Stuff I forgot…

After I wrote yesterday’s blog, I realized that I’d actually left some things out!

So, here’s just one to belabor the point.

A few weeks ago, Tim called all of us into a meeting. Considering that we were all salaried, the content of the meeting was rather surprising. “You work from either 7:30-4:30 or 8:00 – 5:00 every day. You take lunch from 12:00 – 1:00. And you get two, 15 minute breaks, one from 9:45 – 10:00 and another from 3:00 – 3:15. No exceptions.”

I might have mentioned that there were originally four people in the department. One of them, our web guy, recently became a father of his first child, and scheduling was never exactly accurate. Coming in at exactly 8:00am was nearly impossible for him. Before, you see, he could have just worked later to make up the time – but not so now. So, Tim would call him into his office every day and they’d yell back and forth.

He quit just over a week later. And he grew so tired of Tim’s bullshit that he left before his two weeks were up… actually two days later.

I’m surprised I forgot this story because it makes an important point: that it wasn’t just me. And I don’t want to forget that as I start blaming myself.

Tim was a complete ass who thought very highly of himself. He was a member of the beer of the month club and, every month, he would be mailed a 12-pack of beer to work. Why to work? Anyway, as a show of what a swell guy he was, he’d give us ONE beer every month. Gee, what a swell guy.

After a few months, I couldn’t take it. With the shit he was giving me, I hated this pretend show of friendship. So, I simply stored them in my desk as I looked for another job.

So, I can imagine him emptying my desk yesterday, finding a six-pack of beer! (Mmmmm…. Warm, old beer….)

Last night, I had a hell of a time getting to sleep. One scene kept playing through my head. Tim came to my desk and said, “Ken, will you come with me?” I knew immediately what was happening; I was going to be written up – the first step towards them firing me. They’d never written me up. In fact, only two months ago, I received a very good review. Tim and I walked to Janet’s office. Janet was the HR lady. Tim pointed out a chair for me to sit in and I sat down. Tim sat beside me. Janet sat across from us. She hadn’t said anything. Then, Tim said, “We’re letting you go for poor performance. Janet’s got your packet.” Janet picked up an envelope. “This has your check and everything about COBRA and Unemployment Insurance.” She handed me the envelope. “We want you out right away,” Tim said.

I looked at them both. “Don’t I even get a box to put my stuff in?”

The whole meeting took less than five minutes. No questions. No explanations.

Over and over, it repeated in my mind. I actually had to sit up and meditate on the OM to quiet myself enough to sleep. I think that’s probably going to be the case for a while.