It's been a busy couple of weeks so I've neglected this blog for a bit. So, where to begin?
Well, I lost my job. That seems like it might be the big one.
What happened? Well suffice it to say my temper got the best of me in a minor conflict with a coworker. I said something that I immediately regretted saying. After all was said and done and I'd taken a few minutes to calm down I went and apologized to said coworker. I genuinely felt bad as I'd crossed a line. We spoke for a moment or two and all was well. My coworker was fine, and I think appreciated the apology. All over and done with right? Well not quite.
My manager had overheard the comment in question and decided to make a bigger issue of it than it was. I was sent home for the day, and told not to come in the next day. I went to a meeting with my manager and the HR person that following Monday where they advised me I was being terminated without cause. The upside is that because it was without cause (swearing at your coworker is not sufficient grounds to dismiss someone in NB) I received 2 weeks pay as severance. Also, thanks to the letter I was given stating specifically that my termination was without cause, I'm essentially guaranteed employment insurance benefits. So, an 11 month government sponsored vacation.
I enjoyed my job. I really did. Despite the complaining and bitching I often did about it, at the end of the day it was a pretty good job. The inter office politics however were a nightmare. The entire system is set up to safeguard the jobs of management while pitting the individual employees against each other. Now I'm not going to go on a rant about it but suffice it to say that not having to return to that environment has as many pros as cons.
Speaking of pros, as a result of my new found free time, I was able to make time to take up a friends offer to fly out to Edmonton and drive all the way back to NB with him. He recently transferred from his job out there to one in New Brunswick and his employer (who shall remain nameless) paid him a very healthy sum of money to move. This resulted in me getting my flight, accommodations and meals covered for the duration of the trip. So it was essentially a free trip. It was a loooong drive as one might imagine but overall it was an amazing experience. I'll write more about it in a later post, and I've even got some videos and pictures from the trip to share.
The other big news recently is that my dog is ill. I've known for a few months now that there was something wrong with him. He's started sleeping a lot more than normal, and just doesn't have the energy he used to. Now, he's 13 years old or so which is remarkably old for a Sheppard, but it was more than that. A few months ago he started limping on his back left leg. I didn't think much of it at first as he's an old dog and I figured maybe he just twisted his leg or something. Not the case.
After a while it became apparent that his back knee (which I've learned is called a hock) began to swell. Over the course of a few weeks it became apparent that there was a tumor or something else there. So, off to the vet he went as soon as I got back from my trip. Apparently TJ has cancer, a common form of it for older animals as well. The prognosis was not good. I could either have the leg amputated or have him put to sleep.
I'm torn on this.. I don't want to be without my best friend but he's obviously in pain. Amputating his leg would leave him recovering from the surgery for months and let's be honest, at his age he doesn't have many of those left. It would also be a very pricey prospect to give him a few more months that more than likely would be pain filled. So I've made the decision to put him to sleep. Making the decision wasn't as difficult as I'd have thought, but I'm having the hardest time calling the vet to make the appointment.. I guess so long as there's no appointment it doesn't seem as real and it's a little easier to deal with. I'll call sometime this week...
So, that's my life in a nutshell over the last couple of weeks. I'll be posting more details about the Great Canadian Cross Country Cougar Hunt (don't ask) shortly.
