The Father in Law Story Ends Up here

Workplace bitching

I've got some workplace bitching to get off my chest.  The other day I witnessed a woman at work go off completely on someone.  She had a similar scream-fest with me a few months ago.  I was just as proud of the woman who was at the brunt of this attack as I was of the way I handled the attack on me.  I sat there thinking "Who told this woman this behavior is acceptable at work?"  And decided to just come to the conclusion it's time this woman retire, obviously she can't hack it anymore.  But because she is a workplace bully, no one in authority ever takes her to task which is how these people get the idea that behavior is acceptable I suppose.

Then this morning I had to call the file room to ask for something to be sent up.  The phone just reached the 4th ring (so I would assume they were busy) and a woman picked it up and screamed into the phone 'file room!'.  I was taken aback.  She screamed.  It was like I was the naughty boyfriend being screamed at by a girlfriend at the end of her tether.  I couldn't quickly think of something appropriate to say so I hung up.  I thought I'm not tolerating being spoken to that way.  So I said nothing.  We do have caller id so I half expected a call asking why I hung up but it didn't happen so I didn't get the chance to say I don't expect to be spoken to that way.  But again, how would she expect that it's ok to answer a work phone that way?  And what possible excuse can there be to scream down someone's ear before they've even asked you to do your job?  I mean really lady, get a grip, you work in a file room you're not saving lives or anything.

Most of the time this crap just makes me continue to walk around at work being really friendly and accommodating if only to get under the skin of the bitches around here.  But in another way I think it just must make me look fantastic in comparison. 

I was visiting my friend Rob one day and one of his neighbors was bitching about all the neighbors she has reported to bylaw.  After we walked away Rob said to me "Silly bitch, doesn't she know that you lead by example?"  And I agreed, that is the best way but it's frustrating sometimes isn't it?  To which he agreed. and said "But I'd rather people looked at me with some respect than as a crazy nagging bitch".  And he is right.

The pervy librarian called me at home on Friday.  I saw his number on caller id when I got back from the acupuncturist.  Thinking this had better be good, I checked my messages to find he hung up.  Pushed it out of my mind and went to make blueberry jam.  This morning the pervy librarian asked me if I got his message.  I told him he did not leave a message.  He then apologized (kind of) for calling me at home but said that his wife insisted.  (ahem, under the thumb much?)  She wanted to know if I was taking holidays around Christmas.  I told him to go ahead and take his holidays and that if I take time off, our boss has to arrange for someone to fill in.  He's retiring in 9 months, won't come soon enough.  I'm really tired of his bumbling, inappropriate behavior.  Maybe I'm just grumpy but I don't want a call from work on my day off unless the building burned down.  The fact that his wife needed to know my Christmas plans so badly just points to why he should be retired already.  He leaves work throughout the day to drive her places or pick things up for her.  He told me that he spent the weekend organizing her files.  Really, he just works for her and shouldn't work here anymore.  I came to a conclusion a long time ago that the porn on his computer has a lot to do with his being bossed around by his wife.  At least the countdown to his leaving is underway.

Anyway.  The blueberry jam turned out fantastic.  Saturday we drove to Nordegg and camped overnight.  We stayed at the Crescent Falls campground.  It's just beautiful there.  It rained off and on but the storm wasn't bad over us, not until it got to Camrose anyway.  Sunday we drove home and then on Monday we went to the Heritage Festival and stuffed our faces.

Spooky storm

I need to pay attention to the pervy librarian and see how not to be when I reach retirement age.  Not that I expect to end up like him.  He turned 65 two months ago, he was offered a one year contract to stay on. That offer was incredibly generous considering the man does very little and anything he does impedes progress and pisses our clients off.  You kind of want to feel sorry for him because he is so out of the loop, we got a new supervisor and he wasn't aware.  Of course the reason he wasn't aware is because he doesn't read his emails - vital to staying in the loop.  He mentioned to me that he expects to get a contract for a second year next year and I couldn't believe it.  This is a man who is payed with taxpayer dollars to earn at the top of his payscale and has got away with doing precious little for over 35 years and got lucky to get a year extension yet feels so entitled that he expects to milk another year.  If he read his emails he would see that the administration has already made plans around his leaving in 10 months.  If he really thought about it he would see the only reason he was offered a contract is because the administration wanted to ensure there was no claim he could make to the union.  He doesn't realize the standard for working on contract can be different than if you were a regular employee and that they are likely documenting the reasons to not renew.  Anyway, this was his workday so far: Arrived for work 1 1/2 hours late.  Went for coffee break immediately.  Upon return went home because he forgot something.  Came back during lunch hour.  Has meeting with supervisor in one hour so he's having his lunch.  That's pretty much what it's like.  He might stay for the whole afternoon or he might have to give his wife a ride somewhere or something like that.

It appals me but the fact of it is that it's far better for me if he's not here.  Even though I do all the work.  I know my supervisor knows how much work I'm doing.  There is this silent agreement that we're all just waiting him out.

The weekend was good.  Lee showed up on my doorstep and we sat outside in the sun eating cantaloupe and strawberries.  Then we went for affogato di gelato.  Best I've ever tasted.  The gelato is important but the quality of the espresso is the most important part.  Lee and I talked for hours and it was great.

Saturday was a girl's night with the best friend.  Lesley showed up at my place and we went for martini's.  We left the bar at 10:30 and the plan was to pick up a bottle of wine and go to my place.  But the clouds were doing scary things so we ran for the car.  The power went out around Whyte ave as we left the parking lot.  Wind was gusting, clouds were swirling and the sky was a scary greenish colour to the north.  On the way home, we were surprised  to see people in the middle of the street and then we realized they were only moving tree limbs out of the road so we could drive by.  Power was out at my place until after midnight.  Which was good, some people were out far longer than that.  We had no radio or tv so we were running around in my dark house monitoring the sky for possible tornadoes.  There were funnel clouds in the area but I didn't see any.  We drank wine in my kitchen by candlelight and made the most of the night while we listened to the storm.

Around 2 Lesley went home.  Q was out of town, he phoned earlier knowing about the storm.  Lesley and I had talked about how I don't sleep as soundly when I sleep in the house by myself.  Once I saw her off to her car, I double checked the locks on the doors and windows.  Then I went up to bed.  I realized the stairwell light burned out the day before and we forgot to change the bulb so I felt my way upstairs in the dark.  When I got upstairs I stepped across the landing and switched on the bathroom light.  I turned around and noticed the hatch to the attic crawlspace was moved to the side.  Not just lifted, moved over to the side.  My heart leapt into my throat and my gut told me to run.  I had my cell phone in my hand because I took it to bed with me in case Q called.  I ran down the stairs and out into the back yard grabbing only the cordless phone and the dog.  Once outside I called Q and luckily he must have had his cell in bed because he answered right away.  I told him I thought someone was in the house or had been in the house.  He said to call the police but part of me was holding on to the idea there had to be a rational explanation and so I told him this and that I didn't want to call the police.  He told me to call our friend Rob.  So I called Rob and garbled to him that I was terrified to go back in the house.  He said he was on his way but he had to come from across the city.  So I waited with Q on the phone.  I could see through the house to the front door and was watching to see no one ran out of the house.  I knew that I didn't see someone walk past the bedroom window, that that had to have been the wind blowing the curtains but I was in a complete state part of me was sure I did.  I worked out three possible situations:

1. There was a logical explanation for how the attic hatch moved to the side.

2. When Lesley and I came home we interrupted a burglary and the person went up there to hide.  Albeit they weren't good at hiding and there was no sign of anything missing or anything else being disturbed.  This scenario meant that when Lesley and I were running from room to room looking at clouds someone was crouching upstairs.  That thought only unsettled me more.

3.  My neighbor works out of town and is never home.  We are attached and I do not know if the attic crawlspace is walled off or if it's open up there.  What if someone broke in next door and took a peek down my attic hatch?  What if they are still next door and have worked out I'm on my own?

Rob proved himself to be a very good friend.  I hope he didn't get a photo radar ticket because he got to me fast.  He also brought a flashlight which I thought was thinking on his feet.  He arrived with his girlfriend, they both looked groggy and we all went back in the house.  I grabbed the stepladder from the cleaning closet and we went up the stairs.  Rob confirmed that if he came home and found a hatch shoved over like that it would scare him so I didn't feel too stupid.  He went up and confirmed no one was there, there were no signs anyone was there and the attic is walled off and not connected to my neighbor.  I felt kind of dumb now.  Rob's guess is that the wind blowing through all my upstairs windows caused some kind of pressure issue and the air had no where to go so it went  up and popped the hatch.  We searched the rest of the house just to be sure.  I told Q we could get off the phone now and that I'd be ok.  Rob offered they could stay with me.  I'm such a chicken that I wanted to say yes, but said no.  They offered to let me stay with them until Q came home the next day.  I again reluctantly said no.  But I was still freaked and couldn't bring myself to go upstairs.  I made a pot of coffee and sat on the sofa all night.  I dozed off a bit but I knew I would be freaked out until daylight. 

The fallout from the storm means a lot of damaged old trees in my neighborhood.  One Fir tree snapped in half and occupies someone's entire front yard.  I always heard those 72 hour emergency preparedness ads as paranoia.  Then we get storms like that and I figure I should get one together.