Thursday, December 29, 2005

Still Obsessing Over Being Fired

I've tried. I really have tried. For a while I actually didn't think about it at all and then...BAM. Here I go again obsessing over being fired almost a year ago. I still believe that I was let go unfairly. I mean, it would be one thing to get fired for being dead weight, not performing my job duties, insubordination or any number of other valid reasons. But I was let go because this 'person' had a temper tantrum like a two year old and took it out on me.

In today's politically correct times it is advisable not to speak negatively about your ex-boss. So I won't. Well, maybe I will. This idiot is now the president of possibly the biggest advertising companies in this area of the country. How he got there, I really don't know. He started there about 5-6 years ago as a sales rep and somehow worked his way up. Granted, he fits right in with the other 'players' who run the place, but should he be in charge? I don't think so.

And obviously I'm not the only one in this particular frame of mind. Over the past 7 years I've worked for this company 3 different time. Once I was 'downsized', which is very common in this field. So common in fact that I've probably been downsized from eighty percent of the agencies I've worked for. After another downsizing, I went back to 'the company' but left when offered a better position, which was downsized itself. Luckily I knew it was coming and negotiated my old job back which I knew I shouldn't have done but, hey, I have to pay the bills.

But I digress. As I said, I could accept being canned if I deserved it. But I worked an average of 50 hours a week. I was a top producer. I took on additional responsibilities which were a benefit to the company. I even enrolled in college courses to advance my skills. My supervisor never questioned my skills or dedication. But yet I was 'fired' for no other real reason than this idiot on a power trip had a bad day and because he could he fired me. It still gets to me.

Now if this was just about me, I might actually get over this. But this company has one of the largest employee turnover rate of any company I know of. A couple months after I was let go I learned that approximately 20 other employees were let go. Just yesterday, I learned that another dozen or so were 'downsized' just before Christmas. Nice! And this is not a random occurance. I would bet that this company does this every year. I've talked to a lot of this company's ex-employees about their departures from the company. One person was actually fired over the phone, while returning from a meeting with a client in which she had just negotiated a large contract for the company.

The truth is, and always has been, that no one is indispensible. Everyone can be replaced. Companies expect you to automatically give respect but offer nothing in return. Give the company notice when leaving but they will fire you in a minute and escort you out the door. Year end bonus? What is that? Give us fifty hours plus a week and a pint of your blood and then get pissed on when they've mismanaged their budget and need to make cuts so they can keep their mansions and sports cars and trophy wives.

I still can't get over this. It just pisses me off to no end.

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

bah humbug

I've always been a last minute christmas shopper. When I was younger I use to love waiting til Christmas Eve to go buy my presents. There was something about the urgency of the night which made it all seem so exciting. Now, however, is a different subject. Last night I decide to stop in at WalMart after work to pick up a present for my neice. No sooner did I step inside the door and I knew I was making a mistake. I got about fifty feet inside the store when I cringed from the sound of a screaming baby a couple isles away. I couldn't see it, but I sure could hear the little bugger. Turning from the sound I found myself facing a woman standing a few feet in front of me. WIthout a second thought she turns her head, luckily away from me, and sneezes, sending her infectious body fluids spraying across the air. Wheeling around on my heel I hear someone else coughing. I don't look to see who it is or if their mouth is covered. That's it for me. Quickly heading back to the exit, I hear a whining child screaming at the top of it's lungs, "But I want it! I want it! I want it!"

Friday, December 16, 2005

Better late than never

Here it is, December 16, 2005 and I'm just getting my first blog up. Talk about procrastination. Better late than never.

I was going to label this blog 'Things I Hate About Advertising', but then thought better of it after considering a future employer might not hire me if they came upon the blog. After all, I work in advertising. It pays the bills. But we all know that advertising is just a pack of lies. Do we really believe that JC Penney is having a sale every single week? I mean, come on america. Use your brains for something other than sitting on. Advertising is designed to get you into the store. Once your there, the odds are that your going to buy something. And most likely, your going to buy a lot of something because the little sign above the shelf says its on sale! And why is it that when a commercial comes on the tv the volume doubles? I'll tell you why. Because they want you to hear about that sale when you walk into the kitchen to get a snack. It's all psychological. It's all manipulation. It's all a bunch of lies.

And yet, I work in advertising. Why? I don't really know anymore. I got into it because I was 'creative'. And because it payed the bills. And now I can't get out of it because I can't afford to switch careers. So I try to find other ways to overlook the evil of advertising and regain my creativity. So I scour the books and magazines for inspiration. I learn new techniques in photoshop and illustrator and flash. I take classes to learn new skills in programming. I do all of this in hope of breaking out of what has become a routine job and branching out into something new. The trouble is that, in the end, it's all pretty much the same. After all, I got to pay the bills.