Wassup?!?!

I haven't been here in a while....so, before I go to work on this beautiful Sunday morning....just a few tidbits about what's up in a Big Girl's World.

I'm leaving in less than two weeks on another vacation! Woot! I'm heading west with my two nieces...can't wait. We are flying out to Arizona and will be driving to Utah to go to Bryce Canyon. Spend a couple days there, then head over to the Grand Canyon. A day or two there, then we will spend the rest of our time at a resort near Scotsdale.

I was going to buy a new DSLR camera for the trip so I could take some amazing photographs, but the washer and refrigerator decided that I wasn't going to do that. I just bought a new washer, and have to get the repair guy here to see if the fridge is worth saving. So....there goes my new camera budget.

It's all good though, my old camera, an Olympus FE-120 still takes great pictures....just not as professional as I would like.

I work Sunday through Thursday and yesterday(Saturday for those calendarly challenged) I received an email(on my work email, no less) from my supervisor telling me that I had two reports due yesterday and since I am still considered a 'temporary' employee(I've been employed by the government for FOURTEEN years) if the reports aren't done on time, I could basically lose my job. Of course, it was nicely veiled....here it is:

"If these plans are late, I am unable to protect you from corrective action. You are too good of a therapist to let these reports be your downfall. This should be of great concern to you. You are a limited-term employee and how you meet the duties and responsibilities of this position can determine if you become a full-time employee."

And my response:

"I am aware that these two reports are due today. Due to my hectic schedule this past week(three ITP's completed, court, etc...), I am actually doing the reports right now. I understand that this is on my own time and that I will not get paid for this, but it keeps the reports done on time.
I appreciate the compliment regarding my skills as a therapist. I hope that I am a good one. And I hope it is recognized that I DO do work at home when the needs of my girls are a higher priority. I do try to maintain my professionalism.
Having said that, it does bother me that you feel the need to point out that I am limited term and that my ability to meet the duties and responsibilities of my position could affect my job. I have no choice but to think about this every day. Especially since I was told that I would be made a permanent employee when the previous therapist resigned a year ago and I have yet to be made permanent. I have worked for the Department for my entire fourteen year career. If I am to be honest, it embarrasses me to know that I am limited term.
I think I probably work harder than most therapists on campus and have had staff, teachers, and others(inside and outside this facility) tell me so.
I hope this isn't construed as insubordination because I respect you as my supervisor, and so far, in our limited time together, you have proven yourself to me to be a great supporter, but I feel that your email is a veiled threat and I am offended.
The reports will be done within the appropriate time frame."

Hmmm....I wonder if I will be out of a job by the end of the week.

C'est la vie.

There's a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza...

Yep...a mighty big one.

Who knew that eighty years ago there was a rainwater cistern RIGHT NEXT to my house....and that eighty years later the fucker would cave in, leaving a giant hole.

I sure didn't.

But today, after the rain, I look out the back window and there it is. My first thought was "dumb-ass dogs, what the hell did they do..." But alas, there was no dirt around the hole....just in the hole.

So begins the latest adventure...calling the city, the three plumbers for three estimates, my old neighbor, my dad(four times), and my job to let them know I wouldn't be in today. The hole originally was pretty small when the city guy came out. His advice~if it ain't broke, don't fix it, fill it in. Meaning, if my plumbing in the house was working, it's no big deal. Of course, as he was leaving, it began to rain again and an hour later, the hole was three feet wide and three feet deep. Shit!

The first plumber had no clue and said he would be back tomorrow with someone else to take a look at it. The second plumber told me that he would have to get a backhoe in to tear it out and then backfill with dirt, THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS!!(and hence the first call to my dad). The second plumber came, looked in the basement, not believing me when I said there was no water down there, and gave me an estimate of twenty-five hundred bucks.(second call to my dad). Then I called my old neighbor who used to own the house next door, and they are basically twin houses. He told me that about four years ago he had the same problem. His solution? He filled it with old bricks and stone and filled it with dirt. Himself. Cost: free.(third call to dad).

I did some research online and according to the Dept. of Envir. Quality, it could just be filled as long as it didn't pose a problem to ground water via contamination. So I called a sand and gravel place....fifty-eight bucks to deliver a load of sand to fill the hole.

My fourth call to my dad was to sucker him into coming over this weekend and helping me fill the hole. He said he would.

Sand to fill the hole: $58

Quality time spent with dad: Priceless