Sometimes It's Real Life
Last week I suffered a jolt to my system. It has been years since I've worked for anyone I've despised, perhaps this is why I allowed the blog to fall to the wayside. Its easy to write about things you don't like, I know its usually easier to read and often more humorous when things just aren't going my way. I didn't want to toot my own horn or kiss my bosses ass on the world wide web, so I kind of just stopped posting. And then of course I forgot my password and couldn't post, so maybe its serendipitous that I remembered it a few weeks before this happened.
My current boss is a wonderful human being. Kind, nice, and inclusive he is the type of co-worker or reporting officer one hopes to work with or for. When I was given my bonus target for the year, a pithy number that was at once offensive and derogatory, (and yes I know in this economy any bonus is a blessing but my company is not hurting) my boss offered to reduce his own bonus so that my number would be more substantial. He told me that someone who made more money in their yearly salary didn't need the extra money and he could see someone making less money being "better able to use it."
He got sick this month, he thought it was the flu. Every few days or so we would get an email "out today, still battling this flu" and then the next day he would be back, happy and talkative as ever. Last week we got the standard Out of Office email on Monday, but Tuesday came and went without any contact and he didn't show up. Wednesday we found out why, he had been in a 12 hour emergency surgery to relieve pressure on his brain. I'm sure at this point you've realized that the flu (even the really bad ones that leave you aching and begging for mercy) doesn't cause pressure on the brain. The pressure was caused by a tumor, a brain tumor, cancer to be exact, stage 4 cancer to be even more precise. If you don't know, stage 4 cancer is lethal, it spreads and metastasizes and can't be removed with surgery.
My boss is 37 years old if he lives to see 38 he will be lucky. He has three children under the age of 13. This sort of thing is only supposed to happen in TV movies of the week.
My current boss is a wonderful human being. Kind, nice, and inclusive he is the type of co-worker or reporting officer one hopes to work with or for. When I was given my bonus target for the year, a pithy number that was at once offensive and derogatory, (and yes I know in this economy any bonus is a blessing but my company is not hurting) my boss offered to reduce his own bonus so that my number would be more substantial. He told me that someone who made more money in their yearly salary didn't need the extra money and he could see someone making less money being "better able to use it."
He got sick this month, he thought it was the flu. Every few days or so we would get an email "out today, still battling this flu" and then the next day he would be back, happy and talkative as ever. Last week we got the standard Out of Office email on Monday, but Tuesday came and went without any contact and he didn't show up. Wednesday we found out why, he had been in a 12 hour emergency surgery to relieve pressure on his brain. I'm sure at this point you've realized that the flu (even the really bad ones that leave you aching and begging for mercy) doesn't cause pressure on the brain. The pressure was caused by a tumor, a brain tumor, cancer to be exact, stage 4 cancer to be even more precise. If you don't know, stage 4 cancer is lethal, it spreads and metastasizes and can't be removed with surgery.
My boss is 37 years old if he lives to see 38 he will be lucky. He has three children under the age of 13. This sort of thing is only supposed to happen in TV movies of the week.
posted by selling my soul at 4:21 PM
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