It looks as if one of my New Year's Resolutions are going to be fulfilled after all... although, perhaps, not quite the way I had intended for it to happen.
I don't remember if I've mentioned it anywhere in my blog of late, but the place where I work have been in the habit of cutting down on staff lately. I had been fairly safe at my position, but as more people were laid off, and a couple more resigned for other reasons (such as finding a much better place to work at), the pecking order has come down to me.
About a week and a half ago, it was announced that they would be looking to offload another employee, as our sales have gone down a lot lately. I knew, of course, that I would be a likely candidate to be axed.
The way it works over here, is that the union has a say in these things. The employers can't just up and fire someone because they feel like it. They need to have a good reason, and so they had the meeting with the union today. When the store manager and regional manager returned later today, and I was relieved of my duty at the register, I knew exactly what was going to happen as I stepped into the office.
They claimed to be so sorry, but they were gonna have to let me go. They lied.
I said; "I'm so sorry that it had to come down to this, and I will miss it". I lied.
Another way that things work over here is that they can't let me go on the day. It is still unclear how long I will have to keep going there to waste my time... but at least I'll have an income for the next two or three months. After that I better have another job or things are going to be really tough financially.
Anyone got a job for me? A well paid one, which requires minimum effort?
Seriously, though. If you've been reading this blog at all - you know how much I hate this place I'm working at... so I'm not in the least upset that they let me go. But, as it is - I do worry about my future as I'm already short on cash each month. Being single, with a reasonably nice apartment, and a car that is (honestly) much more expensive than I should've bought. Hey! I need to support the American auto industry in any way I can... it's not like I'd buy a stupid Volvo just because I live in Sweden, right? I want my Chrysler!
So... I've got a couple months, at least, before I need to have figured out what to do with my situation. And, if I thought going to work was hell before - just imagine what it feels like now, when I know for a fact I will not be around for much longer.
We're already starting to prepare for summer season, when we (they?) sell a lot of patio and lawn furniture... and what do I care? I won't be there to sell the crap, will I?
Of course, we always hire a couple of extra workers during the summer - to cover for vacations and such... maybe I could pick up a summer job at the place? That's how I ended up there in the first place. I thought I'd suffer through one summer, and I ended up spending almost four years in that hell hole.
Maybe now is a good time to take a serious look at what I really want to do with my life. Maybe now is the time to take a chance on those dreams that I have. But, it's hard.
I'm not 20 years old anymore. When you're 20 it's easy to just take a risk and run off to Hollywood, hoping for the best. At thirty-seven... that sounds very risky and frightening indeed.
Me hast a some tinkin' to do!
February 6, 2008
Fired!
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58 comments:
Good luck to you sweetheart. Maybe this *is* a blessing in disguise!
Ahh...throw caution to the wind and do what you want! Come back across the pond and give Hollyweird your best shot!
You only live once. You're never too old!
yeah but still!!!!
i'm so going to hurt them just on principle. ~nodding~
take down time.
grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Sounds like a blessing. Letting you go and then allowing you to work there for a few more months???? That is most crazy thing I have ever heard. You can screw them royally if you wanted to. Any place I ever worked, even when I gave my 2 weeks notice, I was escorted out of the place by the end of the day.
Good luck to you....Get out there and do whatever you want to do. You are not 20 anymore. It is time to conquer your dreams.
I hope this works out for you!
Like Karen said, I am shocked that they tell you and then let you stay on for a couple months. My evil side would come out and I'd be robbing them blind...or at least fucking with them really bad.
i have this odd sense that this will be good for you. of course, i don't know you really, but i somehow think that there's something amazing out there for the picking.
I would view this as the blessing it is. As adults we stick with jobs we hate because they're safe and/or we need the money. If they hadn't fired you, you'd probably have continued working there for another four years. What a waste. Take the time to look for a job you'd ENJOY. Seriously man. You deserve that.
Sorry about this dude. I've been laid off three times so I know how much it sucks. Even if it's a shitty place to work, it's still feels like a rejection.
But, like others have said, this is your oppor .. hey wait ...
"... it's not like I'd buy a stupid Volvo just because I live in Sweden, right?"
You live in Sweden? Or did I miss something. Where the hell do you live? Not that it's any of my business. LOL ;-)
Anyway, as I was saying. This could be a great opportunity for you. It may end up being the best thing EVER!
You won't miss this place a bit.
I don' mean to make light of your situation, but honestly, how hard can it be to replace? You hate it, anyway.
I can't wait to read your future post about some cool job you found because these bags of douche let you go.
These things are pretty suckholish when they first happen, but then, in the end they ALWAYS turn out better.
You'll find a much better job. Don't worry too much about it.
Leighann: Thanks. Yeah, it may be a blessing... and I did want out anyway so ;)
Real Live Lesbian: You're right. I only live once. There are other "commitments" I have that would require some thought. If it weren't for those, I would most certainly be packing my belongings by now.
Lakota Princess: Let me know when you're coming over. I wanna be there to watch you beat the crap out of them, and cheer you on!
Karen: That's the way things work over here. By LAW you cannot fire someone and let them go on the day. That is to protect the employee so that he'll have sufficient time to find a replacement job. Actually a good thing at times... but sucks the other way around. If I found a job and they want me to start right away, I would still have to stay at the old job for a month before I can start the new one.
RockDog: Thanks. I explained the "why" in my reply to Karen. Robbing them blind sounds like a good idea... but it would still be a criminal act, and if I were caught I might have to spend some time behind bars ;)
Liv: I sure do hope your "odd senses" are accurate! Something good will come from this!
Tink: That would be the exact reason I've been there for as long as I have. Next job really needs to be one that I enjoy. No more shitty jobs for this ramblin' madman!
Jay: HAHA! You just made me laugh out loud!
You missed out on that one? Yeah - I do live in Sweden, currently.
Anyway. That "...wait...", and "where the hell do you live?" really made my day (night over here right now).
Lightning Bug's Butt: Well, just about any job would be better, I agree. But, just about any job is HARD to come by over here. We are currently on about a 20% unemployment rate in Sweden, but the numbers should really be higher. There are thousands of "government sanctioned" job offers, which pays less than minimum wage, and is basically an offer of free work force for the employers (who don't have to pay the salaries... people's tax money takes care of that... no wonder we pay almost 34% of our salary straight to the government).
Jen: Thanks. I'm not so much worried about losing the job, as I am about my financial situation... but I have hope that that will be taken care of as well.
If nothing else, I hear there's an opening in the Bank Robbing industry ;)
PRACTICAL: Well, so long as you have a few months income still coming in...freshen up the resume, of course, and apply at places you would enjoy working for more.
CREATIVELY PRACTICAL: You should submit some of your blogs/Rubicon/literary challenges to the local paper, to magazines (ie: Ladies Home Journal, Glamour, People, a Photography magazine) and/or whatever else you think your ideas and writings could possibly fall into.
You could be hired on to do a daily/weekly/monthly column -- you know, those funny little stories at the end of or in some sections of magazines? You could be hired to actualy publish your "Rubicon blog novel" or multiple other ideas you have in your head.
You could be hired to run a blog for a business(es). There is money in that too.
Pay your bills in the meantime, but you are seriously talented and could make a career out of what I think you already enjoy.
All the rest of us enjoy your stuff...obviously, there is a whole world of a market beyond us.
Well, my youngest is having a melt down and I am about to either beat her or join her...so, I look forward to where this leads you.
Ok, so you live in Sweden. That's beyond cool. I'm kind of getting a vision of "the one" now. ;-)
Have you told the story of how you ended up there? Are you a native? Sorry, I guess I could look through the archives if I wasn't so lazy. haha
ooooh if you start stripping - i wanna know... wanna watch... wanna tuck a fifty in your thong ~waggling eyebrows~
You can be a male gigolo and we will have big story to read...And I want a picture à la Deuce Bigolo in a red slip to go with this new job of yours!
And thank very much to say that you still don't know what to do of your life. Making me feel so much better that I will ever know myself!:P
You know, if this turns out for you the way it turned out for me, it can only be a great thing!
I don't want Jay to feel too bad - I knew you lived somewhere away from "here" (like only those of us in the U.S. blog) because you mentioned the time difference, but it wasn't until yesterday that I knew exactly where you lived.
I'd love to hear the story of how you got there as well - maybe a link to a previous blog post? I know ... I know ... that's what archives are for!
I welcome you to the club of those who have been asked to pursue their career opportunities somewhere else. Looks like 2008 is pushing a few of us to make those changes that we need to make but were procrastinating on. Good Luck in the Job Hunt! May your next one be one that you enjoy.
You can do it! I believe in you....go find your dream and live it!
Sorry to hear this, change can be difficult, but hopefuly you will find where you are meant to be.
Gigolo is certainly an option!
Boy, you've been wanting changes, and here's another one. Maybe your guardian angel has a bit of a pitchfork & is prodding you along?
The financial worries, that's the scary part...I'm sorry for that, REH, but at least you have time...time to get yourself more time, or time to leap into a big unknown and trust yourself to sprout wings or rockets. You can do this! Some of the things you want...would they fit into life as you know it, or do they require your life to change?
As for your age...I think you're at a powerful time; young enough to accomplish, wise enough for that to be the right thing.
In a weird way I feel like congratulating you. I guess it's because I have a strong feeling that this is a good thing. Take this opportunity to find something you actually enjoy doing! Best of luck to you, REH. You're an intelligent man and you were too good for that job!
out of a job? come work with me!
i'm a motorcycle daredevil.
hardly any effort needed for that!
lol
Awwwwww, I'm sorry that this will cause you some angst. The job will be gone, The One will be gone...But, the up side is like everyone has been saying. It could turn out to be a blessing or at least a much needed shove.
Take some deep breaths and grab your 'boys' and go for your dreams. There's no time like the present.
At any rate, you know that us bloggers will support you in any way we can. That's what we do.
:)
Look at it as an opportunity and an opportunity will present itself! You will be just fine!
Good Luck!
That does suck it big time, REH, but as you know sometimes someone else has to put a fire under us to make us move.
I think you know this is probably a good move after all and in a couple of months you will be settled into the next phase of your life, probably a heck of a lot happier.
Good luck on the search.
I secretly wish this would happen to me but I don't like the part where I would then be homeless.
I'm glad Jay questioned where the hell you were because I've been trying to figure that one out myself.
By the way, the picture accompanying this post is totally HOT!
Did I ever mention I'm a closet pyromaniac?? :)
i was so distracted by the hot pic, i almost didnt read the post. sorry about your job. although i do have a replacement job for you...
so since youre going to be doing what you really wanted in life, that means youre coming to minneapolis to hang out with me, right?
I am confident this will turn out to be a positive thing. After all, you're already glad you won't have to work there anymore. It sucks about the finances being tight, so I hope things work out okay on that end, but at least you can actively pursue something else now. Good luck!
Em
Farmer's Wife: Yeah, I would love to write for a living. I actually came across an ad in a small newspaper that was hiring. Of course, I have no experience in the field, so it's not likely I'll get the job - but, what the heck, lets apply shall we?
Beautifully Profound: I could take up that job if I found a strip joint that would pay me to clear out the place at closing time ;)
Gyrate your penis in front of Swedish women. LOL!
Jay: Maybe I'll do a post about how I ended up here - but part of it was written down in the Introduction to Rubicon Heart. I didn't mention Sweden there - but I told of how my mother took me to Europe when she divorced my father. My mother is originally from Sweden... which makes me half'n'half, sorta.
Lakota Princess: You alone would make it worth while to start stripping. You can tuck a fifty in my thong whenever you need one... would you tuck a fifty into my boxers first? I can't afford to buy a thong!
Jill: Gigolo... yeah, now THAT sounds like a job I would enjoy! ;)
I do know what I want to do with my life... I just don't know how to get there!
Dana: Like I told Jay - I did mention Europe in the Introduction to Rubicon Heart. That's the only time that I recall mentioning how I ended up here.
Originally I didn't really want anyone to know that I was NOT residing in the US, because I was aiming for this whole anonymity thing on the blog. Having mostly all my readers based in the US was perfectly fine by me, and I didn't have a single visitor logging in here from Sweden. Now, if Sweden is being mentioned in this blog a lot, soon enough Swedes are going to Google their way here, and I'll end up all paranoid that people I know are reading what I write.
I guess I've never been all that good at stayin' anonymous ;)
No More Empty Fortune Cookies: Welcome!
Procrastinating! That's EXACTLY what I've been doing there. I wanted out - but I haven't actively tried to make anything happen... now, that part is taken care of, and all I need is to get my butt out there job hunting.
Good luck to you too. May we both find jobs that appeal.
Preposterous Ponderings: Thanks. I'll be sure to look for my dream!
Casdok: I sure hope I will find that. That gigolo thing is starting to sound very interesting ;)
Jo: Seems like a lot of change is going on at an early point of the New Year. Maybe 2008 really will become the best year of my life - or it will be one of the worst ;)
young enough to accomplish, wise enough for that to be the right thing. Thanks - that was encouraging, and very true!
Guilty Secret: Thank you. I sure hope you're gut feeling is a correct one. I will be seriously thinking about what I need to do next now.
Jay Cam: You know - I always wanted to be a dare devil. I have a weird fascination to these things... used to wanna be a stunt man too.
TT: You are so right. And, about The One. I sure hope to see her once more before she leaves... because now I'm not so sure I'll be around when she returns. This whole thing might even see my return to the U.S. of A.
Butterfly Girl: Thanks. This will be an opportunity, if I make it one (I believe).
Cardiogirl: Yeah, I know I will be happier in a way. There was further proof of how much I will enjoy getting away from that place today, as once again they have changed my schedule without notifying me.
I will now work more days, and they want me to come in at like 1PM to 3PM, and work till 7:30PM every day. Thanks a lot - that gives me a lot of free time! Bastards!
Knight: Didn't you work in advertisement? That sounds like fun to me... well, at least a heck of a lot more fun than selling furniture.
Leighann: Does that mean that you set closets on fire? There are a few at my job, if you wanna set them ablaze! ;)
Tequila Mockingbird: Like that angry look I got on there, huh? ;)
Do you pay well? And what would we do when we "hang out"? ;)
Emmeline: The finances are the only thing that worries me about this, actually. I will try to find a way to do what I enjoy doing... writing, and making movies. There has to be a way to earn a living doing that, right? So many do!
Are you suggesting I commit arson? What do I get out of the deal??
You're so talented as a writer. All those suggestions back up above are things you should seriously consider, and start now while the income is still there.
I'm 52 and still feel I'm not doing what I want to do. When my business had a downturn I was working at a 2nd job that sucked LOL How's that for planning!?
Will you be able to get unemployment benefits? How does that work in Sweden?
dude, angry sex is the best kind. and the awesome thing is once you are done, you arent angry anymore.
lets seeeee if we hung out, there would probably be drinking involved. maybe some strip scrabble, and making out.
Well, when you apply mention your "blogging" experience. And, be sure to have them check it out. [You probably have already thought about that, though.]
Not everything is about experience, some things are about talent. [smiley-wink] But, technically, you kinda' do have experience.
Oh man, that is big news. People can say all they want "it'll be the best thing that ever happened to you" but being laid off always kind of sucks. I've been there. It is a good opportunity, but that doesn't make it easy.
Funny thing is, it looks like I'll be hiring for my workplace soon... but you wouldn't want the job. It's being a secretary to a giant jerk-off. Whatever you do next will definitely be better than that!
well, crap. I sense something good in the force, however...
Also - I saw Jay's comment - I didn't realize you lived in Sweden either. In fact, when you wrote that sentence about it, I shook my head, read it again, and said "huh" because I didn't understand why you were saying that! Hmm. Wow. That changes my whole perspective about your writing. But you ARE American right? (Not that it matters, but it will just change things even more if you suddenly become Swedish when I thought I was reading American writing!)
Em
PS I'm afraid this comment is starting to come off as terribly pro-American and anti-anything else, but I'm not. I just tend to read with a different mindset depending on where the person is from. It just helps to know. I kind of approach my own writing that way, which is why I've revealed as much as I have - that I live in the United States, *somewhere* in the Midwest, just so people understand where I'm coming from a bit more. If I were a bitchy blogger, and from New York, it would make sense. If I were a bitchy blogger and from the Midwest, it wouldn't make sense, and people would wonder how big a stick was up my ass and how long it's been there!
Anyway . . . long comment over. Sorry!
Leighann: The pleasure of setting stuff on fire? ;)
Dianne: Unemployment benefits are actually a lot better here than they are in the States. Unless things have changed over there ;)
I would be looking to at approx. 80% of my current salary for 6 months of unemployment. After that it would drop to about 50%. But, things have changed here too, and I'm not quite sure how it works these days.
Tequila Mockingbird: No angry sex? ;)
Farmer's Wife: I couldn't show them my blog. Because A) I am still trying to be somewhat anonymous doing this, and B) The blog is in english, and the person doing the hiring may not understand more than half of what he's reading anyway ;)
Sparkling Red: Actually, having thought about this now for a couple of days, I'm really looking forward to getting away from that place. Financially, I still worry - but I'm truly happy to be leaving the place.
Flutter: Thanks. Again - I hope that it does turn into something good.
Emmeline: Don't worry about it. ;)
Yes, I AM American. I was born American, and my heart will always belong to the United States of A.
However, I've spent most of my life living in Sweden, on account of my mother being Swedish.
Yeah, but you wanted to leave on your terms, not theirs. Good luck with your next professional adventure.
Kell: Yeah, I did. Kind of hurts my ego that they thought I was expendable... while I was hoping to leave them kicking and crying when I told them my services would no longer be available to them ;)
I'm sorry to hear about your lay-off! I agree, something better will come around...
REH, if you ever become a gigolo, it would be free of cost for me, since I gave you the idea?
Might have to become your pimp!
Alli: Thanks. I sure hope so.
Jill: Are you trying to tell me I'm not worthy of your money? ;)
The pleasure of setting stuff on fire.... you're such a tease!
Leighann: Hehe... ;)
Yep, this looks like a big old opportunity for you to move on to better things!
Mary P. Jones: Thanks. That seems to be everyone's opinion... and my own too ;)
I'm back in "catch-up mode" ... Bummer and congats! I'm sure that you will make a wise career move.
G-Man: Bummer and congats! - Thanks. That actually sums it up quite well!
If only I had money, REH! You would be worth of it!
But come on, since I was the one that gave you the idea, I should have special treatment!
Jill: Yeah, I guess you would be worthy of a freebie or two...
This make me wonder, what happen if a prostitute, male or female, has a costumer that the have the best sex ever with, what would happen! Would they be the one paying their ancient costumer?
Jill: As long as that customer keeps coming back, I guess they would be seen as one a work benefit ;)
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