its just not like the old days anymore....

(psssst - i miss my old journal :()
but as with everything else in the world, time waits for no lost soul.... progress....

in that vein, my mom called me up a while ago, very ill with the flu.... I jumped in my car, armed with some left over tamiflu I had gotten filled last year, some nyquil, a thermometer (mom didn't have one), some soup I had made meself, and some other goodies and I made my way to her house...
I called my sister and told her to come down and collect the goods...
"You're not coming up??" she said in the lobby of her building... what? walk right into the flu? no thanks..
"Oh, you and your germaphobia..." she said to me as I handed her the bag and proceeded to push the door shut.
So she pulled and I pushed and we watched each other through the glass...
"What is it? I want you to see my hair -I got it done..." she said.
"I can see perfectly fine through the glass - looks great...." I replied, still pushing the door.
"Why are you being such a freak??"
"You're contaminated too!" I cried....

she shook her head at me as I drove away.
the next day?? she called me saying she had a fever of 101..... and she's student teaching now so that means she can't miss more than 2 days, AND her teacher was coming to observe her and grade her in 2 days, and here she was, in the throes of the flu.
I told her one of life's tough lessons.... you just can't afford to get sick in this town... she gets sick for more than 2 days and you're out of your class. you're out 16,000 dollars and 6 months and you don't graduate and your life is ruined... all by the flu. there's simply no good time for the flu...

Recently, we had a blizzard... 2 feet of snow - overnight..... ONE day my work was closed. One day, and everything was back to normal, everything was shovelled, streets were cleared. We spent that one day home shovelling our cars out for hours, all to get to work the next day...
and I read comments from England (where 2 feet of snow would shut them down possibly until the spring) and people were all:
"Look at the states, all up and running so fast! meanwhile, we were home for a week with MUCH less snow!"
and I say - it's all a scam! the real reason we clear out so fast is that we must get to work! work, work, work... nothing will stop us.... we'll drive through snow and sleet and hail. no rest for the wicked. nothing can stop us.

i tell mr. lost - we're in a labor camp.... it's work and home, work and home, with short reprieves of fun, mainly of the chemical variety.
no time.... no play.... *everything she wants costs money....*

but there's vacation... ah, the one real luxury I afford myself. at least every year, I must go somewhere!
last year, the work and all the other crap ground us down so this year - I figured, with the crap year we've had - we're going to do the unthinkable... we're going on a 2 week vacation.
2 weeks?!? but that simply isn't done in the states!
"you'll be bored" people warn me....
yes. 2 weeks. I've got a rare job that provides me with a lot of time off (well, I *have* been there nearly 10 years now) and mr. lost is sort of in between gigs so yes.... I'm off for 2 weeks.
so I went to my new bosses office today...
"You know how I've been saying I'm gonna go on a trip soon? well, I'm gonna head out for the first 2 weeks of april." (you know - I'm coming in with a whole month warning).
her - blank stare - "2 weeks?"
me - "Well, yeah, 2 weeks and 2 days actually, you know, long flight and all..."
her - "2 weeks and 2 days?? But, aren't reports due that week?"
me - "Yup - i'll handle what I can before I leave and then my team will handle the rest...."
her- "um..... wow.... but what if any unscheduled reports come in?"
me - "well, that's gonna happen no matter when I'm ever out, so yeah, we should probably think about how to handle those...."

and then, it continued..... she talked to HER boss, and she called from her cell phone after already leaving for the day, "Well, aren't the quarterly reports all due then??"
"yes... there are x number of reports - I'll handle 1 of them on Monday, 3 on tuesday, and leave them the remaining few for wednesday."
her - "oh ok..... well, we'll have to send out an email to let everyone know you'll be out..... i mean, what if something comes through?"

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.... we're a team of 3 - it's not like it's just me doing this job.... and I'm the supervisor, so it's not like I actually have to DO any of the reports - just supervise - but I DO do them, because I'm cool like that... and I don't like being bored.
you know what really really gets me though?? they give us very modest raises, but we all stay because of the time off benefits, and then when you want to use that time off, they make it seem like they can't function without you. I'm not getting paid like someone who is a total necessity so don't act like if I'm not there, all hell will break loose.
and don't keep coming up with excuses - it's like she wants to tell me not to go but can't do that, so she's trying to guilt me into, what? not taking time off? taking only the time she deems appropriate?
at first, I was upset. all my excitement at my travel plans went out the window and my stomache tied in a knot.
but then I composed an email, outlining my coverage plan, in an effort to ease her fears; and then I checked tickets and fenagled the dates again and I actually paid $200 more for a flight a few days later (which would ease their concerns about the quarter end) and I came home and I booked my tickets.

Comments

Personally, I try and stay away from people who are sick as well. :straightface:
And while I like the new set up, I wish I could have kept my old journal name. :o
 

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everybody's lost
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