No Good Rotten Very Bad Day

Since I'm so upset right now I don't even know where to begin, I'll start at the end.

I lost my job today. Or, rather it was pulled out from under me.

For those of you keeping score, I was there less than 5 days. "There" being Fxxx Cxxx Pxxx in Eden Prairie. There, where it now pisses me off even typing their stupid company name. There, being given no warning, no indication that my performance needed improvement, or that I was not meeting some expectation set forth by some person or persons. There being a place I'm already trying to put behind me, despite all the obvious questions that will have no answers, despite how many times I ask them.

I've been doing prepress, production, graphic design, desktop publishing, printing, or whatever other f-ing name you decide to call it for over 10 years now. In that time I've become skilled in every Adobe product every made, ran a Kodak Nexpress, Canon, Konica and done everything between. From creating a design from scratch to running a UV Coating machine. I've basically become a renaissance man in the world of print. Bottom line? I know my shit, and I if don't know something I can figure it out.

Today I figured out something very important. None of who you are or what you can do matters if the people you work for are fucking assholes.

At approximately 3:30 the co-owner's son, Mr. Q asked me "hey, do you have a minute for a conversation?" I said "sure" and walked into Mr. Q Srs (Sam's dad) office. After staring at me for 30 seconds in silence, he finally spoke saying "it's not working out." At this point I was pretty much in shock, so I didn't reply. Mr. Q then proceeded with "I don't want to get into a long debate, but we've been talking all this week about this and decided it's not working out." Again, I'm still in shock. Finally, some part of me decided that I would take the high road and say "I understand. You have a business to run." "Thanks for the opportunity." Mr. Q then asked if M had already filled my position or if they would take me back (Like now he suddenly has a conscious). I told them I didn't know and asked if they wanted me to finish my shift today. They said it was "up to me." So I basically said I didn't feel comfortable being there anymore and that I was going to leave immediately. I grabbed my stuff from my desk, packed it back in the box still sitting under my desk from Monday morning and left without saying another word.

So, just to recap: I left my job at M after 2.5 years with no benefits, no raise, no air conditioning and no sense of security last Friday, then worked exactly 4.75 days at Fxxx Cxxx Pxxx and now I'm unemployed.

I'm frustrated, angry and completely stressed out. I worked 9+ hours every day this week, dealt with a 50 minute commute after work, time that could should have been spent with our son. I gave everything I had to give. My ears are ringing, my head hurts and I have absolutely nothing to show for it. I'm also scared of the uncertainty, and even though I try not to, it's hard not hanging my head.

I'm also hopeful, grateful and excited for what will happen next. I have a great family and great group of friends like you who will support me and help me through this. Needless to say, if you know of any job opportunities let me know. I'm open to pursuing positions outside of my field, "getting a foot in the door" jobs etc.

Unfortunately, I've been in this position before (It was right before I met Angie and took a job at Comcast). Since then, I've worked at BCT, then M and finally took the job at Fxxx Cxxx. I felt like I was finally out from under. I still can't believe this day actually happened, it's all been like a bad dream.

I don't know what else to say.