I have so much to do it's hard to tell where to start, so I went with * Submit return to work notification. Sounds simple right?
I went into my store a week ago and spoke to my line manager and she said to come back in a week because the person who deals with that stuff is on holiday. So, I went back in today. Well, the person who deals with that stuff is busy catching up with everything that piled up while she was gone and doesn't want to help me. They directed me to the company's website, where apparently I should have been able to locate the form I needed. My line manager tells me "It was in the parental leave bundle we gave you". Well, luckily, that booklet is online for me to download.
So I go. And I find it. And I read it four fucking times and you know what? There's no god-damned form in there, save for the form you fill out to apply for leave, and another form that says "please spam me with company news so I don't feel left out when I'm gone" which you submit before you go on leave. There's NOTHING helpful to me in this booklet. In fact it clearly states that I should contact my line manager a month before I return to work. WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT I DID. Please kill me, before I'm forced to do it myself.
Logic tells me all they need is an updated availability form, and my willingness to show up. So I guess I'll go back over there later and get that form, and a form to order new uniforms because if that shit didn't annoy me enough, the supplier that makes the uniforms for my company wont let new customers order online anymore. And you know what they are going to tell me when I submit this order form to the store? "You should order these online".
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
My food ran out. I'll go do something useful and then I'll be back to tell you how much my in laws piss me off, and stuff about stuff.
In my last blog I mentioned the professional photos that Obi's family are lining up for while we're over there. Much discussion has come about for this - like should we co-ordinate clothing? Should there be a colour scheme? Where will it be? When?
It's been, interesting. I read once that committees never achieve anything, and I'm pretty sure that's not true, but in regards to this kind of thing a strong leader saying "We're doing this" would be far far better. For the most part it's amusing and non stressful, except for FIL sticking his nose in where it's not wanted. He messages me on the side to tell me what dress I should wear (One I got for Isis's naming day because people in Canada have not see it yet. Like I even care about that petty shit) even though people are still putting forth their ideas for what should happen. The general trend is leading toward smart-casual and pretty summer dresses (even though it's not summer there) and the dress he's telling me to wear is semi-formal
Then he's going on about how he can lend Obi clothes, but fretting about people realising Obi is wearing his clothes in the photos, even though at no point did anyone say that Obi or I need help with our clothing. He proceeds to tell me he needs to help us so that we don't go out and buy any clothes for this event because we need to save our money. Uh, what?He knows we're planning to shop over there anyway because it's cheaper, and furthermore we're doing fine financially and have not indicated otherwise. So.. why.. why must he message me with all this bullshit? Obi has perfectly fine clothes of his own, and none of them are horrible old-man golf shirts. Thankyouverymuch.
Anyway, so as I'm the person book-keeping our time for this trip (seeming Obi is more or less living at work right now) everyone looks at me to suggest dates, and they tell me when they work so I can work around that. Cool. We end up with a Sunday evening or the Monday morning (because that Monday is a public holiday over there.) and I suggest the morning because Isis is much easier to deal with in the morning. She's a whole different person. (It's a bit scary sometimes really, she reminds me of my mother - once the sun goes down all bets are off haha)
So people are like "Yeah works for me" that's cool, blah blah" until my FIL steps in and he's like "You can't do that, you're going away on the Monday" (for Teepees). What kind of a moron does this guy think I am? I think I know when I'm doing what. And yes, he's probably just being helpful, but I can't get past his condescending way of speaking/typing to appreciate that. So I tell him (for like the fifth time) that we're leaving in the evening, after an early dinner, on the Monday and a morning shoot won't be a problem.
But this guy can't mind his own business so he's all on his high horse about how I can't possibly be suggesting a long drive after dinner, because apparently nobody does that. And, because his mum (camping granny) couldn't possibly be out that late.
Now, I sorted this shit out with CG a couple of weeks ago, and I ran everything by her first and paid strict attention to her comfort in all things. So I told him as politely as possible to mind his own fucking business because CG and I are able to manage this without his help and we've already discussed it. How dare he talk about his mother like she's a child - in front of her no less! Have these people never heard of respect?
Anyway, to my mortification, CG contacts me on the side and she's like "What?! We're leaving after dinner? Oh no I couldn't possibly do that, I'll fall asleep at the wheel! I thought you were just asking about my ability to drive in the dark." -.-
I went back and re-read our emails, and there's no way I could have been clearer about what I was asking. I said "Also, being a six hour drive, it makes sense for us to leave the night before (The evening of the 20th) drive up, sleep at the B&B and then make a "weekend" of the area. (This is how Dustin and I generally do our weekends away, but I don't know if you're comfortable driving at night, or letting him drive at night, or how early you like to go to bed or any of that, so let know if you're not cool with this stuff)."
Then in dot points I put questions for her to clearly answer yes or no for if she was fine with this plan. She wrote back and said she could make that drive at night, in the rain or even blindfolded. And also confirmed she'd be happy to let Obi drive if that became preferable. At no point did she tell me she likes to be in bed at 9:30pm, like her son so rudely informed me.
*head-desk*
Luckily, it was easy to sort that out with CG, we'll leave at 3:30pm instead of 5pm, and we'll have dinner on the road... and probably arrive at exactly the same time we would have if we'd gone with the original plan. Obi will drive the second half of the trip to minimize drive fatigue. Easy done.
We end up talking about if there'll be food after the photos (in the group thread), and decide that sounds like a good idea, so CG puts a bid forward to host the photos (there's a community hall thing in her village complex thing she lives at) and then everyone can head back to hers for dinner afterwards on the Sunday night. But even after re-assuring dad that everything is fine and sorted with CG, and she herself displays no issue with photos on the Monday morning, just a preference for the Sunday night, and re-confirms leaving in the second half of the day on Monday, he's still going on about how we can't possibly do photos on the Monday because Obi and I won't be there.
Then with all that confirmed I'm like "Ok, seeming Obi and I have the morning slot free that Monday, who wants to look after the baby while we go on our date?" (We were going to go out for an early dinner together to celebrate my birthday, but seeming we're now eating on the road and have nothing planned for the morning, I figure I can dump my kid on somebody, then we can have a morning with our mates, a romantic birthday lunch and be back in time to milkfeed the baby and hit the road.) Despite his protests five minutes earlier about how we wouldn't be able to do photos that morning because we'd be in the car with granny, he sees no problem with us going on a date, without granny or our baby, and offers to baby sit. I'm not sure if he's just the slow child in the sandpit that eats the kitty poo, or if he finally understood what we'd been saying ALL along and was just too embarrassed to say so. Anyway, SIL got in first with a bid to take the baby. So that will be interesting. Luckily, she'll mind the baby at the parent's place so someone there will know how to look after the little Owl, otherwise I might have been too worried to enjoy a morning off.
I'm feeling better already. Marvelous what a good vent can do.
Now, on to the weekend.....