!@#$%^&*

I feel a little bit betrayed right now, but it’s probably for a stupid reason.

We have a cost savings rewards program at work where people get a percentage of the savings they earn for the company when they submit a cost savings idea. We’re a small company and we’ve never had any issues. Our newest hire - he’s been here for several months - has been really getting into the new program and submitting a lot of good ideas. However, today I found out that at least one of his ideas consisted of him playing the system. He purchased a part from a different vendor at a higher price, then switched back to our original vendor and claimed it as a cost savings for himself. This is upsetting me much more than it should. The typical phrases like, “It only takes one person to ruin it for everyone else” keep running through my head...

I’m friendly with everyone at work. I’m just a friendly person generally and I tend to trust quite easily. I only ask for basic proof when someone submits an idea because I trust them not to just be making it up. Basic proof isn’t going to cut it for anyone anymore and that just kills me. I’m now going to have to ask every person who is only trying to help the company - and get a little bonus themselves - to put in a ton more work. It just seems stupid. And our trust system was working until one person had to test it. That’s why I feel betrayed. I’ll probably look back at this post and think it’s stupid and that I was overreacting, but right now I definitely feel that my sadness and anger is justified.

What a day for this to happen - Valentine’s Day. It really is fitting for me though. I mean, last Valentine’s Day I was broke and ended up sliding my car into a ditch at 65 mph (from the expressway, I wasn’t speeding). Consider how it feels to have to pay a guy to tow your car out of the ditch when you have $0 in the bank - actually, come to think of it, I felt betrayed last year too. That tow truck guy promised not to cash my check until a day or two later to wait until my payday - and what did he do? He deposited the check the same day. That was someone lying straight to my face, so there’s more betrayal.

I may not be single, but I do prefer to call today Singles Awareness Day if only for the sarcastic, barb-like, anti-fluffiness of it. It’s a stupid holiday and I’m glad that my hubby and I both feel the same about it.

So take this angsty post, all of you sappy Valentine’s Day people out there!