I Want the Money, Not the Job.

My mother was involved in hiring a part-time employee whose work schedule was Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, evenings only (4 pm to 9 pm). There were many applicants for the job and the person who was selected for the position was thrilled: as a college student, the job would not interfere with his class schedule, the pay was acceptable, and the working conditions excellent.

Two months after beginning the job, the new employee sued the city (the employer) for discrimination because he was "stuck" working weekends and evenings, while other employees got to work either days and/or weekdays. It was "unfair" that he had to give up his weekends to work, while other employees didn't. He won his case in spite of the fact that the hiring notice, the application, and the interview process all verified that it was clearly specified this position was for a part-time employee who would only work Th-Sunday 4 - 9 pm. It wasn't long after the court's decision that my mother retired, unable either to understand or to accept that the employee could win such a case.

Over a week ago, I talked to a former student about staying in my home while I’m gone during July to take care of my dog and water my plants. I talked about the days I would be gone (20), how she didn’t need to stay at the house 24/7, but I would want her to stay in the house every night I was away. I told her I have an alarm system, as well as a fenced yard, a vigilant dog, and a neighbor who keeps an eye on things, but I want someone to stay in my house with my dog while I’m gone. She was thrilled at the possibility of the job, but I cautioned her to talk to her parents to see if they would agree to this arrangement because it would be their decision to make.

When she called back to say she was interested, I again discussed the details and asked her to come to the house to see if she would feel comfortable staying here. We made an appointment for today, and I drove back from helping son pack to meet with her. Her (older) brother came with her and we went through the entire scenario. I again asked if her parents are supportive of this job offer, and both she and her brother enthusiastically said, “Yes.” I reminded her that because she’s a minor (17), her parents would basically be in charge while I was gone. I had already talked to her mom briefly last week and asked her if it was going to be okay for her daughter to house and dog sit for me, and her mother told me it would be fine.

Today, we discussed duties (take care of the dog, water the plants, walk to the PO and pick up my mail), the price (1/2 at the start of the job; 1/2 when I returned), and my expectation that she would be here every night, but could work, go to summer school, hang out with her friends, whatever, during the day. I told her that Mia's used to being alone during the day, but not at night, so that's why I am hiring someone to stay with her. Yes, she could have family or friends stay with her; no, she didn’t need to be here all the time, but I want her to be here every night. She and her brother loved Mia, and Mia returned their feelings, licking the brother's face from top to bottom and side to side, a sure sign that Mia found the guy okay.

Thus, enthusiastic agreement and the deal is struck.

An hour ago, she called to tell me that her mother is concerned about her staying nights at my house, so she wants to know if she’s here during the day, like every afternoon, but didn’t spend the nights – would that be okay? The answer to that question is “NO!” I want someone to be here with Mia as much as possible while I’m gone, but most especially each night, and that was the only requirement for accepting the job: take care of my dog. Her brother can stay with her Sat-Sun (4 of the days I’m gone) and her mom could stay with her a couple of the days (maybe another 3-4), which means that about 2/3 of the time I'm gone, Mia would be left alone.

She sounded really disappointed when I told her I don’t think that’s going to work, especially at the price I am willing to pay to have someone here most or all of the time, not some of the time. I told her I’ll think about it, but I can’t see how being here for a couple of hours each afternoon is going to meet Mia's needs.

Back to square one.

There’s a lot of that going around these days, especially when I either ask a friend for a favor or try to hire someone to do a job for me. I finally realize how valuable my services have been to friends whose dogs I’ve kept literally for days/weeks/months when there’s been a need. I finally realize how frustrating it is not to know people who will return in kind that which I have offered freely so many times in the past. I finally realize that I’m sorry I’ve paid for a ticket to take a vacation with my grandson when my first responsibility is to my dog, because when I can’t make sure my dog is cared for, I really cannot leave my home.

This sucks. I’m pissed and I’m going to stay pissy until I feel like letting go of yet another disappointment in what is becoming a very long line of disappointments.

Windy Point

Sustained winds of 50 mph are blasting through the pass and right down I-10. Visibility is pretty much zero, major roads are closed, and all motorists are being warned to stay off the roads. There's a hazmat spill down-valley and the news teams covering it are on one side of the road, cameras pointing to the string of emergency vehicles working the scene, none of which can be seen through the blowing sand between the two crews.

We're being told the dangerous winds should die down by 3 am, which will be nice because if you live on one side of I-10 and work on the other, you actually cannot cross the freeway either to get to work or to return home.

The good news is that the steel water heater shed next door has been rebuilt with wood and a cute little brick roof to add some weight and keep the shelter there when the winds blow. After a full 6 months of listening to that racket, the absence of noise is sweet music to my ears.

ADDENDUM

No sooner had I hit the publish post button than a series of little power outages occurred, so I shut down my computer until it seemed safe to reboot. We've also been enjoying the constant movement of the quake faults, a common occurrence in the desert when the temps shift from the chill of winter to the sudden soaring high temps of summer. It settles out after a few weeks, but this year is taking longer to do so as the temps have been all over the board. I can go outside any time of the day or night and not be instantly burned by the blazing sun or flash frozen by the rapid evening drops in temp, a situation that is not common in the desert.

Sell the Concept: Product Sucks!

Along with every other citizen of the United States, I received a coupon for a free Southern chicken sandwich from McDonald's. On my way back from a quick trip up the hill, I realized I was getting headachy and knew I hadn't eaten for more than 4 hours, so I found the drive-through line and ordered my free sandwich.

It is worth every penny of "free," but not much else.

The "sandwich" is a hamburger bun, plain, with a large fried chicken slab and a pickle slice. Yes, that's it. The chicken slab is tasty, as fried chicken slabs go, but the sandwich leaves a lot to desire! Bombarded by the latest ad campaign, I had expectations of ... a sandwich, perhaps with lettuce, tomato and sauce, not a dry bun with a slab of deep-fried chicken on it.

Perhaps the hoopla is attributed to the pickle slice? Is THAT what makes this taste treat a "Southern" chicken sandwich, as compared to any and all other kinds of chicken sandwiches? Because there isn't anything else on the "sandwich" to recommend its purchase!

My guess is that this product will not remain on the menu for long as who wants to spend $3 to get this product when there are so many more attractive and tasty choices on the menu?

A Quiet Morning

It is so beautiful in the early morning and late evening in the desert, even though the days have warmed into triple digits. Today, I took my fresh oranges tossed with a vanilla yogurt outside to enjoy as the gentle breezes ruffled the leaves on all the plants I've included in the landscaping.

The butterfly bushes are popping with colorful purple blooms, but nary a butterfly in sight. The salvia is also showing little bursts of color, and even the hedge plants along the driveway are showing little dots of yellow here and there. It seems as though what I've accomplished may be firmly in place and ready to weather the extreme desert summer ahead. I am going to purchase a hummingbird feeder for the backyard as a friend who has one enjoys the energetic darting of the tiny birds most of the year.

Mike is supposed to come today to secure the doggie door, and I'm truly hoping he does. Mia sleeps in front of the opening most of the night, but she does come in and claim her couch, usually around 2 am, at which time I lock her in for the duration. I don't want to leave town knowing that my home is not ready to deter potential intruders, even though Mia makes quite a racket when/if anyone/thing comes to her perimeter.

I tried to glue together the craft project and it won't square up, lay flat, and make the frame I need before I do the painting. I'm irritated, but may have to find a Plan B. I wanted to take the finished frames with me cross-country, but that isn't going to happen on this trip.

Son and I worked a few hours yesterday, moving out the larger pieces of furniture that aren't going to move with him. He has many, many boxes left to fill, but is shredding and donating and dumping that which he no longer needs. We're going to tow a trailer, but the size of the trailer depends on the amount of household goods that are moving, so he's trying to pare down what he can, a difficult task at best.

I'm going to make a batch of cookies for the freezer and will take those along with us as we drive from the Pacific to the Atlantic. There are few things in life that aren't improved with a home-baked cookie or three.

The Birthday Begins

Thank God MSN didn't forget that today is my special day: I received the birthday greeting from the MSN team when I checked my mail this morning. Talk about warming my heart: it doesn't get much better than this.

My daughter-in-law sent a card that arrived yesterday. I opened it when my friends dropped me off on their way home from our trip to the shore and we all 3 enjoyed a big laugh. The caption reads: "Good news! Paople are living longer than ever!" The zinger inside concludes, "Bad news -- we don't get to choose which people." I've known all along that I like my new family member, but it's equally great that I like her sense of humor.

What a wonderful day at the shore yesterday! My, but it was bright and sunny, the temps just into the 70s, so it was cool and inviting. We ate our lunch outside at a Mediterranean-themed restaurant, sitting on a patio with a wonderful ocean view. Then we wandered to the shoreline and occupied a couple of benches while we talked, and talked, and talked. The time seemed to fly.

Suddenly, it came to us that we were feeling the sun on our sensitive (older) skin, and one friend said to me, "You are really red!" I replied in kind to her, but we had no idea just how RED we were until we stopped for a quick break about 1/2 hour from my house to water the horses and get a bite to eat. Lobster red: both of us. Really, really red lobster red.

During the night, I woke a couple of times to cool the burn on my arms and face and spread another layer of extreme moisturizing creme over the burn. Experience has taught me the value of keeping the skin pliable and moist when it's badly burned as that seems to quicken the healing process and lessen the amount of skin that's going to peel. And it will peel.

The 3 of us who shared lunch in LaJolla talked about days gone by, people gone by, and careers gone by. I had a moment when we were sitting on the bench and sharing our lives that took me back to 1996-97, when our friendship was threatened by another friend who then became our boss in a work situation. While our friendship had seemed strong prior to working together, it was doomed when our relationship became part of our workplace. One of the women needed to have absolute positional and personal power over the others, but that's not how friendship works. We lost our working relationship, as well as our friendship, as the situation became intolerable when she expanded her reign of terror to include the other staff, not just her friends.

She was determined to win at all costs, and she did win -- in her perception. I've always thought of her as the biggest loser, but that's just my perception. She made it quite clear during the reign of terror that her perception was not just her reality, but everyone else's reality, and when that came to pass there was no turning back for any of us.

Isn't it funny that the rest of us are still friends who continue that friendship, while the one who needed the positional and personal power to define who she is lost both her power and her friends? I hope it was worth it in her life, as it changed forever both my life and the other friend she targeted along with me. Both of us survived, moved on and changed our lives to accommodate that which we could not change or tolerate in the other circumstance. That was just the way it had to be: not better, not worse, just different.

Enough of this reminiscing! I'm off to scarf the free birthday b'fast and see what I can do to help son! Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me ...