Dear Annie: I just got fired yesterday. In all my 18 years of working, I have never been fired. I was completely blindsided.
My boss never addressed any issues she had with me. Yesterday, she called me into her office and simply said, “It’s not working out. I don’t think you’re a good fit.”
I was outraged at her approach and “reason” for firing me. She’s new and has never been in management before.
I am the second person she has fired since she became boss six months ago. My question is, should I contact her supervisor and let him know how things went down? I don’t want to be spiteful. I simply want to express how unfair and unreasonable I believe she was. — Kay
Dear Kay: You certainly have little to lose by registering a complaint with a supervisor, and it could help this woman do a better job in the future.
But please keep in mind that she may have been hired precisely to thin the ranks, and unless you were indispensable, you were destined to be canned.
We wish you the best of luck finding another position and hope it’s better than the last.
Dear Annie: Our grandparents are in their 80s and have been using more and more mothballs around the house.
After a 10-minute visit, we smell like camphor. Any food Grandma sends home with us tastes like chemicals.
Grandma and Grandpa are very involved with their community and attend functions smelling like mothballs.
I’m sure they cannot smell it themselves. We have mentioned it to them, and they insist they only have a few in the closet with their wool clothing. We are concerned about their health.
Please alert your readers that mothballs can be toxic.
Here are some safety tips and alternatives to save your woolens without poisoning yourself:
1. Air out your clothes in the sun, or run them through a warm clothes dryer before wearing them.
2. Clean your clothes prior to storage. Moth larvae rely on perspiration residue for essential vitamins.
3. Store woolens in airtight containers, such as plastic storage zipper bags.
4. Line closets with cedar.
5. Use natural repellent sachets made from herbs such as lavender, lemon and santolina instead of mothballs, and check with your local health food store for other natural remedies.
6. Only use mothballs according to the directions.
Thank you for getting the word out. — Concerned Grandchildren
Dear Concerned: Mothballs may contain naphthalene, a chemical associated with anemia, headaches and seizures.
Newer mothballs likely contain paradichlorobenzene, which has been linked to kidney and liver disease. If you can smell the mothballs on your grandparents, it means they are overexposed. Make them a gift of some cedar balls or herbal sachets, and insist on replacing the mothballs at your next visit.
Dear Annie: I’d like to respond to “Gargantuan Freak,” whose husband and family members think she’s so huge at 5 feet 9 inches tall and 150 pounds.
I am 22 years old, 5 feet 9 inches tall and weigh 125 pounds. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been called gargantuan, Amazon, giraffe and other such names.
I’ve learned it is all about how you carry yourself (and of course forgetting all the insults). My tallest friend is barely 5 feet 4 inches tall, and I’ve finally worked up the confidence to wear heels out when I’m with her. Embrace your body. It’s the greatest thing you’ll ever own. — Long-Legged Freak
Please e-mail your questions to anniesmailbox@comcast.net, or write to: Annie’s Mailbox, c/o Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Ste. 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045.