"I quit! I give up!
Nothing's good enough for anybody else, it seems..."
~ "Circle" from Edie Brickell & New Bohemians

*******

Seriously. I quit.

Well, I'm going to quit.

Soon. VERY soon.

Yep.

I am going to quit my new part-time job. I have every intention of turning in my keys on Sunday morning. I'll tell my boss on Saturday morning when we have our "supervision" (AKA: one-on-one for those who exist in the corporate world and not in the la-la-land of human services) & let her decide if I'm going to work that night or not.

Yes, this is the job I got at the beginning of April.

Yes, this is the job working at a battered women's shelter with my friend, Renee.

Yes, this is the job I was SO EXCITED to get.

Yes, this is the job I LOVED enough after 2 weekends on the job that I was willing to quit Farm Bureau and work there full time at the first opportunity.

I loved it there. Really loved it. I really believed in the mission of the shelter and liked everyone I met there.

Note that's all in past tense.

Shhhh!! Stop shouting at the screen!! I can hear you, already!! "So... what happened?"

I'll sum it up in 1 word: JOYCE.

Joyce is the shelter coordinator and full-time advocate supervisor. She sat in on my reprimand with my supervisor, Christie, today.

Okay, I admit it! I did something REALLY stupid. I called a co-worker for information on a project she'd noted in the daily log instead of calling the on-call supervisor.

What? You don't see why that would be a problem? Well, neither do I. In the world where I live - the mostly-normal world - that is NO biggie. In fact, if it were me, I'd WANT someone to call if my note needed clarification. I'm just that way.

*** FYI FOR NORMAL PEOPLE: In the la-la-land of human services, this misstep is apparently along the same level as burning kittens and microwaving poodles. ***

I was asked by Christie to come in to the office "sometime before your shift on Friday". I made a SPECIAL TRIP to Des Moines for this. It's an hour and 10 minutes to the shelter from my home. One way.

When I got there, Christie told me about the problem. I explained my side of what happened.

When I was done, Joyce said, "That's not the story I heard" and proceeded to dress me down. "I was told you gave attitude and refused to do the job." I was then told that I would do whatever was required without question. I was told the project was "not the child advocate's job" but that they were "in charge of organizing the project" (HUH???). I was also told I was NEVER to call another employee at home from the shelter. NEVER!!

Not only was I talked to as though I were dirty gum on the bottom of her shoe, she then went on to tell me, "Your name was also mentioned regarding a gossip situation. I hate gossip. I'm not saying you were gossiping. I'm not saying you weren't. What I am saying is if you have time to gossip, then you don't belong working here."

I said, "I understand. It won't happen again." I thanked Christie, set up the meeting time for my supervisory and left the shelter.

The whole thing was 15 minutes.

I DROVE AN HOUR AND 10 MINUTES ONE WAY - UNCOMPENSATED -FOR A 15 MINUTE ASS CHEWING!!

Here's the story Joyce refused to hear because the full-time advocate I called told her what "really" happened.

Overnight shift was asked to distribute Mother's Day baskets.

One problem: There were 22 women in shelter. There were 16 baskets.

Each of the baskets to be distributed held similar items - shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, a pair of flip-flops, a notepad... things the women likely don't have and probably need.

Also in the breakroom were some empty baskets. These baskets were unmarked and completely different from the completed baskets. There were also 2 large bags with stuff from Bath and Body works piled in a corner. Each one had a label on it reading something like "Going to Women's Mission" or something like that.

IDIOT that I am - I guessed that the bags were waiting to go somewhere else & assumed the baskets were for a different project. After all - NOTHING was labeled as "Items for Mother's Day Baskets"... EXCEPT one bag that had a few spare flip-flops and notepads.

Neither of us felt it right to distribute the 16 baskets and leave nothing for the other 6 residents. Renee suggested that we say (and I quote) "Fuck this!" and leave it for the day crew.

Dumbass that I am, I didn't want to do that. I mean, it was MOTHER'S DAY!!

I suggested we call for clarification. It had only been 2 hours since the person who wrote the note had gone home. There was no way on-call would know what she wanted us to do, right? After all, on-call hadn't been in that night.

I'd also like to point out that the other child advocate had left explicit directions for Easter basket distribution. She also called, explained everything and urged us to call her if we had any questions.

Why should this be any different, right??

So I called and asked about the note, saying there were only 16 baskets and there were 22 residents.

She said, "Make more baskets."
I said, "I don't understand. With what?"
She said, "Use the baskets on the table" and described them.
I said, "Um... Okay. What do we put in them?"
She said, "The stuff is in the breakroom."
I said, "Um... I guess I don't get it. I don't see anything like what is in the other baskets."
She said, "That's gone. Just put whatever in them."
I said, "Put whatever in them?"
She said, "There's stuff from Victoria's Secret and stuff in there. Use that."
I said, "Um... I just don't understand."
She said, "What's to understand? Just make baskets."
I said, "Won't they notice the difference? They're not all getting the same stuff."
She said, "We do this from donations." She basically said they'd have to get over it.
I said, "Um... Okay. Well. Ok. We'll just do what we can. We've got several things to do tonight. We're also supposed to go through intake folders. I don't know if we'll have time to make baskets and distribute them and still get everything else done. We'll just... do what we can. Thanks."
We said goodbye and hung up.

Renee and I got to work.

Yes, I was frustrated. Yes, I was confused. And yes, I sensed that I pissed her off. But she'd pissed me off, too. Every time, I said, "Um..." or "I don't understand." I was fighting the urge to throw the phone.

When all was said and done, I figured she'd get over it just like I would.

We got the baskets made and distributed along with everything else we had on our agenda except going through the Spanish intake files (the ones waiting for new clients) to make sure all the pages were readable and present.

I'd like to point out that both of these extra tasks were left by people that had been on 2nd shift - 3pm - 11pm.

NOW - when we arrived at 11pm, the people working on that shift told us it had been quiet. That they were, in fact, bored.

Seriously. Bored? How 'bout doing some of the stuff you turfed off on us?

People, they were so bored that they didn't even do a walk-thru (a tour of the building to make sure all the residents in house are okay and that there aren't any building issues anywhere). When Renee and I did our walk-thru, all the garbages were full. The alarm wasn't marked. The sanitation form was blank. The milk and apple juice in the cooler for client consumption were completely gone.

Now, maybe I'm blowing this out of proportion. Maybe I'm SERIOUSLY in the wrong and I deserved the reprimand. Fine. Okay, I'll buy that. I'll not make the same mistake.

BUT -- I have NEVER in all my days been treated like such a low-life by a superior. Not even "Terrible Todd" talked to people like that.

I tell you what, for someone working in Human Services, this bitch has NO people skills. NONE!!!

Interestingly, Renee and I had been scheduled for the same night over the coming holiday weekend. Renee was removed from that shift for some reason. Twice.

Seems as though "they" don't want us working together anymore.

Hmmmm....

...

...

...

Hmmmmm......

I've got it. I'm now convinced they figured I'd hand them my keys and walk out. I'm honestly shocked Joyce didn't just take the keys and tell me to get the fuck out.

'Course, if they did that I'd qualify for unemployment.

Can you imagine the hearing?
"Why were you fired?"
"I called a co-worker for clarification on her note. Because of this, I was accused of having
attitude and fired."
"WHAT? You're kidding!"
"Nope."
"Unemployment approved!!"