Well Alrighty Then...

Well, it seems I placed first in weekly points in the trivia competition over at Tom's Hideaway this week, which is cool! Tom was kind enough to link to my blog so everyone can come visit, which is also cool. That means I have to post here, or risk looking like a slacker - not cool...Oh well, such is life. I'll just look at it as motivation, to get me to post more regularly than I have been, 'cuz I really don't have enough other shit to do to keep me busy *innocent look*

Thanks Tom.

No really, I do appreciate the link, I love to have folks visit, even though I really have been slacking. My other blog, A Witch In Time does get updated daily. Usually. But it is more structured, with a particular subject matter each day, and I feel like a school kid not doing their homework if I don't update it....I expect my 2nd/3rd/4th grade teacher to come knocking on my door: "Jodi...do you have your homework from yesterday's assignment..?" That would be Mrs. Kinnenninen (No names are being changed to protect the innocent, as there are no innocents here).

When we moved to Kansasville I was in 2nd grade, and she was the teacher. We didn't really hit it off so to speak. Mrs. Kinnenninen was 350 lbs of bleached out, frizzy afro-having, lime green Cadillac-driving meanness. And that was on her good days. Her idea of classroom discipline was to grab a child by the hair on their head and shake them until their teeth rattled. Lucky me, When I moved on to 3rd grade, she was moved over to teach the 3rd & 4th grade class. (Yes, it was a small school, 3rd & 4th were in one room...).

This was the woman who tried to flunk a straight A student (me, A's on all assignments, A's on all tests) because I never took homework home. Huh..? Her logic, as related to my mother when she questioned her about why I brought home all A's and had an F on my report card, was "Well, the other kids see that she never takes any homework home. They'll think they can not take homework home and get A's if I give her an A..." Needless to say, Mom got the grades changed to A's.

Hmmmm.....my how the mind does wander....

So, I've been kid free since 11:30 yesterday morning. Not that I could really take advantage of it, I had to work from 12:30 to 9:00, and by the time I stopped at Wally World ( speaking of Wally World, The Vinyl Villager has a great post about Wally World over on his blog. Actually he has a lot of great posts...go check it out!) and got home, I had just enough energy to eat and fall out. *sigh* What an exciting life I lead. I didn't even have the energy to redo my toenails in relative peace. And hunny has just left to go pick him up. Which is good, 'cuz I miss the little shit darling.

I get to spend today doing laundry, 'cuz I lost my Tuesday off due to the holiday (My employer has this really screwy policy that if a holiday falls in the week of your "flex day" you have to work it. Not sure how it qualifies as a "flex day" as it 's my regular day off, every other week...but if I want a job, I have to do what the company says...) so I don't have a day off until this upcoming Saturday. And today is the first I've had in the last 7 days. Friday is the Fourth, and is a company holiday, but I volunteered to work. How could I not...I got overtime for yesterday, 'cuz I have to work Tuesday, And I'll get overtime and holiday pay for Friday.  Doesn't give me much free time, but hey, the bills never stop!

Ok, gotta go do the laundry shuffle, plus squeeze in grocery shopping, a shower, a bath for the boy in a cast (always fun...NOT), cooking some kind of meal, and dealing with all of the little crisis' involved in having a stubborn 5 year old and even more stubborn 41 year old home together...should be an interesting day!

See ya laterzzzzzzzzzz!

Oh yeah! I've been meaning to put this up, and since I'm here now, I better do it before it flees my mind and never gets done. (Yes, that happens frequently in my world...) I was over at Hey! It's Free catching up on the freebies I'd missed in the last few days, and came across this - Chacha. It's a website where you can go and ask anything and get the answer. But that's not the exciting (yes I know, I have a pathetic existence and I am easily amused) part. The exciting part is they also offer this as a text service. You can send a question - any question, about anything - to 242242, and get a response in just a minute or two. I tested it by asking "who was Carter's vice president?" (fairly easy) and "When is Lammas?" (not quite as easy) and I got correct answers in about 30 seconds. I also got a bit of background info about the answers ( for example, the answer to "When is Lammas?" was "Lammas Tide -August 1, beginning of harvest cycle & rests in early grain harvest as well as those fruits & veggies ready 4 picking" Now that's a complete answer!)

Now why does this excite me? you ask...Well, I don't know about you, but I have found myself in a conversation about some trivial, off-the-wall, not necessarily mainstream subjects. More often, I find myself at a loss for answer to something I know. It is buried so far under all the other crap, stuff, useless information, knowledge I have amassed, I just can't access it. This would (will) be great in that situation. Standard text messaging rates apply, but since we just changed our plan to unlimited everything, s'not a problem for me : )

Ok, really going now...*grin*

See ya laterzzzzzzzzzz!

Working For The (da, da, dum) Cable Company

It's Saturday. Woohoo! I actually get two days in a row off! I have to pay for it by working 6 straight, but hey, what can you do? I really can't b*tch - much. Well...I can b*ith - after all I am female, and it comes with the bumps in the shirt. But regarding my job and my employer, they just don't give me much fodder for the old b*tchmill....

I'd have to say, the (da, da, dum) Cable Company that I work for is probably one of the best companies around to work for, all in all. Not as good as what I hear Google is, but they're probably the exception ;)

My schedule is kinda sucky, I work 12:30-9 on Mondays & Saturdays, 11-8 on T, W & Th, and 12-8:30 on Friday. It tends to contribute a bit to my general confusedness. As far as the time of day, I'm good with it, but my hunny..? Not so good, although he has recently said that he's become used to it. If he had his druthers, he'd druther I worked 9-5, but those hours are rare in general, and almost non-existent at my company. There are a few that do get them, but it's mostly upper management, and the office folks. And truly, they suit me better than 9-5 ever will. I can work those hours, and I have, but if I were on my own, they wouldn't ever be my first choice. But I'm not, I have a hunny & a (usually) sweet (monster) boy to consider as well.

The pay really isn't that great, the low end of the scale for similar positions around the country. But the benefits rock, which makes up for the pay being low. The benefits really rock.

The people, and the company's attitude towards employees, are great! In most companies, you're just another cog on the wheel, and that's the way you are treated by everyone from your immediate supervisor on up. Many companies claim an "open door policy" but woe to he who dares to walk up to that door, let alone through it. Pretty much the kiss of death. Many companies also claim to care about their employees, and by extension their employees" families, but don't try being sick, or Goddess forbid, have a sick child. They give you sick days & penalize you for using them. They give you vacation time, but when you ask to use it you have to jump through 15 hoops to even get it considered. I could go on and on, but any of you in the work force, and those who live with someone in the work force know what I'm talking about.

But not at this company. In my experience, employees are truly encouraged to make use of their open door policy. And when you do, management listens to what you have to say, then asks you for assistance from you (if possible) in correcting your issues. If you are sick, or your child is sick, and you have available time (given at a rate of 6.66 hours per month, that's 10 days a year) you don't get a hard time or the 3rd degree for calling in. Also (and this may seem like a small, insignificant thing, but it really isn't) when you return, folks ask how you/your child are.

The president of our division(?) started out as an installer. The lady over the whole Customer Service department, started out as a rep. They listen to your concerns, they try to address any issues, and fix whatever may be "broken." These are things you don't often find in today's companies, and I am thankful to be working at a place that encompasses all of these things.

Hmmmm...that's not the post I had in mind when I sat down here, but I guess it's the one I was supposed to write..*grin*

See ya laterzzzzzz!