I did it!

I've never been a money grubbing worker, so this is my first time. I feel bad about leaving my current job for another; but at the same time, I recognize that I need the money and it would be irresponsible to stay put. We need to show a profit on this trip. So far, we are in the negative. I learned that our season will not be four months as I thought. It will only be three months. With a shortened season, we won't earn as much as we need if we both work at the Head Start. Our needs include our earning goal and the need to recover what we have spent. My wife will stay on and I will jump over to another job that pays better. It's not difficult or dangerous. In fact, the job is very boring and routine.

 

Today, I went over to the Seneca plant to apply for the job. It's funny, I got the job before I even finished filling out the application. The biggest selling point was that I am bilingual. Many of the applicants don't speak English. They were already warming up one of the office workers to help me fill out the application. When I gave a "good morning", you could see the relief that I could fill out the application on my own. I was talking to the person in charge of hiring. He told me that the locals don't usually tough it out the entire season. It's the migrant workers who will stay for the long haul. I start orientation tomorrow. I wish I could have given longer notice before changing jobs. I hate to just up and leave like that. I need to turn in a letter of resignation tomorrow. So, I have another job now.

 

I think I can still continue blogging regularly, but there will be a pause this weekend. Believe it or not, AOL does NOT have a local dial-up number for Rice Lake. The apartment where we will be moving in has a computer and internet service company across the street, so I'll go over there to see what we can do to get me hooked up. I'll be working 12 hour shifts 7 days a week until the end of September. So expect few and boring entries.

Good opportunity for change

I got wind of a good opportunity today. I'm going to follow up tomorrow to see what my prospects are. If the opportunity is good, then I will have to do something that I don't like doing. I'd end up jumping ship from one job to another with a better offer. I have tried loyalty to my employers in the past and have wound up used and broke. So dumping one job for another goes against my nature. Usually, I'll stick to a job until it is no longer fulfilling, quit, wander around, and find another job. It is difficult to go against my nature by finding another job while employed; but this year has been about change for me.

 

I'm learning some things about my current job that would mean that I will have wasted my trip north. I'd end up in the RGV again without having met my objective. As much as I want to be loyal and be a part of the group, I'm seeing that I won't get where I want to go. Ironically, the job would be very fulfilling if I were to ignore my objectives. I can't afford to set aside my personal goals for the sake of my job any longer. I see a lot of people who have deferred their own personal goals who look back and wonder where the time went. I don't want to be one of those people who gave their lives to their jobs with nothing to show for it. It's probably arrogant for me to expect an employer to be as loyal to me as I am to them.

 

All this is a bit premature. I don't know for certain if the opportunity is such a big step forward yet. I do like my current job. I like the people, I like the mission. But I think I've been screwed over enough that this trip is turning out to be unprofitable. I would let it slide if I even stood of chance of breaking even. But, it's unlikely. It sounds cliché, but it's nothing personal, it's just business.

 

For example, the volunteering was supposed to be one week during the training. They volunteered me two weeks instead. So I won't get paid for that time. I applied for the job in the RGV so that I could get the traveling stipend. Since I was hired here, I did not get the stipend. I thought the season would go until October. It turns out that it will end in September. I am doubtful that I'll get the stipend to go back to the RGV. All in all, my profit keeps slipping away. I can't afford that and the current losses.

New Site for Los Fresnos

I found this site with news about Los Fresnos. I thought I'd share it so other bloggers can link to it. It seems authentic, so I hate to see it die out. Anybody who can link to it should. I'll be adding it to my links later. I don't see any RSS buttons, otherwise it would go on the SpinRGV site as a regular headliner.

Arrived at Rice Lake

We have arrived at Rice Lake, WI. This is where we will live for the season. We left St Paul, MN this morning around 9 am. We took I-35E north and then turned onto U.S. Hwy 8 to I-59. That practically brought us to Rice Lake. We stopped at Turtle Lake, WI for lunch. The diner was nicely decorated on the inside; they had a Coca-Cola theme throughout with checkered black and white tile on the floor. The menu was a bit limited, but they made the few options very well.

 

We arrived at Rice Lake a little before 3 pm. It was easy to find the AmericInn. We took all of our stuff off the truck and moved it into the room. We have until Friday to find an apartment here. After that, the company will house us at the motel on a case-by-case basis depending on our success in finding a place to live. Traveling, even though you are sitting the whole time, takes a lot out of you, so we took a short nap. A while later, we got a call from some friends who had arrived here and went to visit a family member. They called us to join them so they could show us around town. We ate at a Taco John's restaurant. This is a franchise similar to Taco Bell, except Taco John's is a little closer, but not exactly, Mexican.

 

Afterwards, we followed our friends so that we could see where we will be working. We visited the center briefly. The grass in the front yard is tall and it looks like there may be a little work to do, but it looks like a good site. I look forward to working there.

 

Alma and I went to Wal-Mart to buy some groceries and a cooler. As fun as dining out is, it's bad for your health and economically unsustainable. We just got the staple items and a few other things. We will save a little with the continental breakfasts here at the AmericInn.

 

There are some big differences between up here and down in the RGV. For one, there are no Whataburgers. That's pretty sad for people who migrate from Texas. At the Wal-Mart, another big difference is that camping and fishing are big-time entertainment up here, so the sporting goods section has some stuff that you don't find back home. Citrus is also more expensive. At Oshkosh, they were selling oranges for 50 cents each! That was at Wal-Mart where they promise low prices, Always! On the other hand, milk is a dollar cheaper than in the RGV.

 

We haven't had a good look at the housing market. Apartments aren't much cheaper than in the RGV. Rent typically goes between $450 and $600 a month, from our searching. We got one of those free publications with real estate listings. There are many houses in the 200K range listed. Towards the end, they have the cheaper houses, mostly fixer-uppers. I get the feeling that Rice Lake is a sort of recreation town. I'll find out later what the main industries are. By the look of the town, if you just happened to drive in, there doesn't appear to be much going on. Yet, there are good, well-paying jobs here. You have to wonder what sustains this place. For Wal-Mart to put a Supercenter here, there must be traffic. Although, when we were there earlier, the place was almost deserted. At 9 pm at the Wal-Marts in the RGV on a Sunday night, there would be lines at the checkouts.

 

We have not really talked to many people yet; so, we don't know how the natives are, culturally. Our interaction has been mostly transactional. As I become more acquainted with the area and the people, I'll be posting more about it. Of course, part of my work here entails interviewing migrants, too. So, I'll let you know about the people I meet. Due to the need for confidentiality, I will be calling the migrants by first name and last initial, keeping particulars to a minimum. I will not be writing about the children with whom I will be working. Everything I've worked towards for this summer will start to fall in place over the next two weeks.

I must be nuts

I went swimming earlier this evening at the UWOSH indoor swimming pool. I was expecting the worst. I remember as a kid when I would go swimming in the lakes in Wisconsin. One year when we lived in Madison, our apartment complex had a pool. All experiences involved damn cold water. I was pleasantly surprised tonight. The water was a bit shocking, but not the sort of cold that leaves you breathless. As a guest of UW, I am allowed to use the facility. I went with a friend and my son around 7:30. It took us a while to find the way into the pool, they keep it in the basement. My friend had been here last year and went swimming. He forgot how to get in. The water is colder than an RGV swimming pool. It didn't take long for my toes and legs to start cramping up. The valley definitely has a advantage in pool temperatures.

 

If you want to experience a good pool, you must go to the Mission Northside Pool, next to Mission High School. That pool is heated all year. It's awesome on the few cold days that we have in the valley. My freshman year, we had a swim meet over the Christmas break during a "freeze". It feels great to jump in water that's in the 70's when the air temperature is in the 30's. Getting out of the pool between races was horrible, being all wet and in a swimsuit with cold gusts.

 

 

 

I'm not leaving

I got an anonymous comment on yesterday's post. I re-read the post and towards the end it sounds like I'm not going back to the RGV. I'm sure that anonymous will be disappointed, but I will be returning home to Mission, Texas. This is just a seasonal job. I expect to be going home by October. As much as I like Wisconsin, the area where I'm going is only an hour away from St. Paul, one of the coldest spots in America during the winter. There is a damn good reason why we have Winter Texans in the Rio Grande Valley every year. If you look in my 43 Things list, you'll see that freezing my ______ off is not listed. Besides, the valley is my home.

 

I haven't interviewed anybody, today. My mind was mostly on my job interview. I wound up having two interviews for jobs I had not considered. They are short-staffed in bus drivers, so I volunteered to get my Class B license so that I can drive the bus. This would be on top of my duties as a teacher, should I get the job. The funny thing is that I intended to interview for the teacher assistant position, but it was suggested I apply for the teaching position instead. So, I wound up having two interviews and could potentially end up having double duty, which is alright by me. I'll find out if I got the job or jobs tomorrow. I hope I do for the free weekends.

 

I want to point out a couple differences between the RGV and Oshkosh. There are tons of apartments leasing for $250 to $350 per month currently because all the students at UWOSH have left for the summer. Wal-Mart has a sign out on a table that says "Now Hiring", possibly for the same reason. If you're a young person trying to get into Wal-Mart back in the RGV, good luck. They have hundreds of applicants every week. It would be easier to apply and get hired outside the RGV and then transfer back home if you are interested in returning to the valley. You can come here or go to some other town or state up north. I'm not trying to get people to move to Oshkosh. Rather, I would like to persuade you, in case you are struggling in the RGV, to let go of your fear of leaving the comfort of the Magic Valley.

 

I guess I've learned the hard way that one must be willing to relocate. It doesn't have to be forever, just long enough for you to save some money and gain experience that would be denied to you in a flooded labor market. Go where there is work. Where there is more work than employees, there is opportunity to advance. Take advantage of the opportunities so that when you go back to the RGV, you have a good work history and a minimum pay requirement that is more than minimum. There are even companies that pay well and there is "no experience required, will train".

 

Mexican and Tejano culture is my culture too. I realize that suggesting to people in the RGV to leave their families and familiar surroundings behind to seek better opportunities and experiences is a lot to ask. Look at it this way. If you gave it your best outside the RGV and you are no better off than you were back home, you lost nothing and have at least gained the experience of living outside the RGV. If, on the other hand, do well for yourself, you will have raised the bar for the minimum level of pay you will accept. If geography doesn't constrain you, opportunities abound.

 

 

The good and the bad

We had the opportunity to meet the executives of UMOS today. We learned about the history of the organization and some challenges. Very interesting stuff. It was followed by more training. Today we were joined by support staff, which made our group bigger. In addition, UW-Oshkosh is hosting some summer camps. The campus is flooded with high school kids. We did have the good fortune to find Uncalendars. I got hooked on them at UT-Austin.

 

Tomorrow, I officially interview for my job after a day of training. It's a formality of sorts, I'm practically in already due to the shortage of workers. In case anybody is interested, the Migrant Head Start program needs bus drivers and other personnel for the schools. If you don't mind relocating, there is work for you outside of Texas. This brings me to a related subject that popped up today.

 

While we were fighting to stay awake during the training, my wife wrote me a note asking if we could come to Wisconsin again next year. I'm all for it. I checked the weather last night. Back home, the temperature is up at 100 degrees. Yikes! We're cold most of the time up here. Of course, my answer is yes; we can come again next summer.

 

We then started talking about our choices over the past 11 years of our marriage. We are thinking that it's about time that we let go of our safety zone in the RGV. It's easy to blame the Rio Grande Valley and employers there for not providing a decent living for us. In my moments of frustration, I have begrudged the lack of good opportunities back home. The truth of the matter is, it's our own fault. Whenever unions and other pro-labor groups start bitching about jobs going overseas, they are being whiney-assed like me. There is plenty of work in America. The problem is that the people who complain, like me, don't want to make the effort to learn a new skill or to relocate to where there are good jobs. Of course, Democrats and other vultures are quick to blame big business for being cold and heartless, bordering treasonous. It's easy to find a scapegoat rather than take responsibility for the outcome of your life.

 

My wife and I have long known the disadvantage of living in the RGV: jobs pay less than their equivalents in other parts of the country. But, we chose to stay. We unrealistically expected good opportunities to come to us rather than us go to them. For a long time I accepted what I could get with the lie that if I could make it in the RGV, I could make it anywhere. I'm so foolish sometimes. I've decided to let go of the RGV crutch and to seek opportunity wherever it is. In the lottery of life, the rule is simple, you have to play to win.