This is way OT for someone who rarely does so, but I need to get this off my chest. Most everyone here are good people, so hope you don't mind. No one has to respond to this although you can if you'd like, but I need to vent this.
I won't give out any names, places, or addresses so I don't get in any trouble with anyone where I used to work.
I've been working as a mechanic at the local bowling center for the past 4 years. I fixed the machines when they had problems, performed routine maintenance checks, etc. I've held this job since my first year in college. I'm into bowling and as such I felt it would be no problem working there and it wasn't a problem until recently.
I had planned on working there to help pay for college, nothing big, the local college, I had originally gone in for a teaching degree, and finished 2 years.
Slight background, i'm not a talkative or overly outgoing person, very shy, too shy, but that's a different story. So I go about doing my job, day in, day out, whatever my boss asks for the first 2 years, no questions asked.
Then came my 3rd year, a full time opening came up and it was offered to me, I accepted because it was more money and the basic benefits, problem was it was taking away from my studies so I had to put school on hold(stupid mistake #1). Being full time meant more time around the boss, who tried to act lke Mr Know-it-all about the machines when he knew exactly enough stuff that I know in my pinky finger, but still I kept to myself, until...
We have these programs called lock-ins, basically from 11p.m.-7a.m. the kids aged anywhere from 7(yes thats right 7!) to 16, are locked in to the building all night and bowl all night long with their parents consent. (Why you would leave your kid with a bunch of other kids locked in a building all night long is beyond me to begin with, but that will be discussed and ranted about at the right time.) Anyways the boss asks me to work one of these, I refuse because I'm already working 40 hrs per week, out of the blue he jumps on me about all he's done for me gotten me more money, benefits, etc. and that I'm ungrateful to him for not doing this thing for him. This was the first time I've ever said no and he wanted to seemingly fire me on the spot but knew he couldn't just over that one thing.
The next year I cut back on the hrs intending to go back to school which I did, due to a late class, I was sometimes 10- 15 minutes late, he knew this and was no problem, until another Lock-in came about, and he asked me to work it again, I couldn't because I had to babysit my niece early the next morning, he didn't believe it and again he jumped on me for it, this time I jumped back. Stating that if these things were so important, why did he never work them(the asst. manager always had to work every one and he did none), also the fact that these things amounted to nothing more that approx. a $2.00 per hour babysitting service, people all over heard this, and I know they supported me (they've told me similar things in the past), but wouldn't open their mouths when I needed them the most, he never let me have another word in edgewise, and again called me ungrateful, that he worked hard to get where he was and why should he have to do these things that were below him. He uses these intimidation tactics on all the employees, which is why I believe no one stood up for me, they were all afraid of him. Isn't that a nice guy for you? He talks down on everyone, and if anyone questions him in the least, they get called in for a personal meeting with him to discuss this "ungratefulness" with him, needless to say he doesn't get challenged too often.
Anyways, I go in last Sat. and see my name is no longer on the schedule, I call him and he says it's because I haven't had a good year in his eyes, citing the argument we recently had, and the aforementioned fact of being late, he threw this in my face as well even though he knew the reasons why. He says I don't have the guts to talk to him to his face, so how do I find out about my being laid-off? My name not on the schedule, he didn't even tell me face to face. Great guy isn't he?
<vent> Basically I'm quiet and go about my job, everything is OK, but when I voice a disagreement to something of his twice in 4 years, I get my ass handed to me on a silver platter, he says afterward if you want to come back in a couple of months we'll discuss this you and I, Basically he wants to make an example out of me to anyone else who dares question him, he thinks i'm sooo quiet, that I'll come back in a couple of months begging for this job back, well I've got 1 thing to say, HE CAN GO TO FUCKNG HELL!!!!! </vent>
I've got leads on other jobs that pay enough so that I may not even have to go back and finish school which I may still do anyway, plus get the benefits I need as I'm now currently uninsured. Hopefully I'll be up and around and working again by the end of June it looks like.
I'm alot like Daria, except for the fact that I'm too shy to speak my feelings as I see fit, who knows, if I were able to all of the above may have been avoided, then again who knows?
I just had to get this off my chest as only a few people knew about this before. Now that it's out in the open I feel much better, again no one has to respond if they don't want to, just knowing this is out there and someone knows what happened is good enough for me, the events above are why I hadn't posted in about a week and a half, if anyone noticed. Anyways thanks for reading and we now return you to your regularly scheduled Daria discussions.
A.J.