It has been three months since I quit the job at SergioLandia.
My life is a million times better.
Even though I have some PTSD, I think. Every time my new boss, who is wonderful, calls me into his office, I worry that I am getting into some kind of trouble. But I am not. It is either because he wants to clarify something or ask me to do something or, as it was the other day, to tell me I was doing a good job and that I should not be bothered by his teasing. I am not bothered by his teasing. I would be worried if he did not tease me - ie, treat me the way he treats my two male co-workers. But the fact that he treats us all alike (and well) is good.
I still flinch when I hear an Argentine accent. (Not really Argentine, but that is the nationality I have picked for Sergio for this blog. He is not from the US and had a very strong accent, but his jerkiness has nothing to do with his national origins and everything to do with his jerkiness.) There is an ad that has been playing on the radio and the speaker has an Argentine accent. As soon as it comes on, I change the station.
I go to work now. I no longer have a window office overlooking the river and that makes me sad.
But there is no radio in my office. There are no vipers. There is no gossip, no tattle-taling, no drama. There must be drama somewhere but I have yet to encounter it. There are nice, hard-working, SMART people. I had forgotten what it was like to work with really smart people who do not have to have basic things explained to them - I had forgotten what it was like to work with a boss who had to be told why you could not calculate a percentage increase of margin year over year when the previous year showed a loss and current year a gain.
It is really nice to work with hard working, nice, smart people.
But I have not forgotten some of the craziness at the end at SergioLandia. Right before I quit, which I did the morning that my boss wanted to have my six-month review with me -
Yes! Six months! And did I tell you what the review was going to cover? I had to complete a form where I rated myself on questions like,
Did I come to work on time?
Did I finish my breaks on time?
Did I dress appropriately for work?
Did I answer the phone properly?
I asked my boss why I was completing an evaluation that appeared to be geared toward someone in a very low-level hourly job and he just shrugged. Blesshisheart, I think he had given up by that point.
I did find out that my boss' predecessor had been fired. The predecessor spoke to a friend of mine and said he was so much better now that he was not working for Sergio. His "nervous twitch" was gone, my friend said.
Oh. My boss wanted to have my six-month review but I gave him my resignation instead and it was a great day.
But before I quit, here are some of the things Sergio did:
1. He hired his wife as his executive assistant, with the excuse that she was already doing the work so why shouldn't she be paid for it?
2. He changed the T&E rules so the company would cover his children's travel with him on business trips. Let me note for the record here that this is the same man who stopped buying nameplates for new employees because it was getting too expensive.
3. After the HR audit he had done of the company - the one where nobody answered the questions honestly because we all knew there could be repercussions, he decided that the problem with the company was that there was a lack of respect for authority (well, yes) and that he needed an HR department in Argentina, I guess to get people in line.
4. I made a note before my last day that, "kicks A out of his office after C loses her corner office" but I cannot remember the details. I will have to ask my friend who still works there what that was about.
5. I lost 32 hours of PTO because SergioLandia does not pay out unused vacation, those cheap SOBs. On my first day at the new job, in my orientation with HR, I asked about that. I told them I was not planning to quit any time soon but I had never before worked anywhere with a policy like that and I wanted to know what the deal was.
But don't worry. They didn't pay out those hours. But I made sure I took them. Beware, bad employers. You reap what you sow. I will work my butt off for a good boss and you will get more than your money's worth from me, but if you nickel and dime me, that is what you will get in return.
Friday, October 31, 2014
Sunday, October 26, 2014
In which Primo has to compete with trick or treaters to campaign
I am posting this one in real time so you will see how stupid it is here. Our trick or treating happened today. It is not Halloween. It is the Sunday before Halloween. We do not trick or treat on Halloween here unless Halloween falls on a Sunday. Is nothing sacred?
Anyhow, Primo went out as a politician.
I joke.
He said he couldn't do doors because the kids would be trick or treating. I said he should tell homeowners that he was not asking for anything their vote.
Which he did. Actually, the way it worked was he came home from an afternoon of doors and said, "So I had this idea! I told people I wasn't asking for candy but for their vote!"
"Great idea!" I said.
I wish he had asked for some candy, except he probably would have gotten just peppermints. Who gives regular-sized candy bars to a politician?
Anyhow, Primo went out as a politician.
I joke.
He said he couldn't do doors because the kids would be trick or treating. I said he should tell homeowners that he was not asking for anything their vote.
Which he did. Actually, the way it worked was he came home from an afternoon of doors and said, "So I had this idea! I told people I wasn't asking for candy but for their vote!"
"Great idea!" I said.
I wish he had asked for some candy, except he probably would have gotten just peppermints. Who gives regular-sized candy bars to a politician?
Friday, October 24, 2014
In which I get an invitation to vote for someone from the AFL
The AFL sent me a postcard. They sent it to me, addressed to me with my first name and Primo's last name. Did I tell you that I legally changed my surname back to my maiden name? I am not opposed in principle to women changing their name upon marriage, but I regret having changed mine, mostly because I do not want to be in any way identified with Sly and Doris but also because I missed my own name. I didn't realize how attached I had become.
So the AFL-CIO sent me a postcard and I have no idea how I got on any list they might have. I have never given money to any candidate or any party in my entire life. Except wait - Primo and I donated $100 to our college friend Susan's campaign for mayor of West University in Houston because she gave money to Primo's campaign and gave us a lot of good advice, some of which, unfortunately, arrived too late, such as, "Do not hire a campaign manager. You do not need one. You can figure this out yourselves."
Instead, we spent $7,000 for a campaign manager who turned out to be HORRIBLE and whose name I would publish here as a BAD CAMPAIGN MANAGER and a BAD PERSON except I am trying to be somewhat anonymous. But someday, I will reveal her name and you will know not to waste your very hard-earned money on her.
I try hard to stay out of politics. I want to keep my money away from politicians. I don't like how they spend it.
So why did the AFL-CIO send me a postcard and why did they use the wrong name and why do they think that a postcard would even affect my vote?
So the AFL-CIO sent me a postcard and I have no idea how I got on any list they might have. I have never given money to any candidate or any party in my entire life. Except wait - Primo and I donated $100 to our college friend Susan's campaign for mayor of West University in Houston because she gave money to Primo's campaign and gave us a lot of good advice, some of which, unfortunately, arrived too late, such as, "Do not hire a campaign manager. You do not need one. You can figure this out yourselves."
Instead, we spent $7,000 for a campaign manager who turned out to be HORRIBLE and whose name I would publish here as a BAD CAMPAIGN MANAGER and a BAD PERSON except I am trying to be somewhat anonymous. But someday, I will reveal her name and you will know not to waste your very hard-earned money on her.
I try hard to stay out of politics. I want to keep my money away from politicians. I don't like how they spend it.
So why did the AFL-CIO send me a postcard and why did they use the wrong name and why do they think that a postcard would even affect my vote?
Thursday, October 16, 2014
In which Primo speaks at an event where there are posters of the president all over the place which is not surprising but there is also a life-sized cardboard cutout of the pres, which is a little weird
I rolled my eyes when I saw the photo on facebook. There is Primo, speaking at a campaign event. And there are posters the president on the wall. And there is a life-sized cutout of the president standing next to Primo.
Honestly.
Honestly.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
In which I marvel at Sly's ability to sacrifice in support of his principles
Primo: When I was at my mom and dad's, my dad made a huge shopping trip to Wal-Mart.
Me: But I thought your dad hates Wal-Mart.
Primo: He does.
Me: But I thought he thinks Wal-Mart exploits workers and is anti-union and is pretty much evil personified, responsible for the downfall of American society.
Primo: He does.
Me: I mean, he rails against Wal-Mart!
Primo: I know.
Me: So why does he shop there?
Primo: I asked him. He says they have things he can't get elsewhere.
Me: Like they are the only place that carries the drug that keeps him alive?
Primo: No. They have a breakfast cereal that he likes.
Me: But I thought your dad hates Wal-Mart.
Primo: He does.
Me: But I thought he thinks Wal-Mart exploits workers and is anti-union and is pretty much evil personified, responsible for the downfall of American society.
Primo: He does.
Me: I mean, he rails against Wal-Mart!
Primo: I know.
Me: So why does he shop there?
Primo: I asked him. He says they have things he can't get elsewhere.
Me: Like they are the only place that carries the drug that keeps him alive?
Primo: No. They have a breakfast cereal that he likes.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Sunday, October 5, 2014
In which Primo and I discuss Sly's life post Doris
Primo: When I am at my mom and dad's, I need to ask my dad what he wants to do.
Me: What he wants to do?
Primo: If my mom goes first.
Me: I wish your dad would die first. I want your mom to have a few years of peace. She would be so happy in a retirement community where she could have some friends.
Primo: I know. My dad won't take her anywhere. He isolates her.
Me: She is so lonely. I feel sorry for her.
Primo: But he is in a lot better health than she is.
Me: I know.
Primo: My hope is that he will want to move near his sister.
Me: You wouldn't bring him here, would you?
Primo: No! He wouldn't want to be here. He and his sister get along.
Me: Does she know what he's like?
Primo: They talk on the phone. He considers her an intellectual equal.
Me: But does she know what he is like in everyday life?
Primo: Well, he couldn't live in the same house with her. Just near her.
Me: What he wants to do?
Primo: If my mom goes first.
Me: I wish your dad would die first. I want your mom to have a few years of peace. She would be so happy in a retirement community where she could have some friends.
Primo: I know. My dad won't take her anywhere. He isolates her.
Me: She is so lonely. I feel sorry for her.
Primo: But he is in a lot better health than she is.
Me: I know.
Primo: My hope is that he will want to move near his sister.
Me: You wouldn't bring him here, would you?
Primo: No! He wouldn't want to be here. He and his sister get along.
Me: Does she know what he's like?
Primo: They talk on the phone. He considers her an intellectual equal.
Me: But does she know what he is like in everyday life?
Primo: Well, he couldn't live in the same house with her. Just near her.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
In which Primo's social media person quits, again
Primo and I are finally on vacation. Finally. We started on Wednesday with a visit to the Adams County Fair, where the only people at the Party booth were Primo, his campaign manager, and another candidate, a farmer/soapmaker who was told by the state party that if she ran, they would totally totally support her and now she wants to know where the support is because of course the party lied. They do that.
While Primo politicked, I looked at the goats and the horses and the chickens. I love the fair. Primo got all freaky because I was wearing sandals around animals. Primo is a city kid. His grandfather worked in a factory and taught Primo how to shoot pool. My grandfather was a farmer and the other was an auto dealer/mechanic. Neither of those are super clean professions. My grandparents taught me that dirt is OK. Farm dirt is fine. Sure, you don't want to step in manure, but at the fair, the kids are cleaning those stalls all day long. I would rather walk at a fair or in a barn than in a public restroom at a bar. Besides, it's not like I am rolling my half-naked feet in poop. I am walking in the normal way. There is a layer of leather separating my feet from the ground.
Almost nobody came to talk to the candidates, of course. Why would you talk to politicians when you can look at baby goats? Baby goats might be about the cutest farm animals in the world. They are interested in everything and have a ton of personality. Calves and foals are cute, but they are not as smart as goats and not nearly as interesting to watch.
I looked at animals. Primo politicked.
Then we spent the night in a motel, where Primo stayed up almost all night completing the League of Women Voters survey. Remember that one? It has the questions like,
And how can you mend a broken heart?
How can you stop the rain from falling down?
How can you stop the sun from shining?
What makes the world go round?
How can you mend a this broken man?
How can a loser ever win?
What we didn't realize until Primo started to complete the survey was that there was a limit of 600 characters - not 600 words - for each answer.
How can you mend a broken heart? 600 characters or fewer, please.
Not a good night. Not a lot of sleep.
Then Primo got an email from his social media person, who has been doing a fabulous job on facebook and I suspect, on other social media, but I haven't been following anything else but facebook. She really is great.
However, she does tend toward drama.
She already quit once at the beginning of the campaign because Primo copy-edited one of her facebook posts.
In Primo's defense, she was wrong. She had made a grammar error.
In her defense, Primo handled it badly. He should have sent her an email asking her to correct the post. He shouldn't have done it himself. Either you are delegating or you are not.
There was drama and there were probably tears and it took up an entire Sunday afternoon. I think I wrote about this already. In the end, Primo convinced her not to quit.
She quit again.
She is upset that the campaign manager is also posting on facebook and she wants him to run things through her, which I agree is the proper way to do it. You give people responsibility and authority and then leave them alone. You do not micromanage.
But if you are upset that the campaign manager is micromanaging, you take it up with him. You say, "Dude. Am I or am I not the social media manager? Let us discuss the implications. Let us discuss the roles and responsibilities. If you want to assume the role of social media manager, that is fine, but then I am not necessary. If you have ideas, please discuss them with me. I have an overall strategy that I have developed and we want to present a unified face of the campaign. Please do not post without clearing it with me first."
That is how you do it.
But blessherheart that is not how she does it. She is very non-confrontational. I understand that. It can be really hard for some people to speak directly when they have a problem. But that is a far better solution than quitting.
Primo didn't even try to talk to her. He decided she must mean it if she is doing it for the second time. I think this might just be how she does things. That's an exhausting strategy to deal with - to have to beg someone not to quit - and I won't do it. Primo decided not to do it, either.
He wrote her an email and thanked her for all the great work she has done for the campaign.
Then he got an email from the campaign manager telling Primo that the social media person was on vacation. You would think the campaign manager would have sent an email that SMP had quit, as that indeed was what she had done, but perhaps CM thinks SMP can be talked into not quitting before we get home.
That would be nice. As long as someone else is dealing with the drama, I don't mind it so much.
While Primo politicked, I looked at the goats and the horses and the chickens. I love the fair. Primo got all freaky because I was wearing sandals around animals. Primo is a city kid. His grandfather worked in a factory and taught Primo how to shoot pool. My grandfather was a farmer and the other was an auto dealer/mechanic. Neither of those are super clean professions. My grandparents taught me that dirt is OK. Farm dirt is fine. Sure, you don't want to step in manure, but at the fair, the kids are cleaning those stalls all day long. I would rather walk at a fair or in a barn than in a public restroom at a bar. Besides, it's not like I am rolling my half-naked feet in poop. I am walking in the normal way. There is a layer of leather separating my feet from the ground.
Almost nobody came to talk to the candidates, of course. Why would you talk to politicians when you can look at baby goats? Baby goats might be about the cutest farm animals in the world. They are interested in everything and have a ton of personality. Calves and foals are cute, but they are not as smart as goats and not nearly as interesting to watch.
I looked at animals. Primo politicked.
Then we spent the night in a motel, where Primo stayed up almost all night completing the League of Women Voters survey. Remember that one? It has the questions like,
And how can you mend a broken heart?
How can you stop the rain from falling down?
How can you stop the sun from shining?
What makes the world go round?
How can you mend a this broken man?
How can a loser ever win?
What we didn't realize until Primo started to complete the survey was that there was a limit of 600 characters - not 600 words - for each answer.
How can you mend a broken heart? 600 characters or fewer, please.
Not a good night. Not a lot of sleep.
Then Primo got an email from his social media person, who has been doing a fabulous job on facebook and I suspect, on other social media, but I haven't been following anything else but facebook. She really is great.
However, she does tend toward drama.
She already quit once at the beginning of the campaign because Primo copy-edited one of her facebook posts.
In Primo's defense, she was wrong. She had made a grammar error.
In her defense, Primo handled it badly. He should have sent her an email asking her to correct the post. He shouldn't have done it himself. Either you are delegating or you are not.
There was drama and there were probably tears and it took up an entire Sunday afternoon. I think I wrote about this already. In the end, Primo convinced her not to quit.
She quit again.
She is upset that the campaign manager is also posting on facebook and she wants him to run things through her, which I agree is the proper way to do it. You give people responsibility and authority and then leave them alone. You do not micromanage.
But if you are upset that the campaign manager is micromanaging, you take it up with him. You say, "Dude. Am I or am I not the social media manager? Let us discuss the implications. Let us discuss the roles and responsibilities. If you want to assume the role of social media manager, that is fine, but then I am not necessary. If you have ideas, please discuss them with me. I have an overall strategy that I have developed and we want to present a unified face of the campaign. Please do not post without clearing it with me first."
That is how you do it.
But blessherheart that is not how she does it. She is very non-confrontational. I understand that. It can be really hard for some people to speak directly when they have a problem. But that is a far better solution than quitting.
Primo didn't even try to talk to her. He decided she must mean it if she is doing it for the second time. I think this might just be how she does things. That's an exhausting strategy to deal with - to have to beg someone not to quit - and I won't do it. Primo decided not to do it, either.
He wrote her an email and thanked her for all the great work she has done for the campaign.
Then he got an email from the campaign manager telling Primo that the social media person was on vacation. You would think the campaign manager would have sent an email that SMP had quit, as that indeed was what she had done, but perhaps CM thinks SMP can be talked into not quitting before we get home.
That would be nice. As long as someone else is dealing with the drama, I don't mind it so much.
Monday, September 29, 2014
In which Primo practices the essential political skill of changing the subject to something completely irrelevant
Primo: My parents think I don't spend enough time with them.
Me: How much would be enough?
Primo: I don't know. Maybe two one-week visits a year?
Me: So almost all of your vacation, basically.
Primo: Yes.
Me: They have no idea what it's like to have a job today.
Primo: Well, not a corporate job, for sure.
Me: Your dad never worried about being laid off. He never got emails at midnight about a customer in Europe. He had complete job security. And he had kind of given up on ever being taken seriously as an academic, so he didn't even publish. He just taught freshman comp at a community college.
Primo: He didn't give up. He felt he had been wrongly disregarded.
Me: OK. Whatever. But he had plenty of free time outside of work.
Primo: Yes. We went camping a lot. Hey. It's not a community college.
Me: I've seen the website. It's essentially a community college.
Primo: No, it was more than that.
Me: They have firefighter training. Not that that's not important, but you don't find firefighter training at a tier one school.
Primo: You don't care about firefighters! You are against firefighters!
Me: Man! You are good!
Me: How much would be enough?
Primo: I don't know. Maybe two one-week visits a year?
Me: So almost all of your vacation, basically.
Primo: Yes.
Me: They have no idea what it's like to have a job today.
Primo: Well, not a corporate job, for sure.
Me: Your dad never worried about being laid off. He never got emails at midnight about a customer in Europe. He had complete job security. And he had kind of given up on ever being taken seriously as an academic, so he didn't even publish. He just taught freshman comp at a community college.
Primo: He didn't give up. He felt he had been wrongly disregarded.
Me: OK. Whatever. But he had plenty of free time outside of work.
Primo: Yes. We went camping a lot. Hey. It's not a community college.
Me: I've seen the website. It's essentially a community college.
Primo: No, it was more than that.
Me: They have firefighter training. Not that that's not important, but you don't find firefighter training at a tier one school.
Primo: You don't care about firefighters! You are against firefighters!
Me: Man! You are good!
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Saturday, September 27, 2014
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