Hey Brandon,I was just informed that you cannot get on the payroll books until you have passed a background check. I have the form. Don’t freak. It’s just because you became a GTA before they started requiring them. Now that you are a lecturer you will need it. Don’t drive in today because the office is closing at 1:00 today and the mail has already gone out for the day.Sorry, bub,[Administrator]
Okay.
No, seriously, okay.
I had briefly discussed background check stuff before with the department's administration, since that was something that seriously surprised me when I first started as a GTA at the university -- there was no background check, no drug test, etc. None of that stuff was required. Apparently, later on into my tenure as a grad student, they changed this rule and required background checks for all of their incoming GTAs, but since I was already "in" at that point, I never had to do it.
My record is spotless, of course; the only thing I've ever been involved in, when it comes to the law, was a single speeding ticket I got, once, about a year and a half ago -- which I immediately paid and never had to worry about again. I've had to fill out numerous background check forms for other positions I applied to this past summer. They're nothing new to me at this point. Date of birth, seven years of addresses, other names or aliases, SSN, etc. Nothing major. It's not like I've ever not passed a background check; you have to try to not be able to pass one, really.
I replied that it was fine and that I'd fill out the form on Wednesday morning when I got back to main campus, as I'm teaching out west on Tuesday, thanked her for letting me know, and told her to let me know if there was anything else I needed to do. The department administrators are both wonderful women, and I adore them -- they keep that department running in a well-oiled fashion, and if I've ever needed anything administrative, they've taken care of it quickly and efficiently.
Furthermore, even if I have to wait an extra week or two to get my first check because of this, it's fine -- it's not like I'm going to starve or run out of money before then, and it's not like I'm not going to get paid for the classes I'm teaching. If I have to wait longer, I may have to use my credit cards a little more than usual, possibly, for getting groceries and gas, but I'll still be able to pay rent, pay bills, and survive just fine. It's not the end of the world.
I am amazed at my calmness when dealing with this scenario, to tell you the truth. Usually anything involving my money or finances will make me an absolute stressed-out mess. This time around? Eh. Do I have enough money to pay my bills? Yes? Then it doesn't matter, I'm fine. Even another month of waiting on my first paycheck would run me down a little more than I would expect to be, but it wouldn't destroy me or bankrupt me, and there's no reason to obsess about it because, unlike worrying about things like my student loans and jumping through all of the hoops I had to go through to ensure those would drop last year, the hoops this time are just boring paperwork and procedure. The administration ladies already know that I'm scheduled to get my first check on the second pay schedule of the department anyhow, so the worst thing that could happen, really, would be the processing of that background check making me skip my first scheduled payday of the 13th and starting on the 20th or 27th instead. Either way, it won't break me or irritate me; it's just something I have to deal with.
They would still have to schedule me on one of those pre-existing pay schedules, by the way; if they didn't, the university would have to completely recalculate my amount per check in order to keep each one equal for the shorter amount of time I'd be getting paid because of any delay in processing. I somehow doubt the university's payroll department would want to put in the work to do that for a bottom-rung adjunct professor.
Ironically, this payroll issue comes no more than a day after I learned that Newton is raising its water rates by an average of $17 a month for everyone in the city. My normal water bill is about $60-65 per month for just me in a one-person household. I have always watched my water usage anyhow; my toilet upstairs developed a leak around the seal in the back tank, and were I to allow it to run, it would run constantly, as it just keeps draining into the bowl around that seal. I've been turning it off after each flush for the better part of a year now. Could I replace that gasket quickly and easily? Yeah, probably, but I'm lazy. It's easier, and saves water, just to turn it on and off. The only other water I use is when I run the dishwasher (about once every two weeks or so), do a load of laundry (once or twice a week) and when I shower -- which I can do quickly, and when it's hot I don't shower every day because I'll just be coated in sweat again shortly thereafter. They're trying to justify the rate increase because of several local factors and the cost of water in general, but I already think paying $65 a month or so for water is ludicrously expensive, especially when I know people in other towns/states who pay, like, $15-30 at most.
I've been trying to spend as little actual money as possible anyhow; when I got groceries for Daisy's visit, I did it with my Citi card. The balance was paid off on that back in July. When I get gas for myself or for Daisy, I do it on my Amazon Visa card almost exclusively, as I get points for it and it allows me to pay it off all at once instead of in chunks out of my bank account at possibly inopportune times. My Discover card hasn't yet been used, but is kept in case of emergency, as you folks know, such as needing to replace a vital part on the car or something along those lines. If I have the money, I pay off the entirety of my credit card balances every month. If I have to budget, I'll pay half and half and stretch it out a little more. When I go to Walmart, probably tonight or tomorrow night, I'll more than likely use the Citi card again. No big deal. Once I start getting my regular paychecks I'll be able to clean off those balances once more with no real issues, and I save my bank account's money for things that I must write checks for, such as rent, the water bill, the electric and cable bills, etc.
No, I don't trust those "online bill pay" systems, or those systems that do automatic debit from my account. I keep track of every cent I spend, and every cent I have. If I can avoid it, I'll never do online bill pay. Ever. Yes, I'm one of those people. Daisy finds this extremely old-fashioned of me, and was slightly offended when I told her that even after we're married, we may have a joint bank account for some things, but I will always have my own bank account that my paychecks (or the vast majority of them) go into to be able to keep track of every cent I have. That's another one of my big-time complexes/neuroses. When I've been poor, and I mean out of money, REALLY poor and had less than $2 to my name in my bank account, I learned how important it is to keep track of every little cent. Most people don't understand what that's like, because they've never been in that situation before. If I can help it, I will never be in that situation again, and being able to track absolutely everything is the way I will prevent that.
But yeah, the payroll thing at work isn't a big deal, and neither are my finances right now or for the next month or so. I'll get paid when I get paid. Yes, I hope it's sooner rather than later, but in the big picture of things, it doesn't really matter. I don't even really have to get any real food or groceries when I go to Walmart; I have a ton of stuff left over from Daisy's visit.
It's gotten hotter since this morning; the sun has come out and the temperature has shot up by eight or nine degrees since I woke up. The rain/storms they were calling for previously have now basically been removed from the forecast, and it appears that for the next ten days or so, our scorching heat wave will continue with no rain to speak of -- though the low 90s are as hot as the Weather Channel is currently predicting. Seeing as it's September now, I really wish fall weather would start to kick in a little bit more and give us more seasonal highs in the 70s or low 80s at best, with mornings in the 40s and 50s. I like being able to breathe and stay sweat-free when I need to be on one campus or the other four days a week, dressing somewhat classily on most of those days. "Hoodie weather" coming means I can actually relax my dress code a bit, especially for teaching on the main campus. I am still completely unconcerned what I wear to teach in on West campus, since nobody sees me there and I have no one to impress. I've also sort of ingrained into my 101 students' heads already that they're lucky to have a professor instead of a GTA teaching their class, so I've already got a ton of unspoken respect from them. I'm good at doing little mental tricks like that. I've learned a lot over my years of teaching -- having your students be able to identify with you as a person and not just as a scary authority figure in charge is a great way to foster in-class discussion and/or subconsciously help them produce better work.
Tonight I plan to Skype with Daisy before she goes to work, then get something to eat and go back to bed. There's no football on (at least none that I can watch) and there's nothing pressing to do that can't wait until tomorrow.
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