The One With the Chicken

I honestly thought I'd write this either very soon (same night) after the last post or at most, the next day. Meanwhile, 18 days later....

My wife applied for a job at my old office (From Hell!) in July. She's done the job, essentially, for a few years already on an on-call basis, but finally decided when the opportunity arose, to apply for a full-time position. Good pay, good benefits... paid holidays. Who can complain? That, and she figured after doing the job for so long that she's a natural shoe-in for the position.

And that's when the ol' gears started turning and some From Hell flashbacks occurred.

See, at the office From Hell, if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and even flies like a duck. Well, around there they call that a chicken.

As the days passed after she applied, my wife received more news:

• There were actually 2 open positions, so she had double the chance of landing the job (looks like a duck).
• 2 former co-worker/friends of mine were on the hiring committee (quacks like a duck).
• My wife, having worked in the union environment for years had earned enough hours of seniority to become an internal candidate, and the only internal candidate being interviewed (flies like a duck).

My wife didn't get the job. And I'm down 2 friends after how upset she got. While that chicken walked, quacked and flew, it was definitely a chicken.

See, although my wife has worked in that specific position for years, teaches the skills in adult education classes 7 weekends a year, and has over 15 years experience in similar positions, she didn't have the right "qualifications" for the job. It's an entry-level job and one of the new-hires had no experience.

Although my wife was informed, in writing, that she was an internal candidate (and that following the union rules, internal candidates take precedence over external ones), it turns out she was given the wrong information by both the HR and Union reps. Good job, people!

Although I had 2 (very much former) friends on the hiring committee, they felt that 2 other candidates were better suited for the job --than 2 people who have worked there for over 5 years. Yep, see, it wasn't just my wife who didn't get hired, her on-call co-worker didn't either.

I've encouraged my wife that it is, indeed, the office From Hell nd that no good will ever come from continuing to work there. As crazy as life is on the "outside" she can be assured that if she sees something that looks, quacks, and flies.... no one will think she's crazy for saying "duck."

The One with the Human Puddle

While I'm usually taking the train to work, on Friday I drove in "just in case" there was anything extra to do after work and before tackling the commute back home. The morning drive was quick, very quick, and within an hour of leaving home I was at the security gates. Only my keypass wasn't working. I called security and they buzzed me in so I could park my car. My ID pass worked fine on the doors, so I made sure to stop by the security kiosk before heading to my desk --thinking the battery must be kaput on the keypass.

The security guy confirmed it was actually ME trying to use the pass (always good to be vigilant) and scanned my keypass only to give me some startling news.

My contract expired in July.

This news nearly floored me. Not only was I facing sudden unemployment, but I was also looking at giving the company an entire week's worth of work for FREE. That, and thinking immediately of the irony that earlier in the week we'd had a huger meeting with 200+ people where virtually everyone was told things are "winding down." What that means is they're counting down the days --weeks-- until they close the doors on us for good (or for at least a year). It's the nature of the biz and something we all expect sooner or later. "Later" sounded pretty good to me as later that day I was given my production schedule through to October. So, while others were counting the days, I was looking at the months.

Sweet! At least until I got the shock from security.

To make matters even more confusing, my ID pass was definitely still functional, so the security guard suggested I go to work (another free day!?!!?) and they'd get it sorted out.

So, off to my office I went. I got a draft "goodbye" email ready, packed up my personal belongings and got ready to work and to inform my boss of the bad news....

Off on a tangent... years ago I learned some quick lessons in reading body language and with that came reading facial expressions. I now know when people could care less about talking with me (makes job interviews shorter), when people are distracted by something else, or even when they really want to be. I also know when the pressure's becoming just a little too much. So, meet my current boss.

I walked up to him and informed him of the bad news. There's a dynamic duo working on this project and my partner somehow scheduled the entire month of August off (and they expect him back in September, which really confused most of us). So for the month, I'm expected to cover the tasks we both usually do. And now I'm giving my boss the bad news: "Apparently, I"m done." If you've never seen a human being suddenly turn into a puddle, you're missing out. He just collapsed.

And then he got to work.

The emails and phone calls went out in a flurry of frustration and panic. What do we need to do to keep him on? Is he really going? Is he getting paid!?!? What the hell is going on!?!?!?!!?! And then the emails started coming in from other departments I've been in contact with: "Don't let him go." "He's one of the best ones we have here." "Give him a better contract if necessary!" Awesome comments from all over a huge, huge company.

By the end of the day, everything was sorted out. It was a simple clerical error that may have gone unnoticed as long as I continued taking the train instead of driving. But now, I"m still working and working until at least October.

And maybe beyond? Hard to tell, to be honest. I'll just take it one day at a time and enjoy the accolades I got last week.

That, and remind myself how my boss became a human puddle.

NEXT POST: How my good day was my wife's bad day --and my dilemma in dealing with it.