The Last Post

Having studiously ignored this blog for nearly two years, it is only fair that I do something to tie up the loose ends. I am going to give you a potted history of what has happened since I last wrote:

1. I haven’t seen or spoken to LM since she left. There have been a couple of emails, but we simply don’t move in the same circles.
2. TNB was a nightmare at first (and continues to be so for some other members of staff), but I quickly realised that as long as you are responsible and constructive in how you go about your work, she is OK. I wouldn’t be friends with her, but it was a reasonable working relationship.
3. Also, TNB created a new job within the department, which I applied for and got. This has pretty much changed my career, and to a certain extent my life, as I now have a professional qualification and a new career direction.
4. The other life-changing event is that TOH and I are no longer. I don’t really want to dwell on this one for obvious reasons, save to say that we remain friends.

And that is it. Well, not quite, as that glosses over the time that I spent on suspension after a jealous colleague (let’s call her Sulky Bitch, because that is what she is) accused me and one other of racism. It all blew over in the end, but it was the final straw to convince me that I needed a fresh start and get the hell out of there. Incidentally, if you were profiling people likely to be making prejudiced comments in the workplace, you wouldn’t really choose a second-generation immigrant and a gay man, would you?

SB got away scot-free, but there would be little mileage in pursuing a counter-claim – I would like to think that I was the bigger man for walking away rather than getting into a potentially explosive and costly fight, and I doubt that there would be any real winners. Anyway, she is no longer my problem – I got me a new job in a new place, and although it is still relatively early days, I think I am much happier for it.

It just remains for me to thank several people:

• Those at work who have supported me both personally and professionally, in particular TNB for creating the opportunity for me to move on with my career, and also my (hitherto-unmentioned) professional mentor for providing me with support and a shoulder to cry on (sometimes literally)
• My parents, who couldn’t always help, but were always there
• TOH, for all the love and support that got me through the dark times at work
• My friends; when I watched “It’s A Wonderful Life” last Christmas, I burst into tears at the *SPOILER ALERT* note from Clarence saying, “Remember, no man is a failure who has friends”. I don’t think I need to say much more, do I?

And a final thank you, to those who have left comments and sent me messages. It is clear that many of us can relate to the type of issues that I have recounted here, and I have certainly found it cathartic to share, and heartening to receive your support.

With that, I bid you farewell…

Advertisement