Welp. It happened. As of roughly 3:00 this afternoon, I'm out of the madhouse.
They fired me.
Jessica texted me at 11:09 this morning asking if I felt better. (Remember, I'd called out last night for a Sanity Day, but since they don't exist in the P&P guidelines regarding use of PTO, it was really a sick call.) I texted back saying I was fine and would be in tonight. Then she replied "OK' with a thumbs up emoji. At 2:07 pm I get another text from her "Can you come in at 5 pm tonight to meet with me?"
You got to fuckin' be kidding me. They're going to fire me.
I called her and asked about the meeting, she said it was to go over events of the "other night." I asked for clarification and she said "the interaction with Renee." So, the shit I posted about earlier this morning on this very long (already) day.
I told her that that would cut my sleep time down drastically since I was planning on going to sleep soon after this call. I told her I could come in now. She asked me if I could hold while she talked with "the team" and cupped the receiver. I couldn't make out what was being said but I think I heard Jake's voice in the mix. She came back to me and said that was fine.
I showered, shaved, particularly the neck area since it would soon be submitted to the guillotine blade and dressed neatly. I would go out like my spiritual ancestor Louis XVI, proud and honorable.
Endured the mid-day drive there thinking "Oh, I guess I'll be dealing with this again." referring to snarled traffic and the inevitable soon-to-happen-commute to another job.
As I headed into the parking lot, Danny and his son Kyle (Joe Six-Pack) were scooting across La Amistad Cove in their golf cart when an empty garbage pail fell off the back right in my path. They were chuckling and waved at me, smiling. I like them. Though Danny could be a punk at times, he seemed honest and told it like it was. I like that. I hate the opposite, phony liars.
After they cleared the way, I parked and I saw Deanna walking from her car to the front door of the Health Center to, I would think, start her shift. This further confirmed my suspicions since Deanna is pool and wasn't on the schedule when I used it Tuesday night to complete the Assignment Sheet for today. So someone from the regular schedule for the 3-11 shift either called out, or, as is likely the case, agreed to fill in the 11-7 shift since there would be, suddenly, a vacancy. Yes, my slot.
The meeting was really very quick. I went to Jessica's office and she was on the phone but was soon off and motioned for me to join her, in her Missy Polyanna way, like we were going to sit on the veranda and relax while being served icy-cool mint juleps in silver cups, in Jake's office. Oh fiddle-de-dee.
Jake, butchly (Is that a word? I don't think so but to me it means a fucking pussy man trying to come across as more manly than he is by providing a hefty, robust handshake.) shaking my hand like we we're old friends sitting on the veranda and sipping our mint juleps. I don't know why I keep coming to this stupid metaphor. Maybe because of my aforementioned sour taste about Southern culture...but this dude's from Pennsylvania so that doesn't make sense. Ah well.
Jessica then says the well-practiced set of words all managers use: "We've decided...not working out...here at Lakewood...we're letting you go." I asked for a reason, she wouldn't say. I said I though it very discourteous to not even give a reason. I saw a quiver in her stare but she stuck to her guns after glancing quickly at Jake who loomed over us with his freakish presence.
This was his doing. This confirmed it. He had it out for me from Day One. It wasn't my demeanor. It wasn't my erratic behavior. It wasn't my snobbery. It wasn't my racism, sexism, you-name-it-ism. It was a personal goal of his to oust me from the beginning. Why? Maybe he didn't like me? Maybe spies told him shit I'd said about him? Maybe I simply made too much money and they could put someone else in my place for 30 to 40 % less?
Jessica gave me the line about my health insurance being good till the end of the month and that I could reach out to Pam if I wanted to about COBRA. Ya, I know this shit, I been down this road before, I thought to myself.
Without the courtesy of a reason, I saw no reason why I should give them a courtesy of a gracious parting phrase. Jake "wished me luck" and Jessica "thanked me for all I've done." "Really," I thought as I steamed wordlessly, "Are they trying to be total douchebags?" I said I would clean out my locker, peeled the Lakewood keys off my chain (The one's she just happened to need to look at Tuesday night to "inventory" them. Go ahead and tell me this wasn't all a freakin' setup!) and walked to my car. All the while Jessica's at my side. "Great," I thought, "I'm being perp walked off the property." As I pull out of my parking space, one of the residents was there and Jessica cautioned him to move out of the way. Like I'm so pissed I'd run-over a resident with my car. I could see Jake far off at the entrance to the Health Center I guess to be a witness in case I did something egregious (Like kill a resident with my car.)
I made sure to be extra slow and cautious driving my car away as I turned onto 17-92, never to set foot again down this little lane to the crazy house.
Well, that is that. One good thing about all of this though is this: This blog is back online! Fuck them. They can read everything I wrote about them. But now I'm free and no one is gonna silence me ever again!