This thing called growing up

The awesome part about being a "grown up" is having your own place. You come and go as you please, stock the cupboards with whatever your little heart desires, and leave crumb messes whenever you just don't feel like cleaning up. While all the listed items are truly wonderful, the whole money thing has not been.
I suppose we'll start with work taking away my $0.30/hour raise for mentoring new hires. They chose to take it away last month, saying it wasn't incentive to mentor, because you get the raise whether or not you're helping out. Thirty cents doesn't seem like much, but add it up with an 80 hour paycheck. Twenty-four bucks, or forty-eight bucks for the month. Before I had to clip coupons to afford groceries, forty-eight bucks meant nothing to me. Now, however, taking away that money is taking away my ability to pay the water bill.
Ever had to sign something saying it's okay for them to LOWER your wage? Imagine someone asking if they can kick you in the crotch. As hard as they can. Now imagine the pain as they do it, and having to grin and bear it, and act like everything is just peachy.
I don't know about you, but docking your employee's wage isn't really the fast-track to retention. I could be wrong. But I'm not.
This leads me to the next part of why being a grown up is sometimes the lamest thing on Earth. I'm seeking a second job to help me catch up on bills and get some money set aside to get back to school. Talk about an exhausting search. Of course with the economy, finding a job isn't nearly as easy as it was 2 years ago, but I've been able to find a few new job postings everyday. Hopefully something will fit. I'm dreading the day that I have to work 8 hours then drive to the next joint and throw down another 8 hour shift. Come home, sleep, and do it all again the next day.
It's not going to be fun, it's not going to be easy, but it's necessary. I'll keep you updated on the search, and if you know of anywhere that's hiring (NOT customer service!!!!) let me know!