Could it get any worse?

My boss stabbed me in the back yesterday. We'd just had a meeting with a bunch of staff about timetabling. They needed a way to check-in and check-out timetable data so that two people didn't modify it independently of each other, and so end up with two lots of data. I suggested that they use our SharePoint Portal, a technology which has been a bone of contention for my boss for ages. After the meeting, I went to our office, grabbed my stuff, and as I was walking out heard my boss talking to a couple of people from the meeting:

Just be careful. What Justin says sounds really good, but...

I didn't hear the rest, as I was walking away. The question I have is why would he call into question what I said outside the meeting, away from me? My feeling is that it's because he's trying to create an image of our department that has him as the most knowlegeable, most experienced and very importantly, the most indispensable. There's good reason for him doing this, as I've heard some vague rumors that some staff are starting to question why things grind to a standstill whenever I take leave. And personally, I think that question is very relevant. Add to that the fact that the school is restructuring it's executive, and although my boss isn't technically an executive, and has been promised immunity this time around, I think we'll probably see that this "restructure" is probably one of a few iterations, and there's hints of this already.

As I'm thinking through all of this, I suddenly realised that perhaps some of the responsibilities my boss had recently taken from me weren't just being taken to justify the need for an extra staff member (which is what I thought they were). Maybe, he's taking them so I don't look so good. So that I have more free time on my hands, and he looks incredibly busy. I'm not sure I'd go so far as him justifying getting rid of me, but I'm starting to wonder if this is all about control and power. And you know what? I think it is.

I have a half-finished application for a new job on my computer at home. I plan to finish it off tonight. While I'm at it, I'm going to forward my resume to a couple of other places with a letter saying if they're looking, I'm available. I really despise the thought of having to commute to work in the city, but it getting to the point where I despise my workplace much, much more.

More to come on all of this...

EDIT(5:04pm): I've just submitted an application for a new job. Although this mightn't come to anything, at least it's me taking forward steps. Forward steps are good.