Firefighting
Emergency DCMA meeting. Dragged us into a large conference room, then the new I'm-surprised-he's-that-attractive PM went down the list of issues. Same old crap, over and over, the stuff that we had been complaining about forever that no one paid any attention to. It was interesting. He was all business. He barked, and ten uptight little men in matching khakis took notes. He claims the system is broken. Nice of him to notice. Have we not been saying that? Hmmm. Maybe we can get something done around this joint.
Tom wasn't there. JS has been hinting that he is history for two weeks now, but I had never seen a manager fired in all the time I had been here. I doubted her. I doubted anyone would have the balls to fire our manager, especially since he had imported his wife and settled in for life. He had a legendary grip on the organization, evolving it into his very own playpen of incompetence.
Tom had taken me aside last Monday and asked if I "was happy working here at this camp." Yeah, you retard. I am freakin thrilled. You tell everyone that you don't want me in your group, then want me to "join the others at the table." You tell me that "none of this bullshit you guys are writing up matters, this is a service contract, for Christ sake!" You deliberately lie to keep out the experienced personnel, like David, yet you hire in kids with no background in this field so you can better control them. AND, you pay them more than you pay me! You argue about everything that doesn't fit in your little 'version according to Tom' world, manipulate the system to give my raise to someone else, and expect me to be thrilled at your management expertise? Let's not forget the two weeks that we argued about whether I could actually refer to a Porta-John as a Porta-John on a report, ad naseum.
I sweetly answered, "Why, of course, Tom. Why would you think I wasn't happy?"
Good riddance.
Bob got a goodbye email from Tom the day after the meeting, he said that the PM had "lost confidence" in him. How astute. I'm starting to like this guy.
The next day, the group got invitations to attend Tom's sudden going away party. Free NA beer and pizza!! Woo-hoo. I stayed home. Had to clean my toilet. Or something. Word came back that he actually had a tear in his eye. I am sure it was because he couldn't manage to get his undies out of the permanent knot they were now in, rather than actual emotion.
His wife apparently decided that she liked the money better than she liked him, and stayed behind here to work. I laughed my ass off. OK, not my whole ass. There still seems to be plenty there.
Suddenly Bill, who hadn't even been Supervisor for three days, who's "babies" were Glocks, was promoted to Manager. They said they had no one else promotable. Thank you very much.
Bill's first act as a manager was to order us to attend a "mandatory team building exercise." We were to report to a neighbor camp, and play a rousing game of dodgeball in the heat of the late afternoon. Excuse me, dodgeball? Team building? Did they put something in the fucking water? I am not going outside when it is 120 degrees; and I am not going to be the target of some pissed off subcontractor who wants to take my head off the old fashioned way, with organized sport activity.
When Bill asked for a show of hands for anyone who strenuously objected, mine shot up. He looked over at me, "Well, anyone besides her object?" No one twitched. Three days later, after I failed to play nice with the team, Bill "offered" to send me to another camp.
"PM wants people rotated, doesn't want people getting too comfortable at their locations," Bill says, shuffling papers and pretending to be busy. It was a sideways comment related to Tom's termination.
"I'm the last one into the group!" I exclaim, not even bringing up the point that I am the least likely to ever get 'too comfortable' in the job.
"Yeah, but you had time on the camp..."
"Not in the job!"
"Doesn't count, he wants people rotated."
"I'll demob. I'll take chicken and a window seat. Thanks."
A couple days later I got an email from Bill. "Have you thought about what you are going to do at the end of your contract?"
I responded, "Yes."
I'm still here.
Tom wasn't there. JS has been hinting that he is history for two weeks now, but I had never seen a manager fired in all the time I had been here. I doubted her. I doubted anyone would have the balls to fire our manager, especially since he had imported his wife and settled in for life. He had a legendary grip on the organization, evolving it into his very own playpen of incompetence.
Tom had taken me aside last Monday and asked if I "was happy working here at this camp." Yeah, you retard. I am freakin thrilled. You tell everyone that you don't want me in your group, then want me to "join the others at the table." You tell me that "none of this bullshit you guys are writing up matters, this is a service contract, for Christ sake!" You deliberately lie to keep out the experienced personnel, like David, yet you hire in kids with no background in this field so you can better control them. AND, you pay them more than you pay me! You argue about everything that doesn't fit in your little 'version according to Tom' world, manipulate the system to give my raise to someone else, and expect me to be thrilled at your management expertise? Let's not forget the two weeks that we argued about whether I could actually refer to a Porta-John as a Porta-John on a report, ad naseum.
I sweetly answered, "Why, of course, Tom. Why would you think I wasn't happy?"
Good riddance.
Bob got a goodbye email from Tom the day after the meeting, he said that the PM had "lost confidence" in him. How astute. I'm starting to like this guy.
The next day, the group got invitations to attend Tom's sudden going away party. Free NA beer and pizza!! Woo-hoo. I stayed home. Had to clean my toilet. Or something. Word came back that he actually had a tear in his eye. I am sure it was because he couldn't manage to get his undies out of the permanent knot they were now in, rather than actual emotion.
His wife apparently decided that she liked the money better than she liked him, and stayed behind here to work. I laughed my ass off. OK, not my whole ass. There still seems to be plenty there.
Suddenly Bill, who hadn't even been Supervisor for three days, who's "babies" were Glocks, was promoted to Manager. They said they had no one else promotable. Thank you very much.
Bill's first act as a manager was to order us to attend a "mandatory team building exercise." We were to report to a neighbor camp, and play a rousing game of dodgeball in the heat of the late afternoon. Excuse me, dodgeball? Team building? Did they put something in the fucking water? I am not going outside when it is 120 degrees; and I am not going to be the target of some pissed off subcontractor who wants to take my head off the old fashioned way, with organized sport activity.
When Bill asked for a show of hands for anyone who strenuously objected, mine shot up. He looked over at me, "Well, anyone besides her object?" No one twitched. Three days later, after I failed to play nice with the team, Bill "offered" to send me to another camp.
"PM wants people rotated, doesn't want people getting too comfortable at their locations," Bill says, shuffling papers and pretending to be busy. It was a sideways comment related to Tom's termination.
"I'm the last one into the group!" I exclaim, not even bringing up the point that I am the least likely to ever get 'too comfortable' in the job.
"Yeah, but you had time on the camp..."
"Not in the job!"
"Doesn't count, he wants people rotated."
"I'll demob. I'll take chicken and a window seat. Thanks."
A couple days later I got an email from Bill. "Have you thought about what you are going to do at the end of your contract?"
I responded, "Yes."
I'm still here.
posted by akantha at 10:14 AM
0 comments
