#101- Leave With Some Class

Obviously this is on my mind because I’ve just recently left my job.  I could go into all the reasons why I left, but really, it just wasn’t working, so I went into the big guy’s

This would have been a step up.

office, put my two weeks in, looked him in the eye, and shook his hand.  My last two weeks were smooth, and quite pleasant, and when they were up, I said my goodbyes, and did my best to make sure that the bar still had all the bases I was in charge of covered.

I told my boss that if he ever had any questions or needed an extra hand, that I was a phone call away, and he’s certainly taken me up on that offer.  Which is fine- that’s why I said it.  I always hear stories about guys storming out and telling everyone that ever wronged them off as they ride out on their Harley with a few naked babes on the back seat and Bat out of Hell blasting from the building’s loudspeakers.

And you know what, people will talk about how epic it was, and how they wish they could go out like that, but I don’t think anyone really wants to, and the truth is they’re never really as impressed by what you did, as glad they have a great story to tell about the guy who had an epic meltdown on the way out the door.

I heard, after I left, that the GM let the head chef go, and that he took every scrap with him that he could.  Every menu, every recipe, everything, then wiped his hard drive.  And you know what?  More power to him, but I’m not all too impressed.  He got let go for no reason except that they couldn’t afford him.  I know from personal experience that he worked his ass off- he was there before I go there in the mornings and after I left at night, and he was on the line all the time when someone didn’t show or couldn’t cut it.  And all that good, hard fucking work is wiped away by the last image of him, running out the door, with all the papers he could hold in his hands, and looking over his shoulder for someone chasing him down.  That is fucking sad.

Why burn bridges?  I mean, fact is, you may need to come back to these people you are insulting or screwing over at some point in your life, and how can you do that when you walk out like that?  How can you think highly of yourself when you act so petty?  Don’t.

And this should apply to your whole life, not just your employment.  Relationships in general– it might seem fun, and as if you really got someone when you storm out with an over the shoulder insult and the ole double middle finger, but two things-

1.  You might need that person for something- in your career, for a phone number, a pick me up, you might walk into the place they’re working and need them to wait on you, you might fall on the subway tracks and they need to pull you off- whatever the case, there is the possibility that, when walking the earth, you run into that person again.

2.  There’s a quote, that despite my forty second Google search, I was not able to come up with the author of, which goes as follows, ‘Be kind, for everyone you meet is involved in a great struggle.’  You can think you know everything about a person- but you don’t, and you won’t- you have no idea how people are thinking or feeling, you have no idea what is really happening, in their lives or in their heads.  To assume you do takes the kind of arrogance that would lead you to singing Bat out of Hell with a ruffled shirt, two hundos overweight.  Give people a fucking break(#635).

Now, by all means, if you think the right thing to do involves kicking over water coolers and taking a shit on the bosses’ rug, go after it.  I, though, won’t be doing that.

So whether you’re getting fired, leaving a job that is sucking out your soul, getting clear of a crazy girlfriend, or getting your heart stomped, keep your fucking head up, please, for the men out there, so the ladies will keep some dignity for our gender.

The Step- Keep your head up on the way out the door.

Have I Done It Yet- Well, I haven’t been back to firebomb the place yet.

This Author’s Total Man Points- 6.5