Sooooooo much has happened.
Well, it turns out that I didn't have to stab Maria in the neck with a spoon (or a spork, take your pick). On 30 October, the v.p. of the company came to do some stuff in the wet lab, noticed Maria on her cell phone flipping through the yellow pages, and pretty much hit the roof. She called Maria into her office and that was the end of Maria. (And I find out now that Maria wasn't even interviewing as a chemist but rather for sales and marketing!)
Tee hee.
Plus I got a personal apology for the way that I was treated by this so-called chemist, and the v.p. informed me that everyone she talks to (including my two bosses AND the prez of the company) think I'm an awesome worker and that I do great work. Michelle's pushing to get them to change my job title to QA/QC Specialist, which is a much grander title, and with it comes more responsibilities.
But at this point I'm not sure my responsibilities could get any greater!!!
See, the same day that Maria was fired was the day that Michelle put in her resignation. *sob* No, actually, I'm quite happy for her. She got a MUCH better job in Richmond for probably almost twice what she gets paid at our company, plus it's precisely what she wants to do as her occupation, and there's a great deal of upward mobility possible. I'll just miss her a lot. Plus she'll be in da Burg, and I am not sure I want to go back there, even if it is to see her. At least I know where all the dellies are. :o)
So guess who is in the lab now? Well, until some unspecified time next week, it is yours truly flying solo. I'm not even nervous about it, and that's what's really making me nervous. Michelle has taught me everything she does up there in the lab, and so I know how everything is done. I've basically been a clone of Michelle lately. :o) But that's ok -- being a chemist is pretty damn cool.
We hired two new ladies to work in the lab. I've only seen them -- no formal introductions were really made, so I don't even know what their names are. But they both look to be at least ten years older than I am, and they are both chemists by education and by training. So I get to train them in our lab. Fun stuff. :o)
Actually I wonder why anyone who's that old and presumably well-established in their field would even consider working at my company. They pay us peanuts. And I'm almost serious about that! :o)
We'll see how things go next week. I jsut don't want a repeat of Maria...