There will be no sewing--no making of dresses, no stitching of quilts, no mending of grandson's jeans, no threading of a needle--until this wreck is brought under control.
It was bad enough before, but when I returned from retreat, I just piled everything into the room and closed the door. But now I have to deal with it. I have a lot to do and short time in which to do it. Right now, one of Vann's favorite sayings comes to mind: "What I need is a white knight riding a hungry billy goat."
"This World and One More!" Speaking of sayings, the preceding was one of my mama's favorites. Whenever something happened that she didn't agree with (which was often) or when things just weren't going right for her, she was likely to come out with that one. And that's how I feel about a recent event in our family. My niece was fired because she used her blog to vent about frustrations in her job. Apparently her employer monitors employees' online activities. And since her untimely dismissal, she has heard from others who have had the same thing happen to them. One fellow didn't even mention the name of his employer, but the cybertrail led back to another site where it was listed.
Now don't misunderstand, my niece didn't give away any classified secrets or accuse her employer of illegal activies or anything like that. She told no lies, made no threats to bomb the establishment. Just everyday complaints about the job, the way you do, you know. I just want to know what is happening. Do we now view the Constitution as just a bunch of suggestions, conceived by idealists who just didn't know about life in the 21st century? Is the private sector now taking a cue from that gang in Washington who would destroy overnight the rights that during the past 200+ years, people have died to protect? Things are going very wrong in this country: that's my stand. And if a bunch of men in black appear at my door in the next few days and haul me off to prison because of something I wrote here, please see that somebody feeds the dog.
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On 02/24/2007, Rian said ...
I can't create in chaos either. I have to straighten my whole house, not just the sewing room. Dust and clutter block me somehow. Once I'm into a project all bets are off, but I can't get started if I have other things that need to get done. I need a clean slate.
On 02/24/2007, Debra Spincic said ...
Before QS got rolling, I applied for the Head honcho position at about.com in the quilting section.
They literally put me through some of the most intense writing, HTML and formatting that I have done. I had to learn a new (but archaic) template system and produce photos, tutorials, a quilt and all within 2 weeks. It was mind-boggling--I had to write and format an entire forum that was ready for production.
I was writing my brains out and keeping my buddies in the loop via my blog. My editor was what I thought of as a nitwit and wouldn't offer any help. I whined about her in my blog.
I didn't get the job & the reason: I used my blog for complaining. They thought it was very unprofessional and because I was on a "2 week interview" shouldn't have talked at all about the process or the people involved to anyone. They thought I had given away information that they didn't approve.
I learned a lesson (or two) but I have to agree with you--can employers or even potential employers really do that? It is like eavesdropping on someone's phone conversation.
On 02/24/2007, GranFranVan said ...
A happy soldier is a griping soldier. The ones you have to worry about are the ones that aren't griping. Some people are just major control freaks!
Worser than me, even..
Don't worry, if the guys in black haul you away we'll try to find out where you are and get you a cake with a file in it. Or we'll all be hauled to the same place and have a quilting retreat.
On 02/24/2007, Susan said ...
I agree with you 100% that it isn't right. My husband says, however, that the constitution only says what the government can or can not do. Private entities are not bound by it. So you have freedom of speech, but a private entity, such as your boss can take exception to your exercising it. I think it's highly unethical and immoral of them to do so, but that's the world today.
On 02/25/2007, Buffy said ...
I really appreciate your writing about this. One of the things that has kept me from freaking out completely is the support of friends, family, and even total strangers.
On 02/26/2007, Deborah said ...
I have read on other blogs about people losing their jobs for the same reason. I am paranoid about mentioning anything to do with work -- so much so that went back and deleted all my posts that had anything remotely to do with my job. I know in some states, private employers can pretty much get rid of employees at their whim. I'm sorry to hear about your niece's experience.
On 02/27/2007, Vivian said ...
I love your sewing room...all the eye candy on the walls!
That is awful about your niece and her job! Sounds like this would make a good news piece for Fox news..."what happened to our freedom of expression?"
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