Bread

 If it's Tuesday... then this must be my Sunday.  That means I get to go back to work tomorrow for a 6 day stretch.  Of course, after that, I have 2 off, then 3 on, and then 6 off as I head into another Staycation.  On September 4, my vacation gets reset with another 3 weeks.  And, of course, I'm going to be going full part-time.  That date has been set.  I tried informing HR and was told I needed to tell my manager (????).  I used to be in HR, and that's odd.  I got the distinct impression she didn't want to get involved.  (????)

And this morning I did wake up to the heavenly scent of baking bread.  I went back to that trustworthy Italian recipe I've been using.  No problems.  When I cleaned out the bread pan after the 'accident', I found baked bread around the top but gooey batter in the bottom.  Very sticky.

Am I like the only one wondering if Lindsey Graham is actually suffering from a breakthrough of the variant?  Supposedly, he has flu-like symptoms.  But we all know how much of  a liar he is.  And, if this is true, how many other Congressmen might he have infected.  As far as I know, there are only 2 who haven't been vaccinated.  I'm betting they're Republicans.  Good.  Maybe they'll get sick.

The Covid headlines coming from the deep south are not good, especially if you happen to be a Social Conservative.  I understand Tony Perkins blurted out some sort of inanity that natural immunity is better then the vaccine.  This means the only numbers he looks at are those in his bank account, otherwise he'd understand that many of those who have already died are Christian, some very devout.  History will define this man as a total failure.

Floppy Eared Dogs

Well, today is my... I guess you might want to say Friday, since I'm off tomorrow.  Of course I do get to work the next day, New Year's Eve (like I go to bed around 9:30 PM anyway), but then I have 3 days off in a row, which is the equivalent of a long weekend for a lot of you.
The HR position I did for almost 5 years opened at my store.  I did not apply, though a number of people did, two from the Flooring Department.  Neither got it.  One of them didn't want the job, the other, whom I'll call #2 did.  #2 is an older person who embellishes his work history.  He is a older and desperately trying to be important.  When I told this #2 they had announced the name of the applicant who got the job he said "(the store manager) had told him 'you were our best applicant until (so and so) threw her hat in the ring at the last minute.'"  Well, that's a lie.  #2 wasn't even in consideration... I know (ha ha) because, even though I am no longer a confidential person, people still confide in me.  There is going to be another supervisory position opening up in about 2-3 weeks and #2 thinks he's got a great shot at it.  He doesn't.  I do know who will get promoted.  Since I don't like #2 I would sincerely like to tell him he's going to crash and burn.  But I'm a nice guy, you know?  And I don't even need to tell management #2 is shit, they already know.
I saw where the TSA is going to change the breed of dogs they use from German Shepherds to a dog with 'floppy ears.'  Floppy eared dogs are less scary and come across as being much less aggressive.  This is true, I know, I have floppy eared dogs.

I don't know how other doctors work, but with the VA I always receive in the mail detailed information and diagnosis after every visit.  Yesterday I received the print out from my last visit, for my 'viral infection.'  The diagnosis:  Acute Viral Pharyngitis.  For those counting, this is day 12.  Just think, if it had been Strep they could have given me an antibiotic and everything would be cleared up by now.

Human Resources and a Business Decison

Well, it's another early morning.  If I worked a fixed schedule where early mornings were the norm it wouldn't bother me, but they're not.  I have one this week.  Today.  Next week I don't have any.  I do have 3 closings, they wouldn't bother me either if they, too, were the norm.  They're not.  And some times I get mid-shifts, but they don't always start at the same time.  Sometimes I start working at 0900, sometimes 1030, sometimes, like yesterday, I was there at 0800.  Yesterday I had an ' Onboarding.'  Store Managers were transferred back in February, and 'Onboardings' are done, several months after the transfer as way of seeing how lower management is adjusting.  They are always handled by a DHRM or an RHRM.  Yesterday we had a DHRM (District Human Resource Manager), and she did her job well.
Many people get confused with HR.  They believe those individuals are their to help associates, they hire, they fire, and deal with issues.  In reality they do more.  I know, I did HR for a while.  If you are in HR, you are a Company Man / Woman.  One of your main jobs is to manage associate opinions of the Company.  A good HR manager will guide associates and keep them on track and the associates won't even know it.  They'll regard HR as their friend.  They're regard HR as their friend... and that is never really the case.  They are there to enforce company policies.

Back when I worked for xpedx, the distribution subsidiary of International Paper, we had a RHRM named Dave G who was the worst.  I worked with him on a Peer Review Board and he was totally one dimensional.  Associates were nothing to him.  He seemed to enjoy saying, "this is a liability which needs to be taken care."  Yes, he said things like that.  When 37 jobs went to Krakow, Poland, he shrugged and said, "It's a business decision,"without understanding that people were losing their livelihoods.  He was being paid around $300 K a year, which is really good money, to hand you a plate of shit and say "just remember, it's only a business decision."  Isn't it amazing what money can buy?

Are you ready for some Karma?

Just about everybody has heard of Karma, not everybody gets a chance to experience it.  I have.  Four and a half years ago I had a nice, cushy accounting job with a company called xpedx (all lower case letters), the distribution subsidiary for International Paper.  On February 5, 2010 a north east region Buyer position was posted.  I applied, as did one other person.  On February 17, I and 34 others learned out jobs were being eliminated here in the United States, our work was to be handled by a team in Krakow, Poland.  On February 19 the job posting came down.  On February 23, 2010, a woman with a slight disability (she uses a cane) applied for the job.  Guess who got the job?  This was after I had been unofficially notified that I had the position.  The person who makes the ID badges called to tell me my new badge would be arriving Friday, the day the announcement was to be made official.  On Thursday, my day off, this woman filed a complaint with HR saying I'd made sexist comments to her.  They never detailed what it was I was supposed to have said except for one comment.  She claimed that I had said if she gets the job it's because she's pretty.  Looking at a severance date 5 months down the road and certain I was being screwed out of a job, I filed a complaint with International Paper.  An investigation was by the Regional HR as this woman started her new job.  Numerous witnesses were called into the office.  After two months a decision was made.  Management does not make mistakes.  She was going to keep the job.  I was going to be severed.  But things had changed.  I was told my severance date was going to stay the same, I just didn't have to report to the office anymore.  Oh, and the HR manager who'd accepted this woman's application, and also her complaint, suddenly retired two weeks later.

So, are you ready for some Karma?

On my last day at xpedx one of my friends asked if I was worried.  My response?  Nah.  I said if I don't get a job within 5 months then I might start to worry.  What I did do was go to France.  And I bought my first Boxer, Gertie, and worked my part-time cashier job at Home Depot.  Five months and 2 days after my last day at xpedx a new position was posted by the time clock.  The position was for an Associate Support Department Supervisor, which handles some of the HR responsibilities but isn't considered HR.  I applied.  Seven days later I had a new full-time position with a better salary then I'd been getting at xpedx.  

As for xpedx?  It not longer exists.  After years of outsourcing more and more positions, International Paper allowed it to merge with Unisource.  The combined company is now Veritec.  Stress levels in the old xpedx office are nearly unbearable.  They are all waiting for the ax to fall, even the woman who got the purchasing job.  You know what they say, "what goes around comes around."  And as for me?  My life is good.