Finances & Money

I finally got my work badge!

It took 51 days and a mess of hassle for my friends, former coworkers/bosses, landlords and roommates, but it finally happened. Today I finally got badged at my client’s office. That means I don’t need an escort for the bathroom anymore!

The bad part of it is that now I can easily go get lunch on my own. Since starting this contract almost 2 months ago, I’ve lost about 8-10 pounds, mostly thanks to my frugal lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. On Fridays, I would go for sushi (because it’s Lent and the whole fish thing gives me an excuse to have sushi). Now I can eat at any of the fine establishments in the area at any time. However, I’m still maintaining my lunch budget of $100 per month, and will still bring in PB&J sandwiches.

This also means that I no longer need to wait until 9am to get in with an escort (all the unbadged contractors would meet at 845 every morning to reduce the “strain” on the government resources). Since I tend to arrive on or before 8am anyway, thanks to Stacie giving me a ride to the metro, now I can just walk myself to the metro station at any time without worrying about being too early or too late for an escort. I actually have some control over my schedule!

Lastly, having a badge makes me feel like a part of the team now. Before I was badged, I never felt like I belonged. I felt temporary, and I think my fellow coworkers, even those from my own company, felt the same. Now I’m “here to stay” (at least for now). I really hope that my next job site doesn’t require an escort to the bathroom for 2 months again. Did I mention how much of an inconvenience that was?

And for all of you friends, etc. who read this site and were subjected to in-person interviews for my sake, I want to give you my sincerest thanks and gratitude. And for those of you who declined to help because of some “company policy prohibiting personal references”, I got it done without you! Eh, you don’t read this site anyway.