Sunday, October 12, 2008

Long time, no see

I know, I've been a bad blogger. Missing in action. AWOL.
Usually, that's because there has been nothing in my life worth reporting, but I don't have that excuse. In fact, maybe it's because too much has been happening to have time to write.
My apologies.
After watching a personal-record 56 regular season Cubs games at such cities as Washington, DC, Pittsburgh, Toronto, St. Louis, Miami and Milwaukee, my baseball watching is over for 2008. Okay, the playoff games are on TV in my living room as I write (but I'm not watching!)
My Cubs, who had soooo much fun playing a little boy's game for so many months, took everything much too seriously and got swept out of the playoffs in the first round by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Having been a Cubs fan for about 25 years now, I have grown a thick skin to their disappointments. This year has been strange, though, with the number of people offering their condolences. But I'm over it...probably because I've had too many other things on my mind to wallow in misery over baseball.
My employer, for whom I've been an external consultant for more than 10 years!, has decided to make me 'internal.' The plusses, as my boss so carefully explained it, are the fantastic benefits (okay, the health insurance is incredible), potential educational benefits and job security. I had to choke back a laugh when she said that last thing because...um, did I mention that I've been in this job for more than 10 years?!?!
The minuses, as I see them, are a MUCH lower salary, fewer vacation days, and a job title of "office administrator." Seeing as I have been called the 'office manager' for 10 years, I certainly wasn't signing a contract that lowered my title. What kind of bullshit were they trying to pull?
Trouble is...the internal position wasn't just an option. It was the ONLY option if I wanted to stay employed there. The prior contract (which both my boss and I knew was totally illegal) was formally declared illegal by the company's legal representation so now something had to be done.
I lost the war on the salary, won the war on the job title, did get a signing bonus and I am eligible for both the year-end bonus and also the annual cost-of-living increase for 2009.
Then there's the small matter of vacation. Having collected about a billion frequent flier miles, I finally buckled down and booked what's quickly becoming my annual trip to Australia. I say 'finally' because I normally book my November trip in March or April, but I held off (see Cubs activity and job status) and didn't book it till July.
Since my internal status officially began Oct. 1, I don't qualify for all the vacation time that I've already booked. My boss (in an unusually generous mood apparently), added five vacation days to the six I would qualify for and two sick days so I don't get clobbered with unpaid time off. She was quite clear that the additional vacation days are for this year only.
Which brings me to the only really fun news that's kept me from posting and that's my annual run-away-from-home!!! There's something about getting an email from the other side of the planet saying how 'happy we are that you'll be here' and 'we'll catch up over a couple of bottles of Australian wine' that really warms my heart.
Why is it that the people I've worked with Monday through Friday for 10 years treat me like shit, but the people I see for one week per year only four or five times ever can make me feel so special?