Last Thursday I had to sit in my company car in zero degree (Celsius) weather waiting for the ADAC (Germany's AAA) to come and two me back to Aachen.
I was in the boondocks when my company car died. The clutch (I had noted a problem and told my bosses something needed to be fixed...the problem instead was ignored) died and I wasn't able to move the car a foot. On the phone with my boss he told me I would be financially compensated for the time spent waiting for the ADAC to come tow me. Good.
2.5 hours after my class ended I got home. And all was taken care of. Monday was payday and I was expecting to see some sort of financial bonus in my paycheck....I however, was disappointed. Today I approached my boss about the subject...for the first time discussing financial discrepancies. Now...there are many (we aren't paid anywhere near enough compared to industry standards and our vacation time is also not legally computed) problems when it comes to finances with my firm but normally I don't raise them as long as I get what I expected for that month. I am quite proud of myself for the way I handled the situation. He offered me a number and I told him that it needed to be higher....and he agreed.
I'm proud to see myself standing up for my rights and what I deserve. This is a welcomed changed.
2 comments:
I have had some interesting situations with car breaking down and stranding me in remote places. In March and April 1966, a Lt (I cannot remember his name)and I were TDY for six-eight weeks. The Lt drove his car this whole trip. I do not know how many miles he put on his car, but it was a bunch. We were a travelling team teaching Aerospace Physiology to bomber aircrew members in of all places, the SAC Alert Barracks. The air crew members stayed in the barracks for a week and then be off the Alert Barracks detail for another month. So rather than sending everyone to us at Carswell AFB, Ft Worth, Tex, we had to go to them. The interesting trip we were on took us to all these local cities because the bases were there.
Abilene, TX
Roswell, NM
Amarillo, TX
Clinton-Sherman, OK
Altus, OK
Wichita Falls, TX
Shreveport, LA
Austin, TX
And then, home again.
After we left Abilene, the fun began. We were driving west and halfway between Abilene and Lubbock, we drove into a darkening dust storm. We drove almost to the New Mexico border before the storm died out. Since we drove with the lights on all the way to New Mexico, we did not know until the next day that the light covers would not close. We were making good time as we approached Roswell but I started keeping a close eye on the gas gauge. I had a feeling that we were about to run out of gas. I devised a scheme in my head that if we did run out of gas, I should be the one to sacrifice myself and hitchhike a ride into Roswell to get some gas. My rationale was simply this. I was an Airmen with some worldly experiences and the Lt was just out of college with how manly worldly experiences, I do not know. I hitchhiked a lot when I was an early teenager and do not know if the Lt knew how to hitch a ride like that. In addition, it was cold outside and the time was approaching midnight. With the cold being a factor, I figured that if I caught a ride, I would be warm in that ride, however, the Lt would get cold as the heat in the car dissipates. What do you think happened? The car ran out of gas just 20 miles east of Roswell. I got out and started hiking a ride. I stuck my thumb out and it took only two to three vehicles before someone stopped for me. When I was dropped off in Roswell at a gas station, I bought some gas from the attendant and rented their gas can. Then, I called the local sheriff and explained the situation to him and asked if he would give me a ride back to our stranded car. He sent a deputy out to give me a ride.
The sheriff deputy drove out of the city limits without saying a word when he finally started talking. He asked me the following question. Do you want to know why I came to pick you up and give you a ride? We were looking for a criminal with you name! That made me feel good enough. When we got back to the car, there was the Lt, sitting in his car shivering a lot and wrapped in a blanket trying to get warm. Well after midnight, I crawled into bed on the AF base, pulled the blanket up to my neck and because of the dust storm, I felt like I was lying on sandpaper. What a night!
That story about the duststorm in TX and NM is true. I published the anonymous account.
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