Having this thing called a J-O-B can become quite interesting. Sometimes there are goooood interesting things that happen and then there are times where baaaaaad interesting things happen.

But I guess if they're bad, then would they still be interesting?

Anywho....

there are a few techs that work here that are very immature and irresponsible. Not only that, but they just don't appreciate how good they've got it with having a SECURE government job. Two of these guys I have decided to call them "The Kindergarten Club" because they act like babies most of the time.

They whine and complain about everything that "isn't fair" (in their eyes) and they're also the ones who do the least amount of work. I don't mean that they are assigned a light workload--hardly--but rather they spend a majority of their on duty hours doing things they shouldn't. For example, when they're supposed to be at a particular site working on a specific piece of equipment, they're often at a local diner having breakfast. Or, if they are actually here at the facility in the equipment room, they're surfin' the web. Now, there's nothing wrong with a 5 to 10 minute break every now and then and checking email or looking something up but it is quite entirely another scenario to do virtually NOTHING all day long---and expect to be paid for it.

The main culprit I have nicknamed "The President of the Kindergarten Club". Now, this is something that I only say to Ben. However, one day this guy called on my extension wanting to talk to the supervisor. I walked to his office and told him that he had a call on park #1. He asked who was calling. I replied hastily, "The president of the kindergarten club" and before I could cover my mouth in shock to indicate an "oops" and without missing a beat, my supervisor said the guy's name aloud. "Oh, _________ is calling," he said matter-of-factly. I about burst into laughter.

And, of course, what is a president without his right-hand man, the vice president, right?

Well, yesterday Pres and VPres get wind of some overtime that has been doled out to a few of the guys here. Let's say for explanation sake that these guys are in the Apple Section. Now let's say that Pres and VPres are in the Grape Section. Well, the overtime money was allocated to the guys in the Apple Section because the project they're working on deemed it necessary for their expertise in that area. Now, keep in mind that Ben is part of the Apple Section and not only that, but he and the coordinator have been actively involved with this project for six months. (And during those six months there were many, many times where Ben and the coordinator worked their butts off WITHOUT any overtime pay.)

So, Pres and VPres find out that there is OT money available and gripe that they're not being included. Wellllll... they're not even certified or qualified to work on the equipment that the Apple section is trained and certified on for the project. Then the VPres (of the Kindergarten Club just to reiterate) starts threatening to file a grievance. This is a HUGE deal in the government for those of you who don't know. VPres tries telling the coordinator that the union contract states that "overtime shall be distributed fairly and equitably", etc. Well, yes, that's technically correct but how I feel...and how Ben feels...and how the coordinator feels is that they weren't left out of the loop intentionally. The Apple Section has been actively involved with this project for months and the Grape Section hasn't. Not only that, but the Grape Section doesn't know how to DO what the Apple Section can!!!

What really chaps my ass on this thing is that Pres and VPres both make MORE money than Ben does W I T H his overtime pay. In otherwords, these two guys are RAKING in the dough with just their base salary.

Let's say that Ben makes $5/hr in overtime. (He makes more than that but this is just for demonstration sake.) Now, to put it into perspective, the Pres and VPres make $20 to $25/hr for overtime. (Again, these numbers are just to make the point.)

And what R E A L L Y makes Ben mad is that these guys are just greedy bastards who are only intrested in the money. They don't care about the project itself. Plus, like I mentioned before, these two guys do the least amount of work during normal business hours as it is.

And the President of The Kindergarten Club is notorious for taking leave (annual or sick) at least once a week. [Remind me to tell you about THAT whole thing in Part 2 tomorrow!!! That is, *if* you really wanna know!]

I am just dumbfounded that these guys are in their mid-40s and act like that. I dare them to work in the civilian sector and try to get away with 1/8th of their crap for 1/2 a day!! Ain't no way! Their butts would be fired in a 1/16th of a second for sure!!!

And my poor supervisor has been out of the office the last two days so he's going to get bombarded with this crap tomorrow---he has no idea about the fight that almost broke out yesterday regarding this overtime issue.

There are other people here that are always trying to "work" the system and try to get as many "bennies" as possible. They make me sick, sick, sick.

After being in the Navy for nearly four years, I feel FORTUNATE and PRIVILEDGED to have such a great job with good benefits and decent pay.

Too bad these other effers don't!!!

Until next time...peace, love & HEALTH!!!