Working

Or trying to, at least.

My tenure with the child care agency has turned into a cavalcade of errors. It started off well enough with a week long assignment at a fitness center's drop-in day care. The week after that I was going on vacation, so I didn't send in my schedule. I knew I had to notify them each week when I could work, but it didn't occur to me that I needed to alert them when I couldn't work. I got a really annoyed phone call from the agency about not contacting them by the deadline, and I apologized my butt off.

When I got back from vacation, I emailed them with my availability for the week. I got worried when I didn't hear back and double checked that I sent them the email. Evidently I attempted to email the agency, but I typed the address wrong and had missed the deadline for the week by the time I re-emailed them, leading to another embarrassed apology.

The next week, I successfully submitted my schedule, but when they called to give me an assignment I forgot to check my voicemail all day. After a series of increasingly irritated messages from the agency, I finally called them back to discover they had given away my job and - of course - to apologize.

Last week my phone rings and (Yay!) it's the agency calling, so I pick up to eagerly accept my assignment. Except that I hear, "Hello, Responsible Badger?"

"No, this is Unruly Duckling," I say.

"Oh. Sorry, Duckling. I dialed the wrong number. Have a great week!"

Right, another great week of being a housebound, unemployed loser!

A few days later the agency calls again and correctly identifies me by name when I answer, so now I'm really excited. They have an order for me from Jane Doe. "What is Jane Doe's address?" I want to know. The agency is confused because they thought I'd been there before, but, no, I've never met Jane Doe or her offspring. It turns out the order was for a different Duckling. Never mind!

Today, wonder of wonders!, I receive a detailed message from the agency about a job for three days this week. I call back to confirm the information, and the agency expresses concern that the home phone the client gave them was disconnected. However, they received the request by email, and they were able to leave a message on the cell phone the client provided, so no big deal, right?

Well, I used to live on the same street as the client, and I'm pretty sure there are only apartments all along that road. Lo and behold! Googling the address confirms it's an apartment complex, but there wasn't any apartment number on the address for the order. I left a voice mail for the agency letting them know I need a better address, but I haven't heard back yet.

Maybe it's time to look for another gig.

(Cue whining and procrastination)