Days of Our Lives

Every year, between Christmas and New Years, my 'big' project is getting the new calendars ready for hanging.  I transfer all of the birthdays and special days and whatever appointments we already have scheduled.  The biggest task is blocking out K's work schedule--something that I MUST do because it is crazy.  Even though his work days rotate through the same 28-day rotation, I can't figure it out in my mind and HAVE to have it written out for me to look at.  And so, I sit and 'take care of' calendars the last week of every year.

This past December, I took all of the calendars that I needed to get ready and decided to get the job done.  It seems as if I'm adding more calendars every year and the task takes longer each time.  This year, I had four to work on--one for the kitchen, one for the computer room, one for the sewing room, and one for the bedroom. I got myself situated in the kitchen and proceeded to work on calendars while I watched the hockey game.  I had a 'master' calendar that I used as a reference for copying onto the 'permanent' ones.  Everything went well through the first three calendars--and then I got to the fourth one.  The 'Bunny Suicides' calendar.  I pulled out the gel pen and started to write in the upcoming special days for January when I realized things didn't look right.  K's birthday is on 4 January--a Wednesday in 2012--but 4 January was in the TUESDAY space on the 'Bunny' calendar.  WHAT?!?!  It took me a minute or two to realize what was going on:  The 'Bunny Suicides' calendar started the week on MONDAY and not on Sunday.  Who does that?  I know that 'Bunny Suicides' is a British thing, so is this a common practice in Europe?  Or is this common for business?  After all, the business week begins on Monday, not Sunday.  Needless to say, a thankless, annoying task was made just a bit more complicated by this--and I will try my hardest to NOT go through this again.  Sadly, no more 'Bunny Suicides.'


***I bought this from Barnes & Noble and there was no mention of the format.  Last year's calendar had the days in the 'right' order, so I never expected any problem.  Even though reviewers mention this fact on Amazon, it would never have helped me, as I had purchased this early.  I just have to remind myself of the format each time I look to see what day it is.  :)***

Make Your Own Title

They say 'a picture is worth a thousand words.'  I only took one picture at the Renaissance Fair this year.  The husband called this 'Pretty in Pink.'

Yes, that IS a male...

WHOA!

I really don't want to know what kind of clientele you service if you have to put this sign in your window:

(via passiveaggressivenotes.com)

We'd Rather Have The Money

My husband, K, is one of the last of a dying breed:  He will retire from the only place he has ever worked.  (While he WAS in the Navy, I don't really consider that a job--more of a school/training sort of thing.  AND a way to pay the country back.)  So, he has put in over 30 years at the same power plant he was hired into a few months after he got out of the Navy.  The job is one that he likes and the pay has been good enough that I never had to go out and work.  As far as employers are, K hasn't complained too much, nor has he piled praise--it just is what it is.

A lot of work places have taken the direction that many schools have and that is to reward everyone for everything.  "You did SUCH a good job of washing your hands after using the toilet!  Here's a certificate for that!"  "You got here on time for FIVE days in a row!  Here's your gold ribbon for that!"  And on and on and on.  Don't get me wrong, I think it's good that people are appreciated, but sometimes companies go a bit far--like rewarding employees for doing what they SHOULD do, their normal jobs.  Yesterday, K got one of those rewards.

Working in a power plant can be very dangerous.  There have been severe accidents that could possibly have been avoided.  Many things can go wrong:  explosions, electrocutions, falls, etc.  And it is up to every worker to do everything in his/her power to do right and not have an accident, or cause one.  The company pounds safety into the employees' heads at every opportunity, which isn't a bad thing.  Unless it is because the company is more concerned about how much they would have to pay an employee if he/she was injured rather than the health and safety of the workers.  And sometimes I think it is just that. 

Anyway, the company is constantly giving safety rewards.  We will get $10 gift certificates and the crew will get pizza bought for them.  And they are appreciated, but not really necessary.  However, the reward that came home yesterday just kind of made all the employees who got it say "WTF?"  In a nice enough presentation box--faux velvet-lined, black with gold lettering--was a (solidly nice, I suppose) key chain and a laminated card stating safety 'rules' to be worn on the id card lanyard every employee wears.  Okay.  While a lot of people would wonder what the problem here is, let me tell you.  First, everyone thought the laminated cards were completely ridiculous.  Next, not everyone wants a key chain with the company logo embossed in it--no matter HOW nice it is.  Besides, who DOESN'T have about thirteen key chains laying around that they don't use already.  And last, WHY the hell the special presentation boxes?  While the company gets them at a good price, I would suppose, these are not all that cheap--so why?  I guess the bottom line is this:  Why spend all of this money on something that no one wants or can possibly appreciate?  I think most of the employees would much rather have a couple extra bucks in their paychecks, rather than some of this stuff that the company gives.

So, is this wrong to feel this way?  Is this a waste of money on the part of the company?  Are the employees just being completely ungrateful?  Input would be appreciated.

Bad, Bad Business

When I go into a business establishment, I don't demand much.  I would like to be acknowledged--a smile, a 'Hi,' a 'May I help you?' is sufficient.  I don't need anyone to hold my hand or be at my beck-and-call.  And for my part, I will be a good customer.  I don't ask for help until I have exhausted my own resources and brain power.  I don't make demands or ask for what you can't provide.  Actually, I may be one of the easiest people to please, as I don't want to be a bother--even if it involves nothing more than you doing your job.  That is why today's experience just baffles me.

On our way home today, we stopped at our local Jimmy John's for sandwiches.  With all of the restaurants and fast food joints in town, we haven't been to Jimmy John's all that often.  Actually, this might have been only the third time I've had food from there since they opened a few years ago.  Anyway, we decided to go in and order because we aren't that familiar with the menu and figured this would be easier.  And our visit went like this:

• We walked in and no one does anything but stare at us.  As if we were cockroaches that crawled out from under the counter.
• After deciding what we wanted, we walked up to the counter and placed the order.  No one STILL had said anything to us.  The first time we were spoken to was when we were told how much we owed.
• After paying, we stepped back and waited for our food to be prepared.  The next words spoken 'to' us was when the numbers of our sandwiches were announced.  Assuming our order was finished, K went to the counter, picked up our sandwiches, and we left.  And no one still had said anything to us.

As I said, I don't expect to be gushed over, but it is nice to have a little sense of gratitude shown.  And even if there isn't any gratitude, at least be a bit friendly!  Being a college town, we have many, many restaurants--many of which don't last beyond one or two years--so I don't HAVE to be treated rudely in order to get take-out food.  This entire situation was/is very, very bad for business.

Status Update 8

It can't be a good thing when every time a cable company tech comes over to fix something wrong with the cable/internet/phone, he says that the LAST guy that was here did something wrong, can it?  Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE our cable company?

Where's My Weather?

When my girls were young and were going to school, I would wake every morning and turn on the radio to a local station.  This was necessary, especially in the winter, in order to know how the girls were going to dress--and, whether it was too cold (in my opinion) to send them out in the -30* wind chills.  Also, the radio was where we would get school cancellation announcements, so we always had one in the kitchen.  I still hadn't gotten a TV for the kitchen, but it wouldn't have mattered if I had one:  the local TV station did not have early morning news, so I wouldn't have been any the wiser as to what the school or weather conditions were.  Then we got The Weather Channel.

My life got infinitely easier when The Weather Channel (TWC) made an appearance on our cable system.  I never had to worry that my kids were not going to be dressed properly for school and I always knew if it was going to be a good day to do any amount of driving.  My life quickly began to revolve around TWC and watching to see forecasts, etc.

Over the years, I have needed to rely on TWC less and less.  My girls graduated and moved away and I didn't have as many outside 'duties' and interests, so the weather conditions weren't as important to my every day life anymore.  As the interwebs got better and better, I have begun looking online more frequently for my weather news--which is all well and good while my computer is actually on.  But, I am one of those people who turns her computer off when she is done with it for the day, so it isn't always convenient to go online to see a forecast.  And then I must rely on TWC once again.  And that is where my problem lies.

WHAT THE F***ING HELL is wrong with The Weather Channel these days?  At one time they began a feature called Local On The 8s, which meant that the local weather conditions, radar, and forecast would be broadcast every ten minutes.  It was convenient and I never needed to wait more than ten minutes to know what was going on outside.  Okay, most people would just look outside to see what the weather conditions are, but where we live, looking outside is NOT representative of what is going on two blocks from our house.  So, I really need to see radar and forecasts, especially if I would be away from home for any length of time.  (Local On The 8s still is being broadcast, just not as consistently as it was at first.)  And then TWC decided that 24 hours of weather conditions and forecasts was boring and not necessary.  Before you knew it, we got to watch hour after hour of shows dealing with global warming, past devastating storms, 'what if' stories, and the Gulf crisis.  And in recent months, TWC has even been showing Hollywood movies.  Now, I guess some of the features could be considered interesting, but I really don't appreciate some of the preachiness and political leanings of some of them.  Also, if a channel is going to be named The Weather Channel, shouldn't it be doing what it is supposed to do:  forecast and report the weather news from around the world?  That is what I expect and wish the channel would get back to.  But until then, I watch it less and less every year--pretty soon, I will stop altogether.  And with the next smartphone I get, I probably won't need TWC at all.