So ends my career in retail on Earth Day
So, I was correct- I lost my job because of my ankle. Though my (former) manager will tell you otherwise, her definitive motive for "letting me go" was based solely (and illegally) on the state of my health. She asked whether I was going to go to the hospital and I explained to her that I knew exactly what needed to be done (as it is utterly pointless to go to the doctor's for a sprain) and would be at work, regardless of my health, the following day. Maybe I should have arrived to work, crutching all the way, to help customers, or, better yet, have hopped on one foot all day, while escorting customers to registers, or folding towels. In the instant she found that I had no legal physical proof of any medical injury, ie. x-rays or a doctor's note, her decision came down swiftly.
Though, it's ridiculously laughable to get fired from Filene's over a sprained ankle and graduating from college, I'm proud of the fact that I stood up, as best I could on one foot, to Donna. Her point-of-view, understandably biased by 12+ years as a Filene's employee, somehow involved the fact that I needed to take time off to graduate from university as not "meeting the job requirements". Let it be known, I was not a pushover during our phone conversation, but stated that, yes, she needed to find someone to fill the position since I physically could not stand at the moment and, yes, I need to graduate.
So, in the end (aka after crying on the phone to my mom), I am much relieved. I can find solace in the fact that Donna will, for the rest of her life as she knows it, work as a department manager of a nation-wide chain over people who adamantly hate her, consistently speak negatively about her, make 15-minute breaks in 40 minutes, take cigarette breaks every hour, and play hangman through the entirety of an evening shift. I've always prided myself on my diligence and sense of responsibility- and getting fired does not diminish these characteristics. She lost a reliable associate who actually didn't despise her in return for making herself feel more powerful, if only for an instant.
Thankfully, my future lies somewhere else entirely.
She thanked me for "understanding". I wished her luck and hung up.
Then, I proceeded to purchase a plane ticket to California- to LA, where the only reason for setting foot in that city is to visit my one & only brother, and to much more Earth-friendly San Francisco :)
I'll miss Katie, Jim, Steve, BJ and... yup that's about it.
In other news,:
holy shit, my favorite little cousin is 14 years old today.
Holy shit, the information I need to incorporate in my thesis keeps growing by the day, with the days I have to finish it quickly dwindling.
Though, it's ridiculously laughable to get fired from Filene's over a sprained ankle and graduating from college, I'm proud of the fact that I stood up, as best I could on one foot, to Donna. Her point-of-view, understandably biased by 12+ years as a Filene's employee, somehow involved the fact that I needed to take time off to graduate from university as not "meeting the job requirements". Let it be known, I was not a pushover during our phone conversation, but stated that, yes, she needed to find someone to fill the position since I physically could not stand at the moment and, yes, I need to graduate.
So, in the end (aka after crying on the phone to my mom), I am much relieved. I can find solace in the fact that Donna will, for the rest of her life as she knows it, work as a department manager of a nation-wide chain over people who adamantly hate her, consistently speak negatively about her, make 15-minute breaks in 40 minutes, take cigarette breaks every hour, and play hangman through the entirety of an evening shift. I've always prided myself on my diligence and sense of responsibility- and getting fired does not diminish these characteristics. She lost a reliable associate who actually didn't despise her in return for making herself feel more powerful, if only for an instant.
Thankfully, my future lies somewhere else entirely.
She thanked me for "understanding". I wished her luck and hung up.
Then, I proceeded to purchase a plane ticket to California- to LA, where the only reason for setting foot in that city is to visit my one & only brother, and to much more Earth-friendly San Francisco :)
I'll miss Katie, Jim, Steve, BJ and... yup that's about it.
In other news,:
holy shit, my favorite little cousin is 14 years old today.
Holy shit, the information I need to incorporate in my thesis keeps growing by the day, with the days I have to finish it quickly dwindling.