This was the hellishly hot week I was let go. I was a copywriter in fashion expected to write 65 clothing descriptions a day.

It was so hot and muggy outside which was dreadful, but they blasted the air conditioning so high in the office which was even worse. One employee, Julie, a large and pretty African-American woman who sat next to me turned on a portable heater she had for such occasions below her desk. I was freezing as hell. And, the amount of work that was expected from me, the work that just kept piling on and the fast pace which included my boss asking just about every hour, “How much have you done?” and “How much more can you do?”