Post by ninjinister on Aug 7, 2010 5:02:32 GMT -5
Recently, I had nabbed a role on a video game by a semi-big name (but small-time) local company. Let's just say that it's one that hasn't released a truckload of games, but nearly everyone who knows anything about games in the last 5-10 years would know who they are.
I was set to play a minor villain in one of their new games. I had told them that I had weekends off from my regular job (unfortunately, I can't consider being a ninja and a minister actual jobs, so I really only have one). They worked out a schedule where I would be able to come in on my days off. Everything was spiffy.
Then, my primary job, keeping track apparently of what day I have been sick the most (apparently Tuesdays) decided they wanted to move me off of that day. It's their own darn fault, really, because the place is an absolute frickin' pigsty and they know I have a weakened immune system. I told them fine, change my schedule all you want (mind you this is a schedule I've had nearly the entire time I've worked there, which will be four years in October), just leave at least one day of the weekend open, preferrably Saturday. They said they'd see what they could do.
Three days later they had me write out, more or less, an essay detailing what days I needed off and, more or less, why. Not even 24 hours after I'm sent the e-mail telling me this, they're putting my schedule into place anyway. And the manager telling me this lets it slip that my hours had been decided on three days prior and that the write-up I was given would have had no effect.
I was furious. I told him "Look, _______, I cannot work Saturdays. I requested them off." He told me to just send in schedule adjustment requests each time I needed one off, to which I replied "I NEED ALL OF THEM! EVERY F***ING ONE!" Needless to say, I was not happy.
So my new schedule was Thursday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday, plus Monday as an "on-call" day (ridiculous that we even have those, but whatever, that's not the point). As a "transition period", they gave me the next four days off after they had given me after my new schedule, (Friday-Saturday-Sunday-Monday), then I was to work Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday-Friday for that following week only, get Saturday off, then work Sunday, and start my normal schedule from there.
I spent all of my four-day weekend moving everything I had pre-planned on a weekend for the next three months onto my new days off. This ranged from simple things like going to see the Scott Pilgrim movie with my brother and hanging out with a friend who is moving to Canada at the end of the month, to this whole voice acting deal. I sufficiently got everything situated and it wore me the frick out. The game company had talked one of the actors that usually came in Mondays and Tuesdays to switch with me. I was still sore at my job for shuffling around my schedule, but at least I was trying to make it work.
Then I come back to work Tuesday and get called into the office. They had decided to have me just work the schedule I was on for that week as a "transition" period, meaning I worked Tuesday-through Friday, got Saturday-Sunday off, and on-call Monday.
Ordinarily I would have been glad to have gotten my weekends back, but as I said, I had just rescheduled three months worth of plans. I blew up at them for it and they acted like it was no big deal.
So I get back in touch with the game company, tell them of my plight, and they said they regretfully had to let me go, as the actor they switched over could not switch back, and they couldn't switch any other actors.
So, my lifelong dream of voice acting in a professional production has been kicked in the junk again. I've gotten a few independent projects, which unfortunately went south, but I had never gotten anything professional (in fact earlier this year, I didn't make the cut for a voice on DragonBall Z Kai.
Oh, and here's where it gets worse - they told me that they expect to screw with my schedule again at the end of September. So now I'm not so sure what other stuff further down the line I had plans for will still be valid.
Sorry... just had to get that off of my chest. I don't usually openly rant (except for once in a while on my blog), but I felt I needed to do this.
I was set to play a minor villain in one of their new games. I had told them that I had weekends off from my regular job (unfortunately, I can't consider being a ninja and a minister actual jobs, so I really only have one). They worked out a schedule where I would be able to come in on my days off. Everything was spiffy.
Then, my primary job, keeping track apparently of what day I have been sick the most (apparently Tuesdays) decided they wanted to move me off of that day. It's their own darn fault, really, because the place is an absolute frickin' pigsty and they know I have a weakened immune system. I told them fine, change my schedule all you want (mind you this is a schedule I've had nearly the entire time I've worked there, which will be four years in October), just leave at least one day of the weekend open, preferrably Saturday. They said they'd see what they could do.
Three days later they had me write out, more or less, an essay detailing what days I needed off and, more or less, why. Not even 24 hours after I'm sent the e-mail telling me this, they're putting my schedule into place anyway. And the manager telling me this lets it slip that my hours had been decided on three days prior and that the write-up I was given would have had no effect.
I was furious. I told him "Look, _______, I cannot work Saturdays. I requested them off." He told me to just send in schedule adjustment requests each time I needed one off, to which I replied "I NEED ALL OF THEM! EVERY F***ING ONE!" Needless to say, I was not happy.
So my new schedule was Thursday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday, plus Monday as an "on-call" day (ridiculous that we even have those, but whatever, that's not the point). As a "transition period", they gave me the next four days off after they had given me after my new schedule, (Friday-Saturday-Sunday-Monday), then I was to work Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday-Friday for that following week only, get Saturday off, then work Sunday, and start my normal schedule from there.
I spent all of my four-day weekend moving everything I had pre-planned on a weekend for the next three months onto my new days off. This ranged from simple things like going to see the Scott Pilgrim movie with my brother and hanging out with a friend who is moving to Canada at the end of the month, to this whole voice acting deal. I sufficiently got everything situated and it wore me the frick out. The game company had talked one of the actors that usually came in Mondays and Tuesdays to switch with me. I was still sore at my job for shuffling around my schedule, but at least I was trying to make it work.
Then I come back to work Tuesday and get called into the office. They had decided to have me just work the schedule I was on for that week as a "transition" period, meaning I worked Tuesday-through Friday, got Saturday-Sunday off, and on-call Monday.
Ordinarily I would have been glad to have gotten my weekends back, but as I said, I had just rescheduled three months worth of plans. I blew up at them for it and they acted like it was no big deal.
So I get back in touch with the game company, tell them of my plight, and they said they regretfully had to let me go, as the actor they switched over could not switch back, and they couldn't switch any other actors.
So, my lifelong dream of voice acting in a professional production has been kicked in the junk again. I've gotten a few independent projects, which unfortunately went south, but I had never gotten anything professional (in fact earlier this year, I didn't make the cut for a voice on DragonBall Z Kai.
Oh, and here's where it gets worse - they told me that they expect to screw with my schedule again at the end of September. So now I'm not so sure what other stuff further down the line I had plans for will still be valid.
Sorry... just had to get that off of my chest. I don't usually openly rant (except for once in a while on my blog), but I felt I needed to do this.