Morality Trumps Money

So I’m thinking that y’all have been wondering where I have been hiding. Well, the truth of the matter, my friends, is that it has been a busy few weeks for me. Here’s the ultimate breakdown:

I moved out on my own! Whoo! Independence and terrifying liberation. I mean, this is huge. I love, -love- my condo. It’s beautiful, a true tribute to all the goodness that Ikea has to offer. It’s beautifully furnished (after an arm and a leg-I’ll be paying for this one for months to come!) and it’s just spectacular in ever way. I love my roomie, he’s perfect. I simply cannot say enough good things about him. It’s also a mere 7 mins from work, which bring me to my next major point;

I quit at Legacy Enterprises. Yes, I know, I loved it. But I happened to make a call one fateful afternoon to a gentleman who was actually familiar with the Alberta Government, seeing as how he worked for them. (this being the cosmic Them, as I have no idea who these people actually ARE. One thing is for certain- “they” have a LOT to say! Anyway, I digress.) I said my usual line to get past the “gatekeeper” (secretary/automatic complaints) “I’m actually licensed by the Alberta Government to come and speak with you. Epcore is as well, have they been out lately…?”, when he enlightened me that he did, indeed, WORK for the AB, and I was an illegal solicitor. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Well, no shit, Keltie, anyone with a brain knew that!”. Well my friends, I sure as hell didn’t. I sat with this man for hours on end. In my head, I kept hearing my boss scream “Keltie, TIME IS MONEY! YOU MAKE YOUR OWN BUISNESS! YOU GET OUT OF IT WHAT YOU PUT INTO IT!” and so forth. I managed to put aside the clichés they managed to sell me on the actual idea, and listen to this man. And holy shit, he was right! I was just a filthy solicitor who could be sued at any moment! But I had to carry on with the work day, as I have a disgusting work ethic. I then went into a lovely little craft store just before Whyte’s main strip starts, called Blackberry County, or something equally as charming. She was thrilled to see me-she introduced me to her puppy (“Willow”) before asking me shat she could help me with…

“Actually, my name is Keltie, and I’m with Enmax Energy.”

Her lovely persona disappeared, as she boiled over with anger. All traces of the charismatic lady I had spoken with moments earlier about puppies and crafts had all but dissipated before my eyes. She was pissed off, and I knew it.

“I told you people, stop coming in here! You are nothing but a pain in the ass, and I asked to be taken off your list! They said they would! GET OUT!”

It was nothing that I hadn’t head before. But the knowledge that someone HAD recently been in my territory, that my boss had managed to “overlook” that fact, that I was an illegal solicitor, and that I was actually better of selling steak knives and vacuum cleaners was simply too much to handle. I looked up into her face, so honest yet swollen with conflicting emotions of anger and blame, and I decided that I had enough. I had not worked my ass off, and upheld the word integrity and all that it encompasses, to sacrifice it for a summer job. That’s when it hit me-it’s a fucking summer job. This is not my career. Fuck it! I may rock at what I do, but if I’m doing it under false pretences, then what integrity is there in that??? She misinterpreted my silence.

“I’m sorry,. I realize that it’s not personal. It’s just that You Guys have been out here before, and I’m busy…”

A typical line. I knew the “other” smooth line to get by it with. But she was actually apologizing for me bothering her in her own store! I snapped. No more. I’m better then this. I apologized, and started to leave. What does this fantastic woman call out after me?

“Give Murphy a kiss for me!”

Murphy is my puppy, my pride and joy. I had mentioned this as a business tactic??? What??? Okay. I’m done. I’m so fucking done. This woman is real, and I am nothing but a cheap, money-making facade. She told me, the Enmax Girl, to give my puppy a kiss for her, because there were no harsh feelings. Only issue was, there were harsh feelings. From me, towards my company. My only thought following this?

“Please, PLEASE. Don’t make me leave! Don’t make me go back out there! I’ve had enough! I quit, okay? I hate this! I hate it! I’m lying to GOOD people! Please, make me stop!”

What did I say?

“Yeah, no problem, someone will be back to you in 6 months with higher rates.”. Fear of loss. Typical business technique. I’ve never felt so dirty.

I left. I was distraught. I was angry with my bosses for making me feel that way. I realized that I had broken a promise to myself, and was compromising my integrity. Two seconds later, I caught a bus for the office, and turned in my notice asap. Fuck’em. I’m better then this. I have a hefty paycheque coming to me from all my work in Rimbey. I don’t want to pick it up. It feels like blood money. The morals are still fighting on that one, it’s worth several months rent, plus food. Hmmm…

So, I asked myself; “What makes me the happiest?”. Then I said to myself:

“Self. You have worked in a plethora of occupations. Have you ever felt so serene as you feel working with flowers?”

No.

Okay then. You know what to do.

So I applied at a floral shoppe. It was a lark, really. I didn’t take to seriously. Hey, guess, what?? They hired me! So I now work at Bunches Floral Shoppe in Southgate mall. The pay sucks, it's degrating, and I work looong days with some really stupid people. But you know what? My integrity is intact. And THAT is what matters. And always will. No matter what.


Quote du Jour

“If I hadn’t assembled myself, I would have fallen apart by now”
-Brandon Boyd