I'm (temporarily) back in the US, in the tiny ass little town where all of the events chronicled in this blog have taken place. I'm hoping that I'll be long gone by the time word gets back to the ex-boss and the ex-boyfriend that I'm in town, although chances are I'll just run into them down at the Wal-Marts as they say.

I may have actually seen the ex-boyfriend yesterday. Not sure. I was standing on the side of the road having a somewhat important conversation with someone. A car drove by, slowed down, and the driver hung his head out the window and did a visible double take. Granted, the driver may have been looking at what was behind me (a house in the process of being dismantled), but it sure seemed like he was looking at me.

It wasn't the same car the ex used to drive. It was a two-door, dark metallic green, probably about ten years old. (NPH, but if anything happens to me, look for someone driving a car fitting that description. Just saying.) The dude driving it looked a LOT like my ex. I didn't turn my head, interrupt the conversation I was having, or give any indication that I had noticed this person. This also means that I didn't get a decent look at him, and whoever it was may have just been looking at the house behind me.

Since then, there have been about eight hang-ups on my mom's phone. My mom doesn't have caller ID, so who knows who they were.

But seriously, after the day I had, I'd be more than willing to punch that son of a bitch in the face. Or shoot him. Asshole. I'm not scared any more.

oh, ex job (the more things change, the more they stay the same)

Sigh. I'm so glad I don't work there any more, and am incredibly thankful to no longer be caught up in any of their drama. That being said, it just kills me to learn that things continue to not go well out there, meaning that those the organization is supposed to help are suffering. If you know who I am and who are on facebook with me already know all of the details (and if you missed it, just hunt around the links posted recently on my profile).

Since I don't want to give away the exact nature of the organization, I'll have to be really vague with this post. They were supposed to be building a new facility. The local government agencies that fund them budgeted a pretty small amount with which to do so, but as they were supposed to be using prison labor, this small amount was expected to cut it. That being said, given how small the amount was, I could see going over budget by $5000 or even $10,000. They're currently $50,000+ over budget - and the new facility is not finished yet. Additionally, work on the place had stalled because the various government agencies that were funding the construction all decided that it was someone else's responsibility to pay for completion. Of course, the organization is using the unequipped and unfinished facility anyway, as they have nowhere else to go. Not to give too many details, but let's just say that as a result of using said unequipped, unfinished facility, severe harm has been caused to those the organization is there to help.

And this has apparently been going on for months.

I know the person who is currently the director, and while he's a nice guy who cares about the work he does, I know he was chosen by the board mainly because he's a Yes Man. When they tell him not to make waves, he doesn't make waves. I would've been raising hell had that been going on under my watch, but then again, I'm through being anybody's Yes Girl.

Although perhaps the current director was the person who slipped this morsel of information to the press. Yes, the press have gotten involved - and the story has gone national, having been picked up by the AP. And wouldn't you know it: as soon as this was appearing on websites, in newspapers, and on the evening news, the local government agencies were tripping over each other to pay for some of the most immediate needs of the facility. And of course, they continue to point the finger at each other "It's not *our* agency's fault this happened. *They* were supposed to pay for it."

And meanwhile, those the organization is there to help continue to suffer.