The Line

Over the weekend I attended a Halloween party. It was fairly enjoyable, even if some of us left early because things were getting out of hand. On the way home, I stopped and checked my schedule at work. Instead of the usual scheduled hours after my name, there was a swiftly-drawn line.

My initial reaction was confusion. What did this line mean? Was there a conflict? Would I resume work the next week? Eventually, I realized what should have been obvious: I was fired.

Or at least I had a hunch that I was. It was not until I called the hotel the next morning that I knew for sure. I tried calling my manager directly, but there was no answer. I tried calling the hotel’s number, but the call would not connect (I think they may have blocked my number). Eventually, I got through by using my home phone instead.

They fired me without even letting me know.

The actual reason for my termination is convoluted, but the basics are that I was doing things the way I had been taught under previous management. This was producing errors, apparently. No one told me that I was doing anything wrong. No one told me the new way of doing things. This happened twice and caused the management and owner a lot of problems. But they never told me I was doing it wrong.