It shouldn't take a rocket scientist...

[Jas]

...to look after things when you're away.

It appears, now that I've been back for a few days, that no one is capable of doing anything for themselves. A few examples:

1. 46 voicemails on my work phone (I didn't even know that it could store that many.) These included:

SIX for the diving master from someone initially wondering when they could come to set up for a diving demonstration. The last few of these consisted of rants wondering why the dive master (who's name is not Lola, has nothing to do with office administration, and certainly isn't going to be out of the office during one of the biggest weekends of the year), isn't phoning them back despite repeated messages.

As well, there were about ten from people giving themselves aneurisms because someone put the wrong mail/faxes/interoffice into their mailbox. Last I checked, I wasn't responsible for ensuring that everyone is the building is literate and pays attention. Another several were from people who used up all the paper in the photocopier/fax/printer and were certain that this was a sign of the apocalypse. Only about 10 or so of the vm's left on my machine had anything to do with me.

2. Apparently, telling people that I would be away for a week, and sending them repeated emails starting in December, isn't sufficient, as I also need to mention that when I'm away from the 16th to the 23rd, I will not be in during the hours of 3h00 to 3h30 on those days. It appears that in some cultures, people fly home every day of their vacation during those hours. I apologize for any inconvenience my not taking into account these cultural difficulties caused.

3. If you're housesitting for someone, and you look in their freezer for ice cream, it's probably a good idea to close the freezer after your quest yields no frozen dairy products. If you neglect to do this, and you come back the next day to find the freezer door wide open, don't simply close it, then phone the day after I get back to inform me that you have no idea how long it was open for. Refreezing meat that thawed doesn't help me out at all, because now I have to figure out which meat thawed and which meat is still ok.

Wiping the blood and stuff off the kitchen floor was helpful, but now I have to deal with all the frozen liquid at the bottom of the freezer.

There's more, but I think that's enough for now.

How was everyone else's homecoming?

[deBergerac]

After a long trip I arrived to Prague as the snow gently began to snow and it did not stop until this morning. We now have a white carpet all over the city. Everything was as I left it and life is great.
People at work asked me how my trip had been and no one complained that I had been away.
Sorry that I cannot give you the relief that someone else has it worse than you.

[DiskoVilante]

I came back home and was 4 days behind in HW, have 2 midterms in a week, and I have to learn how to drive!
All the while my mom's health is deteriorating and I'm afraid for her quality of life.
Is this a competition?

[Horatius]

My house and my cat were okay when I got home, but I found out that the low oil problem I had just before TAM did, in fact, trash the engine in my truck. So now I've just come from signing the papers to buy a new truck, which I might be able to pick up later today, or tomorrow for sure.

So an expensive week all around. That $240 I won in poker the last night suddenly doesn't seem like enough....

[LostAngeles]

Like Disko, I have two midterms, but I'm not really behind on my homework.

Still, Jas, while those first two seem par for the course (I'll tell you about the messages I get), that last one's a doozy...

oy vey. Y'slap 'em?

[Geek Goddess]

All the while my mom's health is deteriorating and I'm afraid for her quality of life.
Is this a competition?

I am truly sorry to hear this. My mom is doing very poorly, as well.

So an expensive week all around. That $240 I won in poker the last night suddenly doesn't seem like enough....


Crap - car problems are never fun. I was fortunate for TAM - free ticket on Southwest (I'm a frequent flyer which just means I work a lot), subsidized room at the hotel, friend that picked up several of my meals.

Jas - doesn't all that make you miss the cool people at TAM even more?

[Dicon]

Our biggest catastrophe upon returning was finding that our mailbox was full of the neighbor's mail. Our mail had been held -- as it should have, since I submitted the form to do so -- but I guess the mail carrier didn't like the looks of an empty mailbox and decided to share some from other people.

[Jas]

I came back home and was 4 days behind in HW, have 2 midterms in a week, and I have to learn how to drive!
All the while my mom's health is deteriorating and I'm afraid for her quality of life.
Is this a competition?

Actually, I wasn't referring to that. I got news of my grandma's death as I was checking in for my flights to TAM, and on Thursday morning, my relatives tried to get money out of me in exchange for my mother's jewellery. I think my week beats yours.

I suppose I wasn't that clear, but I was mainly referring to people who appear to be utterly incompetent and can't appear to do anything without some major hand holding.

[NewMusic_Jenn]

Not nearly so serious - but lots weirdness. I got in at 2:00 AM from Vegas and was at work first thing that morning. We were scheduled to have "change management" seminar on that day so I dutifully showed up and there was no one there...worse still no one at the business centre knew that our office was ever supposed to be there. OK - so know for a fact that we were supposed to be there on that day - but I seem to be the only one.

I shrug and decide to walk over to my office (in another building across the highway on the other side of campus)...did I mention we got 30 cm of snow the day before which had turned into gray slush? So I'm slogging through slushy-snow and there's ice pellets kept falling on my head (no, this did not make me burst into song) - and I have to seriously wonder why I left Vegas.

I finally get into my office and there are (literally) 341 emails that need responding (not including the spam), gaggles of voice mail and a mountain of snail mail. Sigh. Now, just so you know I did indeed turn on my office assistant replying to each person that I would be out of the office until the following day (since this was, in theory, a training day). Yet, there were still at least 6 people who had sent me repeated emails asking why had yet to respond to their previous email...I'm still not sure if they were trying to be funny or are just daft. Then in the middle of email-fest I get a call from another office asking me why I'm not that the meeting that's happening right now. Well, I'm not back as far as anyone knows and the email announcing this meeting was only sent out yesterday (and I had yet to make it up that far in the email game). Sigh 2. I head over to meeting. I should have just stayed in bed :boggled:

Done ranting...mostly just missing TAM :(

Jenn

Each day away = exponentially more time for the daft to leave stupid emails ;)

[Jas]

Yeah, I kept an eye on my inbox for emails while I was away, just so I wouldn't have a huge headache when I got home. Granted, I didn't do much, but still...

Last year my Sunday morning was spent on the phone because one of our machines being transported in from the States hit a bridge.

I got to spend this morning out of the office though, and took a field trip with the grounds guys out to the archives to bring back some artifacts, artwork, etc. Super fun. It's astounding what sort of ... stuff... and organization can acquire over fifty years. I'm trying to convince them that the narwhal tusk is worthless, and should be given to me.

[Fnord]

I was off work for two weeks due to a "cardiac event" as the doc so eloquently put it, and it wasn't until three days after I returned to work that anyone noticed that I was gone!

(Other than my supervisor and two assistants.)

Even then, it took someone barging into the office and demanding why it's taken me two weeks to answer my messages for the news of my absence to get around to the other departments. This did wonders for my self-esteem. Even when my boss explained to the bozo that I did not deserve the abuse, the clown still insisted that I handle his "emergency" immediately.

He can now listen to streaming audio of his favorite talk-radio station. Amazing how well thing work when they're plugged in, isn't it?

-Fnord of Dyscordia-

[NewMusic_Jenn]

Yeah, I kept an eye on my inbox for emails while I was away, just so I wouldn't have a huge headache when I got home. Granted, I didn't do much, but still...

Last year my Sunday morning was spent on the phone because one of our machines being transported in from the States hit a bridge.

I got to spend this morning out of the office though, and took a field trip with the grounds guys out to the archives to bring back some artifacts, artwork, etc. Super fun. It's astounding what sort of ... stuff... and organization can acquire over fifty years. I'm trying to convince them that the narwhal tusk is worthless, and should be given to me.

I should have checked my email...but I decided to completely unplug. As for the narwhal tusk - if they give it to you take a picture and post it - they're cool animals ;)

J

[TJ]

I arrived home to find out that the kindly old lady who lives across the street (and who's corner lot of sidewalk I've shoveled for the last 8 winters) died on saturday.

Yesterday afternoon was a funeral and reception for her. :(

[ottle]

Ugh! Ya'll seem like you've had really crappy homecomings! I'm so sorry!

I also came home to a mountain of work (in spite of checking my blackberry throughout TAM) and 3 clients who were upset enough to want to dump us as vendors (all of which became my 'top priority' according to my boss).

And I have to go to Pittsburgh in a couple of weeks. It's a good thing I really like my job or I'd be thinking that it sucks!

[NewMusic_Jenn]

Ugh! Ya'll seem like you've had really crappy homecomings! I'm so sorry!

I also came home to a mountain of work (in spite of checking my blackberry throughout TAM) and 3 clients who were upset enough to want to dump us as vendors (all of which became my 'top priority' according to my boss).

And I have to go to Pittsburgh in a couple of weeks. It's a good thing I really like my job or I'd be thinking that it sucks!

On the up side I've had a chance to tell lots of people all about JREF (after they asked what I did on my vacation) - hopefully some more people will learn about skepticism and want to get involved! Some even asked for the website after I mentioned all the great speakers at TAM5. Maybe even a larger Newfie repersentation at TAM6?

(Jenn = optimist :D)

[Fitter]

Maybe even a larger Newfie repersentation at TAM6?

(Jenn = optimist :D)
What? Two of us weren't enough?:)

[NewMusic_Jenn]

What? Two of us weren't enough?:)

The more the merrier :D!

[Skeptic Ginger]

Check voice mail upon return, I wish. I had to check mine twice a day while I was at TAM.

I am sorry about all the family members health as well. My Mom is in steady slow decline, she's doing OK.

Returning home, though I'm not in the running for a prize, my teenage son didn't get around to bringing the trash cans in from Friday, hadn't let the dogs out before school Monday, and generally did the usual not lift so much as a finger on any chore activity since I wasn't there to direct each and every task.

I'm hoping the value, doing one's share of the work, is silently filtering into his brain despite outward appearances.

[Soapy Sam]

Just back tonight, after a week driving around Nevada and California. Nasty letter from the tax man, three urgent emails from my office requesting me to get in touch asap and major jet lag.

All good things...

[ottle]

On the up side I've had a chance to tell lots of people all about JREF (after they asked what I did on my vacation) - hopefully some more people will learn about skepticism and want to get involved! Some even asked for the website after I mentioned all the great speakers at TAM5. Maybe even a larger Newfie repersentation at TAM6?

(Jenn = optimist :D)

See if you can get Alan Doyle to show up! :)

[NewMusic_Jenn]

See if you can get Alan Doyle to show up! :)

If only! ;)

[exarch]

On the way to the airport before I left, I realized that, despite trying not to forget, I'd forgotten to turn off my heater :rolleyes:
So I called my sister, who had already agreed to empty my mailbox a couple of times during my absence, if she could please turn that off too. And while she was at it, maybe flip the switch on the power distributer on some of my kitchen-counter applyances like the toaster and the coffee maker.

When I got home, the appartment was cold, and the coffe maker and toaster were turned off. But unfortunately, so was my PC. Now, I don't blame my sister for shutting it down, but I'd left it running so I wouldn't risk flooding my mailbox and having to watch Outlook fail to download about 600 e-mails on first start up. Which of course, it did. So my first half hour on the computer was spent cancelling the e-mail download after every hundred or so messages downloaded, and once that was finished, deleting all the duplicates from the first, failed download. And of course, deleting all the spam too.

At least I remembered to tell Chaos not to send me any large picture emails until I got home, since I suspected something like that might be going on.