Saturday, September 13, 2014

Wow, what a relief! And I ain't even skeered!

I've been working at yet another newspaper for 6 years now. I sell advertising. Yeah. In 2014. For 2 weekly small-town newspapers. Yeah. So.
It's been a struggle since I walked in the door there.
The ad designer put me through the wringer from the beginning. Unfriendly, asking a million questions when the info was plainly there, calling me out in front of the other employees,  giving me wrong stuff and misspelling words purposefully. I had to ask the publisher to call a meeting to give us a pep talk, that all of us needed to work together to help each other to bring revenue in, in order to keep our jobs.
Then I continued to battle my way through each day there.
Sure, it got better. I was able to joke and laugh, but I don't think I ever fully trusted anyone except Angela- the ad designer who put me through hell at the beginning- and Pam, who does page layout and classified ads.
Recently, my disease has flared up and I've been super sick, but have managed to come in each day to do my job. It's been very hard, but I've managed. I even worked on Wednesday because Angela left us to return to school and we need all hands on deck to have 2 persons on staff on Wednesday. Mind you, I'm completely commission so this results in no extra pay for me, I'm just trying to do my share & to be a team player.
We have a writer there named Sherri. She's an extremely difficult coworker. A Wiccan with a hugely negative attitude, and a loud opinionated voice that drones on, given half a chance.
Yesterday, trying to get an answer for a customer on something I had forwarded to her- it was editorial- she yelled at me in front of the office.
I packed up my daily work stuff and left. I sent an email to most of the staff, telling them I feel devalued and embarrassed by that rude reaction. I think I finally reached my breaking point.
Laura did call me and I explained as best I could, in my emotional state, what happened & how I've spent all these years battling for revenue & for respect, and that I feel that I'm done.
She's asking me to give myself some breathing room and to think this over.
Gil, of course, is his usual supportive self. He seems to feel that I will go back to work there, but thinks I should take the entire week off to rest and regroup, and let the people at the Herald Gazette work on without me.
I wish to find another job, that's what I wish.