To tell you the truth, when a manager at my place of business told me this, I had no idea what it meant. One month and another week of recognition later, I still don't know what it means, but I care.
I wonder if I could take the little plaque of recognition and travel the world. I wonder if people in Oman would care that I am pretty much a big deal with my rising star award? God! I hope so, because I care that Oman has been named the most improved nation in the past 40 years. Thank you Wikipedia!!!
But seriously, what does this label of rising star mean?
I was told that it meant that my productivity has improved by 40%. So if the loyal legion were paying attention to the first paragraph, they would know that last month my productivity went up 40% from I-don't-know-what %, and that currently my rising star status has risen 40% of 40%. So overall, my productivity within my place of business is at a 80+ percentage.
This would mean that my place of business has decided to reward me by giving me a raise, right?
HELL NO!!!
What the company has decided to do, since I've been such a good employee, is give me vacation or PTO.
For those of you who don't know (and don't worry because I didn't know this until last night) PTO stands for Paid Time Off. I can use PTO time when I go on vacation and get paid while I'm in Hawaii instead of in my place of business. I can also use this time for times that I need to have a day or two off (not in Hawaii). For example, if I get sick on a day that I am supposed to be working, I can request that I have that day off and the next to re-cooperate, and still get paid as if I were working.
After everything was explained to me, I immediately became excited and planned a trip. I had already purchased a ticket to go to Los Angeles, California on May 4. I planned on having a short trip out of fear of being dead broke by the time I got back, but with this new emergence of PTO, I currently have the option of staying for a full week...or two.
So now instead of only spending Cinco De Mayo in Los Angeles, I will spend a week (or two). I don't know what I'll be doing. Looking for places to live is definitely at the top of the list.
I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but I have to get the hell out of Chicago. I've had nothing but bad shit happen to me like when my car got broken into, that bad encounter with a Jesus freak, bland nights out, bad dates, a hospital stay (I don't think I talked about that one), and freezing cold weather.
I'm sick of it.
Moving date: September 7, 2011. Let the countdown begin.
