And One More.

This one needed a post all its own. Oy.

Lulu's Birthday..

Yesterday was Lulu's birthday and GM&GF's 62nd wedding anniversary. In the morning we ate waffles with chocolate whipped cream, and called to wish GM&GF a happy anniversary. GM says that Lulu is still her favorite anniversary present ever!

The the present-opening commenced... Here is Lulu modeling her new coat (with thinsulate lining so she won't freeze this winter..)
Aaaand here she is with her new hair straightener (because she hates mine with a singleminded passion that defies description. So I want mine back. lol)
Here she is all ready to go out for dinner (this after we did the grocery shopping, picked up her cake, and went to Home Depot to buy s0me of the materials for her bedroom remodel..)

She looks very much like her mommy here..
Here's her cake.. yellow, her favorite.. but only on the outside. It's chocolate with strawberries on the inside!
The unit...

First Look at the New Car..

ANNOUNCEMENT

I has a new car.

:-D

Roundup

He looks good, doesn't he? Too bad I've been too sick to ride for the past two weeks..

Trigger is the prettiest horse ever. :-)
Here's Lulu, practicing her customer service skills..
What? I'm improving my home! YES. With POWER TOOLS.
Denver showin some luv..

Stripes are Good

Duckie has on his Clemson game day outfit..
Monster Head in profile
Duckie is quite proud of his white belly
He is rawthuh fabulous, isn't he?

Tomorrow's Epiphanies..

Ok, Here's the Deal (in a list, for easy perusing:

1) None of it matters anyway. None of the injustices, none of the BS. I have to play the game with the cards I have been dealt. If that includes some challenges I'd rather not have to deal with, well tough shit. That's how it works.

I have tended to hold on to the hurt, because that's all I really had that I was sure wasn't going away. I'm not stuck in that particular padded room anymore. It's time to stop behaving as if I am.

2) Things that have happened up to this point may make me mad as hell, but it doesn't do anyone any good to discuss it. No one can change it, and odds are most of them wouldn't if given the opportunity. What can I change? What I do going forward, and nothing else.

3) The only way to deal with the backbiting and rumor-mongering is to ignore it. The only way to rise above it is not to participate. If that means the climate in the office gets a little frosty for a while, well, the door has hinges for a reason. I don't have to be friendly.. I just have to get the job done. The best answer to a stupid statement is silence. And maybe a Look.

4) I'm not letting this rule my life anymore. I have more important things to do. Like post pictures.

Today's epiphanies

Yesterday I looked through all of the files my predecessor left behind at work. It was quite an eye-opening experience, especially after the number crunching I've done this week regarding performance in our department.

Basically my long-held suspicions were confirmed. I have been doing three times the work for the same pay, while being held to a much higher standard than others in the office. After I vocalized this last year, there was retaliation.. despite my consistent over-achievement, my performance evaluations had lower ratings than the coworker's. I've got the documentation to prove it.

I also found that anything good that was communicated about my coworker was printed out and put in her personnel file. NONE of my commendations were there. Not one.

Then there are the strategic plans for the department. I wrote them, and received no credit. They are in the files with someone else's name on them. I realize that my supervisor was probably thinking that since I was her employee that it was okay to do this... but it's not okay with me.

On the heels of these revelations, I begin to understand that this isn't really about being over-competitive with a coworker, or about a supervisor not liking me. The coworker and I were never in the same arena, and the supervisor felt that the co-worker needed her. I think there was the attitude of a therapist and not a boss there. Besides, no one likes being called out on something, no matter how small, and no matter what the intent.

So.. this isn't about anyone else. This is about me. I'm a capitalist in a communist environment. A square peg. A person who believes that compensation should be tied to performance, and that there should be standards.. the same standards for all employees in a given job that are upheld consistently.

I've learned from this that while universities are great places, I really belong in industry.

Stories like this..

Holocaust survivor prepares for bar mitzvah

..sniff. How completely awesome! :-)