Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

Sometimes you have to believe in the synergy of the universe.

I was just fuming because I checked out the web site for a former place of employment, one I liken to an abusive relationship.

And wouldn't you know it, but they have both photos and things I wrote for them displayed prominently on their site.

This would be less irritating if I hadn't been made to understand, by the Big Cheese at this place, that my photos were "unusable" for his purposes and that, instead, he wanted lots of staged pictures of people staring at the camera, smiling big, fake smiles.

The photos appearing on the site, however, are the candid shots he'd deemed "unusable."

It was partly because I argued with the Big Cheese over the photos, I believe, that I was laid off when it came time for my evaluation that year. Either that or they didn't have the money in the budget to pay my salary any more, which would not surprise me.

To give them credit, they didn't contest my filing for Unemployment, which was good because, with the salary I'd been making, I hadn't been able to save anything.

So where does synergy come into all of this? Just as I was complaining to The Gryphon, sending him links that showed my photos and my reports on the updated web site, I turned on the radio.

Paul McCartney's sweet voice flowed through the room, singing, "Let it Be."

Immediately, I felt calmer, as a smile crossed my face. Yeah, Paul. You're right. Let it be.

Only recently, I had the recurring nightmare where I was working at this place again. Just like the other dreams I've had, I knew I was only there temporarily and yet, I was subjected to the same unpleasant working conditions as before. I felt as if I was constantly under surveillance by an unreasonable, critical force who devalued my contributions. And no matter how fast I typed or what I did, I knew it would not be deemed acceptable, let alone good.

But this time, something magical happened. This time, when the human resources manager asked me if I'd stay late to take some photos, I asked if I'd be paid extra.

"No," the human resources manager said, with a look of disbelief.

"Well, then," I said calmly, "I quit." I stood up from my computer and walked out the door, with a feeling of satisfaction.

Then I woke up, feeling proud of myself.

Yeah, man. Let it be.

Copyright 2003 by Alyce Wilson

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