You may recall reading here about how much soda I drink. If you missed it and can’t be bothered to go read about it, I drink entirely too much soda daily. It’s been kind of a joke, really. I mean, what’s funnier than soda pop and pee?
Turns out it’s not all fun and bubbles.
Did you know that on a 10-panel urine drug test, returning consecutive “diluted sample” results in a “not pass?” And that when your employer is requiring the test because of a DEA-regulated contract, they will consider that a “fail” and terminate you? I didn’t know that. But now I do.
Yep, I lost my job. But it’s worse than that. Taking jobs under the new contract was not a mandatory expectation of working for the company. And since it was a new contract I told my boss that I would do it so I could give feedback as we learned the new role. What’s more, I told her that I thought it was a bad job for us to be involved with as it was distinctly different from what we normally do.
But I moved forward with it and peed in the cup. Then, I peed in the cup again right away after being notified of the result because, hey, I’ve got nothing to hide here.
A few days later, my boss made a 4 pm meeting invite for me. I thought, “That’s odd.” We had such an open working relationship. But whatever. The phone rang from a number I didn’t know. It was an HR representative. “Oh crap!”
Suddenly, on January 16th, at fifty-one years of age, I found myself terminated for the first time.
Fortunately, Nora is the major breadwinner in the family, so we are not in dire need of me finding new employment. But life isn’t free, ya know.
I’ve treated it like a numbers game. Applying to job after job. I don’t feel my resume tells the story of my abilities and skills very well. And there’s a giant gap in my employment due to my mental health. Indeed has been my friend these past two-plus weeks.
Stay tuned for more details as they become available. For now, I’ll just enjoy this little vacation.
Have you ever had a sudden career change?