July 24, 2007

• A Little Spellwork @ Work

  When I first started working at Borders, there was a certain unpleasant person who made life miserable for everyone. She was thoroughly disagreeable, and even on a good day, no one wanted anything to do with her. What made it worse was that she was a supervisor. She was not shy about dressing people down when they did something she didn’t like. And there wasn’t much she did like. I really didn’t have to deal with her much until I became a supervisor. Prior to my promotion to supervisor status, I worked nights and she worked mornings, so there was no confrontation.

  Unfortunately, once I became a supervisor, I had to work with her at least two times a week. And I cringed everytime she opened her mouth. She didn’t have much criticism for me, but she loved to gossip and grouse about everyone else. What made it worse was, she seemed to consider me an ally or friend of some kind and really I just wished she’d shut up. She thought I thought she was funny because everytime she said something cutting, I’d laugh, nervously.

  One day, she just pushed me too far. I don’t even remember what exactly she did, but one too many people came and cried on my shoulder about her and I just snapped.

  While no one was in the office, I made a sigil which basically said “Go Away _Name_” and to really show I meant business, I jabbed a pin in my finger and smeared the little charm with my own blood to symbolize what a pain she was. Then I taped it to the bottom of her trashcan. Where before, she would almost “hang out” at her desk, the charm ensured that she spent a lot less time making people unhappy if they became “trapped” in the office/breakroom with her.

  So…. one, then two weeks went by, and she actually seemed more relaxed and calm. She confided in me one morning that she’d had two different job offers in two different states, half way across the country. Nice. It wasn’t exactly what I’d put in the charm, but as for “going away,” I wasn’t displeased. I knew she was unhappy in her job anyway, so I wished her luck on that account.

  So the third week rolled around. I came in to work one day, and she had just up and quit! Seems she got a job offer she couldn’t refuse. She didn’t give notice… very unprofessional of a person who was constantly harping on the subject of professionalism. She just came in after a sick day and said, bye! Picked up her check and left.

  So my charm worked better than I expected. I removed it a few days later. No sense leaving it where someone might find it and get the wrong idea.

  I did confide in a few trusted coworkers though. (One of my fellow coworkers said he wasn’t sure if he should be impressed or scared.) Now they’re bugging me to get rid of other problem coworkers, two of them specifically. One of them is a thoroughly arrogant and officious little twerp who seems to think he’s hot $h17. No one likes him and he treats everyone like they’re beneath him, depsite the fact that he’s pretty much one of the most ignorant people I’ve ever had to work with. He disappears from where he’s stationed, and no one sees him for half an hour or more. The other night one of my corworkers called him to help put away books, and he claimed to be back in the kid’s section, helping a customer, despite the fact that the coworker who called for him could see him in the periodicals, reading a magazine, and told him so over the headset. He’s like the epitome of JERK. No one likes him, period, even though he claims to “have pull” in the store. As if! hah

  The other coworker is one of my supervisors. She’s also quite arrogant, but not quite so ignorant as coworker 1. She acts like she’s threatened by the fact that I do my job well and don’t need her to hold my hand. We have no evidence of it, but everyone in the store thinks she’s having an affair with another coworker, just from their body language alone.  We’ve also heard she’s looking for an apartment (though she’s married), and one of my coworkers saw her toady bring her deodorant in from his car and give it to her all shady-like. This would actually be grounds for dismissal for both of them (he’s no cake wake either, but bearable), if we could prove they were seeing each other. Which we can’t. And there’s other problems with her about which I won’t go into detail.

  So a couple days ago (before the Harry Potter event), I made another sigil to deal with the Jerk and hid it above the staffroom door which he must pass every time he comes in to work. It’s message is basically, go where you need to be (away from us!). I didn’t put any blood on it however. I wasn’t that irritated with him when I made it. It was more at the bequest of several other coworkers. We’ll see how long he lasts.

  My micro-Manager however, I cannot send away. I am reasonably sure that the Jerk is looking for another job, and so my charm may help to get him out the door. My Manager however, she is not actively looking for a job and so ousting her would be more selfish than helpful… if that makes sense to anyone reading this. I’m not a law of three kind of person, but I’m not selfish either. Besides, a charm to make someone go when they already want to is far different from a charm to make someone go when they don’t want to. For one thing, if you’re working with the will of the person, instead of against it, it’s more likely to work.

  So I’m kind of at a loss on how to deal with my manager. She’s a real piece of work and a lot of people would breathe a sigh of relief if she were gone, but I’m not sure what angle to take. I’ve already given the general manager what evidence I have of her illicit actions, and she in turn, spoke to several of the other staff members about what they had observed, but nothing has happened since.  I’m not sure what, if any, spell I might use to facilitate her absence.

  • 9:00 pm
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