if you still like the company and the job, then sit down with your boss to talk about "how to meet expectation- and get to specifics; then set up a regular review with your boss to see whether you meet those specific requirements or not. I think your boss might take advantage of you because you never ask probing questions. I would ask for improvement areas, the more specific feedback, the better- this way, if he does have, he need to provide you fair, honest feedback, so you can improve; if his comment is just an excuse, by asking specific feedback/goal lines, you can force him to re-think his evaluation next time. Have your own voice. Meantime, try to learn from J, have a good network, be visible, know how to promote yourself are all equally important (I am learning this every day myself). GOOD LUCK.