wasnotafan
All that fresh air over the years has done me good
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2010
- Messages
- 4,455
And now for the exciting conclusion (Now with farting unicorns!!)
Up until Oct 8, everything had been status quo. I had to see that guy every day, but my boss was happy with me so no big deal. Then on Oct 8 I get a call from someone who said he had some questions that he needed my help with. "No problem", I say. "I'll be right down". Then I realize who it was on the phone. It was the head of Loss Prevention. Hmm... Not someone people like getting phone calls from (although he's a nice guy). When I get there we do the little chit chat thing for a few minutes and he starts asking me about Disney. I assume that this is because I have a reputation, as you all probably do as well, as a bit of an expert on putting together trips. I happily answer a few questions about WDW and then he starts asking about my side business, SAT/ACT prep. I answer a question or two about that and realize there's something weird going on. He says that it has been brought to his attention that I may be in violation of our Conflict of Interest policy and he needed to investigate. Two hours later I'm walking back to my desk wondering how all this is going to play out. Every day in October sucked after that.
Now for a little background on something that was happening at the same time. In Spring of 2015, I was informed that my company was getting out of my line of business. At the same time, my boss says "Don't worry. You're safe. You're going to work for those guys over there." I liked that plan. In August, I begin the process of winding down my two areas and expected to be done in early November.
Here's where the story comes to it's crappy conclusion. On Oct 27, I get called in to a VP's office with a director of HR in the office. (I think you can all see where this is going). First, he gives my the results of the investigation. They weren't pleased with me helping a friend plan a trip and doing some of that on company time. Fair enough. But then, they say that since my area had been phased out, my position had been eliminated and that I didn't need to show up to work the next day. I say, "my boss said I was going to work for this other team". VP says that position was never approved. My last day for the company was Nov 2. 12 years and I get sent out the door just like that. Officially, the reason is that my role was eliminated. I give the background of the investigation because some of my old colleagues speculated that I was just collateral damage in the feud between my boss and VP. VP couldn't touch my boss so instead he went after his favorite employee. My boss wound up retiring 3 weeks after I left.
So there you go. No unicorns farting rainbows, just a crappy way to kick off the holiday season. On the upside, they gave me 6 months of severance pay.
The family is good. November and December were rough emotionally for me but the job hunt picked up in Jan/Feb. There was a job with the state I was pursuing but didn't get. I'm still chasing it though. They'll hire for it again in a few months and I offered to intern for them to gain the experience I was lacking the first time. They agreed to it and I start April 18. 42 is probably not the typical age for an intern, but I can afford to go without a paycheck for a while. DW and I are very frugal with our money and we can stretch the emergency fund out for another year if we have to.
Alright, I'm tired of typing. I need to eat something and go tutor some kids.
Sorry to hear that Chris and glad that you have a plan and an emergency fund. Prayers that you have peace and a successful internship and job search.