New week, same sweatpants.

Remember everything I said in my last post about going to work on Monday? Ignore it. Ignore it all.

When I got offered that job I was so in shock that I forgot to ask about wages. I knew what the position's hourly range was and there was a generous spread between the top and the bottom. The high end was less than I was used to making but still reasonable and fair. The low end was $0.59 below my minimum threshold for what I needed to make to justify putting the kids in daycare.

I called the Wednesday before I was scheduled to start to ask the big important question. The higher ups had decided that I was going to start at the bottom of the pay scale. I told them we'd need to negotiate on that, so my manager said she'd get back to me on Friday. I wasn't worried. There's a posted range for a reason.

Thursday afternoon I finally heard back from another job I'd wanted. She wanted to interview but I told her I'd have to get back to her, depending on how Friday's conversation went. I was committed to start another job on Monday and didn't want to waste time in interviews that weren't going to go anywhere. It's nice to finally be courted, instead of throwing myself/resume at everyone's mercy.

Friday afternoon rolled around, and I got my long awaited call. She told me there was no room to negotiate and that wage was their final offer. So I wished them good luck in finding another candidate then booked an interview for Wednesday morning with my other employment suitor.

I was glad they'd made the decision for me because I was so unhappy with the prospect of full time even though it wasn't going to be a forever job. We'd also gotten some news the night before that meant I had a very full week ahead of me anyway, so to be able to take that pesky annoyance of "work" and "getting dressed" and "thinking" out of the way was a huge weight off my shoulders. The tension headache I'd woken up with Friday morning melted right away, kind of like the goat mozza on my pizza that night. Except that melted into my arteries.

So here I sit in my leggings (Molly had a pediatrician appointment so I got dressed-ish), in my cozy basement with the fireplace roaring while my kids "nap" when I could be in an office, wearing fancier leggings and getting paid less than I'm worth. Right now, I'm totally okay with that.