She's my what? My manager? My boss??

So, I went to work tonight without a care in the world and no plans whatsoever to terminate my position as a lifeguard at the YMCA.
There's a reason I work in the evening and not during the day, and it's not because I am in school. Hey, I'm in college; I could work most of the day if I wanted to. No, it's not that. It's my boss, JM. I don't go to work until 7pm so there will be absolutely no chance I will have to work with my boss in the building. "It couldn't be that bad", you ask, innocently, "could it?" Oh, trust me, it could. What I knew before tonight, what problems I had with my boss, all minor issues, nothing to quit over. Besides, I am not a quitter. I don't fall back unless there's no other option or unless the situation becomes hazardous to my health.
It wasn't bad enough that JM just became a lifeguard in February 2005 and then was hired as the aquatics director four months later. If you work in this business, you know what I am talking about. Imagine a lawyer fresh out of law school being hired as the attorney general and you might begin to get a glimpse of how aggrivating it must be to have this person tell me (a lifeguard for going on 6 years) what to do and how to do my job. It's pretty pathetic.
Furthermore, since she took the helm of our humble aquatics facility in June, JM has instituted monthly inservices. These are short sessions in which we are tested on, or practice, our skills. Does it bother anyone else that, in regard to these essential-for-lifesaving skills, JM is the worst lifeguard I have ever seen???
As if all this weren't enough, JM doesn't seem to give a shit about anyone's life but her own. Okay for regular employees, bad bad bad for managers (are you taking notes?)..the details would only make you more upset (like when I told her my parents were getting divorced and I was crying, she said, "well, it happens. get out there and guard". It happens?? Oy!).

All of this wasn't enough to make me quit (it's much more complicated than I can squeeze in here), what I found out tonight made me want to vomit my brains and scratch my eyeballs out.
A little while ago, our most valuable employee (BW), who also certified us in our skills (the only one who could do this), was suddenly fired. That's right, she didn't quit; JM fired her. Why? Only one person knows, and her lips are sealed, reasonably so. Supposedly, when the now-ex-employee BW was teaching JM, the one who fired BW, her lifeguarding skills for her certification, JM failed the test. That's right, she failed the test. "But wait", you say. "She's a lifeguard now. She must have passed!" Nope, try again. Here's what happened. After JM failed the test, the Director of the Y, DP, forced BW to pass her, paving the way for her to be hired as the Aquatics Director. How sickening!!!! It wouldn't be so bad, except the conspiracy theorist in me sees the connection between this devious circumstance and BW being fired. JM had to fire her, was waiting for a reason to fire her, so BW wouldn't say anything about what happened. Now, if BW says anything about it, her story will be labeled as that of a 'disgruntled employee', end of story.
Now you see why I need a new job?
Oy vey! Good night!

tiferet

Here We Go

Well, here we go.
I have officially joined the world of bloggers. Amazing, though, I didn't even know what a blog was until a few months ago. At my age, I should be on the uptake for every new thing that comes out. Then again, most of the time I just don't care. There used to be a time when people had entire books, no, entire libraries memorized and could recite them at will. It's not that our brains have de-evolved (well, most of us anyway), but because we are more worried about our ipods, automobiles, and blogs than actually stopping and feeling and listening; either way, its lost into a world of fantasy and unreality inside a little box people stare into for hours on end. Sure, I am the one who always says that it doesn't matter if you have information stuffed into your brain; what matters is if you know where to find the information. Sure, this is true for many things. But all absolutes are dangerous...
In our time there is a general assumption that the more information we have (up to infinity), the better off we are. Is this true?

Well, this is only the beginning of the end (or the end of the beginning, whichever you prefer). But time is short and sleep is a beloved necessity. My dreamworld calls.

Signing off,
Tif'eret