2009 January » BerthaBlog

Equal Pay for Equal Work

Geek Wannabe, General Comments Off

Jan 292009

It’s not just a good idea, it’s the law!

Today President Obama signed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law.

From Obama’s speech:

“Equal pay is by no means just a women’s issue — it’s a family issue. It’s about parents who find themselves with less money for tuition and child care; couples who wind up with less to retire on; households where one breadwinner is paid less than she deserves; that’s the difference between affording the mortgage — or not; between keeping the heat on, or paying the doctor bills — or not. And in this economy, when so many folks are already working harder for less and struggling to get by, the last thing they can afford is losing part of each month’s paycheck to simple and plain discrimination.

So signing this bill today is to send a clear message: that making our economy work means making sure it works for everybody; that there are no second-class citizens in our workplaces; and that it’s not just unfair and illegal, it’s bad for business to pay somebody less because of their gender or their age or their race or their ethnicity, religion or disability; and that justice isn’t about some abstract legal theory, or footnote in a casebook. It’s about how our laws affect the daily lives and the daily realities of people: their ability to make a living and care for their families and achieve their goals.”

I heart this man.

Fit Shortage

Geek Wannabe, General, I Love My Car Comments Off

Jan 262009

Last week the Alpha Geek got a letter from a local Honda dealership.

“They want to buy one or both of our Fits.”

I laughed. “Why, is there a Fit shortage?”

Apparently there is. The little buggers are selling as fast as Honda can get them on the lots, and those of us who buy them are hanging on to them. Even though the Fit has been sold in the States since 2006 (the Alpha Geek got one of those), there aren’t a lot of used ones available.

“They’re offering top dollar,” added my husband. “And a deal on any other 2009 model they have.”

I sidled protectively up to my car. “They can’t have mine!”

He nodded. “I’m tempted to go there and challenge them to show me any other car on their lot that’s as useful as the Fit.”

Hands off, Fit poachers!

Ahhh

Geek Wannabe, General 1 Response »

Jan 232009

We’re now the proud, if somewhat unanticipated, owners of a new furnace/air conditioner. We had to sell a few organs (don’t worry, it wasn’t anyone we know) but the HVAC company was able to cart one out here and get it installed today.

The sales rep who talked to us neglected to tell the service guys that our old furnace was mounted on three-foot-high stilts. They started their day manhandling our 600+ lb. furnace off its perch. Then they had to get the new one mounted. (Now you know where the organs came from. Some of them were slightly ruptured.)

It’s been a long, chilly day, but the temperature in our house has now passed 60°F for the first time in two days. I’ve been bugging the Alpha Geek to crank it up to 80.

Brrrr

Geek Wannabe, General 2 Responses »

Jan 232009

Furnace went tits-up last night. Woke up this morning, cold air was blowing out of the vents. Fucking cold in the house.

Service tech came out to have a look. We’ve got a hole in our heat exchanger. Might be able to get a new one from Trane in a few weeks. Probably have to get a new furnace. Fuckity fuck fuck.

Another tech coming out tomorrow morning to discuss our options with us. For tonight we’re bundling up. I tell myself that mankind survived for thousands of years without central heating.

I hate being cold.

Extra Chauffeur Duty

Breeder's Corner, Geek Wannabe, General Comments Off

Jan 132009

Yesterday the Director forgot to bring his coat home from school. This morning, the temperature was two degrees above freezing, and he asked me to drive him to school so he wouldn’t have to stand at the bus stop in his light denim jacket.

I muttered and grumbled, mostly because I’m not a morning person—at that hour of the day you could ask me if I wanted to help oil up John Barrowman and I’d mutter and grumble about it. But I grabbed my coat and my keys, gave the kid a hug and reminded him that Mom is grouchy in the morning and my muttering wasn’t his fault, and drove him off to school.

I came home, took off my coat, and went back to bed. (Last night was the first time since we all caught the creeping crud that I’ve been able to sleep reasonably well.) I was just dozing off when I heard the Artist cough. The Artist, who was supposed to be on the bus to school by now.

I got up and shuffled into the hall; there he was in the living room. “What are you doing here?”

“Bus never came.”

“Weird. Well, grab your stuff.” Once more I donned my coat and drove a kid to school.

In about half an hour I’ll be going to pick up the Director from school; he likes to get a ride home in the afternoons so he doesn’t have to face the noisy school bus. A couple hours after that, I’ll be picking up the Artist from swim practice.

Sometimes it feels like my main use to this family is my driver’s license.

Diploma Absentia

Accounting Stuff, Geek Wannabe, General Comments Off

Jan 072009

I assumed that once I completed all the required courses, the college would send my diploma. I don’t plan to attend the graduation ceremony, so why make me wait until summer?

You know what they say about “assume.”

Turns out they only give out the diplomas in May. So, while I have completed all the requirements for an Accounting A.A.S., I won’t technically have the degree for four more months.

*stabbity*

Actually, I don’t much care—I know I earned it, I’ve got all the knowledge in my head ready to go. The only reason I want the paper is for the benefit of potential employers. And they can just call up the registrar’s office and confirm that I’ve got it, right?

Luckily my husband has worked on the other side of the hiring desk, and was able to set me straight. Potential employers can call the registrar’s office and ask if I have the degree. The registrar can then answer yes or no. Because of privacy laws, they cannot elaborate; they cannot say “No, but she’s done all the coursework and she’ll get it this summer.”

So I’ve updated my resume now to say “I have completed all required coursework for an Accounting A.A.S. and will receive the degree in May.”

Good grief. I haven’t even gotten into the corporate world yet and I already have to learn the lingo.

Blegh

Geek Wannabe, General Comments Off

Jan 052009

As much as I am capable of thinking today, I am reflecting on how fast an unpleasant bug can wreak total havoc with a person’s system.

Friday night I was feeling fine. Alpha Geek was looking a little peaked and run-down.

Saturday morning we were both sick as the proverbial dog. Sore throats, stuffy heads, overall feeling that we’d been kicked around the block a few times by a grouchy ogre wearing steel-toed boots.

I spent most of the weekend on the couch in a Nyquil-induced haze. I think the kids came and went, and the phone might have rung once or twice. I also remember a television ad where a woman was using sandpaper to remove her underarm hair, but I think that might have been a delirium dream.

Today I’m more or less conscious. I wish I could get rid of this bug as fast as I came down with it.

Happy New Year!

Breeder's Corner, Geek Wannabe, General Comments Off

Jan 012009

I’ve been continuing to send out resumes and contact the job sites and temp agencies. However, on the theory that nobody is going to be doing much business of any kind (including hiring) until January 5, I also went to help out at the Thrift Shoppe. I’ve been out of class for over a week, and that’s about as long as I can tolerate being indolent and useless.

The Artist (perhaps I should say The Party Animal) spent the night at a church lock-in with about a hundred other teenagers. My mother reports that when she picked him up this morning he was grinning from ear to ear. I never would have predicted, when he was in elementary school, that he would grow up to be such a social, outgoing guy. Just confirms the adage, “If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.” Of course, he didn’t get a wink of sleep, so now he’s crashed in her guest bedroom for the day.

Alpha Geek and the Director (my control-freak younger son) spent the evening with the new PSP I got my husband for Christmas. To the great surprise of both of us, I actually managed to come up with a present he really likes. And which, of course, both our kids like as well. My parents chipped in and got him a Big Box o’ Accessories for the gadget, including headphones, car power adaptor, and a nice hard-shell case to carry it in. He took it with him to Ottawa last week and watched movies on the plane. And he wasn’t gone an hour before the Director was asking me where Daddy’s PSP was.

The Director still has a cough from the cold he had a couple of weeks ago. Tomorrow I’m dragging his little butt up to the doctor.

And that’s the state of our household, this first day of 2009. Hope you’re all doing well!

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