Should have stayed in bed....

My day started out with the realization that it was 7:00am and I was STILL in bed. Our alarm goes off at 6:20. I am generally meticulous about making sure the alarm is set before I go to bed. Apparently, having my husband out of town, and lots of chaos going on makes me forget things. God, I hate being late, too. If I am anything at all, it is punctual. I like schedules, and sticking to them. I am always put off, even slightly angered by people who breeze along, taking their time, and thinking its OK to be somewhere in the general time frame of a set meeting time. No, its NOT ok. If the time to be there is 8am, then BE there at 8am. If you know you can't or won't or have no inclination to be on time, then put that out there for people to know. Say, for instance, lets meet at 8-ish...But I digress into one of my pet peeves.

Today I was the late one, and that makes me crazy. I actually even considered calling in sick when I saw I had overslept. But then I have to be honest and confess that I think about that pretty much every single day that I wake up and think about going to work. My first thought is "Ugh!". My second thought is that with just a quick phone call I can make it go away....LOL.

So, I get to work a little late (maybe 15 minutes, but without coffee or breakfast, double ugh). The first thing I see is that the mail volume is really heavy, stuff is piled up everywhere and its just going to be one of those days. The second thing I see is one of our supervisors chewing out MY sub. You know I got a new sub a couple of months ago...she struggled, and still struggles a little bit but she IS going to make it. I wasn't so sure at first, but now I think she will be ok. If our management could stop picking on her. She's a little shy, nervous, and has a way of giggling if she is not sure about what is going on. I overheard just enough of the conversation....the supervisor was yelling at her for coming in to work just to see if they needed her. ??? She has picked up days that way...like if somebody calls in (like I almost did), then they have her there to cover it. I don't understand why you would want to yell at somebody for being...well...industrious and trying to work. Most of our subs sit at home and refuse to answer the phone. She has bailed them out of a bind on several occasions because she was there, just waiting to make sure everybody showed up. I can't even tell you how angry I got.

Anyway, because this scene was taking place in the middle of everything I walked away. But a few minutes later, I couldn't stand it. My sub had left, probably upset from being yelled at, but I don't know because I didn't get a chance to speak to her. I ended up getting into it with the supervisor over the whole incident. One thing I have figured out about this one particular supervisor, she is one big bad nasty bully....until you stand up to her and then she backs down. When I told her I didn't appreciate her verbally abusing my sub, she started to lay into me. She started with this "Its none of your business when I talk to one of the other employees". I told her I was making it my business if I thought it was someone who might not know the ropes yet, or understand her rights or how to protect herself.
It got ugly. There was yelling. But somehow I managed to stay clear-headed and concise and didn't lose my temper to the point of not being able to see straight.
By the end, with the whole office watching us, she was blubbering about how hard it was to be her, and how everybody blamed everything on her, and how everybody hated her. I said in all brutal honesty that the office was a laid-back pleasant place to be (well, more pleasant, not amazing pleasant) when she was NOT there. It is the truth. Nothing I said was untrue. Somehow we called a truce. Life went on. I got several congratulations from people who overheard us for "saying the truth loud and proud". (I also got a "tell it sister" too which almost made me laugh). By then I was almost an hour late with doing my actual job, but at least now she knows that she can't get away with treating my sub like a dog. I know her style. It will be a while before she tries that sh*t again. She will eventually, but not right away. Why do some people feel like they can get away with picking on the meeker ones who can't or won't get into a confrontation?

So anyway, I am home again finally, and it feels so good. Stephen and Hannia are most likely going to be arriving with all their stuff in a gigantic rental truck sometime tomorrow evening. Her parents might stay the night with us too. I really need to run to the grocery store, but not today. I have had enough for this one day.
I think I am just going to go take a nap and sleep off the bad vibes. I just hope to God I can remember to set that alarm tonight. I really don't want another day to start off like that again.

Oh, and also, Erica heard back from York. They would like her to start sometime around Dec. 1. Damn it I was really hoping it would be after Christmas but I guess not. The date is not set in stone, but the only reason it might would change is if her visa takes longer than usual to get. Everything is apparently completely dependent on the visa, so....can I bribe somebody in that office to "lose" it until after New Years? LOL....But anyway, having an actual date set Erica's mind at ease that the University hadn't suddenly changed its mind. She really really is going to live in England for reals. :)

My head is spinning

I haven't forgotten my blog, but I've been so overwhelmed these past few weeks. First of all, Bruce's Dad has been awfully sick and in Duke Hospital for almost a month now. I won't even go in to all the details, but it has taken a very long time to finally get a diagnosis. And even now...we don't have a firm diagnosis. The Dr.s THINK he has a type of neuroendocrine cancer. But all the tests seem to be inconclusive. He just had another biopsy today, which will require waiting until at least Thursday. And that is something I just don't understand....why does it take so long to get results? Obviously I don't know the lab procedures....but damn it, people are sick, families are anxious...seems like it could be done in a quicker way. But what do I know? Anyway, Bruce, Jeanne and Greg have all been trying to schedule it so that at least one of them can be there every day to follow what the Dr.s are saying. Barb has been there pretty much the whole time. It hasn't been easy for any of us, but its necessary. We hope Dad can get his strength back and start feeling better soon. There is still a long way to go but we are all feeling optimistic.

And while Dad is stuck in the hospital, Erica was offered a job, a post doc position at York University in Yorkshire England. She accepted it and is now waiting on the paperwork to make it officially official. Its been less than a week, but she hasn't heard anything in a couple of days and is feeling uneasy that somehow the opportunity will be ripped away from her. I doubt that. But she won't be comfortable until documents are signed. I am both thrilled and devastated. Well, devastated is probably too strong of a word, because I will be fine. Just like every other time the kids have left...for college, for grad school...I was really sad for a while but then managed to adjust. And the fact that I will get to plan visits, AND the fact that this has a 3 year limit will all help make it easier for me. I just need to figure out things like the best way to make international calls, and if we can still text, and those kinds of things. Apparently we can use skype on our computers for free, but it looks like skype-international for mobile phones has some kind of monthly fee. And maybe I am misunderstanding it, but it seemed like I could use skype only to call a UK landline, which I am fairly sure my daughter won't want to have. So, yeah....gotta get myself informed about all the options. If anybody has any suggestions as to the best ways to stay connected internationally, by all means, lay it on me.

And as if all of this wasn't enough to have going on, Stephen and Hannia are moving back to NC THIS weekend. They have been trying to find a subletter for their place in Lafayette. They finally found a good fit, but the guy needs it right away. Like Saturday right away because he is starting a new job there on Monday. Somehow, they are going to pack up their whole entire house in 3 days, get it loaded on a truck and move it all here to our house. It seems like a tremendous feat to accomplish, but the truth is that it makes me really happy. I wasn't thrilled with Indiana, and they REALLY weren't thrilled with it either. They will be here until they can find the right place for them in Durham...or Raleigh...or Chapel Hill. But it will be someplace in that area for sure. And when they move there, I won't even have to be sad because its close enough that we can drive there in about 2 hours. Hopefully the whole move will be smooth and easy. Well, it won't be exactly easy, packing, moving and driving 14 hours...but smooth and uneventful is more like it. Hannia's parents are flying up to help them and drive the rental truck so the kids can get both of their cars home at the same time.

So, say a prayer for us if you can spare it. A prayer for Dad's recovery, for Erica's new start in England and for safe travels for Stephen and Hannia. Its all going to be just fine. I know that. It is just a lot to take in all at one time.