...always figure I'm one boot from being fired.
Hey MO, I can grok that! I nearly always think that I am one step away from being let go. I have been with my current company so long that I know how it works significantly better than any of the people I report to. I have become like a crusty old staff sergeant in the army. I don't put up with any nonsense from my management chain at this point. I know the word "no" and I know how and when to use it, and how to back it up to make it stick. I only take assignments I can reasonably do, and *I* tell *them* what the schedule will be, vs. having them dictate it to me.
All of this makes me quite unpopular with my current very youthful, very ambitious and very unprincipled manager. However, I know the game ten times better than he does, and despite his best efforts, he can't maneuver me into a position where he acquires the grounds to dismiss me. Meantime, my work speaks for itself, and I remain in high demand.
In the end however, it is a dangerous situation... rather like walking on the edge of a razor. One of these days...
Don't misinterpret this. I love to stretch and learn and grow (take on new areas regularly) but not when I am not positioned to be able to succeed.