Weekly Wrap-Up

It's been a hell of a week here in Jersey Girl land. 12 more inches of snow & office deciding that a foot of snow was no reason to close the office. I had prayed that the Governor would take the decision out of these thoughtless people's hands and declare a state of emergency, but, no. The end of month is a critical time for us and may have played into their decision. But we had assumed the office would be closed on Friday and I was prepared with everything I would need to work from home. We learned at 6:30AM Friday that the office would be open and my boss went in. Not only did I not go in, but none of my staff showed up either. The boss was not happy. I really don't care what he thinks. No job is worth endangering yourself.

We also met our new CEO this past week. He spoke for about 30 minutes to our group and shared a bit about how he works and what he expects. He likes things done fast. He actually said it was better to be fast than accurate because you can always go back and fix your mistakes later. Huh? The next time my boss points out a mistake I've made, I now can say "Yeah, but I screwed it up quick, didn't I?" This guy was previously CEO of a large, multi-national company who was fired in December for poor performance. Not one of my friends who was laid off from my company in August has gotten a new job. And, yet, he managed to get himself another 7 figure job in less than 2 months. What is wrong with this picture?

The LSH had knee surgery a few weeks back and has been getting PT 3 times a week. He was scheduled to return to work tomorrow; however, during PT on Thursday, he was doing lunges when there was a pop. Now he's out for at least 3 more weeks and the doctor is not ruling out more surgery. He's been out longer with this quicky knee repair than I was last year after major surgery. I swear, he's slipping the doc a little $$ to keep him out of work. Can you tell I'm a bit envious?

You Can Breathe Again

I know you've all been waiting with bated breath. (BTW, what IS bated breath? Did I even spell it right?) I decided on this tote bag (for starters). Very traditional. You might even say "classic." (Is this starting to sound like a J. Peterman ad?) I even stepped up and got it monogrammed.

Of course, while I was there, I picked up this little cutie (small, in the navy blue and kelly green combo, also monogrammed).

THEN, I went over to E-Bags and picked up this FABULOUS little something to schlep my sustenance to work. No more brown baggin' for me, baby.

God, I'm going to be so organized and put-together, I hope they still recognize me at work.

I have a hang-up about my age. A few months ago, I admitted my age on this blog (and, no, I'm not going to link to it; if you're THAT interested, do the work and find it yourself). I just have a hard-time believing that I'm THIS age. But, no matter how much I try not to think about it, once in awhile, there are days when there is no avoiding it. Yesterday was one of those days.

At the request of my doctor, I was visited by an employee of a home healthcare company to be set up with one of these. My doctor recommended a sleep study which might shed some light on as to why I'm so tired. The study showed that I stop breathing for significant amounts of time during the night, which prevents me from getting to that REM stage where we get our most restful sleep. Also it puts me at a higher risk for strokes or heart attacks.

BUT....isn't this supposed to be for fat, old men who snore loud enough to wake the neighbors? Of course, the nice man who brought me this contraption tried to re-assure me that people of any age can suffer from sleep apnea and that he has patients in their 20's. Sorry, that still didn't make me feel any better.

I fought this for over a year, but my doc said she wouldn't take my complaints of tiredness seriously until I tried this machine. Then she let me read the report that stated how often I stop breathing and, ok, it scared me enough to give in.

I made a half-hearted attempt to use it last night, but got so frustrated with it, I gave up. But, would you believe that there's a data card in the machine that actually records how often I use it, which the insurance company will ask for every few months to confirm that I'm being a good girl and doing what I'm told.

I guess I should be looking at the bright side and be grateful that they have these machines available nowadays. But can you just picture how sexy I look and feel with this mask?? But, hey, somebody must have thought Darth Vader was sexy, right? RIGHT?

I Need To Decide To Make A Decision

I do a lot of shopping online and I'm pretty good finding great deals, if I do say so myself. Friends sometimes ask me to see if I can find them some deal or promo code for specific things and I'd say I'm successful 90% of the time.

Currently my search is for something pretty simple, a tote bag. Not a purse, but more of a shopping tote. Not to really use for shopping, but more to tote things to work. I'm not havng a hard time finding them online, but I'm having a hard time choosing one. I can only compare it to when you're dating and you meet this great guy or gal who seems perfect for you, your family and friends love them and yet, you're reluctant to commit, just in case there's someone "better" out there. For some reason, I can't commit to one tote bag. I keep thinking that as soon as I buy one, I'll see another I like better.

It's ridiculous, when I think about it. I mean, it's not a big-ticket item. If I get one and then see another I like, I could certainly buy another. The other night I got as far as entering my credit card info on one site, but I just couldn't hit the "buy" button.

I mean, anything has got to be an improvement over the green Stop & Shop reusable bag that I'm currently toting to work.

I think I need counseling.

Is This One Of Those "Why Didn't I Think Of That" Moments?

One question?

Why bacon???

http://www.jdfoods.net/products/mmmvelopes.php

Why CAN'T You Kill Them? Office Edition

THE SET-UP: Last August, my company underwent a "reorganization" and for one horrible week, each day, people lost their jobs. Of course, the responsibilities of those laid off were divvied up among those remaining. Except for me. I was handed all the responsibilities AND the staff of one of the eliminated positions, while maintaining all the responsibilities of my current position. And, of course, management expected that none of these balls would be dropped. Well, I don't think I had "juggling" mentioned as one of my talents on my resume. The reason upper management had these unrealistic expectations is because they have no idea what we do. FACT: I have worked for this company in the same department for over 6 years. I'm on the third floor; the VP of my division (and the person who made these decisions) has his office on the second. I am not lying when I say that I have never met him. I may have ridden the elevator with him, but who knows.

THE STORY: We normally are reviewed and receive raises each July, but, like most companies, not last year. So, recently, in a show of good faith, we were told we would be receiving a small raise and, if business improves, another in July. A few weeks ago, the director of my department and the person I directly report to, called me in to his office to officially tell me of my raise, apologizng that it couldn't be more. I said I understood, but I was hoping that, when the company gets back on track, that my position would be looked at again and I would be compensated appropriately for basically, taking on two full-time positions. His response:

"Back. before the lay-offs, during meetings deciding the re-structuring, the general consensus was that the supervisory position that I "inherited", was never really needed. That my position and this other supervisory position, should have been combined." Did you get that? The full-time supervisor position that they paid someone for over 7 years a supervisors' salary, bonuses AND benefits, was never necessary. How convenient to come to that realization, now that you dropped the whole kit and kaboodle in my lap. But wait! That's not what happened. When I mentioned this, his reply was "Oh, this wasn't decided at the time of the re-organization. It was the opinion of management for a few years." What? They decided this years ago, but continued to keep paying someone to do a job that they decided was not necessary? I said something to the effect that no wonder we're in financial trouble. I think he then realized how his explanation sounded and tried to backpedal a little. But, he was having a difficult time making any sense. It sounded familiar to me. In fact, he actually sounded a lot like this:

I let him know that "sorry, you haven't convinced me." And that there was a certain MLB team that he would fit right in with.

Men, You Can't Live With Them. Why CAN'T You Kill Them?

Before I begin my rant, I have to finally admit to myself that, at least for the time being, I'm going to be mostly a weekend blogger. My job is draining every last ounce of energy from me that, during the week, it's just getting harder to find time to blog. I had to remind myself that I started this blog mainly for myself (although I'm very happy some of you have come along for the ride), and it's not supposed to be something I HAVE to do, but something I want to do. So, I hope you won't forget about me and still stop by now and then. I may drop a post or two during the week, if I'm motivated enough and I'll definitely be still checking out your spots.

Anyway, on to today's story. My husband, the LSH, had knee surgery on Monday. He's doing very well, thanks. Although he had the surgery Monday, he's actually been out of work on disability for a month. His being home has allowed what is probably my biggest peeve about him, rise back up to the surface. He will NOT do anything that would be considered housework, unless I TELL him. This has been going on since we first moved in together many moons ago. And, when he DOES some chore that I requested him to do and I don't mention it, he'll say "Did you see I vacuumed?" Uh, yes. Did you see when I vacuumed the 500 times previously? And he has since learned NOT to say "I did the laundry for YOU." When he would say that, my response was "Oh, you only washed MY clothes?" He got that point pretty quick.

When I'm really annoyed about this, I'll say "Can't you see the dog's biscuit crumbs all over the floor? How 'bout that green stuff growing in the shower? Unless,maybe you forgot to tell me you're growing your own penicillin?" His response is "I don't notice these things." How convenient his eyes can filter out the mess around him. Yesterday, put me over the top. I came in from work. He's sitting at the kitchen table and I see red blotches on the floor near the sink. My first thought was that it might be blood; maybe the dog had cut his paw. As I walked over to it I said "Oh, what's this red stuff?" And, without even looking up, he says, "oh, it's liquid from some strawberries I opened before." WHAT? You knew you had spilt this and left it there? He looked at me sheepishly, but he didn't answer.

I've approached this various ways with him. I know psychologists say, instead of just saying what's getting on your nerves, you should explain how it makes you feel. One of the things the LSH does that fits into this category is when he gets himself something to eat, he inevitably will leave whatever plates, glasses, utensils he used, in the sink. So, I've taken this approach. "When you leave your dishes in the sink, I FEEL like you believe it's my job to clean up after you." There. Didn't I present that perfectly? No accusations, no whining. Just a simple statement of how I feel. Has it helped? NOT A DAMN BIT!

Don't get me wrong. He's very handy around the house, when the mood suits him. He's just not motivated.

I was planning on starting this post earlier, but I had to vacuum, do the dishes, put the laundry in. Where's the LSH? In the bedroom, watching "Twister" for the 88th time. I was going to tell him that , you know, the ending isn't going to be any different then it was the previous 87 times he saw it. But, hey. Why spoil the suspense?

POSTSCRIPT: I really do love him.

TOMORROW: The Other Man In My Life That Drives Me Insane - My Boss

COMMERCIAL BREAK

I hope to get a post in today, but in the meantime, I have to share this. I gotta admit, those Brits make some great commercials.

NOTE: ALL ANIMAL LOVERS (LIKE MYSELF): DO NOT BE ALARMED AT THE MIDDLE PART; ALL TURNS OUT WELL)!