OTAS, you found it

Submitting an expense report of $632.12 for a dinner for two was no small feat. You see, I’ve been moved from cost center to cost center over the last year or so of my tenure with the company, the last of which was between the time the offer for this meal was made and when the expense was realized (Monday). My new boss was not too thrilled about having the bill hit his ledger and requested it hit my old boss’s (cheap bastard). I, therefore, had to send an email to the old boss, explaining what it was for, had to change the expense system’s cost center, and finally had to go through many layers of approval. Five or so fairly senior people were well aware of its amount and my old boss’s issues with it. My extravagance was worn on my sleeve.

I definitely lost some political capital with that meal. But you see, I exploited their offer as they have exploited me: I’ve been working around the clock for the last three months and can say this is the least they can do. . . Being the beast of burden has not been that easy and, to be quite frank, they’ve been getting a deal of a lifetime having me do what – and I know from experience – would have run them roughly a million in consulting fees to achieve.

Fuck them. . . I’ve taken advantage of them the same way they have of me. And if they don’t think it was worth every cent then I’m glad to find somewhere else to work.

In the meantime, I may look for somewhere else to work because I’m burning out. But if they gave me one non-negative memory to take away from the job, this was it.

My God, I could be working in investment banking and making much more in bonus for the amount of hours I’m putting in. $632.12 is a drop in the ocean for a company that makes ~40% profit by paying our agents virtually nothing.

Few see the big picture except the CEO, who laughed out loud when he heard of this.