Under the Microscope

As I said before, the guy who replaced me when I left the range was fantastic. Partially because things worked fairly well (he made it much better), but mostly because he had an inclination for fixing things I simply do not. I have to really look at something, reverse engineer it, and then I figure it out. But that takes time.

Anyway, I started back at the range this morning - a full week earlier than I promised - to at least help in the mornings before I head off to the pharmacy. My intention was to pull the lead from the traps in the back. I was expecting to walk into quite the Charlie Foxtrot with lead all over the floor and a clean up job that would take hours. Imagine the pleasant surprise when I found very little lead on the floor. Yay! Imagine my sunken spirits when I started to pull the buckets and I realized that the lead is not only in the buckets, but also up inside the trap. For those of you who don't know, hot lead tends to fuse together. The people who installed the backstop warned us against buildup in the traps because the fusing could cause an all out barricade preventing the lead from ever getting close to the buckets.

I go to Bridger (my boss) and explain the situation reminding him of the conversation Action Target had with both of us about this very possibility. It seems that lead pulling never really seemed very important to the man. He is a good boss in that he knows how to generate revenue, and that is all he thinks about. I guess he didn't see how having working backstops directly affects said. I will go on record to say that I drove that correlation home to him in a huge way. When I asked him how long it had been, he said the lead has only been pulled twice this month, both times toward the beginning. The range is busy enough that it merits no less than 2 pulls every week.

So I put a sincere fear of things that could be today. Although, this isn't to say there is definitely a problem. I am going in tomorrow to view the lead accumulation in the buckets so I can give a proper prognosis.

Then he said something to me that made me suspicious of this whole arrangement I have entered into. He told me that Dan, the guy after me, had called and decided he wanted the maintenance job back. Bridger told me that he turned the guy down because he rehired me, and more or less told me that Dan would come back depending on how I work out. Needless to say, this has been bothering me all day.

So here is the position I am placed in: they really like Dan, and rightfully so. However, I just quit my job at the pharmacy. I am in the position now where putting all of my eggs in the Caswell's basket is too risky. So, while I will work for the range as I promised, and I will do it to the full extent of my ability, I am going to also keep my eyes open and actively search for different employment. I don't need Dan held over my head and the constant threat of being replaced. If I knew this Dan guy got a job elsewhere, then I would breathe a sigh of relief and stop my job search.

I will gauge things better tomorrow. I need to know my job is solid for me to rest at night. I have 4 mouths to feed aside from my own, and I can't have anyone put that in jeopardy and not actively search for an alternative.