Employee #1 (M-40something), came to work. he said he was from Florida. I figured this would be an interesting experience for him here in Alaska. As far as his work went, I think he did okay. I heard later comments that were less than glowing. His girlfriend was supposed to come too, but she was from Jamaica and there were some non-citizen requirements pertaining to her hire. I don’t know what they were; I just know that they were complicated. When she (F-23 I think) finally arrived, the dynamic between them was most annoying. To begin with, I think he must have been incredibly jealous of her; it was like he couldn’t stand for her to be out of his sight. Her first mistake – day 2 – was believing that she worked his hours. He and another person working their job alternated AM shift and PM shift. She was supposed to be in early, take several breaks during the day, between her chores, and stay, at least moderately late. Needless to say, the boss wasn’t too happy that she wasn’t there to do morning chores.
Another day, she started to follow me so she could learn my job – I’m supposed to train her and then I could stay home, but then her boyfriend called her back in to eat breakfast. This was at like 9:30. I couldn’t wait around for her to eat, so showing her what I did could ‘t happen. I tried showing her on the next cabin, but it wasn’t much.
Another time, my boss asked me to show her some of the inside chores she was supposed to be responsible for. Her boyfriend again interrupted saying she needed to take a break now; it was a requirement of her hire. He wouldn’t hear it that this wasn’t some union job where after two or three hours of work, a break was required. Her job would require like an hour or so of morning chores, an hour or so of my chores, and then a break until lunch chores. After lunch, she would have an hour or so of afternoon chores and then all afternoon to take a nap and be back around 5 or 6. Then dinner chores. You get the picture. But I couldn’t teach her what to do with him interrupting. These chores are kinda time sensitive. She took her break while I moved on and did her work. Very frustrating.
Another thing they did that really bugged me – he insisted on showering with her in the girl’s bathroom. Now, understand, there is no room in one of those showers for both of them. No, since I cleaned the bathhouse, I had to clean 2 shower stalls every day. When I told her not to let him do that, nothing changed. When I told him, he lied to me. When the manager got on him about it, they, the two of them, used the guys’ bathroom. Like I said, it was like he couldn’t stand for her to be out of his sight. Her excuse, “I can’t tell him what to do.” Really? Are you not an adult? What would your mother say? Their relationship was really creepy. I wish her well, but she really needs to stand up for herself.
Anyway, the race card came into play come payday. The boss does payroll online. He gets banking information and does auto deposit. Three days after payday, this guy comes storming into the lodge riling at the boss saying crazy things like he wasn’t being paid because he was black. Really? You jump straight to that? No troubleshooting? So my boss goes to see and he had an email from that bank – no account belonging to that number. So this guy must have given the wrong number, or whatever. But no, it was because he was black. He quit on the spot and he and his girlfriend were gone by the next morning.
Because of that drama, I ended up working all summer. I like the job, but I’m almost 70 now. I am happy to train the person who will be doing my job, and if they have to go home early, I’ll come and see them through close up. So much for that plan this year.
Better luck next summer.
Anna's Philosophy 