Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Female postal worker goes postal.

I swear to God it wasn't me. Damn, but that heifer was a good shot. While I think it is absolutely tragic that people have lost spouses, parents and children in this affair, I do believe that if she killed just one member of management and just one union steward, it was sorta worth it. Trust me when I say there is little on earth to compare to the hell of working for the Post Office - modeled on military principles with nepotistic selective enforcement of rules, the system is emotionally punishing, and employees feel eaten alive. 9 years I worked for that company. One evening I was telling husband about my day, and I just started crying over my dinner plate - and I don't cry easily. Heroically, he said "You're not going back there." And that was it. Unceremonious. No two-week notice. No going on unemployment. Just not working at all. Just didn't show up one day. We were blessed that we could do without my $40K+ income, and I realize now what a luxury that really is - to be able to walk away. Single, I could not have done it, and until I went to college (I started at 30), I really didn't have the confidence that I could make a living doing anything else. Anyway, these stories never surprise me. What surprises me is that this doesn't happen more often.

9 comments:

Dick said...

Told that to my ex over dinner one night when she worked for a travel agency back in the eighties.
Good on your sleepin' buddy!

Knight Of The Storms said...

well I would have never imagined US Post
to be like that,
for some silly reason I always imagined post offices around the world to be friendly places full of nice people
:)

Ariel said...

And to think I was considering applying... Maybe not, after all.

phlegmfatale said...

I dunno, ariel - your situation is very different from mine - for one thing - I don't have kids, and the benefits are incredible. It's a trade-off. I need to be creative in my work, and that job really smothers any personal initiative or creativity. For some people, it's great- it just started feeling like a prison. Oh, and if you come here, knight - you may be amazed at the apathetic service you get at a post office - and for every employee you see, there are dozens or hundreds more working in the giant processing centers. It's a trade-off, really, it's just good to know what you're getting into.

Maven said...

Oh my... being someone who is former military and former PO (I lasted NINE months), I dare say the military gives you a better shot at a somewhat normal work environment. The postal service? Well, I'm just surprised this type of stuff (going postal as it were), doesn't happen more often.

phlegmfatale said...

No shit! I quite agree, oh mighty nuggetmaven. What will be a true revelation will be when the customers, fed up with interminable lines and slow-assed gum-smacking postal clerks, finally break the seal and start shooting the postal employees. I think once that happens, the floodgates will open season and all hell will break loose. Believe me, if postal workers knew how much rage they inspire in the public at large, they'd be wearing flak jackets and taking defensive driving lessons from Mossad.

Words A Lot said...

I almost worked for the USPS. I say "almost" meaning I thought about it until I stepped in line and wanted to pull out an uzi on the crowd just for being a bunch of short bus riders that were holding up the line that says STAMPS ONLY with their package retrival slips.

I'm always surprised more people don't go... erm, postal.

phlegmfatale said...

Yeah, people just don't pay attention, do they? USPS employees react to shitty management by "laying down" (that's what they all call it), meaning they can go as slowly as it is possible to go. The letter carriers get to go outdoors and be away from other USPS employees half the day (now THAT is a perquisite!), but they are overworked and the job is high-stress. In the mail processing centers, the few people who really hustle end up doing the work of several people, while others just coast and use work for social hour. For many people, a USPS job is just another government entitlement that gives people a place to go 5 days a week and a steady income. I'm waiting for some pissed-off postal employee blogger to argue with me, but I see no one is stepping up to the plate. I guess they agree with me.

phlegmfatale said...

Oh, and though I never said so earlier - it was heroic of you to protect your woman, big dick.