I Won't Be Watching the Super Bowl

...this Sunday.

Not because I don't like sports. Nothing of the sort. In fact, I enjoy sports. I'll even go so far as to say that I love sports.

I developed a love for sports when I was young lass in my native Jamaica. That's in the West Indies, in case you were wondering. I used to play jump rope, hop scotch, baseball, what you Americans call punch ball, I believe.

So what's up with your football? I'm sure you're fed up with non Americans making snide comments about the fact that you Americans call a game where you don't hardly kick the ball, football and a game that you DO kick the ball A LOT, soccer. What's up with that?? Anyway that's all I'm going to say about that right now. I love both sports, whatever you choose to call them so you'll get no argument from me.

But that's not why I'm not watching the Super Bowl on Sunday. I'm not going to be watching the Super Bowl on Sunday because none of the teams that I would normally root for is playing. The way it stands now, I wouldn't know who to root for.

I have to have some stake in the game in order for it to hold my interest. So the next time the New York Giants or the New York Jets...what's up with them still being called the New York Giants and the New York Jets when neither team has played in New York in about 2 decades? Don't get me started on that!!!

As I was saying, the next time one of my teams, and please add the Dallas Cowboys from my adopted state to that list, you won't be able to pry me away from in front of the TV.

Well let me qualify that. If some kind sir gallantly offers me 2 tickets on the 50 yard line and an all expenses paid trip to wherever the game is being played I'll gladly give up my spot in front of the TV! I'll even hand you the remote.

What Part of “You’ve Got the Wrong Number” do you NOT understand?

This woman keeps calling me on my cell phone asking for someone that’s NOT me. And I keep telling her that she’s got the wrong number but yet she keeps calling.

Now she done made me mad as this has been going on for several weeks now. I’m thinking to say, “Woman, what part of ‘You’ve Got the Wrong Number’ do you NOT understand? No matter HOW many times you call this number, I’m still going to tell you the same thing. You’ve got the WRONG number. No matter how many times you call this number, you’re always going to get ME. It ain’t gonna change. I’m the ONLY ONE who uses THIS PHONE NUMBER. So QUIT calling it. Much more of this and I’m going to have to REPORT YOU. See, I’ve got YOUR number.”

I'm Having Trouble Getting Over This

The outcome of my court case is still stuck in my craw. I keep replaying it in my mind. How could it have gone differently?

Bottom line is the judge is/was not current in his knowledge of the labor laws. I wouldn't be surprised if he had never heard of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Or the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor. Or the Department of Labor's FairPay Overtime Initiative.

Yup. I probably wouldn't be surprised.

One thing he asked me during this horrible fiasco was if my former "employer" ever told me that he would pay me for overtime when we agreed on the pay. I said "No."

But then later I thought, none of the employers I've worked for had ever told me that they would pay me overtime.

For instance, when I originally got hired at the hospital it was on an as needed basis, however when I happen to work over 40 hours in a single week they automatically paid me overtime.

So I'm thinking, based on this judge's reasoning, a person who agreed to accept a job to work 40 hours per week would not be entitled to be paid for overtime if he happened to work 41 hours one week. Better still I could give him an hypothetical with his bailiff as the example. I could say something to the effect of, "Did you tell your bailiff when you hired him that you would pay him overtime? Well, do you pay him for overtime when he works over 40 hours in any given week?"

I have 10 days in order to file for an appeal of this judge's decision. I'll be filing my appeal on Monday, which is the 6th day.

I dutifully got back onto the Department of Labor's website and found a piece of information that will no doubt be of interest to this judge.

I'll show him!

I Like My Job At the Hospital

...only drawback, I don't get enough hours to make a decent living. Working on that.

Anyway, but some of the people who call in are down right idiots.

I'm the receptionist so I know this first hand.

This person with call and ask, "Is Willie there?" Willie who? And I want to add. There are 253 employees working here. Do you expect me to know each and everyone of them personally and by name when I only work here part time AT nights????

But I calmly say....is that an employee or a patient? What department do they work in? Yes, it would make life easier if you knew what department they worked in. Thank you. I don't have a listing for that person. Goodbye.

Someone else will call and ask for Tracy. I'm like, which Tracy. I happen to know of at least 3 Tracys. Do you have a last name? No. Then do you know what department they work in. No. I could go on and on.

Then there's the woman who called wanting to talk to a director. Which one? I ask sweetly. Don't you have a director there? Yes, I say. We have several. She then explained that she wanted to talk to the director who would handle matters if something was stolen from her relative's room while they were at our hospital.

I find someone to speak to her. Not easy with it being AFTER HOURS and all. While the person is talking with her one of her family members yells out to her that THEY had the equipment.

I forgot to ask if she apologized. I somehow doubt it.

Can you tell that I'm in a grippy mood?

But overall. I don't have many complaints about my job. Like I said, I wish I had more hours.

The patients and family members are 99 percent loveable. It breaks my heart though when you find out that their loved one is nearing the end. That really hurts, especially when the patient has been in the hospital a long time and you have gotten to know their family.

Now that's the hardest.

Dismissed without Prejudice...

.....and that all costs herein incurred be taxed against the plaintiff.

Huh??? What the he double hockey sticks does that mean?

Well is it with prejudice or without prejudice?

So if it is without prejudice, why the cost to the plaintiff?

This from a judge who obviously is not up to snuff on the current labor laws.

And that's all I'm going to say about that.

I Think I May Be Going Crazy

What part of “What are you doing on Wednesday” don’t you understand?

I was scheduled for a court proceeding on Wednesday the 24th. (see my post number 1) I wanted some moral support so I thought I’d call a friend to see if she would go with me. With me so far? Well on Monday night I called her and I opened the conversation with “What are you doing on Wednesday?” She said, “working.” She works as an LVN at the hospital where I work and also does home health care on her days off. So I asked, “at the hospital" She said, “no,” she would be doing her home health care. And she could probably squeeze me in after her morning clients. The court time was for 11:00am.

So I told her why I had asked her that question. At the end of the conversation she told me to remind her. I told her that I would call her the day of the event. So that morning I called her to remind her. She said she was at work at the hospital and that she thought that the court date was on Thursday. I’m like “duh” and I went through the conversation we had.

Now I’m thinking, “am I speaking a different language from every one else?" When I talk to people do they only hear, “bla bla bla bla bla bla bla.” I wonder if I’m I’m just an alien from another planet and I haven’t learned the language yet?

This has happened before with this same friend. I wanted her to perm my hair. So I called her and asked her when was her next day off and does she feel like doing my hair for me? She said Thursday and yes. I said that’s good but I have a doctor’s appointment in the morning, could she do it in the afternoon. Fine. We discussed the fact that I would call her if I was running late. So I call her before I left for my appointment and she said, I’m at the hospital. Picture me slapping my face in disbelief.

Now I’m thinking that I should just stop speaking to people altogether. And I’m not just saying that because of just those 2 incidents. It has happened before.

I’m also thinking of having myself checked. What kind of doctor would I have to go to do you think?

Am I the only one this is happening to? And I’m not that old either. It’s too early for me to be going through a mid-life crisis.

No. I'm NOT OK

The other day it seemed as if EVERYONE at the job was concerned with how I was doing. Does it seem that you become more sensitive to these “how are yous” when you’re in a lousy mood?

One co-worker commented that I was normally upbeat and happy when in response to her query I stated that “I was here”.

What the devil does that mean anyway? Why do people say that?

Back to the co-worker. My reply to her was that I am usually really good at hiding my true feelings.

So hello all. I’m not alright, darn it! I want to be home in my bed curled up under the covers only to get out until I’m darn good and ready! If ever.

I’m tired of agreeing with people when something “good” happens and they suggest that it was “such a blessing.” Inwardly I’m thinking, “no I don’t think so actually.” But outwardly I put on a big ‘ole smile and nod my head in agreement. Oh. Yes it really was. Huge grin. OK can I stop smiling now. My face is starting to crack.

I’m human. Life stinks for me right now so I just want want to have a pity party. Come or not. It's your choice. I may never end this one. We'll just have to see.

10 Most Stolen Vehicles In Texas

Did you know that leaving your car keys in the ignition is against the law? I didn’t either. But leaving your car keys in the ignition is not only against the law it is also very foolish.

Case in point. I am the evening receptionist at a hospital. I will refrain from mentioning the name of the hospital. I don’t want to be like that guy who got fired from Microsoft. Although a little publicity couldn’t hurt.

Anyway as I was saying, this evening at work the security guard told me that some young opportunist had stolen a 2005 GMC Sierra pickup and drove it into the hospital parking lot. He parked, got out and was ready to be on his way when the guard stopped him when he noticed that he was heading for the street and not going inside the hospital. He took off like a bat out of hell taking the car keys with him. Apparently his plan was to lay low until the coast was clear.

It turned out that the unsuspecting vehicle owner had gotten out of the vehicle at the service station just up the block from the hospital leaving his key in the ignition. Had he listened to the news the night before he would have known that his GMC Pickup was the number 7 most stolen vehicle in Texas.

I bet he won’t be making THAT mistake again!!

Any Job Will Do...As Long As It Pays the Rent

I have not had a full time job since February 13, 1998. How do you remember that exact date you may ask? Well I’m glad you did. I remember because it was the day I was supposed to fly to Florida for my cousin’s Valentine’s Day wedding the next day. I was laid off a couple of hours before I was to leave for the airport.

Since that faithful Friday the 13th, I have not worked another permanent full time job. That was not entirely by choice however. You must understand that it was not the first time or even the second time that I’d been laid off and to be honest, it was starting to hurt my feelings. I was beginning to think that I was a jinx or something.

Any who, I was lucky enough to get a few long term temporary assignments through temporary agencies. Word to the wise, don’t EVER bash your agency on the survey they send you after an assignment ends, they're liable to drop you like a hot potato if you do. That’s what happened to me. I was angry with them for not calling me for assignments after one of my long term assignments had ended. I didn’t work for a while until the last assignment called me back. I even worked for Subways for a little. Think they'll send me something for mentioning them?? I'm not proud. I'd accept it.

So fast forward to 2004, I didn’t work for several months after that last assignment ended again. Then a friend who worked at a hospital told me of a position that she thought I may be interested in. What she didn’t know was that the position was PRN or as needed. Luckily they needed me a lot and I earned enough to keep some of the bill collectors at bay.

Then in 2005 I was asked to be the Nanny for a family with a bunch o'chilrens. I worked with the family for 14 months and I’m thinking of writing a book about that experience. I’m thinking of calling it “My 14 Months in Nanny Hell.”

Here we are in the year 2007 and I am thinking that I need to find that elusive job that will fulfill all my needs, money, enjoyment, bliss. The only problem is that I don’t know what that is...bliss, I mean if you were wondering.

I heard somewhere that the economy has gotten better and that there are more jobs available. Hmmmm...are they just not available to ME????

I wonder...........

You Live and Learn

The phrase "no good deed ever goes unpunished," keeps running through my mind.

For 14 looooooooong months I worked as a nanny. The pay was, lets just say that the pay wasn't all that good. In fact, I had to get a second job on the weekends.

The hours were long, and the kids were just sweet little darlings. Sarcasm intended. Don't get me wrong. I love children but, well you know.

And the working conditions, well we just won't go there. And the boss, well we probably shouldn't go there because my future or present boss may be reading this mild tirade.

As I said, I worked as a nanny to a family with, well maybe I should just say that they had a bunch of chilrens....You know, just in case someone reading knows me and so probably knows them. The mother had passed away. I won't say from what, which left a father with no clue as to how to deal with all 'em chilrens.

I submitted my resignation but before my notice period ended he fired me because of the one day in the 14 months I worked for him I called in to say that I couldn't make it to work.

So I did some research and found out that by law I was entitled to be paid at least the minimum wage per hour for hours worked up to and including 40 hours per week plus overtime pay at 1.5 times the rate for hours worked over 40.

But the law or one particular judge turned on me. He said that what I agreed to was only what I was entitled to.

He asked me if the employer had ever told me that he would pay me for overtime hours worked. I said, "No." It was much later that it dawned on me that NO employer told you that they would pay you for overtime hours worked. It was just understood. If you did. They did.
I wish I had thought of it sooner.

You live. You learn.