This post is going up for all you who suffer from not knowing exactly what on earth all the hubbub about Seattle and my work has been over the last few days. My Twitter (and thus Facebook) statuses (or is it stati?) have been positively lousy with comments regarding the whole “crisis” (for lack of a better word), as it were, coupled with total agony as I waited expectantly for the outcome.
Here’s the Reader’s Digest version as best as I can tell it…
I am (or was?) going out to Seattle to help Janelle & Sean with some logistical issues that cropped up last minute which were potentially going to keep them going on their long-overdue honeymoon. I am of course MORE than happy to help them out – the only hurdle being…you guess it…work.
Rather than being forced to take a week & a half vacation time off work, it struck me that there really is no reason I couldn’t just work while I’m there. After all, my friends wouldn’t be around so I would have flexible scheduling during the day with early mornings & evenings free. Practically tailor-made time for getting stuff done!
Now here’s the rub: Major events taking place in our department this month which include a big project on the table that I’ve been placed in charge of threaten my ability to be as flexible and mobile as I might otherwise be. (Figures)
This was also something I did not foresee when originally posed with the question last Monday which was in the middle of All Things Christmas and therefore there was no discussion to be had about it in the office until all management returned from their respective vacations.
I did bring it up to management first thing yesterday. I brought it up again at the end of the day. Both times being met with a, “Let me think about it” response. If I hadn’t already been teetering on the edge of insanity, that just about pushed me over.
Time was becoming increasingly important in terms of being able to get a ticket and work out all of the other logistics. To say I was a little antsy would be the first major understatement of 2009. I hate feeling like I have no control over decisions like this in my own life. But the truth is that, unless you work for yourself (which I plan to someday!) your employer really does own your time in many ways.
So then today I re-approached the situation with the intent of expressing the need for a “best guess” decision since a plane ticket was riding on the response. I proposed two options my favorite being where they would approve me working remotely until Tuesday (2/3) when Sean & Jel returned where I could then take off the rest of the week and so get some visiting time in before coming home myself. The other option was that I would not work, but would then need to leave the same day S&J returned so I could be back in the office by Wednesday, 2/4.
Earlier this afternoon I got my answer: Neither. Instead, they would approve me to work remotely for one week, but no more – I would need to be back in the office on Monday, 2/2.
The good news is that this was a major exception they were making for me – they wouldn’t even consider approving such a request for most other people in part because they trust me and my ability to get everything done that I needed to do. Naturally it’s still not the optimum situation – I’d much rather stay and get a couple of days with S&J before having to come home. With this alternative, I won’t even see them at all…MAJOR bummer.
Anyway, we’re still living with one foot in the Land of Limbo because it seems there may be one other alternative which would potentially preclude me from needing to go out there at all. I’m okay either way – at least I know where I stand with work now…and, at the end of the day, this was all about helping my friends and so whatever works best for them is what I’m in favor of.
Of course if I don’t go at all, then I would also say that this should buy me some extra time during my next trip during our 4th Annual Labor Day Seattle Extravaganza.
So despite the last couple of days being such a rollercoaster ride, the hardest part of the waiting is over and we should have everything completely ironed out soon.
Tell the fat lady she’s on in five.
Merry Christmas To All…
It’s that time of year again… Time for cookies, trees, gifts, snow (if you’re lucky), songs, mistletoe, ornaments, lights, and joy at celebrating the birth of Jesus. It’s also time for yearly updates. Every year I receive tons of letters from my friends telling me all about the seemingly endless amounts of awesome things their kids accomplished – Johnny took his first steps, Billy said his first word, Jane walked on the moon, Susie found the cure for cancer… And each year as I sit and read through these letters, I’m struck by just how much I have NOT done.
Or at least, the past few years have been like that.
Prior to 2005, I typically felt like I had a lot to say come December. I was moving to or living in or traveling through amazing places – Alaska, Europe, Asia, New York City… But then I moved back to Bucks County – not far from where I grew up – and the excitement seems to have ceased.
I debated as to whether or not to even write something for this year having felt outdone by just about everyone else out there…after all, how can you beat out someone taking their first steps? But after some thought on the matter, I decided that perhaps it was more important do go through this exercise for 2008 because it would help me focus on finding the things that were worth mentioning.
So in the name of hoping 2008 was worth it, I give you…
2008: Year of the Rat
(I’m not making that up – check the Chinese calendar if you don’t believe me)
Let’s begin with 10 “stills” in my life (because it would be more depressing to end there – not that they’re all negatives or anything, but you know what I mean):
Below is a summary of 2008…such as it was:
January
I went to Atlanta to visit my family while Jo & Josh were there. I also found Dave Ramsey and decided set New Years Resolutions to lose weight, start living on a budget, and begin a plan to pay off my debt.
February
I started my budget. I also found out that my foot which I broke in Vermont in 2005 was, in fact, still broken so I was going to have to treat it by wearing this weird bone stimulator (no, it’s not like that – get your mind out of the gutter) 10 hours/day for 6 months. Yay.
March
Gas prices really started soaring, but I still managed to budget in a trip up to Boston to visit Esther & the girls for a long weekend over my birthday.
April
I started attending a Financial Peace University class that was being held locally and I found an amazing church…FINALLY.
May & June
Absolutely nothing of note took place. Nothing. May & June were a total waste this year.
July
I discovered I had a nest of yellowjackets my attic. That was it.
August
Like its predecessors of May & June, August failed to contribute anything of interest for 2008. I think I saw a movie.
September
The most exciting month all year! I went to Seattle to visit Jel & Co. A blast, as always, made even better by the fact that we had a full week to relax & hang.
October
Not as fun as September, but pretty. Great foliage this year. I also had new hardwood floors installed on the ground floor of my home. Oh, and I handed out candy to a lot of princesses & vampires with a few Harry Potter’s thrown in.
November
The removal of all the election paraphernalia from yards & TV was a highlight of my month, second only to the birth of my first nephew – Ronan Powell Rogers. Yay! And then of course there was Thanksgiving. Yum.
December
I calculated that by the end of this year, I’ll have paid off 52% of my unsecured debt (36% of my overall debt) thanks to my budget, Dave Ramsey, and God. I’ve lost 20 pounds of the untold amount I put on after moving out of NYC – still some to go, but I’m on the right track! I got a Wii & a Wii Fit.
I feel like there should be more, but as you can see, 2008 was really pretty dull overall… I am aware that this is partly due to my gazelle intense focus on becoming debt free. I’m still a good 2 years off from crossing that mile marker, but at least I’ve got one full year of it behind me.
I really can’t underscore the importance of this task. It’s huge and has required a lot of sacrifice which, in turn, has made for a relatively boring 2008. And perhaps I should go ahead and warn everyone now that 2009 & 2010 will be going up against 2008 on that front. In 2011, I’ll be sure to give the title of Most Boring Year to one of these 3 contenders because, let’s face it, until I get my debt paid off, I may not being doing much else between now and then…although I do foresee a trip to North Dakota to see my nephew this coming year and perhaps a smaller getaway or two if I can manage it – we’ll see if that budget will allow me that! I became a moderator in December of last year for the GAP Adventures travel forum called The Watering Hole which, while a technically a volunteer position, carries with it some other nice perks like credit towards GAP trips which I might be able to leverage towards this end.
In closing, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I sincerely hope your 2008 was more interesting than mine… But now look out 2009 – here we come!