On my way home for lunch today, I stopped by the grocery store to pick up something for dinner. I was rounding a corner to head down an aisle when I nearly ran into a woman who was in a quite a hurry heading the other direction. This wasn't any woman, though; I nearly ran down my old boss.
Quick trip down memory lane: My old boss is certifiably crazy and completely irrational. I really liked her at first, mostly because she seemed to love me. But not too long after I started working there, I realized that she treated all of her employees like they were in a relationship with her. Once the honeymoon period wore off, she didn't like me that much anymore. Of course, this manifested itself in passive aggressive ways. Her problem wasn't with my work; her problem with me was that I refused to do things exactly how she wanted them done. It killed her that I did things my own way. Towards the end, she would nitpick everything I did and even create false misdeeds in order to bitch at me. Finally, I decided to move on, and I treated the resignation much like I would a breakup. One more thing: Her company is one that thrives in a strong economy but crashes in a weak one. Back in the winter, there was a large downturn in business, which she blamed me for. I can only imagine how much worse things are going now.
So where were we? Ah yes, we nearly collided. When she looked at me and realized who she almost ran into, all of the color drained from her face. The look she had was priceless. I am sure that she wanted to continue walking without even acknowledging me, but that isn't her style. She mustered every bit of friendliness that she could, and said "Oh, hi Mike!" The disdain she has for me was just dripping from her voice. "Hey Susan!" I replied, almost gleefully.
"What are you doing these days?" she asked me, still fighting off the hatred. I told her about my job, making myself sound 38% more important than I really am. A fake smile plastered on her face, she nodded and congratulated me on my success.
"Thanks," I said. "I am really really happy with everything." Of course, this is a lie, but she doesn't have to know that. The awkward tension had not dissipated, and it was clearly time to end the conversation. Not without rubbing a little salt in the wound, though. "How are things going over there," I asked, referring to her company. The grin on my face would probably be best described as "shit eating".
"Just fine," she replied, no longer faking any sort of friendliness.
"Great! I hope to see you around," I told her. As she walked off, I am quite certain that she called me more names under her breath than I have ever been called before.
