IT SEEMS YOU CAN BE INFLICTED WITH THE PLAGUE AND NOT KNOW IT UNTIL IT'S TOO LATE.

I was fired yesterday... I clocked in at 7:35a and was on the road home by 7:50a. I was let go "for not doing my job". The specifics offered were pulled out of a hat, minor things that could've and should've been addressed in supervision sessions I've never had (unless you count beers after work and shop talk). I have not had an evaluation in 2 years. Andy, the owner, who is usually red faced, was white as a ghost and his hands were shaking like hepburn's head and neck when he dropped the bomb. He made a point to tell me who my replacement was...that's right, the guy who came in to help us get ready for inventory. He denied it was personal, when obviously it was. He tried to work some psycho-babble mojo on me that he must've learned from his therapeutic experience. The exchange went something like this:
Andy: You need to accept responsibility for your own behavior.
Me: Don't even try that shit with me.
Andy: What do you mean by that?
Me: You know exactly what the fuck I mean.
End of discussion.
It was everything I could do to not beat him to a pulp and throw him down the stairs. My better judgement prevailed and I left him with this advice: Watch out for karma.
I had already owned up to my part and had taken steps to correct my transgression. This was personal, there's no way around it. There's alot more to this than I should make you suffer through.
Let's just say I found myself suddenly in a pit of vipers, people I thought were my friends lied to me and I learned again,that I can trust my gut. I have to remember that in the future and not second guess myself.
I gave Hines Pool and Spa 6 years of my life and got repaid with a load of shit from a sick sick man.
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I was unemployed for about 3 hours, the guy that's doing my remodel needed help and hired me right away. For now, I am a carpenter.We are formulating a plan to start a pool repair business. I know I won't fuck me like Andy did, and I trust my friend...who is, incidently, not crazy. I have entertained many ways to pay Andy back, most of them violent and ugly, but I have enough sense to know the best way to fuck back is to take his business. If there's any justice in the world, we will.
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I will miss my coworkers very much...in that daily sort of way. I will keep up with them.
I will not miss the commute!
And god help Andy if I ever run into him and he looks at me sideways...no...check that- all he has to do is make eye contact and he's in trouble.