Thursday Randoms

[fernweh]

I am feeling very paranoid right now. They announced our annual raises this month. Everyone I talked to has gotten 3% - everyone. Except I got 9%. I’m happy for it but why did I get so much more? What is going on? Am I making so much less than everyone else that they need to catch me up? I don’t believe, I seem to be making a pretty standard amount for my industry/experience.

[lavenderblue]

A 9% raise is amazing fernweh! Congrats. I think it shows how valued you are to your team and they are obviously interested in keeping you on board. I'd take it as a huge win.

[maudefindlay]

DD is really into drawing lately. I'm looking into having this print turned into wallpaper to use for the half bath in the new house. Could be fun with some bright paintings.  I think she'd love seeing her art displayed like that.

[bex1973]

maudefindlay, what a great idea!!

[mysteriouswife]

3% is a standard raise. In my experience people are afraid to tell the truth about their pay. I wonder if more people got a higher increase and defaulted to the normal 3% to avoid conflict. Take your 9% and celebrate! They felt you needed it for whatever reason. Congrats!

[ssmjlm]

fernweh, I would just go with that they are valuing your input and giving you a higher raise. Although I'm like you and would wonder what was going on.

[candreco]

After being copied on a coworker's sick leave request, I caught myself thinking this morning that catching a cold and having to stay in bed reading, napping, and drinking tea was actually kind of appealing. I had considered taking tomorrow off, but then my boss asked me to cover for her while she's on leave. Clearly need to find a day to actually do that....

[hermione]

Today is my parents' 55th wedding anniversary. That's a long ass time. They still like and love each other. They still make each other laugh.

[cjcouple]

9% is amazing. I'd be annoyed that people were discussing their raises though. lol.

I'm irritated because everyone is nosing in about others alternate work schedules at my firm. they recently moved to 4 days x 8-5, Fridays remote but accepting alternate schedules and deciding case by case.

One guy was like "what are YOU doing?" why is it his business? i just said "I filled out and I asked for 2 days in the office. I said I hadn't heard back." I mean he's going to find out when I'm only there 2 days and I leave at 4 that I am flexing but I wish he didn't put me in a position to reveal whatever I worked out.

He was denied his request and is pissed. Our circumstances are very different though.

[wildrice]

I'm at the airport on my way to Detroit. It doesn't seem to be a full flight, so that makes me happy. It's a short one anyway so I guess even if it is, the discomfort won't last long.

I didn't pack last night, so today I just threw way too many things in my bag. I am usually a light packer and it's still just a carry on, but it seems way too heavy for a 3 day trip.

[TR]

cjcouple - deciding on a case by case basis seems like a good way to create resentment among coworkers, yikes. Because like you said, even if you don’t talk about it, it’s going to be obvious who is there when.

[TR]

In addition to offering all employees five days off to volunteer in addition to their annual PTO time, my company also has an annual Community Day where sites are coordinated and employees can sign up to go various places as well as virtual opportunities being offered. The popular sites always fill up within one to two minutes. It’s like trying to get Taylor Swift tickets lol and today at 10 AM local time is when registration opens. So I need to be on my game because I want to volunteer at the zoo again and that is one of the ones that goes the fastest.

[thebreakfastclub]

fernweh , At my company, the common reason for a 9% raise is because HR has done a compensation review, and the employee has fallen below the minimum for the pay band where the job lives. However, at your review, you'd have a conversation explaining your increase and receive a compensation statement. It would say 3% merit, 6% adjustment. One person can't get a 9% on their merit alone, because everyone's increases come out of the same pool and are all averaging together. An increase like that comes out of a special bucket - some type of special adjustment happened for a unique reason.

[jamaicam]

Sept 12, 2024 8:02:00 GMT -5 hermione said:

Today is my parents' 55th wedding anniversary. That's a long ass time. They still like and love each other. They still make each other laugh.

That's awesome. My parents have been married 51 years and still enjoy each other's company. It's amazing  

[cjcouple]

Sept 12, 2024 8:24:14 GMT -5 TR said:

cjcouple - deciding on a case by case basis seems like a good way to create resentment among coworkers, yikes. Because like you said, even if you don’t talk about it, it’s going to be obvious who is there when.

The issue is, different roles have different needs. Some jobsites require people to be full time on a jobsite, others require weekly or biweekly visits or travel. A few fly to jobsites every other week.

This guys job is very different from mine. He is supposed to be collaborating and being mentored. My job doesnt require that.

I work with about 20 people directly in my role and 3 are in my office. And of those 3, they are not in the office daily because of the jobsite visits and travel I mentioned. Mondays are the only day everyone is in my dept.

Everyone else is in other states so I am remote from them regardless.

He just doesn't want to do the commute.

[jinkies]

I just got confirmation last night that I'll be going to Japan next spring for work. I'm excited but also really nervous about the crazy long flight, language barrier, and I'm concerned about my shellfish allergy and finding safe food. I love to travel though and I would almost definitely never get to Japan if it wasn't paid for by work, so I want to make the most of it.

I have a lot of research to do.

[starburst604]

maudefindlay I'd totally use that wallpaper, I love the idea! 

In a very last minute plan, last night I saw Dashboard Confessional at MGM Music Hall at Fenway with my new friend A. We had so much fun! After the show we went to some of the Fenway bars which were full of Sox fans after that game, and I showed her my favorite place that has a gate that opens to a view of the park after games, she was so impressed. Today, I am paying dearly for this fun night because coming home at 1am on a Wednesday at age 48 is a very bad decision. But no regrets.

[shauni27]

TR, did you get it???

[TR]

Sept 12, 2024 9:25:53 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

TR, did you get it???

I’m on Central time so I still have 32 minutes lol

[wanderingback]

On my way for my conferences! 5 nights away, longest I’ve been away…
Both of these conferences actually have childcare so maybe will take advantage of that in the future.

Thanks all for the reality tv recs I’m going to finish Chimp Crazy. Then up next I have that Mormon show you all told me about, Selling Sunset, and Forbidden Love.

[Patsy Baloney]

Back to school is really stressing me out this year. Both kids are very, very sick and have been since early August when we started. Bus times are still changing. It’s now moved back to 6:30 in the morning, which is ridiculous.

Because nobody feels well and everything has to happen so early in the morning, we’re all shouting and bitching at each other all the time. I feel like I’ve worked a whole job before I’m even in my car driving to my job.

Harumph.

[TR]

Sept 12, 2024 9:28:50 GMT -5 TR said:

Sept 12, 2024 9:25:53 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

TR, did you get it???

I’m on Central time so I still have 32 minutes lol

Update: I did not get it. I’ve gone the last two years to this site so I guess it’s whatever lol I was logged in in time and I clicked the sign up button immediately, but I’ve just had a spinning circle waiting for the sign-up to pop up and I went in in a different window and I can see that the site is already full.

[sadlebred]

My older ebike seems haunted. Neither the bike shop nor the manufacturer seem to know what's wrong with it (it's an electrical problem, which we know). I'm so sad. I don't want to lose this bike....but I have limits on what I can fix right now with no job.

[lavenderblue]

I got my gallbladder out in 2015 and ever since then (almost NINE years) I get these random "attacks" in my stomach. I have had all kinds of tests done and they cannot figure out what they are. Most of the time they occur over night or very early in the morning. They come in waves. I'll go months without one then get several in a cluster over a couple week period. Sometimes they are uncomfortable, other times absolutely debilitating. I've had two so far this week. The one this morning had my up at 5am so I bagged driving in to the office today so I could sit with a heating pad. It's so frustrating to have something that has been effecting me for so long with absolutely zero answers as to what is causing it.

[shauni27]

TR, bummer!! What did you sign up for instead?

sadlebred, that is so frustrating. I am sorry.

lavenderblue it is wild how many times our bodies do things that cause us so much pain and anguish and yet modern medicine still cannot determine the issue.

[rubytue]

My friend and I do crafty fridays on the fridays I have off, which this Friday is one. We were chatting about some organizing that needs to be done in there. And then, it became “ok, I’m on my way”. Ummm, I thought we were talking about what we were going to do tomorrow. But dude, if you want to come over and clean and organize while I work, I’m down for it. 🤣🤣🤣. They use my craft room a lot, too. Sometimes even when I’m not around.

[gretchenindisguise]

I had an 8am dentist appointment. Why do I hate myself?

They told me I need ANOTHER crown. I'm so annoyed.

[holly116]

I just got cleared to go to a conference in San Diego next month and not only is the block full, but the hotel is entirely sold out.

I hate going to conferences and then having to shuttle in. I should have been on the list to attend this one all along since the subject is the entirely of the project I've been spearheading for the last year, so I'm salty that my attendance was a literal afterthought and now I can't even stay at the hotel.

Anyone have a preferred place in San Diego I should stay? The conference is at Manchester Grand Hyatt so I'd like to be within walking distance.

[TR]

Sept 12, 2024 10:58:32 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

TR, bummer!! What did you sign up for instead?

sadlebred, that is so frustrating. I am sorry.

lavenderblue it is wild how many times our bodies do things that cause us so much pain and anguish and yet modern medicine still cannot determine the issue.

I’ll probably just do something virtual where you, like, assemble gift bags for seniors at home or something. All of the outdoor stuff goes quickly and selfishly we have a trip that weekend so I’d like to avoid indoor, close contact activities that week.

[Susie]

I had been doing ok, but I am freaking out.  Our district's middle and high schools have received 3 telephone threats of gun violence from Tues to Wed night.  Last night there was a lockdown at the high school and the neighboring elementary around 4:30-6:15 due to a specific threat.  Late last night there was a 3rd threat for the MS & HS today.  

I was doing ok, my kids' elementary is physically away from the MS and HS, and it has not been threatened.  The police are assigned to all the schools.  It seems like a mix of parents sending and not sending their kids.

Then today at 12:00 they cancelled tonight's elementary open house.

At 12:30 they cancelled after school activities district wide, and cancelled elementary level after school care.  That's generally a pretty big deal because it's such a cluster to contact each family to get instructions re: whether they should hold the child for pickup (way earlier than usual) or send home on a bus route.

No idea what prompted these changes.  When they CAN make these calls before school they do, because parents can, you know, give their 5 year old a heads up that the afternoon will unfold totally differently than usual.  Not knowing is terrible.  Tonight will be 48 hours since the first threat and still no suspect, no arrest, no indication that they know where these calls are coming from.