39 thoughts on “January 4, 2017: It Was Anthony”

  3. What is the culture at your work regarding taking time off? I work at a place now that is super supportive but in the past I've been at placed where I was scolded for bringing in germs but then when I'd take time off my boss would sigh heavily or sound super annoyed with me, even though I only called in once or twice a year.

    1. I think this is one of the hidden factors in this kind of situation. Just because someone has earned personal/sick days doesn’t mean that they necessarily feel the liberty to use them, depending on the management culture of their workplace. Also, some hourly wage employees have a choice between getting paid while working sick or not getting paid for taking a “sick day.” Not saying this is necessarily the case in Spoons’ workplace, but there are plenty of gigs without sick day benefits.

      Naturally, the people who suffer in either case are the worker and their colleagues who are exposed to whatever illness is being carried* (assuming the worker’s sick with something communicable & not chronic). The bosses win in either case.

    2. I have about 250 accumulated sick hours, but when I actually took a day in November when I had pneumonia I felt like I had to make up the time.

    3. We're pretty good about sick days. We also allow people to work from home and I myself work from home about 50% of the time. There are times when I'm well enough to work, but it's probably not a good idea for me to be in the office. Working from home is a good option, but I'll take a sick day without guilt if I need to.

    4. It's definitely store-by-store. I hated having to call out when I was in Goodyear, but things have been totally cool here (under both sets of managers I've worked for).

      Apple Valley in 2007-2008 was the worst. The worst general manager and human being I've ever known personally, Paul, was of the mind that every sick person other than himself was lying.

      (Yep, naming names feels good.)

  5. So it's likely we end up with our longest stretch of days with the high below freezing since 1977, but coming from where I grew up that's a pretty lame streak.

    1. Just got back from 2 weeks in the Twin Cities. I think it was in the 20s when we arrived, and that was by far the warmest day while we were there. I had forgotten what truly life-threatening weather can be like. When we flew home, it was about a 60-degree difference in temperature from when we took off at MSP and landed in SoCal.

      1. I had forgotten what truly life-threatening weather can be like.

        Said the guy with wildfires outside his door.

        1. I took a long walk with my son on Sunday. Even though we'd be staying within a mile of the house the whole time, we had a bunch of precautions, like an extra battery for my phone, some food, lighter, blaze orange bandana.
          I said there's about as small a chance of having something bad happen to us as with a walk any time of year, but the seriousness of that something bad is much elevated.

        2. I have never experienced -40. Now, -39, I've felt that. I'm fine with cold weather. Bundle up if you have to go out, but more likely, just don't go out. Plenty to do in the house.

          1. -46° Christmas time 1983, and you're absolutely right. Thank God the winters are dry, and covering your skin goes a long way to staying warmer (that and layers, obviously)

            1. My all-time low is -36. Last winter, I played Frisbee with the dog for half an hour or more pretty much every day, even when it was -20. When the dog started to limp a bit from icy paws we'd go into the garage for a warm-up, then head back out. She's relentless.

        3. We used to play pick-up hockey at Bo's rink (Shoreview) on Sunday's when it was -20F. The thing was the kids didn't show up so we had the rink to ourselves (usually 8-10 guys). A little cold getting your skates on, but once you went around the rink a couple times, you were set for 2 hour of non-stop bliss. You just couldn't stop or your sweat would freeze.

    3. I am. We apparently aren't on the same schedule.

      Typically I work Monday through Friday, with most shifts being 10-6. Today I was home sick as a co-worker brought his flu to a bunch of us last week. If he'd done it a week earlier when we were still busy, it would've been a disaster.

      1. I came in last week with my wife and daughter, but you weren’t there. I wanted you to see Miss SBG who at 10 years old is now 5’5” tall. She’s having a major growth spurt this year.Much bigger than the last time you saw her.

        1. That's a bit above 95th percentile for a 12-year-old. She must tower over all of her classmates.

    2. I saw Rebirth at the Dakota 2 or 3 years ago. It was fun and very, very, very loud. Highly recommend.

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