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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsSweet Karma-a must share with you dear people who helped me through unemployment last year
Last year I lost my job. Basically, I worked for a town for 8 years. Worked my way up until the point where I was interim town planner. I was in the town planner position for a year, all the time basically promised the job, I was tricked in to eliminating my own job and after I got the planning board through everything they screwed me and hired someone's daughter-in-law's friend. It was just a year ago in fact. The KID they chose over me was woefully unqualified but he would take less money plus of course his connection. I told them that they would regret their choice.
Losing this job devastated me. I mean DEVASTATED me. I knew these people for 8 years, many of them had been in my home and shared meals with my family and knew my children and husband. Many of them were there and supported me when I went through breast cancer. Many of them were people I considered friends so this was much more than losing a job. THis was a betrayal, it was personal and it was incredibly painful. One of the worst parts was being told not getting the job had nothing to do with my job performance. I was told what an excellent job I did and was given a stellar letter of recommendation. Even the town report raved about what a great job I did. It was months and months before I could go a week without dissolving in to bouts of uncontrollable crying. The reason I didn't get the job was politics pure and simple.
Fortunately, I was only out of work for 7 months. They were the longest 7 months of my life. I had to endure seeing these people in town because I worked in the same town I live in. The chairman on the planning board saw me and asked me how I was enjoying my summer. Truly, he asked me that. Talk about stupid.
But after 7 months, I got another planning job better than the one I lost. It was part time BUT the money was so much better, I was making part time the same that I was full time at my previous job. The Planning Board and Board of Selectmen are amazing, I have a brand new office, in a newly renovated carriage house. The paint was barely dry. I was able to order all of the office furniture I wanted. Things started out beautifully and in the 6 months I have been able to get a project approved that they have been trying to get through since 2008, and I am going to be promoted to full time within the next few weeks and we will be able to get rid of my husband's shit medical insurance AND I will be making $20,000.00 a year MORE than I would have in the previous position.
In the mean time, wonder boy who they hired instead of me, quit after 9 months on the job. So the town hasn't had a planning director since January. They cant get many people qualified to apply, and anyone qualified wont take the shit money they are paying.
I have been approached no less than 5 times by assorted town officials "laughingly" asking me what it would take for me to come back. And I said not to bother there is no way I would leave my current job.
I heard from the vice chair who actually suggested I submit my resume. After I stopped laughing, I said I might be willing to consult for them until I went full time in my current job but I wasn't going to interview and I certainly wasn't going to apply.
So I didn't hear anything. I didn't expect to, I didn't want to get back in to that toxic environment again even though it was tempting for them to have to eat crow and pay me as a consultant. It wouldn't be worth it to have to work there again.
Well I got a call from the chairman at work yesterday, telling me they needed me to be an alternate on the planning board and they were depending on me because they were in big trouble.
You see, they cant do anything themselves. I know people who have had simple subdivisions and the planning board couldn't handle it. And I happen to know from developers I deal with, that my former town has been crossed off lists for development because they have no planner.
There were initiatives that were in place and had momentum when I was there and I had assigned the board work. Of course that all stopped and now nothing at all is happening. The town has been set back YEARS.
So I told the chairman that I could not be an alternate or consult because I just didn't have the time. And he again complained about how much trouble they were in. And I said to him that I told him this was where he would end up. And he said that I had a right to gloat. But I told him that it was ok because I ended up where I was supposed to be and they will end up where they are supposed to be. And then he said, (and this is the killer) "I know, but its so hard to go through it"
Yes, its so hard for YOU all to go through what you are going through, I wanted to say to him. Never an apology or admitting that they fucked me over, just like nothing happened. Absolutely shameless.
So anyway, karma is a bitch and they are dancing with her. They know what they did and will never admit it. It doesn't matter anyway because I wouldn't go back under any circumstances.
So I wished them luck and that was that.
But I want all of you to know that I think of you all often because you guys helped me through some dark days.
Thank you!!!!
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,562 posts)Wow, Karma really is a bitch! What an amazing story, and good for you!
I am so glad this worked out the way it did, and that you are now in so much stronger a position.
You have more than earned it.
Congratulations!
Robyn66
(1,675 posts)Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)Vengeance is mine, sayeth Robyn66.
Robyn66
(1,675 posts)I never wish harm on anyone or anything. The worst I do is wish they get what they deserve!!! LOL!!!
OriginalGeek
(12,132 posts)except that they put you in that position to begin with.
I would be hard pressed not to write a letter to the local paper detailing exactly what they did and why their town is now shit. Naming names and assigning responsibility to everyone that screwed you and the town over. I love to see assholes get their comeuppance.
Robyn66
(1,675 posts)although I may be the local "deep throat" at times.
OriginalGeek
(12,132 posts)Stick it to the man!
GiveMeFreedom
(976 posts)I would at least ask for triple pay, new city car, office, furniture, spending account, 2 month paid vacation, etc. consult dick cheney's book, "How to get even and make a profit doing it".
A person with principle will not go far up the corporate ladder, but those people must feel good about themselves. More so than the sociopaths than seem to screw everything else up. Peace.
Robyn66
(1,675 posts)But my husband said to me "No matter how happy they were and no matter what they did for you, you would still WORK there for the same people" and its true. THey would MAYBE appreciate me for a month and the expectation would be to clean up their shit while handling the current business perfectly. It would be horrid. So there would be no way on earth I would go back unless there was complete turnover on the planning board and town administration AND board of selectmen for that matter. And that is a LONG time!
LiberalAndProud
(12,799 posts)I don't think I'd deal well with the chance encounters with board members. It's great you got a better position and a little bit of your own back on the people who betrayed you, though. How in the world did you not say, "payback's a bitch?" That phrase would have slipped from my lips faster than I could bite it back. Good for you that you didn't.
Robyn66
(1,675 posts)There were only two planning board members who voted for me, which was hard, plus I was met all over town by well meaning people who would tear the wound open by stopping me where ever I went to tell me how screwed I was. So it was very difficult. I couldn't go to public places because some planning board members were civic leaders because I was in such a bad place emotionally.
The worst times following the initial horror were when "wonder boy" was presenting MY work like it was his own. One project in particular that the final presentation should have been MY "victory lap" and it was his first presentation. And of course he couldn't mention my name. But I was comforted by knowing EVERYONE in town knew EXACTLY what was going on. In a town of about 6000, you know just about EVERYONE!
PLUS
I was very well thought of by the local press, AND there was a BIG article about how the "eight year employee with exemplary job performance" was passed over for the job. During the time I was out, the local paper would check in with me to find out of ANYTHING was going on because they were eager to print it. And when I got my job, which was out of their usual news area they printed a huge article with a color photo of me and they interviewed my new planning board chair who raved about me and said how lucky they were to get me.
I had to feel bad for "wonder boy" because EVERY time he was in the paper for ANYTHING it would be "Planning Director for the town of Blah who long time employee Robyn66 was passed over for is holding a public hearing blah blah blah ....."
It took a full year for the HATE I had for the bunch of them to subside, because even the ones who voted for me obviously sat by and allowed this kid to take credit for my work so they sucked too!
But after "wonder boy" quit after 9 months and I went to town meeting and people were falling all over themselves. I was finally able to let go of the last of my anger because I won. I cant believe it but I really won. The place was NEVER a good place to work. And while I did the interim planning job they never hired an assistant for me so I was doing two jobs and did them perfectly without any appreciation, even to the point where I am sure I had pneumonia, but I refused to go have a chest xray because I knew I wouldn't be able to go to work if I was diagnosed with it. Where I was in an office alone and the work needed to be done, I was in there, often on a nebulizer because I didn't want to let the planning board down. It was really a toxic relationship and I did things no one should have to do or would be ever expected to do in the real world. Incidentally, I was severely emotionally abused as a child and I think it tapped in to old negative patterns that I didn't realize until after I was gone.
People tell me know I look 10 years younger and just HAPPIER. My health is 100% better. The old job was literally killing me.
So the only thing that kept me from being a TOTAL asshole on the phone was it was SO satisfying to have the moral high ground. If I were nasty, they would write it off as me being bitter. If I am sympathetic to their situation but just to busy with my successful job with a town and planning board that LOVES ME, then they have to deep down acknowledge what they did even if they never admit it.
That is so much more satisfying!!!
Phentex
(16,334 posts)and one of those is a very toxic job like this. I am glad you see this and keep yourself away from those assholes.
I hope they learn from it but you never know if they will even recognize how badly they treated you.
I wish you much continued success!
AnneD
(15,774 posts)a chance to build YOUR resume and gain valuable experience. Letting go of the hurt as you have done is best. But realize, you would not be in the position your are in had you not went through your trial by fire.
There have been times in my life when I have been wronged. I always tried to keep the moral high ground and have found the scales of justice balanced out.
What a happy ending to your story. At last you are with people that know your TRUE WORTH and appreciate you for this. Never let anyone shame you or pull you down into that negative spiral. You will be more aware now.
Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)I'm glad everything worked out in the end, and it's unfortunate you had to go through 7 months of unemployment to get where you are.
a kennedy
(29,642 posts)femmocrat
(28,394 posts)I am so happy everything worked out for you, Robyn. I remember you went through a difficult time when you were unemployed. You deserve every happiness.
Robyn66
(1,675 posts)And I felt so guilty because so many people had it worse, but I think more than losing the job the pain was due to the manipulation and the trickery and the lies. They HURT me.
What I am happiest about is being able to be in my chosen field. There aren't a lot of Planning jobs out there. I was sure I was going to be stuck in some crappy administrative assistant job like I have had a million times before.
Baitball Blogger
(46,697 posts)What state are you from?
I'm working on an historical account in my city where they let go of four City Planners in the span of a few years. Personally, I don't think the city wanted to follow rules. From what I can tell there was a strong property rights contingency among local land owners and developers and they did what they could to influence a sovereign rights policy in city government. The city just adjusted. It became a good ole boy town where even the city attorney went along, issuing legal opinions that allowed many decisions that should never have been allowed.
That all hit a brick wall in 1997. So much went wrong that year because the city lacked consistent direction. A history of arbitrary decisions finally caught up with them when an outside developer sued them. The city was in major trouble because all of this was exposed in open meetings which were followed by interested residents. The city tried to appease the angry residents by controlling their leaders--and even went so far as to misinform the public about the reach of a confidentiality clause in a settlement agreement to try to hush everything up. It was a nightmare!
It still is. How they tried to hide the truth about the city's weakness is something that is textbook black ops.
Robyn66
(1,675 posts)And the politics were about protecting an incompetent town administrator who hated me and was able to some how cry her way out of every problem, blame everyone and lie about everything and blame everyone for her screw ups. She also want to be in charge of everything so when I stood up to her and didnt had things over I was in her crosshairs.
It appears her charm is running out now though.
Baitball Blogger
(46,697 posts)They're not looking for people who follow the rules. They want people who can make things happen without all the complicated work that comes along with due diligence and due process.
It is Florida's idea of land planning.
Robyn66
(1,675 posts)I had a state rep come in with a Site Plan and say "I don't want to do what everyone else has to do" I just kind of looked at him because I really thought he was kidding at first but he was serious AND a total jerk. I know this will come as a shock but he is a Republican!
Baitball Blogger
(46,697 posts)conventional community development process. Everything trickled down from the City Manager, who was caught saying in a meeting that he was fine with the approximation of justice. I'll never forget that quote.
But all the blame cannot be pinned on him. If you looked closely at the minutes you can see what gave this City Manager so much flamboyant hubris. He never took a step without first getting the consensus approval of the community leaders. He wouldn't even move office furniture without first checking with them!
CanSocDem
(3,286 posts)...great perseverance.
"People tell me know I look 10 years younger and just HAPPIER. My health is 100% better. The old job was literally killing me."
"... it was SO satisfying to have the moral high ground."
Well done!
.
Robyn66
(1,675 posts)Plus its TONS of fun to talk about the great things happening in my town to them when I see them because we are all "friends" again. I KNOW that stings!