Deep breath...hold it...let it out slowly...ahhhhhhh
This has been a stressful week and today I'm finally ahead of most of it again and have a few moments to take stock. It's so nice right at this moment! Except for my back pain. Other than that it's really quite good.
The back pain is a worry. It's bad timing since this is my last big weekend babysitting Penelope. I'm going to have to be very careful and avoid lifting her as much as possible this weekend - should be interesting! Her Mom gave her 2 weeks notice so life dynamics will be changing. I have really enjoyed all of this regular one on one time with Penelope over the past 2+ years of her life. I have often had her for the weekend while her parents were working. It's been so good for me to get all the snuggles and cuddles and to watch her grow. We have a great connection and I have so enjoyed having her all to myself so we could forge our own separate relationship, away from her Mom & Dad. Her parents are awesome but I like having my own thing with my grandkids :)
I know I'll continue to babysit on occassion and it'll be nice to have more free time for myself but at the same time I value what has been. Penelope is a fantastic kid! She's unique, funny, flirty, sassy and extremely lovable with one of the best belly laughs I have ever heard! Sitting in my recliner, snuggling with her to read or watch TV or so she can play with the fringes on my lamp, is my soulfood. I plan to savor this weekend fully, despite the back problem! If lifting is too big of a problem we may just have a sleep over together on the airbed in the living room. That could be fun and no lifting her in or out of bed!
Work has been stressful this month. I will be headed to ND to help my Mom after her hip replacement surgery the end of the month so will have less days available for work. I've been pushing thru on billing while my boss has been pushing to get some past due invoices resolved. My priorities and his have differed. I managed to ignore his as much as possible because I'd rather bill something I can actually get paid for on a timely basis, instead of revisiting old issues that keep getting kicked back to me for months on end as I struggle to resolve the problems with the client. He wants cash flow and that's what I'm trying to give him. Eventually we will get paid for that old stuff because hey, no matter how much the client shuffles they owe us that money per contract and they WILL pay! I'm not giving up on it. But since I've been doing the dance since Oct and they kicked a bunch back to me yet again I figure my odds are better getting paid from new work than that old stuff as far as promptness goes. Did that make sense? It did to me so whatever.
The next idea my boss came up with was for me to go meet with the client to get these past due issues resolved. That made my stomach sink. I don't really have time to make a trip to AR in the next couple of weeks +. I'm booked! Plus I don't want to go. But per his request I asked the client for a meeting. I strongly suspect they gave me the run around when they said they've passed my request along to the powers that be to decide and could I still please try to get these invoices resolved with them? The good news is suddenly they are beginning to understand how to fix these issues that I've been trying to get them to fix since Oct. I guess the threat of a visit from me is enough motivation? Whatever works!
If I can avoid having to make that trip I'll be thrilled to bitty pieces! I'd find it rather intimidating to go to that particular client's HQ anyway. I'd feel like an ant approaching an established giant termite hill. And this client is the reason I have a job. I also don't feel like messing around with airports, car rentals and hotels any more than necessary in life. If I can avoid it, I prefer to! I very much prefer to do that for fun, like site seeing and vacations, rather than work!
I told my Mom that last night and she seemed to think I was being silly. But she didn't go thru some of my nightmare trips where flights were missed because it rained and everyone turned into retards on the drive down, I got lost finding the airport to come back and then finding where to return the car and then which terminal to go to - running too and fro dragging my crap around and stressing that I'll be trapped in that airport indefinitely if I don't figure it out! That was actually just one trip to Dallas/Ft Worth, not "some".
I shouldn't be such a baby because most of the time it goes like clock work. Well, except that flight out of Chicago that felt like the plane was falling apart because the landing gear made so much racket as it curled up into the plane. I thought we were going to fall into the lake! And upon landing the power went out so we all got to sit there in the dark while they figured it out. Glad that didn't happen until AFTER we landed!
Or maybe that hop between SLC & MN where I was sandwiched between 2 giants and couldn't lean back in my seat because their shoulders were too big and I couldn't breath or even fit. So I spent that whole flight leaning forward in my seat and getting back cramps.
Or that flight into Minot where the pilot felt compelled to gently rock the plane back and forth, back and forth, for no apparent reason, until I felt like I was going to throw up? I had to sit for a while in the airport, not moving, before I could even consider getting into a car to drive to Rugby without wanting to throw up.
Or that flight, don't even remember where, probably TX again, where the gal sitting next to me threw up in her lap and splashed a little ever so gently on my lap too? Nice of her to share.
Nah, I'm just a wuss because I'm not that crazed about giving the airline industry even more chances to make my life more "fun".
