So I did make it back from Michigan at just about midnight on November 16th. It was a white-knuckle drive for the first few hours, as snow had been falling for most of Thursday night and plows had not been sent out by the time I left the cabin. 75 south comprised a couple of tire tracks that everyone more or less stayed in, with the exception of the random idiot who jumped into the left lane to try to pass everyone – without the benefit of any road markings at all. I saw a number of cars that had spun off of the road and laughed a bit at all of them.
By the time I got back down to Toledo, the snow was pretty much gone, but it was bitterly cold whenever I had to stop for gasoline. The Subaru did a great job overall.
Had a Thanksgiving dinner with Jenny, her neighbor, and Herb at Herb’s assisted living place on Saturday. The food was good and the company was pleasant and I think everyone had a good time. I also scored one of Herb’s old office chairs – we’d taken it to him, but because it has wheels, it’s not a good idea for him to try to use it – and I’m sitting in it as I type this. I’ve never had a decent office chair at home, which is the main reason that I don’t take advantage of the fact that I could work at home a couple of days each week if I choose to. I may choose to in 2019.
The next week, which contained Thanksgiving, was a short one at work. We got Thursday and Friday off and I spent those two days recovering from the drive back – sleeping a lot, doing laundry, cleaning out the car, watching football. Jenny and I had tentative plans to sell Herb’s car last Saturday, but they fell through so I spent the weekend watching more football, getting more sleep, doing more laundry. Then it was back to work for a full week, which was not pleasant.
We had system outages on Monday and Tuesday – raised everyone’s blood pressures – and my problem employee was AWOL on Wednesday. I sent him a number of texts and tried to call – no response until very early Thursday morning, when he sent a text to me to tell me that he had to take his kid to the hospital, that he’d tried to email me and my boss, but the email was stuck in the outbox, and that he didn’t have his phone with him. Since he was supposed to be working at home all week – the result of a dead car, which he was to replace on Friday – I stewed a bit on Thursday before letting him know that I got his text and he really needs to confirm that his messages are received when he sends them to me. On Friday, he sent me an instant message that he had to clock out at 1:00 in order to get a new car, which he had to do on Friday or it wouldn’t be done until Monday.
That kinda tore it. On Monday, he and I and my boss and and HR rep will be meeting first thing in the morning, and he’ll be getting official written notice from me that he is not to miss any more days or he’s looking at getting fired. I didn’t want to go there. I’m a laid-back boss. I’m also not a good guy to screw with on a regular basis.
So I’ve got that to look forward to tomorrow….
Was good to get back to the band last Tuesday night. We’re rehearsing for a Christmas concert on the 18th (I think), and playing some good stuff. My chops were a bit rusty after having three weeks off, but I acquitted myself well, I think. Looking forward to the concert.
Yesterday, I found 14 forms of identification and drove over to the DMV (in the pouring rain) to get my license renewed. I was worried that I might have to take an eye test (probably would’ve failed without my reading glasses), but everything went smoothly and I managed to get everything taken care of in under two hours. Got my temporary replacement and should have the new license in a month or so. So that’s out of the way. I also paid my car insurance this week – no more of that until June. Last thing I need to do with the car before 1/1 is get the registration renewed, but I can do that online.
I might make it through this year after all – two years at the X company. Hard to believe. I’ve pretty much settled into the salary. Still miss the old one, but I can afford everything on what I make now and even splurge every now and then. I’m kind of resigned to the fact that I hit my peak in 2016 and I’ll probably never make it back there, salary-wise, but I’m moving on and just trying to learn how to be an effective manager of people. Got a nice boost from my boss on LinkedIn last week – he sent me a recommendation for my profile, which was completely unexpected and very much appreciated, and made me feel like I might just be making a good impression in my new position. Small victories.
And so we’re all caught up. Should you be wondering, the photo at the top of this entry was taken on the Thursday afternoon before I left Cheboygan. The sun was on its way down, the wind had picked up, and a storm was just starting to make an appearance over the lake. It was incredibly cold and gorgeous and I just kept running out into it to experience it, then running back to the cabin to get warm. All in all, a great way to spend an afternoon.