Opinions requested

Here's the deal. I have to have some outpatient surgery next week (no big deal, nothing scary, just annoying) and I have a question about an email response I got from work.

As you all know, from my endless whining, I am less than thrilled with the treatment of employees at my current (second) job.

On Monday, when I scheduled the surgery, I thought the proper thing to do would be to let my supervisor know that I would be out for a day, possibly two, for an outpatient procedure. I was very polite, and my thinking was, that since they had a week and a half notice, they could shift work around to others wanting to pick up a little extra. (versus just calling in sick on the day of the procedure)

So, this morning I get the following email (the ONLY thing I changed was my name) :

OHN, re next weeks surgery, you dont have any vac time yet, therefore please plan on making up the anticipated missed hours (for that thurs) before that day. Do it as an extra 2 1/2 hours on that tues and wed.

Firstly...HUH? For a facility that is supposed to be accurate with grammar, punctuation, sentence structure etc, the way it was written, makes me think it was done as a text message, written by a 13 year old.

Secondly...HUH? I didn't tell her I was taking a vacation. I made it clear it was a medical procedure. My question to you is, since I have been self employed for so many years and am unaware of current labor rules, etc, are they allowed to A) make me use vacation time for a medical procedure (assuming I had vacation time available).. and.. B)tell me I need to work past my normal hours as a part-timer with no benefits?

They have no idea what my responsibilities are before I clock in or after I clock out.

Honestly, if these people were a little bit more employee friendly, I wouldn't hesitate to do whatever was expected, but their attitude (and this email is just the tip of the nastiness iceberg) really ticks me off.

If you think I am off base, please feel free to tell me. Maybe being self-employed for so many years as made my brain mushy and I am just not getting this whole 'we are wayy more important than you and you will be our slave' mentality.

On another note....this is a conversation I had with S2 this morning:

S2: Hi mom.

ME: Hi honey, what's up?

S2: Nothing. I am just sitting in my psych class. It doesn't start for 8 more minutes. It's really weird though, nobody else is here.

ME: That is a little strange. You told me that the flu was going around there, did they cancel class maybe?

S2: Oh. Shit. I forgot the professor canceled class for today..he told us on Tuesday he wouldn't be here.

ME: (Laughing). How long would you have sat there before remembering that?

S2: Shut up.

I know my S2. Believe me, he would still be sitting there :)

Go ahead and tell me what you think about my work....the job that I am sooo close to telling them to cram.

MIXED EMOTIONS

When your children are very little your world is consumed with milestones. The first REAL smile that isn’t immediately followed by a full diaper, the giggle you hear coming from their room when they wake up and see their favorite stuffed bear in their crib with them. The milestones don’t stop as they grow. The first day of school, first love and subsequent broken heart, being accepted or rejected by the “it” kids, driving and first fender benders and on and on. Life is a series of events that hopefully lead you to become a fulfilled adult. One of those milestones is beginning your life away from home. Last year S1 started college and along with my broken heart was a proud heart. I had no concerns that he would not do well scholastically (he made the Dean’s list) but I worried about his social life. He is different than many of his peers. We have always said he had an old soul, even as a child he had visions and understanding that most people three times his age don’t have. This year, he has moved to an apartment and his room here at home is empty. Completely empty. I find that I want to close the door because it kicks me in the gut every time I walk by and see another reminder that he has truly begun his adult life and I can only hope that we have given him enough love and lessons that he can be happy and grab every morsel of life that comes his way. Today S2 leaves. Once again I have mixed emotions. He is my social butterfly. As I type this, he and two of his buddies are sleeping on my family room floor, having spent the night after a farewell bonfire we had last night (I say WE loosely, I was not invited but did provide chocolate and marshmallows). When I looked out back last night the roaring bonfire lit up the shadows of so many of the kids that I have watched grow up. Some of these kids started out together in preschool. They were all laughing and I could tell by the sounds that it was a mix of excitement and maybe a little worry about what lies ahead. It is going to be so quiet here. For all the times that I have bitched that these kids have eaten everything in my fridge, kept me awake at night with laughter while playing video games or watching movies….I am really going to miss that. I know I still have S3 and believe me it will help. He is active in sports and loves to be surrounded by friends so I know he will pick up where S2 leaves off….but…one child does not replace another. They each have their own niche in the world. I am off to load up the car and fully expect to leave the university today through tear filled eyes, and will most definitely consume large amount of chocolate today.

catching up

Hi folks! I know I haven’t been here in quite a while but I assure you I have been reading and commenting (some) on all of your blogs. I have been so very very busy here in my little world. Since I last posted several of my lovely blog ladies have given birth, found out they were finally pregnant or are now on the 2 week wait. Their lives and postings are much more interesting than mine so that is why what little free time I have had, I have been reading instead of writing. Let’s see~probably the biggest event was son #1 graduating. He fought us tooth and nail about having a party (he is quiet and has a few friends but isn’t very outgoing so the friends he has are good friends, just not plentiful) but we finally convinced him he had to celebrate his accomplishments…once the party was over and he was opening envelopes he was rather tickled that we talked him into the whole thing! He is more than ready to head off to college,,,me..I am not so sure. I swear it was just a couple weeks ago we brought him home. I used to get so pissed when people would tell me that they grow up so fast..I got sick of hearing that but sadly all those people were right. I don’t know if I ever posted this or not but the social worker that counseled son #1’s Bmom is a very good friend of ours. Believe it or not she had nothing to do with us being picked as the parents. She presented the 5 familys in their domestic program to the young couple and it was just amazing that they picked us. She said her hands were sweating the entire time they were looking at our profile and the 4 other couple’s folders. To this day I don’t think that the Bmom even knows that the social worker is a friend of ours. Honestly we would not even have known about the ONE TIME domestic placement that this agency was doing (they place children from Korea as a rule) had I been suffering silently. My feeling was that the more people that knew that we wanted to adopt the better. In my mind, you have no idea who may have a cousin, neighbor, et cetera that is placing a baby so why not use networking to get the word out. My one piece of advice I give all couples wanting to adopt domestically is to talk talk talk about it to anyone. Even the cashier at your favorite store might have a pregnant sister..who knows!? I really shouldn’t have waited so long to post….too many things have happened and I have forgotten most of them. See what happens when you get old!? I am going to be suffering at the end of the month with a very big birthday. Actually we are going to be out of town because I refused to sit here at home or at work doing the same crap I do every other day of the year. So, I planned our vacation for that week. We will arrive in South Carolina the day before my birthday and on that special day, I will be lazing my way through the lazy river at the resort with a good book, most probably a drink and a beautiful tiara on my head. Yes, you read that right. I ordered a tiara for myself if for no other reason than to completely humilate my children. I can’t wait. So, if you see a slightly overweight woman wearing a tiara floating past you, that would be me. Stop me and say hi! Let’s see..what’s new with the boys? Well I already told you about #1. #2 quit his summer job and started his own business. He is detailing really amazing hot cars. I don’t even like cars but these are pretty amazing. Personally I can't believe how much people are paying him for this but lets just say he is making more in 2 days than he did in a whole week at work, he gets to work his own schedule, take breaks without permission and in general this has made him much nicer to live with. This child is the one that has a zillion friends, can’t go more than 15 minutes without talking to someone on his phone and if he has to miss an event he can slam a door better than anyone. He did find out today that his little donut in the parking lot stunt (see a previous post) is going to continue to haunt him. He was notified that his insurance has gone up—he was horrified. Yep kid, ya do stupid shit and the smell lingers. So, guess that it is a good thing he is making all that money, huh? I mentioned earlier that son #1 is leaving for college—little funny story here. First, let me preface this by saying that we are not racist, homophobic, or any other ist or obic so this is not intended to offend, we just think it is funny. Son was assigned a room-mate that we spoke to on the phone and he seemed nice. Sons good friend spoke to his assigned room-mate and he seemed nice too. But, (isn't there always a but?) he is very very active in gay rights programs, and causes and told friend that their room would probably be a meeting place quite often. Friend was understanding at first then started thinking about a revolving door with little privacy and he decided that it would be best for his studying if he got a room-mate that was a little less involved, like son#1. So, the two of them decided to room together. Great. Both quiet, studious, good match. When son requested the change in rooms he couldn’t believe how simple it went. Then 3 days later he found out that he and friend didn’t switch room-mates, they switched rooms. So, now son #1 is with the activist and friend is with son’s original room mate. Now they need to ask activist room-mate to move so son and friend can room together. Boy will that be an awkward conversation! I love seeing them go through lifes little lessons but it is very hard for me to stand back and not take charge. Well, that leaves son #3 and bigd. Son is enjoying his summer a little too much. What is it with these parents that schedule all these parties for 12 year olds? He is invited to something almost every night. Of course I am such a mean Mom because I restrict his partying. Maybe I am out in left field but I don’t think 12 year olds need to be constantly entertained and driven all over the place. Aside from the fact that I am evil and say “no” a lot, he is having a great summer. That leaves bigd. He is actually a post all by himself. There have been several times since I posted last that I have thought about how great single life sounds –ha! Getting ready for the party was hell. He is a perfectionist and drives all of us crazy. At one point the boys and I were calculating how much mulch it would take to cover him in one of the beds. We didn’t like him much for about a week but he is being sort of human again so he is working his way back into our hearts. Well, enough of this boring drivel for tonight. I plan on posting more frequent and shorter posts, hopefully clever or witty, and maybe with some really cool photos. I am also going to try to learn how to add all of your blogs to a list on the side of my blog and try to snaz it up a bit. Any help is welcome!