Shortly after I took my old job back, Firewoman became my supervisor. Oh. My. Gawd! If I thought my life was hell before when she was just an equal, I knew nothing. My life became unbearable. However, the money was decent and I was holding out hope that another position would come open that I would get.
I wish I could list all the Sh!t that Firewoman put me through, such as making an impossible schedule of working 7a to 3p, then again 11p to 7a and then back at 3p to 11p. Or the time that I had planned on a sleepover for my daughter, sent out invitations and everything only to be told the day before that I had to come in and work. I’m telling you that it was the gates of hell working under her. As much as I bitch and moan about my current supervisor, nobody could ever hold a candle to Firewoman. No. Body.
She was just downright hateful, full of rage and totally and utterly bipolar. You could be having a normal conversation with Firewoman and the next thing you know, she is yelling at you and asking if you are on drugs. To give you an idea of how crazy she was, think of Joe Pesci from Goodfellas when he does the “you think I’m a clown” scene. At the end of the scene he says to Ray Liotta that he just kidding around. Well, Firewoman would start off laughing and joking and then do a 180 and never went back to saying, “I’m just messing with ya!” She would just stay in her insane state. This sort of thing was normal for her to do all. the. time.
I hated her with every once of my being.
I would vent and cry and complain to my mom and I know that as much as I hated Firewoman, my mom hated her more. As a mom, I get it. No matter how someone makes me feel, if some ratty bratty kid hurts one my kids feelings, I want to pull a Joe Pesci from Casino, ya know, the Joe Pesci that stabs a guy in the neck with a pen. My mom would have loved nothing more than to go to Firewoman’s house and shot her dead and I’m sure it crossed my mom’s mind more than once, “I wonder if I could get away with it?” When your child is in pain because of another human being (and I use the word human being lightly in reference to Firewoman), you want to make it all go away and make it better and stomp on anyone that you need to in order to make it better for your child. We are like Mama Bears in that respect. Or at least that is how I feel.
About three years have passed since I worked with Firewoman and I’ve moved up the latter twice since I’ve worked with her. I still hold some amount of bitterness towards her AND her wimpy boss who let this crap go on and would do nothing to stop it because she was such a weak freaking human being.
Then today I get a call from The Man over that department. When you think of The Man, think Clint Eastwood in his old western movies with tumbleweeds and that western whistling thing those moves do. That is the kind of vibe The Man gives all of us that have met him. The Man just takes care of business in a matter of fact common sense way. He is very high on the food chain for the company that I work at. Like really super high. You do not want to be on his bad side or you can just hang up your career, or any career for that matter. Unless you want a career licking slim off carwash parts. He is very respected and deserves it.
So, The Man calls me today. My heart was pounding and I thought, “OH SHIT! WHAT HAVE I DONE!?!” He asks, “You used to work here, why did you quit?” My first thought was, “The Man knows my name! And that I used to work there!” Blink. Blink. Breathe. I said, “Well, I was offered another position with better pay, better hours… but I get the feeling you want to know why I was looking for another position in the first place?” I knew he wasn’t calling me just to shoot the breeze and offer me my old job back. His reply, “Yes I am. Why did you really leave?” I said “Firewoman.” He said, “That’s what I thought. We have a situation over here and I’m going to need a statement from you about your dealings with her. I will probably stop by your work tomorrow, if I can’t stop by today and get that from you if that’s ok? Do you mind giving me a statement?” I, of course said, “No sir, I don’t mind. Whatever you need from me.” The Man could easily have one of his soldiers to interview me and get my statement, but nope, The Man wants to come see me! Wow. Just wow. Years after I’ve been there. Wow, again, just wow.
I know the situation is, the bitch is CRAZY! And they are probably trying to fire her and need to pad the fire packet with statements of her incompetence as a living breathing human being. I have no doubt that she went off on a superior and that is just something you don’t do at my company. How and why it’s taken this long for her to snap on the wrong person, I will never know. Wait, I do know why!!!
So, here we have the The Man, my version of Clint Eastwood from that department wanting to get a statement from *ME* about Firewoman just days before I no longer work for the company and my statement wouldn’t hold water after I quit- yet! Since I am leaving, I have the opportunity to be more honest that I might not have been before. Like the best of both worlds!
Yes indeedy, my mom is totally behind this from where she is at, like the good Mama Bear that she is. I just know it. She is taking care of business like she wanted to do all along. I just know, I absolutely know that she is smiling down on me and saying, “See, Baby Girl, I still got you like I’ve always have.” Once it hit me that my mom has got to be behind this, I haven’t stopped smiling since. Thanks mom, I won’t let you down and thanks for giving me this chance to help karma along, love you too!
I am a little hesitant to rip her, but thanks to her and her crazy scheduling I ended up addicted to sleeping pills, which led to me overdosing and causing the first of my panic attacks which I live in fear of every. single. day. I think of all the time missed with my girls and how I left my girls with a shady babysitter who hated my girls, but because I couldn’t call out EVER and I had a house payment and food to put on the table, I felt that I was stuck between a rock and hard place. I am not proud of all the choices that I made back then, but at the time I didn’t know what else to do and I was much more weaker of a person back then. I never stopped looking for another job back then and knew with all my heart that what I had to go through and put my family through was temporary. Yes, the “Grammy” part of me that is telling me, “don’t be too hard on her” But, I’ve got my “mom part” telling me, she put you through hell and this is your one shot to lay it all out there and let the chips fall where they may. Well I think, I’m letting the “mom part” trump the “Grammy part” for now, not just for what Firewoman did to me, but for what I saw her do to other co-workers, and for the regrets that I live with today that started with her and her insaneness.
No comments:
Post a Comment