Hey hey everyone, probably all like three of you readers. I don’t mean to be down though but the Picayune got neglected a tad due to a couple sad events.
Firstly, a good friend and co-worker was unfairly terminated at Apple. I readily admit my biases toward the parties involved yet I sense there was some capriciousness in the decision because the terminator was my former manager. What upsets me the most is that I felt this ex-boss had grown a little plus he transferred to a division staffed by engineers. If you know much about the computer-related fields, engineers need little direct supervision, a micromanager is very unwelcome. Only time will tell. I have warned my friend he won’t necessarily get the outcome he desires due to many HR departments being known for backing a manager’s actions, even when the manager ends up being wrong. Is the manager wrong? Yes. If I weren’t friends with the terminated, I would still have the same stance; based upon the circumstances, the manager did everything to achieve no other outcome, firing. This is unethical. A good leader should do all in their power to assist an employee in “righting the ship,” not taking an indifferent, ambiguous and/or sabotaging position during a stressful situation.
I myself was once on the bubble at Apple about a decade ago. I succeeded by getting help from inside and outside my employer. I also said to myself, no matter what happened, I would never leave under a cloud. Plus I pressed on the immediate manager to assist in keeping me abreast of my progress and I received what I had been demanding for over a year, a transfer to a boss who “got me.” To be fair to the previous manager while in the crisis, it wasn’t all his fault. The person above both of us hobbled numerous professional relationships so there was an aura of venom.
Ergo, I know from experience that what happened to my friend was a railroading, not just business as usual.
The other sad matter happened on the same day.
While driving home I saw a dead cat on the main thoroughfare leading in/out of Pflugerville (aka FM 1825 for locals). The poor stray’s corpse hadn’t been there long based upon his position. I rushed home, grabbed a huge Container Store bag and a towel I wouldn’t miss. Then I went back to put my car in the way to prevent any jerks from running over the corpse (there are some sick people who get off squashing “road kill,” it seems to go hand-in-hand with gun-driven cultures in my experience); well, I hoped no one would hit my car and kill me neither. Being mid-evening, I had to keep the bag in the backyard until the following day.
When work ended, I rushed home to take the unfortunate kitty to White Rock Vet Hospital to arrange his cremation (he was a large male orange tabby with no collar and it was pretty obvious he wasn’t neutered). I had planned on paying for the process but the staff said the county covers it as a good Samaritan act. It’s damned shame yet I hope I gave him a little dignity to his demise. Texas also has vultures/buzzards (can’t remember which) you’ll see occasionally eating dead animals on the road.
My cautionary tale about the cat is a plea to encourage everyone to please, please, keep your pets indoors or contained to the yard. Letting them wander around will often end badly for all parties involved.