I decided it was past time to revisit an old blog topic....smoke breaks.
This is not a slam against smoker's for smoking. It's more of a slam against employers. Each employee gets the allotted am break, lunch break, and pm break. Whether or not we take them is our decision. Most of us don't take "am and pm breaks" per se, we just squeeze in a personal call or email or quick personal email check throughout the day so no big deal. It all works out in the end.
That being said, have you ever had a co-worker who smokes? If so, think about how many times he or she goes out for a ciggy.....no, really think about it. 4 times a day? 5 times a day? Well, for sake of argument, I'm going with 4 times a day and not counting smoking during lunch. These addicted coworkers will pass you in the hall as they head to the designated "smoking spot," smiling and anticipating the forthcoming cancer stick.
Invariably, you will get stuck in the elevator with one (or God forbid, more than one) who is returning from the scene of the crime REEKING of cigarette smoke. Gagging you the entire ride up to your office. Making you wish you had a can of Lysol or Oust or even an oxygen tank and mask. Sometimes it makes me wish I had something heavy to beat them over the head with but alas, that's my issue.
But seriously, let's break this down. There are eight hours in a "normal" work day, right? Most of us rarely give more than that to the boss-man so admit it. It's just a straight 8. So when your co-worker takes 4 smoke breaks a day at 10 minutes per break, that's 40 minutes per day. Hmmm, in addition to an hour for lunch. Okay....now you're starting to think about this.
Let's go a step further. That equates to 3.33 hours per week. Starting to add up, isn't it? How does 14.44 hours per month strike you? 173.33 hours per year and a total of 21.67 days per year that smoking co-workers get that non-smokers do not. 21.67 days per year? I'm going to round that to 21.5 for kicks. What would you do with an additional 21.5 days off per year if you could have them? I know I'd be happy to take every other Friday off for 10 months and still have an extra day and a half to play with. Heck, I'd go one step further and take all 21.5 days at one time and add a few of my existing vacation days to it to take a month off during the summer. I may go stir crazy at home with the kids but heck, I'm "smoking" so who cares!
When you work 260 days in a year and have a puffing co-worker who takes those little 10 minute "quick" smoke breaks that add up to his or her only working 238.33 days a year, you begin to wonder if you missed the bus. Yes, you know smoking isn't good for your health and (personally) is absolutely disgusting but these people are on to something here. They are not working as much as you are but they get paid for the same work week that you do.
Hmmmmm, now you're starting to become indignant and looking around your office wildly trying to spy one of those smokers so you can go bop him/her over the head with a heavy binder...or better yet, randomly start to perform little acts of chaos at his or her desk. You really want to something stuck in your craw? Imagine if said smoke stack took 15 minutes for a smoke break.....5 minutes goes to actually going down to (and back up from) the designated "Give Me Cancer, Please" area while the other 10 minutes is puffing away life while catching up on office gossip. Let's do the math. 15 minutes per cigarette and smoking 4 cigarettes during working hours (again, not counting lunch) is a total of 60 minutes per day. Yep, that's right. One full hour of your stinky little co-worker's day is spent puffing away. That's 5 hours a week, 21.67 hours per month, and 260 hours a year. A total of 32.5 days in one year that cigarettes liberated your co-worker.
Am I crazy not to wonder why HR departments haven't noticed this or done the math themselves? Are they also sitting in the "smokers lounge" puffing away? What about management who is constantly striving to get more work out of less people? Do they not realize how much time is lost for each employee who smokes? If they look at it in hours and assign a dollar value, perhaps a few jobs would be saved.
So here I sit, a non-smoker who is missing out on an extra 21.5 or 32.5 days of "smoke breaks" who is beginning to wonder if I should start taking them...minus the cancer stick, of course. Better yet, I'll take mine in lump sums. Hours, days or weeks, doesn't matter to me. Just give me equality with my smoldering co-workers. I bet if employers started doing that, a lot less people would be smoking! Maybe so, maybe not but I can tell you this, I'd be happy. I wouldn't even grimace and wave my hand in front of my face when confronted with stinky smokers. Ick. Heck, I might even go buy a co-worker a pack and say thanks!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
I can't believe it!
Not only is Tater playing baseball...see the "team photo" before our first game on April 11th.
...he's graduated from Kindergarten!
Can you believe it? As of today (last day of school and a "play" day), he's a First Grader! OH MY!
The program was adorable and I'm going to post his speaking part (or try to post it).
The whole program was too cute but I especially loved seeing him so happy with his cap and gown on...but (believe it or not) I didn't cry! Didn't even really come close.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
My Pepper - Continued
I've been trying to figure out just what to say about Pepper. Beside the fact she was positively the BEST dog anyone could ever ask for, she was always the most loving and spirited friend any dog owner could wish to have.
When she was a puppy at the vet (if you don't remember, she was a rescue by Dr. Pelletier at Goodlettsville Animal Hospital) and ugly and stinky, she had so much life in her eyes. Mange and malnutrition did nothing to the spirit of this dog. God had plans for her and she knew it. God had me in mind as her dog mom and what a blessing He gave me! When I first met her, she had almost no hair and smelled horrible due to the mange treatment. However, she had those sweet little curls at the tip of her ears that remained until her parting (and still do in Heaven!) and the brightest eyes I have ever seen on any animal. It took me all of about 20 seconds of playing with her to decide I was hers. I got to take her home a couple weeks later....Valentine's Day 1998. It was a rough time for me and she was exactly what I needed. It only took me a week to teach her to sit and a bit longer to potty train her but alas, it was still easy since she was so smart.
We had our share of "issues" to say the least and there were some bumpy times but we were meant to be together and that was that. I wish she hadn't been "meant" to potty on my bed (twice) but hey, that's what happens when Mommy doesn't wake up in time!!!! Oh well, I needed a new mattress anyway. One thing we never had a problem with was chewing - she LOVED rawhide bones....give her one and forget about her because she would gnaw until it was gone.
She adored going to "The Ranch" with me and would run like mad, play in the creek, chase horses, chase dogs, and follow me around the trail. She'd keep going until I finally had to load her into the car (on a blanket to save my upholstery) where she would curl up in a tight little ball and doze until we got home. Once home, she ate and passed out....for at least 36 hours. No kidding. If I took her out there on Sunday, she was rested by Tuesday afternoon.
Once I married, she adjusted well to having a "dad" which was cool but you could tell, she was my dog through and through. We moved to Robertson County and she entered "dog heaven" as she no longer had to live in a dog kennel during working hours. She was allowed to hang out on the porch or run around the acreage. She loved it! Well, until we brought Doc home, then she got her tail in a knot for a while. When he was a puppy, we would toss them outside to go potty and she'd lead him off into the woods at the back of our property. I'd find her sitting at the sliding glass doors looking guilty with Doc no where to be found. She didn't want that puppy around and had left him! I can't remember how many times DH had to put on his boots and go hunt for the pup. I honestly wish I had captured the look on her face the last time she tried to leave Doc behind...and he showed up seconds later at the door with her. To say she was disgruntled would be an understatement! They soon became close companions and had an unspoken (at least in human language) division of labor. Pepper was responsible for the area around the house. She would "patrol" the perimeter of our property and go visit occasionally but her area was the house and immediate yard. Doc was in charge of the perimeter...sounds very military but it worked for them. If it happened in a pasture, Doc was there. Pepper watched from the porch or edge of the yard. If someone came down the driveway, Pepper was all over them until she caught their scent and knew it was okay.
Most people are concerned when they have children that their pets will have negative reactions. Not so for me and Pepper. I knew she'd be great with a baby and indeed she was! She would come in the house and lay near Tater's bassinet, under his swing, or under his high chair whenever she got a chance. Same thing when Sweet Tater arrived. I have pictures of both kids sitting on her as well. Ears were pulled, tail was yanked, and she was pounced on, pummelled, and pounded more than any one else in the family...except perhaps me when they were still "baking." When Sweet Tater came along, Pepper was older but still so easy with her. Even the last few weeks when ST would drag her around by the ears or try to "feed" her plastic food, Pepper was patient and loving. She'd just look at me and say with her eyes "Seriously? Can you do something here?"
If I ever felt down or was in need of unconditional love, she was there at my feet without being called. It was just that easy. No matter how bad a day I had or how terrible things looked, she was there with bright eyes and curls at the tips of her ears. I'll always miss that and I'll always miss the way she'd move her head just so until my hand sat on top of it...then she'd sigh.
More memories keep coming to mind....funny, touching, and a little annoying (eating my screen door)....but these are memories I will always have to hold on to just like I have the knowledge that she's wrestling with Doc in Heaven with her fuzzy dog butt in the air and tail wagging madly. Shelby's watching from the top of a recliner and so are my human loved ones who have passed. All have met her now and love her....just like I always will.
When she was a puppy at the vet (if you don't remember, she was a rescue by Dr. Pelletier at Goodlettsville Animal Hospital) and ugly and stinky, she had so much life in her eyes. Mange and malnutrition did nothing to the spirit of this dog. God had plans for her and she knew it. God had me in mind as her dog mom and what a blessing He gave me! When I first met her, she had almost no hair and smelled horrible due to the mange treatment. However, she had those sweet little curls at the tip of her ears that remained until her parting (and still do in Heaven!) and the brightest eyes I have ever seen on any animal. It took me all of about 20 seconds of playing with her to decide I was hers. I got to take her home a couple weeks later....Valentine's Day 1998. It was a rough time for me and she was exactly what I needed. It only took me a week to teach her to sit and a bit longer to potty train her but alas, it was still easy since she was so smart.
We had our share of "issues" to say the least and there were some bumpy times but we were meant to be together and that was that. I wish she hadn't been "meant" to potty on my bed (twice) but hey, that's what happens when Mommy doesn't wake up in time!!!! Oh well, I needed a new mattress anyway. One thing we never had a problem with was chewing - she LOVED rawhide bones....give her one and forget about her because she would gnaw until it was gone.
She adored going to "The Ranch" with me and would run like mad, play in the creek, chase horses, chase dogs, and follow me around the trail. She'd keep going until I finally had to load her into the car (on a blanket to save my upholstery) where she would curl up in a tight little ball and doze until we got home. Once home, she ate and passed out....for at least 36 hours. No kidding. If I took her out there on Sunday, she was rested by Tuesday afternoon.
Once I married, she adjusted well to having a "dad" which was cool but you could tell, she was my dog through and through. We moved to Robertson County and she entered "dog heaven" as she no longer had to live in a dog kennel during working hours. She was allowed to hang out on the porch or run around the acreage. She loved it! Well, until we brought Doc home, then she got her tail in a knot for a while. When he was a puppy, we would toss them outside to go potty and she'd lead him off into the woods at the back of our property. I'd find her sitting at the sliding glass doors looking guilty with Doc no where to be found. She didn't want that puppy around and had left him! I can't remember how many times DH had to put on his boots and go hunt for the pup. I honestly wish I had captured the look on her face the last time she tried to leave Doc behind...and he showed up seconds later at the door with her. To say she was disgruntled would be an understatement! They soon became close companions and had an unspoken (at least in human language) division of labor. Pepper was responsible for the area around the house. She would "patrol" the perimeter of our property and go visit occasionally but her area was the house and immediate yard. Doc was in charge of the perimeter...sounds very military but it worked for them. If it happened in a pasture, Doc was there. Pepper watched from the porch or edge of the yard. If someone came down the driveway, Pepper was all over them until she caught their scent and knew it was okay.
Most people are concerned when they have children that their pets will have negative reactions. Not so for me and Pepper. I knew she'd be great with a baby and indeed she was! She would come in the house and lay near Tater's bassinet, under his swing, or under his high chair whenever she got a chance. Same thing when Sweet Tater arrived. I have pictures of both kids sitting on her as well. Ears were pulled, tail was yanked, and she was pounced on, pummelled, and pounded more than any one else in the family...except perhaps me when they were still "baking." When Sweet Tater came along, Pepper was older but still so easy with her. Even the last few weeks when ST would drag her around by the ears or try to "feed" her plastic food, Pepper was patient and loving. She'd just look at me and say with her eyes "Seriously? Can you do something here?"
If I ever felt down or was in need of unconditional love, she was there at my feet without being called. It was just that easy. No matter how bad a day I had or how terrible things looked, she was there with bright eyes and curls at the tips of her ears. I'll always miss that and I'll always miss the way she'd move her head just so until my hand sat on top of it...then she'd sigh.
More memories keep coming to mind....funny, touching, and a little annoying (eating my screen door)....but these are memories I will always have to hold on to just like I have the knowledge that she's wrestling with Doc in Heaven with her fuzzy dog butt in the air and tail wagging madly. Shelby's watching from the top of a recliner and so are my human loved ones who have passed. All have met her now and love her....just like I always will.
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