All right, here goes-ish, in a nutshell. It's 12:31AM, and I just woke from a very unsound sleep. My hands are shaking, it's actually difficult to type. So if there are typos, you know why.
I've always been leery of 'the guy' (which we shall now give a name, and it shall be Mumbles) but since he had his major blow-up session at me, I've done everything I can do avoid the guy. Heh...I had the pleasure of working closely with him all last week (and unbelievably he was actually decent 99% of the week).
It has certainly affected my work *and* my personal life. Instead of being happy about work, I've become aprehensive about it, even on the weekends, which should be a 'worry free zone.' Instead, I'm sitting there all weekend, dreading Monday and renewed torment.
So here we go back to last Thursday. We'd just pulled some machines off location, a Spider Stompin' game and a basketball game called Hoop It Up. We had to move some equipment around in a theatre because they were replacing their carpets. After we moved it, Mumbles had to take a trip up north to deliver some equipment, and to repair some other. He wouldn't be back until later.
His last words to me were something like this: "think you can find enough work?"
Mine? "With all the equipment in the shop, I'm pretty sure I can find SOMETHING to do."
So I entered the shop. Wanted to impress. I knew Spider Stomping was slated to be dropped off at an arcade *sometime* but as we'd just done a delivery recently, I didn't think it would be going out soon.
So I started working on Hoop It Up. I did a really good job cleaning it up, too. (Only one caveat: when I started cleaning the game actually worked. Now everything seems to work, but when you hit P1/P2 start, it does nothing, but that's not terribly important to this story).
Boss called at some point about something. I filled him in on the status of Hoop It Up.
It was then that he stated that I shouldn't be working on that, I should be working on Spider Stomp. I said "okay." and moved on.
After that, I moved on to Spider Stomping. I worked on it for about 45 minutes before having to return to the movie theatre and move the equipment back into place. I then went home.
Now, the next day I didn't come in in the morning, I had made arrangements to take the morning off to attend some meeting regarding my youngest son. I came in later Friday afternoon.
Mumbles is there. After grunting a few sylables, he asks "how is Spider Stomping coming along?"
I state I've got about 45 minutes into it.
He just stops what he's doing and looks at me. "Spider Stomping is a priority. What the heck were you doing yesterday?"
I see where this is going already. "I was working on Hoop It Up."
He states that he *told* me that Hoop It Up was *NOT* to be worked on, that Spider Stomping was the priority. Now, remember what I said before about not wanting to cross him in any way, and doing what I'm told? If he had *really* said that, you *really* think I'm going to cross him and do something else?
He then tells me that they had wanted to move the machine into place that day, but since it was not ready obviously that wasn't going to happen. "I can start on it right now, have it done in a little bit." I say. "No time. I'm going home early, since I was out until 9PM last night. Boss said I could."
Moving on, same day. Had to go to a local arcade to check the machines, fill tickets, and see to an 'out of order'. I do that, and while I'm there a lady informs me that the Skee Ball machine is not giving correct points. I watch for a couple minutes, see what she's talking about. Now, I've never worked on a Skee Ball machine before, so I call Mumbles at the shop. He gives me a very quick rundown on how a Skee Ball machine works, and how to get at the operating guts. It seems simple enough, so I get off the phone with him to see what I can do to repair it.
I manage to get one out of the two machines working. The other, no matter how I adjust the actuator wires on the microswitches, it's not triggering. So I figure...bad switch! Look in my parts box, no switches. Luckily the shop is just four miles away, so I head there...no switches, either! I do find a switch that I think I can remove it's actuator and replace it with the Skee Ball one, and I do. Still, no dice. Crap. Time to call him back.
Except...he's not at the shop. Crap. Crap crap. I know I would be in for more of his crap, so I don't call him. I leave a message for the boss, detail him, finish up, and go home.
So now here's today. Cool Guy tells me that boss is going to have a 'little talk' with me about the Hoop It Up game. Crap. No matter what I say, I look bad. I have to stop at his house and pick up some items, and I start thinking of what I'm going to say to him when I get there.
Now, what most of you don't know is that I have a heck of a time talking. I've stuttered most of my adult life, and my brain makes me say the wrong thing a lot of the time (like switching around names of stuff, fumbling over words, etc). So when I get there, I start to apologize and explain, and of course I'm doing a piss-poor job of it.
Boss starts in on me. States that Mumbles *TOLD ME* that Hoop It Up wasn't to be touched (uh...no. See above.). Then he said that I've made it a habit to work on non-priority projects. This suprised me...usually I know what needs to be done, and try (and usually succeed) to accomplish it in the time given. So where he's getting THAT "trivia tidbit" from I can only guess (Mumbles).
Then in the same breath he starts in on how I don't seem to listen to everything I'm told, how I seem only to retain 80% of what's related to me, and how I had no focus.
I have a BIG problem with these last two statements. As stated, I've done what I've been asked (unless I have a good reason not to) and as far as I know haven't made any major flubs. So for the boss to tell me these things, it frankly makes me a bit angry. Why, you're asking? THE BOSS IS NEVER AROUND TO SEE WHAT I DO. Seriously, I see him maybe three times a week, and usually only for a few minutes at a time. So he must be getting his "information" from somewhere...Mumbles?
Then he starts on how I majorly dropped the ball on the Skee Ball. That kind of suprised me, and yet it didn't. My major mistake on that was not calling Mumbles after I couldn't get it goign after a few minutes, since he was still at the shop. I tell him *why* I didn't call him, since he had already gone home and I didn't want to get mad. Then it hit me: great! I made him doubly mad at me, as he had to drive up Saturday morning to fix what I couldn't! Great. Boss said he told Mumbles to not get mad at me, that he would deal with me himself. Yeah...that's going to make him not get ticked for having to drive up on a Saturday AM.
So I really don't know what to do; I *do* love my job. Virtually every aspect of it. I even like loading the truck.
What I don't love is this walking-around-on-eggshells thing I've got with Mumbles. Whenever I make a decision it's pretty much based on what *won't* piss him off.
Case in point: we're stocking the ski resorts with equipment two weeks ago. I made *damn* sure I had all the equipment ready to roll. Night before I pulled it all out of the warehouse and put it on the floor so it would be an easy load.
So I get there the next day to load the truck, and I can already see Mumbles is pissed about something. What, who knows. Probably the trip, he's complaining about *everything*. He makes a mention of he's not sure if he wants to move the equipment to the loading dock, but doesn't want to take up a bay. That's it, just that little mention. And with what he said about taking up a bay, I don't think any more of it, since that's the start - and finish - of hearing about it.
They go to drop off some equipment nearby, about an hour trip total. When they get back, Mumbles is even *more* pissed about something. I question Cool Guy about it, and he says that he's pissed that I didn't move any of the equipment out to the dock.
WTF? I can't win either way.
So this is what it's come down to: dealing with crap like that, on top of the opinion that the boss has of me (which I'm 99% sure is offset by what Mumbles has related to the boss).