His name is Greg and he's had an extremely rough couple of days at work. Many of you know that I wait tables. For the past two days, I've had a manager berate me, personally attack me, and send me home because of extremely small and questionable instances. Both times, she deliberately pushed my buttons in an attempt to get a rise out of me and cause me to lose control. Both days, I somehow was able to maintain my composure, which of course, only infuriated her more. In 10 years in the restaurant business, I've never been treated so horribly and disrespectfully. She even went so far as to follow me through the restaurant, trying to provoke me, which many of my customers saw. Additionally, she went out of her way to remind me that she is in the position of power, not I.

I'll let you all in on a little something about me: I'm direct. Blunt. To the point. You'll always get a straight answer from me, though you may not like what you hear. I'm also very articulate and choose my words carefully when I speak. I say what I mean and I mean what I say, particularly in a work environment. My manner can be intimidating to some, and a breath of fresh air to others. But everyone, like me or not, is well aware that I don't take any sh!t from anyone- I'm not afraid to put a person in their place. Now I would never go out of my way to do such a thing. But I'm certainly not someone you want to provoke because it IS something that you'll regret. HOWEVER, being an actor and an observer, I'm well aware of people's motivations for doing things and I can tell when someone is trying to get that rise out of me, to get that reaction. And when I see someone coming at me like that, trying to razzle me, it actually empowers me. Gives me control over the situation- I'll stay calm and cool under pressure. I will calmly, pointedly, and articulately tell you what's on my mind without being overly aggressive or yelling or screaming. And the same thing happens every time, specifically with that human behavior: The person gets so angry, they are unable to even see straight and UNLEASHES on you.

That's what's been going on with this b!tch the past couple of days. The stress that her attacks have caused me have actually made me physically weak, both days. This is a person that I have trusted in the past, gotten along with and even looked out for, which is why it has hurt all the more. But her behavior is beyond reprehensible. We work a very similar schedule and I really don't want to have to change my schedule or my job to accommodate her. At the same time though, it's not worth putting myself through this just for some serving job in a restaurant.

Anyway, just needed to get that off my chest. Any comments/thoughts/suggestions/discussion would be appreciated.

BTW.....I'm not gonna post an episode today you guys. I'm really sorry, but I just can't write it today. HOWEVER, I've cut out the Saturday double for the time being so I will post tomorrow. (She's off for the weekend, so I don't foresee any problems )