Silliness So what are you doing RIGHT NOW? - Page 2803

Hitch · 12-07-2018, 10:51 AM

I am contemplating my planned Winter Break.

We typically close, for what we call the "Winter Downtime" from noon on 12/24 (this has sometimes been 2:00 a.m. on the 25th, btw), through the morning of 1/3. We've always taken an extra day, because I think we earn it, being open 6/days/week the rest of the year. Almost no one takes vacations, etc.

This year, due to how the holiday(s) are falling, I'm thinking...what the hell. I'm considering closing noon on the 22nd, (Saturday) as the 24th is a Monday; and instead of coming back to work on the 3rd, which is a Thursday, not reopening until the morning of the 7th (a Monday). It would give me two entire weeks away from work, and the day-to-day grind. It would allow my folks to at least each take a full week off, too (as they don't have paid vacations; I wish I could, but...not enough dough for that).

I dunno, maybe it's a fantasy, but for the next two weeks, that seems like SUCH a great idea....

Hitch

badgoodDeb · 12-07-2018, 02:13 PM

It sounds like a very good idea to me, too!

poohbear_nc · 12-07-2018, 02:18 PM

You said it out loud .... now you've jinxed yourself ...

Rumpelteazer · 12-07-2018, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hitch

I am contemplating my planned Winter Break.

We typically close, for what we call the "Winter Downtime" from noon on 12/24 (this has sometimes been 2:00 a.m. on the 25th, btw), through the morning of 1/3. We've always taken an extra day, because I think we earn it, being open 6/days/week the rest of the year. Almost no one takes vacations, etc.

This year, due to how the holiday(s) are falling, I'm thinking...what the hell. I'm considering closing noon on the 22nd, (Saturday) as the 24th is a Monday; and instead of coming back to work on the 3rd, which is a Thursday, not reopening until the morning of the 7th (a Monday). It would give me two entire weeks away from work, and the day-to-day grind. It would allow my folks to at least each take a full week off, too (as they don't have paid vacations; I wish I could, but...not enough dough for that).

I dunno, maybe it's a fantasy, but for the next two weeks, that seems like SUCH a great idea....

Hitch

I would go for the two weeks.

Christmas is always a busy period for us, so no closing for a long time. But I did manage to talk my father in not opening on the Sunday and Monday before Christmas. He always wants that, but I'm the one womaning the store; on Sunday he has the annual Christmas billiard tournament at his club and on the Monday he's always busy running errands. It's only worth it to open the store because I got paid half of my normal salary. There aren't that many customers, since we don't sell a lot of Christmassy stuff. I spend those two days working my butt off dealing with shipments that came in earlier that week (most of our supplier are closed between Christmas and New Year) This year I refused to be paid half, my father looked at the numbers of previous years and came to the conclusion we wouldn't lose out much if we didn't open the store.

Which means four days off, then three days of working, followed by another three days off. And after that it's only a couple of weeks until my reading retreat.

Rumpelteazer · 12-08-2018, 03:04 PM

Despite the crappy weather it was a very busy day in the store today; over 120 customers.

I'm tired now, but in a good way. Not drained, physically or mentally, but just tired physically and my feet hurt. Most customers were great and easy, but you always have a few you'd rather not have. Most of those came during the busy period between 4.30 and 5pm (closing time) and I have to admit I got a bit cranky after 4pm since I hadn't had time to have lunch and I was hungry.

However, I am slightly worried about next two Saturdays leading up to Christmas; from November each Saturday gets busier than the one before, if it gets any busier I don't know how I feel after closing time!

Hitch · 12-08-2018, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

Despite the crappy weather it was a very busy day in the store today; over 120 customers.

I'm tired now, but in a good way. Not drained, physically or mentally, but just tired physically and my feet hurt. Most customers were great and easy, but you always have a few you'd rather not have. Most of those came during the busy period between 4.30 and 5pm (closing time) and I have to admit I got a bit cranky after 4pm since I hadn't had time to have lunch and I was hungry.

However, I am slightly worried about next two Saturdays leading up to Christmas; from November each Saturday gets busier than the one before, if it gets any busier I don't know how I feel after closing time!

Ok, I gotta ask. What do you mean, paid half your normal salary? It's a working day, don't you just get paid your normal rate, or do you mean, time-and-a-half, (150%) as we call it in the States?

Hitch

Rumpelteazer · 12-08-2018, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hitch

Ok, I gotta ask. What do you mean, paid half your normal salary? It's a working day, don't you just get paid your normal rate, or do you mean, time-and-a-half, (150%) as we call it in the States?

Hitch

Nope, I got paid half of my normal salary. Those days started out easy, not too busy and I had ample time to sit, read and drink hot chocolate milk, jot a proper day's work. But over the years we get more and more shipments in just before Christmas so I work hard those days and I deserve proper pay. Early this year I decided that won't happen anymore, during the last two years I've been taking on more responsibilities and I think I deserve recognition for that.

That doesn't mean I want/need to be paid for every minute. This week was one big Murphy's Law, I want to finish those last little things tomorrow, it'll take me an hour and I can do it whilst listening to music or a podcast. Same with making decorations for the store; I love doing it, it gives me a reason to craft (though a bit of recognition for it would be nice).

But yeah, when I do proper work, I expect proper pay. Since I'm now the person to do most of the ordering I tried to spread out the Chistmas shipments more, so that we don't get swamped the week before. Also, as I said before we don't have many Christmassy things anymore plus the idea of have four days off was too much of an temptation to not make use of.

Hitch · 12-08-2018, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

Nope, I got paid half of my normal salary. Those days started out easy, not too busy and I had ample time to sit, read and drink hot chocolate milk, jot a proper day's work. But over the years we get more and more shipments in just before Christmas so I work hard those days and I deserve proper pay. Early this year I decided that won't happen anymore, during the last two years I've been taking on more responsibilities and I think I deserve recognition for that.

That doesn't mean I want/need to be paid for every minute. This week was one big Murphy's Law, I want to finish those last little things tomorrow, it'll take me an hour and I can do it whilst listening to music or a podcast. Same with making decorations for the store; I love doing it, it gives me a reason to craft (though a bit of recognition for it would be nice).

But yeah, when I do proper work, I expect proper pay. Since I'm now the person to do most of the ordering I tried to spread out the Chistmas shipments more, so that we don't get swamped the week before. Also, as I said before we don't have many Christmassy things anymore plus the idea of have four days off was too much of an temptation to not make use of.

All I want to say is, your Dad is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO lucky that he has you as a daughter, and not me. LOL. Hell, gurl, I'd be charging 1.5x my normal rate to work on Christmas Eve, not half!

Hitch

Rumpelteazer · 12-10-2018, 01:51 AM

Up early, in a short time we're going to take Luna and Maru to the vet to get neutered. It's right in time for Luna. Her being in heat gets worse every evening, which is when she suffers from it. Last night she discovered it felt very pleasant when the cat flap scraped over her back when she went through it. After that she kept going in and out of the room until I distracted her and tired her out playing with one of her favourite toys.

After dropping of the kittens we have to go to the recycle station and then run a couple of errands.

Pizza_Cant_Read · 12-10-2018, 02:49 AM

Celebrating my day off, ignoring my phone, pondering possible food options...

I don't get paid extra for Christmas but they will give us a few days off for the New Year, good enough for me. Good luck with your kitties, Rumpelteazer!

astrangerhere · 12-10-2018, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hitch

Thinking about a wild and crazy idea--that instead of closing my shop for our Winter Break, from midday on the 24th, through the morning of the 3rd January, like we usually do, I'm contemplating on shutting our doors at noon, 12/22 (the Saturday before Xmas, which is on Tuesday this year) through 1/7 (the Monday after New Year's; New Year also falls on a Tuesday, of course); we typically don't come back until the 3rd, which is a Thursday, so...what the hey, by closing an additional 3 working days, I can have TWO SOLID WEEKS OFF.

Which sounds like deliriously-happy making, to me. (sigh).

Hitch

Well, I was a law professor for the past 6 years. I just went back into practice a few months ago. I represent battered women (and men) in actions to get restraining orders against their abusers. I also help them out with custody, housing and other domestic violence-related issues.

Hitch · 12-10-2018, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

Well, I was a law professor for the past 6 years. I just went back into practice a few months ago. I represent battered women (and men) in actions to get restraining orders against their abusers. I also help them out with custody, housing and other domestic violence-related issues.

Howdy:

I think you meant to reply to a different response of mine, but, yup, I figured. :-)

Hitch

astrangerhere · 12-10-2018, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hitch

Howdy:

I think you meant to reply to a different response of mine, but, yup, I figured. :-)

Hitch

Frozen fingers!

Hitch · 12-10-2018, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

Frozen fingers!

:-)

Hitch

Rumpelteazer · 12-10-2018, 02:29 PM

The kittens are home and doing better. We were allowed to pick them up after 4pm. Luna was operated on in the morning and Maru around 2pm, so she was still groggy. The vet had to laugh when we went to pick them up from their room. Luna had managed to wriggle between the heating pad and the towel; only her nose was sticking out.

Back home Maru was still wobbly and woozy, Luna less so. They were very wary of each other and Maru just wanted to be left alone. After a while they both found a spot to sleep. After they'd woken up they were hungry. The vet had said that most likely they wouldn't be hungry, but if they were we were allowed to feed them in small portions. We had to; they were trying to jump on the kitchen counter in search of food. They weren't able to make it that high, hanging off the counter. They might pull a stitch, so we figured opening their wound would be worse than them throwing up because they weren't ready for food. We gave them a bit of food and now they're settling down again.

Poor little muppets, but at least we now know a Christmas gift for them; a heating pad.

12-07-2018, 10:51 AM	#42031
Hitch Bookmaker & Cat Slave Posts: 11,462 Karma: 158448243 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Phoenix, AZ Device: K2, iPad, KFire, PPW, Voyage, NookColor. 2 Droid, Oasis, Boox Note2	Ah, fantasy... I am contemplating my planned Winter Break. We typically close, for what we call the "Winter Downtime" from noon on 12/24 (this has sometimes been 2:00 a.m. on the 25th, btw), through the morning of 1/3. We've always taken an extra day, because I think we earn it, being open 6/days/week the rest of the year. Almost no one takes vacations, etc. This year, due to how the holiday(s) are falling, I'm thinking...what the hell. I'm considering closing noon on the 22nd, (Saturday) as the 24th is a Monday; and instead of coming back to work on the 3rd, which is a Thursday, not reopening until the morning of the 7th (a Monday). It would give me two entire weeks away from work, and the day-to-day grind. It would allow my folks to at least each take a full week off, too (as they don't have paid vacations; I wish I could, but...not enough dough for that). I dunno, maybe it's a fantasy, but for the next two weeks, that seems like SUCH a great idea.... Hitch

12-07-2018, 02:13 PM	#42032
badgoodDeb Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,501 Karma: 64095689 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Harrisburg outskirts Device: Palms, K1-4s, iPads, iPhones, KV, KO1	It sounds like a very good idea to me, too!

12-07-2018, 02:18 PM	#42033
poohbear_nc Now what? Posts: 58,865 Karma: 135181808 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Durham, NC Device: Every Kindle Ever Made & To Be Made!	You said it out loud .... now you've jinxed yourself ...

12-08-2018, 03:04 PM	#42035
Rumpelteazer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,100 Karma: 24047426 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Utrecht, the Netherlands Device: Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition	Despite the crappy weather it was a very busy day in the store today; over 120 customers. I'm tired now, but in a good way. Not drained, physically or mentally, but just tired physically and my feet hurt. Most customers were great and easy, but you always have a few you'd rather not have. Most of those came during the busy period between 4.30 and 5pm (closing time) and I have to admit I got a bit cranky after 4pm since I hadn't had time to have lunch and I was hungry. However, I am slightly worried about next two Saturdays leading up to Christmas; from November each Saturday gets busier than the one before, if it gets any busier I don't know how I feel after closing time!

12-10-2018, 01:51 AM	#42039
Rumpelteazer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,100 Karma: 24047426 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Utrecht, the Netherlands Device: Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition	Up early, in a short time we're going to take Luna and Maru to the vet to get neutered. It's right in time for Luna. Her being in heat gets worse every evening, which is when she suffers from it. Last night she discovered it felt very pleasant when the cat flap scraped over her back when she went through it. After that she kept going in and out of the room until I distracted her and tired her out playing with one of her favourite toys. After dropping of the kittens we have to go to the recycle station and then run a couple of errands.

12-10-2018, 02:49 AM	#42040
Pizza_Cant_Read Sentient Sauce Posts: 460 Karma: 2519794 Join Date: Nov 2017 Location: China Device: 9th Gen Oasis	Celebrating my day off, ignoring my phone, pondering possible food options... I don't get paid extra for Christmas but they will give us a few days off for the New Year, good enough for me. Good luck with your kitties, Rumpelteazer!

12-10-2018, 02:29 PM	#42045
Rumpelteazer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,100 Karma: 24047426 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Utrecht, the Netherlands Device: Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition	The kittens are home and doing better. We were allowed to pick them up after 4pm. Luna was operated on in the morning and Maru around 2pm, so she was still groggy. The vet had to laugh when we went to pick them up from their room. Luna had managed to wriggle between the heating pad and the towel; only her nose was sticking out. Back home Maru was still wobbly and woozy, Luna less so. They were very wary of each other and Maru just wanted to be left alone. After a while they both found a spot to sleep. After they'd woken up they were hungry. The vet had said that most likely they wouldn't be hungry, but if they were we were allowed to feed them in small portions. We had to; they were trying to jump on the kitchen counter in search of food. They weren't able to make it that high, hanging off the counter. They might pull a stitch, so we figured opening their wound would be worse than them throwing up because they weren't ready for food. We gave them a bit of food and now they're settling down again. Poor little muppets, but at least we now know a Christmas gift for them; a heating pad.