From my old blog (chairmanofthedog)
Last week was my birthday. While not an especially meaningful number, it turned out to be a nice, slow roll into the next year.
The biggest "moment" of the celebration was my Day of Beauty.
I have a yearly ritual that I feel sure my mom knows to expect. Every year around my sister-in-law's birthday I ask what she is getting. My mom always has a great gift which has been wrapped, shipped and confirmed long before the actual day. As a sort of torture device/attention getting tactic I then ask my mom if she has my gift. Every year there is a silence on the other end of the phone. Oh, yeah, what will I get my daughter? Hm...
Having learned from one year where "you get what you ask for" and hadn't asked for anything, I told her I wanted a Day of Beauty.
A month later, with cash in hand (we live in different cities and my mom knows I am way too practical to be bothered by the fact that, in the end, I got an envelope of cash rather than a well thought out gift) I made my reservation for a "European Day Spa". I had convinced my friend to join me, having recently secured the promise of an offer for a job, reason enough we both agreed. We booked the "Day Together" package at the local "European Day Spa".
When I thought of a "European Day Spa" I hadn't thought it would be an "East European" experience.
While my manicure has lasted longer than ever, I had the distict impression that the older russian lady doing it hadn't had access to the disposible culture of America when she learned how to file and paint. She used the same 1x1in square of cotton for the entire manicure. She used toilet paper to separate my toes, which worked rather well, but she counted the squares before tearing it off.
The massage was fine, but the ambiance was lost when I was lead out the back of the building across the parking lot to the other building.
Lunch was served in a cute little room with ivy on the walls and a glass top table. It didn't occur to me until I was half way through my salad that this was the room I had walked through to get my massage until someone else was escorted through.
Finally, the facial was the only disappointing procedure. Perhaps the feeling of an asthma attack when they put that steam right into your face that ruins it for me.
In the end, as my friend said "we got what we paid for". We wanted a day of beauty, but since neither of us had the cash for the super-luxe salons, we indeed, got what we paid for.
5:23 PM
Wednesday, July 9, 2003
Friday, June 27, 2003
Chairman of the Dog
(From my other blog, chairmanofthedog)
Now I know what my boss felt like when he laid me off.
"It's not you, it's that the company is going bankrupt, we have to let some people go before it implodes!".
Now I know what it feels like to know that you are going to fire someone, yet they don't know.
Are you nicer to them? Do you treat them meanly so the separation won't be such a shock? Everything you do in those last few weeks will be analyzed for clues of "did they know?" It is a terrible situation on both sides.
Now I know, because I had to let my dog go... I am Chairman of the Dog.
Lucy had the unfortunate timing of being hired on right before the crash in our company called The Family. Stocks were riding high, there was huge potential for growth. Both CEO's were increasing the value of the company. There was time for work (sleep during the day) and play (all the attention Lucy wanted after work). It was a great work environment, 1 square a day, a deck to lie on, a yard to run in, everything a dog employee could want, plus options!
Then everything started to change.
The Chairmen started to focus their attention other things. There wasn't time for Lucy anymore as curtains were made for a new hire to the company. "Pat" (baby to be named J. later) was expected to make a big splash in the company. Lucy was old news.
Unfortunately, there was competition for affections even before "the rookie" announced his intentions to join the company. Maggie, the older employee who had initially shown Lucy the ropes, was starting to butt in on attention getting sessions that Lucy enjoyed. There began a series of retaliations between them, until any time inside was a big wrestling session and they were both reprimanded (and thrown out).
The Rookie was another blow to Lucy's postion. This kid had the nerve to not only demand attention all day, but ALL NIGHT too! And not once was there a "hush" sent his way. It was as if he were different, better somehow.
Then came the time that the Board decided that something had to give. There were just too many employees. Unfortunately for Maggie and Lucy, the Rookie, or "golden child" as they began to call him , was never on the chopping block. There was some grumbling about "second class citizens", which, in retrospect was totally true. Was it Maggie or Lucy who had to go? Through no real sense of logic, we chose to go with the dog with more tenure. Lucy was fired. But, she didn't know it yet...
For months we asked our friends if they needed to add someone to their company. Eventually, a friend's parents offered to take Lucy on. There was some discussion of "trial periods" etc, but as J. was taking more and more time in his "training period", it was best if we found Lucy a permanent position. Eventually, our friend's parents agreed to take Lucy. After they took a trip. For a month.
So now you see my position. I know Lucy is going, Lucy is totally clueless. I tell myself she will be better off in her new postion, but I know I am just trying to make myself feel better. So I start to give her extra treats. I give her extra pats on the head. I even give her an extra scoop of kibble some days.
Happily, I can honestly say that she got the better end of the bargain. If Lucy had email, she would be telling Maggie how she gets to eat as much as she wants all day with a big bowl of food constantly full (and 20 extra lbs to show for it...). She has a new friend that she gets to be the big sister to, there is both a swimming pool AND a stream to swim in, cows to chase, a vineyard to guard, and, Dennis the Menace style, an ornery old neighbor to avoid.
Maggie got shafted, but she's finally vested those options.
Now I know what my boss felt like when he laid me off.
"It's not you, it's that the company is going bankrupt, we have to let some people go before it implodes!".
Now I know what it feels like to know that you are going to fire someone, yet they don't know.
Are you nicer to them? Do you treat them meanly so the separation won't be such a shock? Everything you do in those last few weeks will be analyzed for clues of "did they know?" It is a terrible situation on both sides.
Now I know, because I had to let my dog go... I am Chairman of the Dog.
Lucy had the unfortunate timing of being hired on right before the crash in our company called The Family. Stocks were riding high, there was huge potential for growth. Both CEO's were increasing the value of the company. There was time for work (sleep during the day) and play (all the attention Lucy wanted after work). It was a great work environment, 1 square a day, a deck to lie on, a yard to run in, everything a dog employee could want, plus options!
Then everything started to change.
The Chairmen started to focus their attention other things. There wasn't time for Lucy anymore as curtains were made for a new hire to the company. "Pat" (baby to be named J. later) was expected to make a big splash in the company. Lucy was old news.
Unfortunately, there was competition for affections even before "the rookie" announced his intentions to join the company. Maggie, the older employee who had initially shown Lucy the ropes, was starting to butt in on attention getting sessions that Lucy enjoyed. There began a series of retaliations between them, until any time inside was a big wrestling session and they were both reprimanded (and thrown out).
The Rookie was another blow to Lucy's postion. This kid had the nerve to not only demand attention all day, but ALL NIGHT too! And not once was there a "hush" sent his way. It was as if he were different, better somehow.
Then came the time that the Board decided that something had to give. There were just too many employees. Unfortunately for Maggie and Lucy, the Rookie, or "golden child" as they began to call him , was never on the chopping block. There was some grumbling about "second class citizens", which, in retrospect was totally true. Was it Maggie or Lucy who had to go? Through no real sense of logic, we chose to go with the dog with more tenure. Lucy was fired. But, she didn't know it yet...
For months we asked our friends if they needed to add someone to their company. Eventually, a friend's parents offered to take Lucy on. There was some discussion of "trial periods" etc, but as J. was taking more and more time in his "training period", it was best if we found Lucy a permanent position. Eventually, our friend's parents agreed to take Lucy. After they took a trip. For a month.
So now you see my position. I know Lucy is going, Lucy is totally clueless. I tell myself she will be better off in her new postion, but I know I am just trying to make myself feel better. So I start to give her extra treats. I give her extra pats on the head. I even give her an extra scoop of kibble some days.
Happily, I can honestly say that she got the better end of the bargain. If Lucy had email, she would be telling Maggie how she gets to eat as much as she wants all day with a big bowl of food constantly full (and 20 extra lbs to show for it...). She has a new friend that she gets to be the big sister to, there is both a swimming pool AND a stream to swim in, cows to chase, a vineyard to guard, and, Dennis the Menace style, an ornery old neighbor to avoid.
Maggie got shafted, but she's finally vested those options.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
