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Like many companies, United Systems did annual performance reviews, where each supervisor writes a standardized, fill-in-the-blanks form about the work of each person they manage. Despite the spotty work they had given me since Hank became my manager two years earlier, these had gone well …

Everything was going fine until my first incident with someone about three months into the job. Aayush and I had to fill out paper timesheets every week, then fax them back to SmartTech, who we kept in contact with, usually through our account rep James; …

Bringing up a screen, I said, “This is the all-important master list of applications the Virginia and Pennsylvania teams have developed, and which we still care about because they’re still in use or will be. This is the central piece. Any time we’re tracking metrics …

“I want to see you in my office,” Rick snapped. I sensed I was about to be fired, but being spoken to like that did not agree with me and I did not soften any anger in my eyes as I rose and followed him. …

“Ted’s really upset with you,” said Gary, shuffling into the cramped, windowless office we’d shared for a week. “You need to call him now,” he added, settling into a creaking chair. “What’s he upset about?” I turned away from trying to fix some of Gary’s …

In March, I should receive covers for both of The Memoir Shorts books – at the moment there are intended to be two of them. I’ll be posting them once they’re in!

A week later, a crying Dave woke me by climbing into my bed at 6:45 am. He’d slept with Sophia the night before, so I was confused as to why he was now here. Then again, he needed comfort, and she wasn’t much help. “What’s …

I had heard of women experiencing post-partum depression so severe that they killed themselves and sometimes their children, a thought that filled me with terror. Every weekday morning, before leaving Dave in her care as I went to work, I discreetly assessed her mood, trying …

“Not only am I not kissing you now, but I’m never kissing you again.” She said it mildly, even pleasantly. I stood very still, my breath trapped in my chest. I wasn’t ready to process my pregnant wife’s response to me wanting to kiss her. …