ODDREE.COM

You can fire me - because I quit (all ready)

Sunday night was rough. I caught something over the weekend, and it was making me pretty ill. That night I dosed up on Niquill and went out like a switch half an hour later. At 4:00AM I woke up parched. My throat was just raw, and I was in pretty bad shape. I would have to get up in a few hours, so I couldn't take another dose of Niquill. Maybe just a little nip? A night-cap - and then back to bed.

6:30AM came around like a motherfucker. The alarm was like a nail being driven into my head. I was dead to the world. That Niquill was still coursing through my veins. I was awake, but I couldn't convince my body to get out of bed. By 7:00AM I hadn't moved, and I was ready to go back to bed. Problem was, this was my last week of work - and I was kind of looking forward to it. With my laptop at my side, I popped it open and "emailed myself off" from work. Perhaps they would think I was just using up some time off that I had built up. But then, I all ready quit. So who cares. I went back to sleep, and didn't get up for another four hours or so.

I dragged around all day Monday. I was in pretty bad shape. I had the runny nose, sore throat, typical cold symtoms. None of my kids had been sick, so where the hell did I get this from? Was it backlash from one of those vaccine shots I had last week? It could be a sinus infection. I started choking down sinus pills. They didn't help me feel any better - but they did dry things up a bit.

Tuesday wasn't much better. I couldn't stop sneezing. I went through half a box of tissues on my way into the office. But I really had to go. If I called off again, they would really think I was screwing with them. My voice was almost entireley gone, so I was lucky to have only taken two phone calls in my first hour there. Then the boss called me into his office. I was expecting some sort of "exit interview" as his wife indicated might happen before I left out for good. But it was no such interview.

"So Friday's your last day?"
"That's right! I'm a short timer. Just working on wrapping things up, closing what I can, etc"
"Well, I would like for you to work through the day, and then take the rest of the week off"
"Oh, okay"
"Yeah, we will pay you for it. And you have a couple of 'TOB' days left, we will add those in next week"
"Great!"

I was being sent home - with pay! Awesome! There were a couple other things to settle. I had to turn in keys, my pager, and finish re-assigning service tickets that I wouldn't be around to resolve. When I got back to my desk, I started tearing all the junk off my walls, packing up all my desk trinkets, and wiping things down with cleaning stuff. I was going home! Woohoo!

I still don't understand why I was sent home. I wasn't going to argue with the guy, but they will all ready be short staffed. Sending me home four days early wasn't going to help those matters. But then maybe he thought I was just going to stick around with a bad attitude and bother the other guys? Who knows. But it was clear that the other men were mad at him for giving me the week off ... when they really needed the additional coverage.

I also picked up a hint of resentment from the boss and his wife. They were rather annoyed that I quit this job. If anything, it helped me know that I had made the right decision. They really think that the job is that good and we should want to work there forever. Meanwhile, there is no career advancement or hope of obtaining a raise. When we point out that certain things need attention (like that we spend too much time supporting customers with wireless problems - I LOVE YOU WINDOWS XP) they simply ignore us or blow off the issues. So you have a wealthy management team - who is growing wealther with every four to five customers that we are adding daily, and you have a staff of four guys who are growing bussier with every addition. Meanwhile we are supporting the same obscure product day in and day out, and come to work every day knowing that we will never move forward or obtain a raise.

I shook hands with the guys, wished them well, and I was out the door. I got to come home early. I didn't have to worry about getting my kids to the dentist the next day. I had the rest of the week off! But damned if I wasn't still really ill. Maybe he sent me home because I was sick and infecting the rest of the office? Nah - he was not that considerate. :-)

I wish I could say that I have spent my time at home wisely. I haven't. The last time I was sick, I made great strides with ODDREE Issue #2. It has been about a year since the first issue was released, perhaps I should get back to work on that? And so I spent my first day at home chugging down Dayquill and coffee, and working away in Adobe Indesign. The results were impressive, and it got me excited about completing this second issue.

I have also set aside some time to work on the new web site. I had decided that when issue two came out, the web site would have to get a make over. I have annoyed way too many people with my old Flash gag. So I put up a new site. Check it out? http://www.oddree.com

Now, here it is Friday all ready. I start the new job Monday! I am starting to get excited about it. I'm looking forward to seeing some new faces, and facing some new challenges. I spent an hour or so cleaning out my bookbag, and deleting old junk off my thumbdrive. I wonder if I will have a desk to sit at? I wonder if I will even need a desk. I don't know much about what I will do on this job. I hope that it doesn't suck. Stay tuned!