I Got 99 Problems....

[Dragon D. Luffy]

So I just got fired. Kind of feeling like shit now. I was in this job for over a year and really loved it. It wasn't anyone's fault tho (except maybe the government), because the company was doing badly financially.

Now I'm lying on the couch trying to muster the strength to look for jobs again.

[Spacedaisy]

Oh DDL! I'm so sorry, that is the worst!

[juliets]

Oh wow DDL, I am so sorry. It's terrible to loose a job you love. I know you'll be back on your feet in no time though.

[Ricochet]

That's a total bummer, DDL. I hope you'll be able to find a quick solution, especially with all the uncertainty flowing through the country, stay positive.

[Dragon D. Luffy]

Thanks guys. Just needed to vent it.

Right now I have literally 99 problems because I intend to move back to my hometown but that means moving out and transporting my stuff.

Then after that, spam my CV.

[Dragon D. Luffy]

Or pray that I get hired to that public job in the civil aviaton agency. Some day.

[juliets]

DDL how soon are you moving?

[Dragon D. Luffy]

Already did. Well sort of. I just went to my parents' house nearly immediately, and now I'm slowly bringing things back with my dad.

[Tangrowth]

Oh man, that really sucks! I'm sorry to hear it, bud. I know you were really enjoying it.

I know you can find another new awesome position though, with your determination and skillset. Best of luck.

[Epignosis]

If anybody knows what it is like to lose a beloved job and struggle for it for a long time after, it's me. I empathize with you, DDL.

The best advice I can give is to realize immediately that any time in the gutter is temporary. If variance can work against us, it will work for us too.

[Dragon D. Luffy]

Thanks, guys.

[Epignosis]

Two words that frequently serve as a preface in the educational field are actually a warning that whatever follows is probably bullshit.

"Research says"

Yesterday a woman from the state came into my classroom along with two women from the county to observe what we were doing. I had just played the audio to chapter one of The Great Gatsby because I have found success letting students read along to a recording, especially if the sentence structure and vocabulary is more complex (as is the case with this novel).

The woman from the state told me, "Research says that when students listen to the literature, they're not actually reading."

Bullshit, says I, but I politely explained that we don't listen to everything. We use audio maybe five or six times all semester, and on a couple of occasions, I personally read to my students. The rationale behind this, I went on to explain, was that many students were never read to as children, and they have no foundational skills with respect to cadence or inflection or tone. Hearing a professional articulate the words as they follow along accomplishes a few things; namely, it models proper reading, and it gets them to "buy in" to the plot of a novel they otherwise might have dismissed due to the length (yes, to our students, The Great Gatsby might as well be The Holy Bible).

In front of my students, this woman from the state said, "Well, research says that if they don't have it by now, they never will."



I'm sorry. The fuck did you just say to me? In front of my students?

If what you just said is true, then what the hell am I doing? What the hell are my students doing? We all might as well cash it in and go find jobs moving boxes somewhere. Oh, and make sure you cancel those adult literacy programs.

Fuck outta my classroom, and take your shitty "research" with you.

[juliets]

Wow I can't believe someone who sees themselves as an educator basically said your students were a lost cause IN FRONT OF THEM. That is just completely inappropriate. Is there anyone you can complain to? I mean really, that is bad, bad, bad.

[Dragon D. Luffy]

You forget the point of schools is not to educate people, it's to invest in the workers of the future. If you are spending more money than the optimal to educate them, you are not making your money's worth when those people start working in the future.

Also forcing students to read books by themselves is a good way to separate the talented ones from the ones who should actually be moving boxes. Because capitalist society doesn't need a full population of literate people anyway.

And this kind of verbal abuse is also a way to prepare students for the verbal abuse they will be used to in their adult lives, as well as separate the ones who can take verbal abuse and still succeed, from the ones who cannot work adapt to a corporate world, and therefore should be, again, moving boxes.

(sarcasm, but sadly a lot of people believe in those)

[G-Man]

You know how you can tell when a kid is really sick? When she throws up in her crib overnight and, rather than crying out for mommy or daddy, she just lays down in it and goes back to sleep. It took three baths Sunday morning just to make the smell go away.

Then came the 103.7 degree fever Sunday afternoon and all the crying, loss-of-appetite, and clinginess that comes with it. Children's Motrin, fluids, and time helped the fever go down.

This morning greeted us with bright red, splotchy marks all over her little body. Thankfully, they didn't itch, so all she had to focus on was the rebound 103.5 degree fever.

According to the pediatrician we saw today, it's Erythema multiforme minor, likely a result of her body fighting off fifth disease. The rash and fever come at the final week of infection. It'll get worse by mid-week, when she'll likely have swollen hands and feet, but hopefully all will be back to normal by the weekend.

Ah, parenthood.

[Dragon D. Luffy]

Well those antibodies aren't gonna develop themselves.

[juliets]

G-Man you say the doctor said this is probably a reaction to her fighting off "fifth" disease. Did you mean Lyme disease? Or is there a such thing as fifth disease that I've never heard of?

[G-Man]

Nope, it's actually called fifth disease. They don't even capitalize the name. It's literally the fifth disease in a list of six families of viruses and bacteria that cause childhood rashes but apparently nobody decided to give it a fancy name:

1. Measles
2. Scarlet Fever
3. Rubella
4. Duke's Disease
5. fifth disease
6. Roseola

[juliets]

Very interesting G-Man. Learn something new every day.

[Epignosis]

Nope, it's actually called fifth disease. They don't even capitalize the name. It's literally the fifth disease in a list of six families of viruses and bacteria that cause childhood rashes but apparently nobody decided to give it a fancy name:

1. Measles
2. Scarlet Fever
3. Rubella
4. Duke's Disease
5. erythema infectiosum
6. Roseola

Fixed.

[G-Man]

Nope, it's actually called fifth disease. They don't even capitalize the name. It's literally the fifth disease in a list of six families of viruses and bacteria that cause childhood rashes but apparently nobody decided to give it a fancy name:

1. Measles
2. Scarlet Fever
3. Rubella
4. Duke's Disease
5. erythema infectiosum
6. Roseola

Fixed.

Yep, I came across that technical name as well. Makes it sound like a cute Harry Potter spell.

[Epignosis]

It does.

[G-Man]

As if working late and feeling stressed out over switching accounting platforms, credit card processors, and payroll servicers all at the same time, now this:

Three of our employees got to talking about how many long weeks they've worked this year and got curious. They asked me which of them had worked more hours this year so far. I told them we have three ways to track it- by hours paid for, hours worked, and billable hours. I told them where they all stood in relation to each other in each category. They said they were just curious and wanted to know between the three of them.

Ten minutes ago I got a call from one of our owners. Apparently one or more of those employees didn't keep it between the three of them. I don't know the full extent of what all they told others about or whom they told, but it's become a mess for the bosses to handle. I realize now why I shouldn't have shared even the round-about answers that I gave them. It's a performance metric and should remain internal.

I've officially been told that if I do that again I will be fired. The boss said "I'm not saying that I'm going to do it this time." But he also didn't say he wasn't going to fire me this time. I can't imagine they would fire me given all the responsibilities I juggle and the current transitions we're undergoing but this is the owner who is a hot-head. I've never been chewed out in five and a half years at my job. Looks like that streak will end this afternoon.

[Dragon D. Luffy]

Live and learn.

[Sloonei]

My favorite professor from college kept ignoring me when I asked him if I could use him as a reference on my grad school applications. I took four classes with him in my time there. I did great in all of them and he seemed to enjoy having me as a student. I was distraught and also short one reference with one of my deadlines coming up in less than a month. In desperation I decided to shoot him one last email. Just as I was about to click "send" I remembered a thing he said once about emails intended for him regularly ending up in the wrong place because the school's faculty page had the wrong address listed for him. Sure enough, when I pulled up his personal directory page instead, an entirely different email address was listed there.

[dunya]

^ awwww *hugs* sloonster. I've done that before and actually called up the professor and been upset kinda, and then he told me, "Dunia, how many times have I told you I spell Lasse with one s in my email address" (I typed it with two s's) and I was like ok sorry, gonna crawl back under that rock.

[juliets]

Wow G-Man I hope they don't fire you. Surely they won't, you do so much. They really should have given you the instruction we gave our payroll people that sharing any data from the payroll system was strictly forbidden. Gotta set the standard if you expect people to live up to it.

[juliets]

Well, I don't have any problems but Eloh and Epi did your Christmas trip to Florida get cancelled?

[Epignosis]

Well, I don't have any problems but Eloh and Epi did your Christmas trip to Florida get cancelled?

Everyone there is diseased. We're not driving all the way down there to become infected.

[juliets]

Awww thats too bad. I hope you all have a merry Christmas at home.

[DrWilgy]

[Epignosis]

I've no wish to put a damper on anyone's Christmas spirit, and I want to emphasize that this is not my problem, as the title of the thread would prompt one to believe, but I felt it needs to be shared.

This happened to a former pastor of mine and his family:

http://www.wral.com/woman-killed-when-c ... /17212273/

It troubles me today.

[Epignosis]

My friend called and said he's losing part of his foot.

[Golden]

My friend called and said he's losing part of his foot.

That really sucks. A friend of mine lost a finger recently. It really makes you appreciate how much being whole matters to you.

[Dragon D. Luffy]

My grandfather lost a toe a few years ago. He had cancer and the chemio made his toe get sick, so they had to amputate it.

He's fine now tho.

[S~V~S]

My friend called and said he's losing part of his foot.

My father's best friend Phil was mowing the lawn and one of his kids (who is now about 50, this was a long time ago) ran In front of the mower, and Phil reflexively yanked it back and cut off all his toes.

It took him a while to learn how to balance again, but after a year or so you would never know he's toeless.

I hope your friend makes a similarly good recovery.

[Epignosis]

My friend called and said he's losing part of his foot.

My father's best friend Phil was mowing the lawn and one of his kids (who is now about 50, this was a long time ago) ran In front of the mower, and Phil reflexively yanked it back and cut off all his toes.

It took him a while to learn how to balance again, but after a year or so you would never know he's toeless.

I hope your friend makes a similarly good recovery.

Thanks S~V~S. He has road ahead of him, but I believe he can do it.

[Golden]

When you are in charge of something big and you spill your blood and guts on the floor to get it done, other people don't support you the way you're supposed to, and then get mad at you for doing your own job when you simply call out what you need them to do.

[Epignosis]

When you are in charge of something big and you spill your blood and guts on the floor to get it done, other people don't support you the way you're supposed to, and then get mad at you for doing your own job when you simply call out what you need them to do.

Shit man you a teacher too?

[Golden]

When you are in charge of something big and you spill your blood and guts on the floor to get it done, other people don't support you the way you're supposed to, and then get mad at you for doing your own job when you simply call out what you need them to do.

Shit man you a teacher too?

I could use a spring break, that's for sure.

[Epignosis]

When you are in charge of something big and you spill your blood and guts on the floor to get it done, other people don't support you the way you're supposed to, and then get mad at you for doing your own job when you simply call out what you need them to do.

Shit man you a teacher too?

I could use a spring break, that's for sure.

Today I dealt with an ex-girlfriend beating the shit out of an ex-boyfriend. He was on the ground. She sliced his face open with her nail. He didn't hit her and even asked that she not get into trouble.

I'm too old for this shit.

[Golden]

When you are in charge of something big and you spill your blood and guts on the floor to get it done, other people don't support you the way you're supposed to, and then get mad at you for doing your own job when you simply call out what you need them to do.

Shit man you a teacher too?

I could use a spring break, that's for sure.

Today I dealt with an ex-girlfriend beating the shit out of an ex-boyfriend. He was on the ground. She sliced his face open with her nail. He didn't hit her and even asked that she not get into trouble.

I'm too old for this shit.

[DharmaHelper]

When you are in charge of something big and you spill your blood and guts on the floor to get it done, other people don't support you the way you're supposed to, and then get mad at you for doing your own job when you simply call out what you need them to do.

Shit man you a teacher too?

I could use a spring break, that's for sure.

Today I dealt with an ex-girlfriend beating the shit out of an ex-boyfriend. He was on the ground. She sliced his face open with her nail. He didn't hit her and even asked that she not get into trouble.

I'm too old for this shit.

Wow your ex's hate each other huh?

[Quin]

Working at the uni just became my only gig.

I did unpaid work experience at a coffee shop over the past month in a program that was supposed to lead to employment there. I just got a phone call that leaves me thinking that I was just being used as free labor over Easter.

Still, my research work is great, I'm hopefully going to have reliable working hours within the next few weeks, and the boss lady is awesome to work with. Being able to dedicate my time to my uni job is a net positive.

[Golden]

Working at the uni just became my only gig.

I did unpaid work experience at a coffee shop over the past month in a program that was supposed to lead to employment there. I just got a phone call that leaves me thinking that I was just being used as free labor over Easter.

Still, my research work is great, I'm hopefully going to have reliable working hours within the next few weeks, and the boss lady is awesome to work with. Being able to dedicate my time to my uni job is a net positive.

This seems exceptionally illegal to me - not that I'm an Australian labour expert.

[Quin]

Working at the uni just became my only gig.

I did unpaid work experience at a coffee shop over the past month in a program that was supposed to lead to employment there. I just got a phone call that leaves me thinking that I was just being used as free labor over Easter.

Still, my research work is great, I'm hopefully going to have reliable working hours within the next few weeks, and the boss lady is awesome to work with. Being able to dedicate my time to my uni job is a net positive.

This seems exceptionally illegal to me - not that I'm an Australian labour expert.

To be specific, I received a (small) payment from the government for my time. This sort of thing isn't unheard of, though. Throw it in with all the other morally grey things people do on a daily basis.

I'm sure I'm biased in my perspective - maybe I just really suck at what I do

[dunya]

sometimes i dont think people are meant to have full time jobs that go on overtime and try to earn more degrees. like it's not healthy.

also, the upperclass educated swedes are obnoxious snobs with no empathy and nothing in common with me and i kind of hate them.

[Golden]

So it turns out my ongoing employment ended up being the topic of a lot of debate.

I’ve been working in my team for the last nine months and I’ve really enjoyed the job. My manager is one of the most inspirational people I’ve worked for. She’s visionary, and she really manages to set a tone. My team is amazing, and I really get along with all of them. But there is this one person, who I’ve never quite been able to figure out. I really liked her, but for whatever reason I was never quite sure exactly what she was thinking. That’s ok though, she’s been really busy and stressed and I figured that she probably just need to be mostly left alone to get work done. I wasn’t that bothered by it.
We are now putting in to place our final team structure. We really need it, because we are understaffed. So we are growing to double the size. As a result, my manager needed to put another person in, a deputy chief legal counsel, and that’s who I’ll be reporting to.

The job went to that very woman who I didn’t quite understand, and the next thing I know, I find out she’s fighting to get rid of me. Why? Apparently because I don’t work hard enough. Now to put this in context, I’ve been working extremely long hours, cancelled a holiday, didn’t go to the doctor when I was sick, basically put on hold all my other life commitments as well, hired external legal counsel to help me with aspects of the job – because this job was so demanding of me at the moment. We are short staffed, and because of that inspirational boss, I’ve been fine doing it. Actually genuinely happy doing it. My new manager, there is no way she could actually not see that this was the case. She managed to pick up a couple of examples where the very least important thing I’m doing that was non-urgent, wasn’t done to her expected time frames (which weren’t stated).

The worst thing about this is that I had no idea my new manager felt this way. She’s never addressed it to me directly. I had to interview again and she was on my interview panel – she could have put a question directly to me about it or given me the opportunity to defend myself, but she didn’t. She chose to fight against me in a closed room without my knowledge and without ever giving me a chance to respond or even know. I only find out because my current manager was determined to let me know what I was walking into if I took the job.

Now I managed to keep my job due to the grace of my current manager and her fighting for me. But now I’ll have to report to someone who I know wanted to get rid of me, and I still don’t understand what the real reason was. I feel like my real life is a game of mafia. It’s really taken the joy out of the job, and while I objectively know that there is something else going on here and the issue actually doesn’t lie with me, that doesn’t really help. I am a person who generally in life doesn’t need the validation of others and has enough self-worth that I would think something like this doesn’t bother me. But it does – I feel like I suddenly have no job security and a boss I can’t trust. It’s not a situation I imagined finding myself in and frankly – it just sucks.

It’s now been more than a week that I’ve known this and been processing it and it hasn’t gotten much easier yet. I’ve been hoping for some sort of sign that opinions have changed on me at least slightly but I don’t think that they have. I’ve had the odd depressive episode over it. I’m hoping it gets better.

[Golden]

Btw for those of you who have me on Facebook etc this one is definitely on the site only please.

[dunya]

man, I'm so sorry Golden. I know the feeling all too well, though. the best you can do, is try to keep the previous momentum going. she tried to get rid of you and failed, probably because others vouched for how good of an employee you are. if she doesn't see it yet, perhaps by reporting to her she'll realize how much you sacrifice and do. I know it's hard to stay motivated with a shitty boss, (been there, done that), but give it a trial run. if you feel there's clear bias and a lack of transparency in how she deals with you, I would complain to her superiors tbh and the fact she'd already petitioned to get you fired works in your favor. But give it a go first, maybe you'll both grow on each other. some bosses need to demonstrate authority in the most ridiculous ways, so it could get better after she feels she has your respect.