The difference between David and not-David

In April I'll be going to Palo Alto for a conference/boot camp with HighWire, our content

provider. Or so we hope that's what will be happening. After speaking with Heather, my immediate boss, it's unclear whether or not I'll be able to go; due to my current status as 'temp'. The idea that this decision rests on the fact that this institution couldn't let me on as a full-time employee right off the bat bothers me a bit. In fact, this wouldn't be an issue at all if I were a full-time employee. As well, I would be able to go to L.A. in late April for another boot camp type scenario with HBX, the stats gathering company we use. Both of these camps would make my job a lot easier, but the uncertainty makes me wonder if I will ever become full-time staff. I think I deserve it. I've done my job well to this point, I've made sure that materials are completed at a swift pace and I don't spend as much time as I could possibly spend writing up posts for this thing. That last issue alone should warrant full-time status and a raise...or something. Yet, I still have this thought in my mind that I'll be let go soon. That come May, when Stephen moves on up to the VP desk in the other building and they hire a new Director, I'll be shown the door. I'm expendable, after all. I wouldn't have been here long, and I'm young. To them those two things will probably make the decision for them. For me, it's a different issue. This is the first time in five months that I've had health insurance. For a guy who has type-1 diabetes, it's not entirely inexpensive to be a diabetic without insurance. In fact, as it stands right now I pay about $50 a month on medical related expenses. Before I got the insurance, I was spending around $150 and up per month. There's a huge differential here that I'm frightened of. And again, I wouldn't know where to go next. I moved down to Texas because they convinced me that I would become full-time in around three months. If that doesn't happen, I'm not exactly sure where I'll be.