(no subject)
For a week that started out to be such crap this one sure ended on a high note.
There are very few situations I find myself in where I am genuinely surprised, and even if I am I tend to cover it up well. However, yesterday something caught me completely off-guard.
The co-worker is off on vacation so I've been filling in her spot. Her boss called me into his office yesterday morning. He hands me something and says, "I'd like to give you this check," and I'm thinking it's a dividend check, or a royalty check on one of his oil wells or something and he wants me to deposit it in one of his accounts. But then he continues, "It's a $1,500 bonus for you. I know a lot of what we ask you to do goes beyond the standard definition of secretary and falls more under executive/personal services, and I really appreciate your help." O_O
Dumbfounded doesn't quite cover it. This was absolutely, completely out of the blue. I just stood there gaping at him like a vacant-eyed bovine before finally pulling myself together enough to stammer out a thank you. I was stunned. I haven't had a bonus in five years. They did away with bonuses and raises for my level after the layoffs we had following 9/11. Raises were reinstituted a couple of years ago but no mention was ever made again about bonuses so we all just figured they were a thing of the past.
Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean they're going back to doing it every year. I'm just thrilled with whatever I get, whenever I get it. One thing that I found pretty interesting was the Big Boss telling me that I "probably shouldn't mention" anything to the co-worker about getting a bonus. Not that I had the intention of doing any such thing, but the fact that he went out of his way to tell me indicates to me that not everybody got something extra. Interesting, and a little flattering. Under other circumstances I would feel sorry for the co-w, but she makes such an effort to be nasty and hateful to everyone that in this case I consider it a matter of reaping what you sow. I save my nasty and hateful for my own little corner of the internet here and I think that works out best for everyone. Anger management via blogging.
They also finally got the paperwork straightened out on the raise I was told about six weeks ago and I received a separate check for back pay since it was retroactive to May 1st. I was thinking it would probably be around $50-$60, which goes a long way to show why I never became an accountant. It actually came out to $400+. The raise also came out to be more than I anticipated on my regular paycheck.
So after about three months of sometimes getting into the single digits on my checking account I am now sitting in a pretty good spot. I have a car that's paid for, a big expense that didn't materialize (the foundation repairs), a noticeable increase on each check, and a nice little lump sum.
Predictably, my first reaction to the bonus was, "I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!" I would love to say that it was my sense of responsibility that kicked in and vetoed that idea, but the truth is it was brutally put down only by the realization that I don't have enough vacation time left this year to go again. I still have a week left but I told my parents I would drive them to St. Louis and then back down through Oklahoma to visit relatives next month. Oh well. I get three more weeks of vacation after the first of the year. I might try to fit in a Vegas trip somewhere between then and May. That's assuming I have enough extra fundage left over from Xmas shopping, which is something else I intend to use the bonus for. That usually doesn't amount to much since I have so few people to shop for though.
After getting the bonus from the Big Boss yesterday one of my direct bosses bought me lunch. Then today there were doughnuts for breakfast, plus my boss's girlfriend bought sandwiches and cupcakes for all of us for lunch. AND I got back my blood work results from my physical a couple of weeks ago. Everything is about as perfect as you can get. My overall cholesterol did go up by 9 points but it was because my good cholesterol went up by 11 points while my bad cholesterol went down by 2. Overall it came to 157, well below the 200 point total recommended. Also, my blood sugar went down by 8 points after holding steady for three years. It wasn't ever high, but after losing all that weight I thought it should have dropped and it hadn't. I guess cutting out the Three Musketeers bars for breakfast really did make a difference.
My UA came back with an infection, but as strange as it sounds that was kind of a relief. I've been dragging this week and couldn't figure out why. The UTI would explain that. I've been so tired I haven't even really minded being stuck with Chicken Wing Woman at the gym a couple of nights this week. Again, a sweet girl, but not at all what I need when I work out. I did get one workout with Robert and it was the best one I had all week. He barks at me to breathe right/keep my abs tight/stand up straight/speed it up/whatever. I tell him if he doesn't leave me alone I'm going to bounce a dumbbell off his big bald head. I think an atmosphere of mutual abuse works best when it comes to me and exercise. I like it that he puts me on the big machines and isn't afraid to give me a heavier dumbbell. CWW has me doing all these weenie Pilates-like moves. That's fine to a point (I do need better flexibility and balance), but I never feel like I get much of a workout when I work with her. When I leave the gym I shouldn't be wondering if I'll have enough time once I get home to do some more exercises on my own. I should leave wondering if I'm actually going to get to my car in the parking garage without collapsing. They have another new person starting in a couple of weeks and I hope she'll be more drill sargeant-ish.
To say I don't have any big plans this weekend would be an understatement. I don't have any plans at all other than picking up my prescription and taking some things to the dry cleaners tomorrow. I guess I'll probably do some things around the house. I may stop by Michael's or Garden Ridge on the way home from the cleaners and pick up some of the Halloween decorations I looked at a few weeks ago. I may also faff about on the computer as that's something I haven't done in awhile. I reactivated my GS account a few weeks ago and I've only logged into the game once since then. If nothing else I need to log in and rearrange character inventory before EG.
Think I'm going to skip the workout tonight and just go straight home. I may do treadmill there or I may take a night off altogether. I've exercised every night since last Saturday so I could probably use a break.
There are very few situations I find myself in where I am genuinely surprised, and even if I am I tend to cover it up well. However, yesterday something caught me completely off-guard.
The co-worker is off on vacation so I've been filling in her spot. Her boss called me into his office yesterday morning. He hands me something and says, "I'd like to give you this check," and I'm thinking it's a dividend check, or a royalty check on one of his oil wells or something and he wants me to deposit it in one of his accounts. But then he continues, "It's a $1,500 bonus for you. I know a lot of what we ask you to do goes beyond the standard definition of secretary and falls more under executive/personal services, and I really appreciate your help." O_O
Dumbfounded doesn't quite cover it. This was absolutely, completely out of the blue. I just stood there gaping at him like a vacant-eyed bovine before finally pulling myself together enough to stammer out a thank you. I was stunned. I haven't had a bonus in five years. They did away with bonuses and raises for my level after the layoffs we had following 9/11. Raises were reinstituted a couple of years ago but no mention was ever made again about bonuses so we all just figured they were a thing of the past.
Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean they're going back to doing it every year. I'm just thrilled with whatever I get, whenever I get it. One thing that I found pretty interesting was the Big Boss telling me that I "probably shouldn't mention" anything to the co-worker about getting a bonus. Not that I had the intention of doing any such thing, but the fact that he went out of his way to tell me indicates to me that not everybody got something extra. Interesting, and a little flattering. Under other circumstances I would feel sorry for the co-w, but she makes such an effort to be nasty and hateful to everyone that in this case I consider it a matter of reaping what you sow. I save my nasty and hateful for my own little corner of the internet here and I think that works out best for everyone. Anger management via blogging.
They also finally got the paperwork straightened out on the raise I was told about six weeks ago and I received a separate check for back pay since it was retroactive to May 1st. I was thinking it would probably be around $50-$60, which goes a long way to show why I never became an accountant. It actually came out to $400+. The raise also came out to be more than I anticipated on my regular paycheck.
So after about three months of sometimes getting into the single digits on my checking account I am now sitting in a pretty good spot. I have a car that's paid for, a big expense that didn't materialize (the foundation repairs), a noticeable increase on each check, and a nice little lump sum.
Predictably, my first reaction to the bonus was, "I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!" I would love to say that it was my sense of responsibility that kicked in and vetoed that idea, but the truth is it was brutally put down only by the realization that I don't have enough vacation time left this year to go again. I still have a week left but I told my parents I would drive them to St. Louis and then back down through Oklahoma to visit relatives next month. Oh well. I get three more weeks of vacation after the first of the year. I might try to fit in a Vegas trip somewhere between then and May. That's assuming I have enough extra fundage left over from Xmas shopping, which is something else I intend to use the bonus for. That usually doesn't amount to much since I have so few people to shop for though.
After getting the bonus from the Big Boss yesterday one of my direct bosses bought me lunch. Then today there were doughnuts for breakfast, plus my boss's girlfriend bought sandwiches and cupcakes for all of us for lunch. AND I got back my blood work results from my physical a couple of weeks ago. Everything is about as perfect as you can get. My overall cholesterol did go up by 9 points but it was because my good cholesterol went up by 11 points while my bad cholesterol went down by 2. Overall it came to 157, well below the 200 point total recommended. Also, my blood sugar went down by 8 points after holding steady for three years. It wasn't ever high, but after losing all that weight I thought it should have dropped and it hadn't. I guess cutting out the Three Musketeers bars for breakfast really did make a difference.
My UA came back with an infection, but as strange as it sounds that was kind of a relief. I've been dragging this week and couldn't figure out why. The UTI would explain that. I've been so tired I haven't even really minded being stuck with Chicken Wing Woman at the gym a couple of nights this week. Again, a sweet girl, but not at all what I need when I work out. I did get one workout with Robert and it was the best one I had all week. He barks at me to breathe right/keep my abs tight/stand up straight/speed it up/whatever. I tell him if he doesn't leave me alone I'm going to bounce a dumbbell off his big bald head. I think an atmosphere of mutual abuse works best when it comes to me and exercise. I like it that he puts me on the big machines and isn't afraid to give me a heavier dumbbell. CWW has me doing all these weenie Pilates-like moves. That's fine to a point (I do need better flexibility and balance), but I never feel like I get much of a workout when I work with her. When I leave the gym I shouldn't be wondering if I'll have enough time once I get home to do some more exercises on my own. I should leave wondering if I'm actually going to get to my car in the parking garage without collapsing. They have another new person starting in a couple of weeks and I hope she'll be more drill sargeant-ish.
To say I don't have any big plans this weekend would be an understatement. I don't have any plans at all other than picking up my prescription and taking some things to the dry cleaners tomorrow. I guess I'll probably do some things around the house. I may stop by Michael's or Garden Ridge on the way home from the cleaners and pick up some of the Halloween decorations I looked at a few weeks ago. I may also faff about on the computer as that's something I haven't done in awhile. I reactivated my GS account a few weeks ago and I've only logged into the game once since then. If nothing else I need to log in and rearrange character inventory before EG.
Think I'm going to skip the workout tonight and just go straight home. I may do treadmill there or I may take a night off altogether. I've exercised every night since last Saturday so I could probably use a break.