two published papers, on programming techniques. I had worked on key software, for several different programming projects. I had worked with programmers, from other companies, on communication projects. I had worked in several programming languages, on several mainstream computers. I had learned a little about working with people. Most importantly, I had earned the key piece of paper that showed how smart I was. I had graduated from college and my worries were over. Yeah, right.
I reported for work at the Lozenge Corporation. I had a signed and approved contract that guaranteed me a programmer job. I then discovered that Matt was gone.
I was then ushered into the office of Billy Scheisskopf, who had replaced Matt. Billy sneered at me and told me, “You have done no work, under your work study contract, therefore I am firing you.”
I replied, calmly, “I have done a lot of work, for the Lozenge Corporation, and I can prove it.”
Billy just sneered at me and told me, “The Lozenge Corporation has good lawyers. If you think to take us to court, we will destroy you.”
Fortunately I had access to a couple of lawyers, back at my college.