It is close to being over finally!

Well, today is Monday, which means the start of another 40-hour workweek in hell. Or at least that is how it has been for me since 4/20/2013. That is over 8 years, 3,145 days since my hire date to be exact. It hurts me to type that out and read that I actually have wasted so much of my life at a dead-end "career" with a federal government that considers me nothing more than a serf.

If you saw my blog from Friday night, then you know what is going on already. If not, feel free to give that blog a read now to catch up.

Basically, my employer (USPS) won't let me come to work until I submit to wearing a mask again. I obeyed like a good sheep last winter, but I am not doing it again. I explained my deep-rooted feelings concerning the mask ordeal in that blog I linked a second ago, so I won't go into that again here in this one.

I woke up this morning absolutely sick at the thought of going back to work and having to do the same old job of slanging stamps and talking to everybody in town. I love getting to meet so many different people and even form bonds with some of them. That however is not enough to keep doing this to me. I know I cannot keep sitting around waiting for every single day to be over and going home absolutely exhausted.

Over this past weekend, I have told myself mentally that I do not have a job with USPS anymore. I've committed it to my mind and there is no going back now. I was told to arrive Monday morning like usual, despite being sent home halfway through the day on Friday after refusing to comply with their wishes. I wasn't at work today for 30 minutes before being told to go home once again.

I believe they assumed I was having a mental breakdown Friday and would revert my stance this morning. Sadly for them, that just wasn't the case. I went straight to my supervisor's office and had a seat. We then chatted some small talk about the weekend while waiting on a union rep to show up and witness our official conversation. My supervisor is honestly one of the sweetest ladies that I have ever met in my life. She's easy to talk to and very nonconfrontational, I know she didn't want to discipline me. She was basically forced into her current job after they took away the job that she had had for years and loved. If only she too was able to do something about the fact that her employer cares none for her happiness levels.

My supervisor does rely on this job as her form of income. That means she must protect herself at all costs, even if that means doing something that makes absolutely no sense like sending me home on the busiest day of the week and leaving one employee to do the job of six. I feel for my friend who is stuck working all by herself today. She probably thinks that I only care about myself, but trust me when I say I have pain in my heart for her being stuck somewhere that she despises. In fact, everybody that I work with hates coming to work. Literally, nobody enjoys this damn job. It all gets a million times worse during the month of December. The post office is far busier now than at any other time of the year. It will be an overload of work with an unhappy and understaffed workforce. Did I mention they are more than happy to make people work on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day?

Our official meeting was very simple and to the point. They read me a series of about a dozen questions and had me answer them. Both my supervisor and union rep wrote down exactly what my reply was on a piece of paper. This is for their documentation about the case. Most questions were simple yes or no answers. Some of the questions were the same question just reworded. It was really the silliest thing ever and a waste of a part of my productive morning. It did have to be done though, otherwise, none of this would ever go anywhere.

The only questions that stood out were:

Are you aware that you must follow all direct orders no matter what they are?
Why did you refuse to wear a mask?
Are you still refusing to wear a mask today?
Do you have anything else you would like to add?

To that my answers were:

Yes.
Personal belief and the fact that other offices without supervision to watch them are getting away with not wearing masks still.
Yes.
Do you all really wish to start losing your few employees that actually come to work and do their job to the best of their ability over something as small as a mask?

They may have thought they would be the ones asking all of the questions, but I had to leave them with a question of my own. The only thing is, I already know the answer to my question. They don't care at all to lose me, no matter how intelligent and consistent I have been over the 8+ years of employment. I'm very easily replaceable and I realize that. Just because I'm great at my job doesn't mean that somebody half as productive couldn't still complete the job. I'm a glorified cashier for crying out loud. As long as the person can read and do basic math, they can replace me with very little effort. Or should I say was a cashier?

At this point, I'm pretty certain I will no longer be employed with USPS very soon. That's fine with me, great actually. I have wanted this for years and it finally seems to be happening on its own. Instead of just quitting, I'm applying some pressure on their little system and who knows maybe it will motivate some others to do the same. If I free myself, great! If I free others too, even better!

I guess that is all I have to say for now. I will surely have another update on the status of the whole situation soon. Who knows when I'll have more info. Sometimes they are quick with their communication, maybe I hear something today. Other times they totally forget what's going on and I may not hear from them for days. I'll just have to be patient and see.

The last time I quit something that I believed was essential to my life, I was freaking out and it was university. My nerves got so bad that I called my uncle of all people for some advice. He is somebody who is tremendously successful, but I basically never talk to. I was so scared that I gave him a ring thinking he would somehow be able to save me from my own fears. This time around I am calm, confident, and unleashing my emotions into writing and it feels amazing!

One thing that is for sure is I will be utilizing all of this new free time by crafting some of the best content I have to offer here on Hive. My passion sits on this platform and blockchain tech in general. I am not a fan of our old system and don't know why I've allowed myself to stay connected for so long. Perhaps, at last, I'll be proud to tell people that I work on Hive. It has sucked to have felt the need to avoid the fact that I worked with USPS for so many years when telling people about my life. I feel shameful no more.