The "What's on your mind?" Thread -2016

[tallyollyopia]

It seems I have competition for my favorite holiday candy!  

   Unfortunately, I can't indulge her. I just googled "is peppermint safe for cats?" and the answer is  NO!  Poor Chula.  

I hope I have time. I'll really be pushing it to get these last two scarves (one almost done, thank heavens) finished in time. Poor kitty! (Maybe she just likes playing with the wrapping?)

In other news, we have flocks. Flocks of robins, to be precise. 

 They started arriving in our yard sometime yesterday and don't seem to be leaving. (The cats are enjoying the spectacle of the birds, but aren't hunting them.) I have no  idea what's going on--this has never happened before. And it's not the area--our neighbors' yards are clear.

 

[Willowy]

Amazon will send you an actual gift card if you want. At this point it might not make it before Christmas though. If you need it quick you can just have the gift card code emailed to you and put that in a regular card?

 

[Margret]

 
Tonight I was monitored by the supervisor I went to when I was being marked down for something I was doing right - the one who caused the people marking me down to have to get retrained.  She's not the one who's been riding my butt and had nothing to do with any of the e-mails I've been sent.  In fact, I sent her a quick e-mail after I got the e-mail about the Tesera/Teresa thing.  I think she hijacked my monitoring after that.

#001 (12-20 20:02  by Halliena) Uses the who's calling pat response and confirms the correct respondent. Polite closing. 
#002 (12-20 20:05  by Halliena) Well mannered tone. Confirms the correct respondent. Nice pace. Sincere closing. 
#003 (12-20 20:01  by Halliena) Well mannered tone. Stops when interrupted. Nice pace. Entering the answers given correctly. 
#004 (12-20 20:04  by Halliena) Well mannered tone. Nice pace. Redirects when given an off scale answer at Q1. 
#005 (12-20 19:58  by Halliena) Speaking clearly. Uses the "correct person" and the "would you be willing to answer...." pat response to keep the correct respondent on the phone. Redirects correctly at Q2. 
#006 (12-20 20:12  by Halliena) Speaking clearly. Reading the Alamo survey verbatim. Redirects correctly at Q2. 
#007 (12-20 20:00  by Halliena) Well mannered tone. Reading the survey verbatim. Nice pace. Stops when interrupted and redirects correctly at Q1. 
#008 (12-20 20:07  by Halliena) Well mannered tone. Uses the who's calling pat response and confirms the correct respondent. Reading the survey verbatim. Redirects correctly at Q1. 
#009 (12-20 20:08  by Halliena) Speaking clearly. Confirms the correct respondent. Nice pace. Entering the answers given correctly. 
#010 (12-20 20:10  by Halliena) Well mannered tone. Reading the survey verbatim. Readings the hot alert correctly. Polite closing

She's a little lower on the totem than Carol, but hopefully high enough to make my life a little less miserable by taking over my monitoring as often as possible.  She unofficially told me she feels like I'm being treated unfairly, but I'm not gonna risk getting her in trouble by bringing that up to anyone else.

Be very sure and hang on to this one as well.  If they should fire you (and it sounds as if they may be working up to it) this is excellent evidence that they had no genuine cause, and all those negative reviews were concocted by them to discredit you.

Margret

 

[Margret]

It seems I have competition for my favorite holiday candy!  

   Unfortunately, I can't indulge her. I just googled "is peppermint safe for cats?" and the answer is  NO!  Poor Chula.  

Aw, poor Chula.  Jasmine tries to steal my pistachios.  They aren't poisonous to cats, but also not the sort of protein they need.  And besides that, I'm very territorial about my pistachios.

I'm glad you have family coming for Christmas.  Enjoy the holiday.  Maybe having extra hands for petting and swinging DaBird will make up a bit for Chula's loss.

Margret

 

[segelkatt]

Flat-pack means the stuff you have to put together yourself, comes flat in a box. Cheaper that way.

An occasional table. . .I guess I would call it an end table. Like this maybe? https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-Black-Parsons-End-Table/47827019

That's what I was thinking of also, IKEA sells those all the time in different finishes but they don't do mail order.

 

[segelkatt]

 
Unfortunately, just the mere thought of the word "yawn" can set people off into yawn attacks.  It's really an insidious problem - kind of self perpetuating.   I don't suppose that Personal Leave she offered is paid by any chance?

OMG.  That is truly ridiculous.  I have an unusual last name that is butchered regularly by customer service reps who are trying to sound it out phonetically.  Now I'm worried I'm leaving a trail of customer service reps with written warnings in my wake.    Besides which, Tesera is actually a legitimate name - at least some businesses out there think so.  And besides that, people make up their own names and spellings all the time.  Your supervisor is nuts.  

On another note:  how many weeks of unemployment can you get?  

Most places Unemployment Insurance pays for 26 weeks but it changes with states if there is an extension which depends on how severe unemployment is, right now it's low so there probably are no extensions. Of course. the person has to be found eligible. A person can be denied if terminated for misconduct. Also, the person has to be able and available for work, thus: if a person attends school during usual work hours the person will be denied, if restricting to part time work although previously had worked full time will also be denied, has no transportation to work will be denied, the list goes on, does not want or is not looking for work in their usual occupation will also be denied. Deciding who is eligible was my job for 20 years and the rules and laws have hardly changed since the program started in 1931, although they have been tweaked to fit changes in society and technology. 

 

[AbbysMom]

Where do they sell those? There aren't any in my store, and I thought we sold everything. (At exceptionally high prices, might I add.) Great idea though!

I bought one at CVS about a month ago.

Here's a list of stores that sell them:

https://www.amazon.com/b/ref=amb_li...436122&pf_rd_i=1000465651&tag=&tag=thecatsite

 

[segelkatt]

At this point it sounds like they're harrassing you to make you quit :/. Lots of companies do it---they don't have to pay unemployment if you quit. If the company has an HR department you should contact them.

This is not correct. If a person has a valid reason to quit he/she will still be eligible for UI. For instance: your spouse (including same-sex spouse) is being transferred to a place far away and you leave your job to accompany him/her and there is no transfer available in your own job then you have good cause to leave your job and you will be eligible. However you must do everything you can to make sure there is no new job available for you in the new location with your company.

The other is if the company says you can quit or be fired. That is not really a quit as you have no choice, you will be out of work no matter what, it is considered a termination.

 

[Willowy]

Yes, but if you quit because you're sick of how they're treating you, no unemployment. That's not generally considered a "good reason". They'll never come out and say "quit or we'll fire you", they just haze you until you get sick of it. My brother works at Walmart and he says that's what they do :/. If they don't like someone, they never fire them, just cut their hours and give them the crummy work until they quit.

 

[segelkatt]

Yes, but if you quit because you're sick of how they're treating you, no unemployment. That's not generally considered a "good reason". They'll never come out and say "quit or we'll fire you", they just haze you until you get sick of it. My brother works at Walmart and he says that's what they do :/. If they don't like someone, they never fire them, just cut their hours and give them the crummy work until they quit.

Yes, a genuine quit has to be for what the Department considers "good cause". This decision is not made by the employer or the employee but by the person working at the Department according to strict rules.

Walmart has always treated their employees like 

i. but then they did not go about terminating them the right way and most of them were eligible. Here in Calif. they finally gave up and hired another company to do their unemployment claims and that company could not get any info from Walmart regarding the terminations so 99% of the time people were found eligible for lack of info.

The "quit or be terminated" is usually reserved for people in higher positions where a termination does not look good on their resume. However, technically it's still a termination.

Unfortunately, it's usually the "little people" who get the shaft. Never go to HR, personnel or whatever without witnesses if possible, any complaint should be in writing or at least in email as verbal things are gone with the wind and people will deny ever having heard anything and there is no proof.

Also, in some states if you have worked for a company for only a short time it is not considered why you are no longer working there but they go back to the longest job before there and why you are no longer working there. That can work in your favor, i.e. you were laid off for lack of work, then got a short job where you may have been fired for cause but that particular state will only look at why you are no longer working at the job you had for a long time. This is not the way it works in Calif where the very last employer, no matter how short, even if just for one day (like temp agencies), or a part time job is the one the Department will look at regarding why you are not working full time. And yes, you can get partial payments if you are not working full time but would like to.

Harassing and hazing are also favorite ways for a company to make you quit. Cutting hours will not be in their favor because the employee can then apply for partial benefits. Giving someone "crummy work" may not work for the company either if the work is outside of the employees' usual work description. So, a sales clerk or cashier being told to clean the bathroom and not do clerical or cashier work anymore, that he/she is now a janitor, is not their usual work and the employee has a legitimate complaint. It's a demotion even if the pay is the same. The employee can "quit" because their job was taken away which is really a "layoff lack of work" and offered a new job which was not suitable. In this case there are two issues: was this a quit (no, because the job was taken away) and was the person offered a suitable job (no, as it was not in the person's usual occupation) , thus the employee is eligible for benefits.

As you can see it's not all black and white, if it were there would be no state employees to make decisions, it could just be fed into a computer which would make the decision without considering the human element.   

 

[Alicia88]

Thanks for all the info -very helpful to know.  I have an unemployment question for a completely different reason - do you have to have the job for a certain amount of time to be eligible for unemployment?  I swear, we're cursed or something.  John just got laid off.  He worked there for just under 3 months and they just laid off a bunch of people because the new side of the factory isn't up and running yet, due in large part to dumb butt (I REALLY want to use stronger language) shooting his wife in the head in front of the people who were in town to set up the new machinery).  So, now he's on the hunt for another job.  They're being incredibly generous.  They're paying him for today and tomorrow without him working.  Yay!  They just decided they didn't want to keep having them come in for a few hours and having to go home because there's no more work and they have this policy that if someone is scheduled for the holiday but the plant is closed on said holiday (the schedules are made up without holidays taken into account; it's kinda weird), that person gets paid time and a half for the hours that would be worked if the plant was open.  So, John was scheduled for Christmas and New Year's.  He wouldn't have had to go in but he would have received 12 hours of holiday pay regardless.  They decided they didn't want to do that so they laid people off instead.

Poor Chula!  What about imitation peppermint?  Is that safe for kitties?

I never delete any of my work e-mails and every interaction occurs through e-mail, so keeping everything documented is effortless.  Yay me.

 

[Margret]

 
Thanks for all the info -very helpful to know.  I have an unemployment question for a completely different reason - do you have to have the job for a certain amount of time to be eligible for unemployment?  I swear, we're cursed or something.  John just got laid off.  He worked there for just under 3 months and they just laid off a bunch of people because the new side of the factory isn't up and running yet, due in large part to dumb butt (I REALLY want to use stronger language) shooting his wife in the head in front of the people who were in town to set up the new machinery).  So, now he's on the hunt for another job.  They're being incredibly generous.  They're paying him for today and tomorrow without him working.  Yay!  They just decided they didn't want to keep having them come in for a few hours and having to go home because there's no more work and they have this policy that if someone is scheduled for the holiday but the plant is closed on said holiday (the schedules are made up without holidays taken into account; it's kinda weird), that person gets paid time and a half for the hours that would be worked if the plant was open.  So, John was scheduled for Christmas and New Year's.  He wouldn't have had to go in but he would have received 12 hours of holiday pay regardless.  They decided they didn't want to do that so they laid people off instead.

Poor Chula!  What about imitation peppermint?  Is that safe for kitties?

I never delete any of my work e-mails and every interaction occurs through e-mail, so keeping everything documented is effortless.  Yay me.

I think the rules vary depending on what state you're in.  You should be able to find it online.

You may want to start putting your work emails in their very own folder (if you don't already) so they'll be easier to find when you need the documentation.

Margret

 

[Alicia88]

K.  Can I just run away?  I'm actually ready to just go ahead and go insane.  Like, disappear inside my head and have someone commit me.

By the way, my "incredibly generous" comment earlier was sarcasm.  "Incredibly generous" would be not laying people off right before Christmas because some jack*** murdered his wife and set off a whole chain of unintended consequences.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

@Mamanyt1953 what about using double stick rug tape instead of staples ? Or get a vinyl cover big enough that you could tuck the edges underneath the legs ?
Just a couple of ideas...[emoji]128568[/emoji]

THANKS!  I really like the idea of the tape!

 

[margd]

I'm so sorry to hear about John being laid off.  You two just did not need any more bad news.  And two whole days of severance pay?  Wow.   I guess they figured three days would break the bank.  

Did you find out if John can collect unemployment if he's only worked three months at his current job?  I really hope he can.  Meanwhile, many many (((((((HUGS)))))) to you.  You're a very strong woman and I know you'll make it through but I really wish you were not having to go through this.  

 

[margd]

Just had a wonderful visit with my daughter.  It was the first time I'd seen her in years so I wasn't sure what to expect but we just had the nicest time.  Paul and Chula were thrilled at the company and to show it, Chula barfed up a big pile of freshly eaten food right at my daughter's feet.  

  She managed to do this on my best carpet, of course.    One of the things I hoped to do was get a nice photo of my daughter on my fancy new camera.   Note to self:  always check battery level before planning a photo shoot.  

     Anyway, I have that warm peaceful feeling of a successful visit with a loved one and a freshly cleaned house.  

 

[Alicia88]

I did some googling and I didn't find any info about minimum time worked.  So maybe there isn't a minimum.  It did say unemployed through no fault of your own.  Well, he didn't ask to be laid off, so he falls into that category.

What frustrates me the most is he passed on another perfectly job for this.  He was working at a fast food place and getting very few hours so of course, he started looking elsewhere.  He was offered a maintenance position at a hospital, but he accepted the job at the factory because pay was higher and they offered health insurance for him and his family - aka Aislyn.  So, then they lay him off and the hospital job is no longer available.  

Let's make this a little worse, shall we?  Yesterday was his day off.  Yesterday morning,they called him and told him to report to HR at the beginning of his shift today.  They said nothing else.  So, he spent all day yesterday and all this morning stressing out, trying to figure out what he did wrong.  The answer - nothing.  They just thought it would be funny apparently.

A few months ago, a friend of his bought a doughnut shot and offered him a job there, but he'd just been hired at the factory, so he turned him down.  Who wouldn't?  $15 an hour at a full time job or minimum wage at a part time job?  He's going to call his friend and see if he has an open position, but it doesn't seem likely.

 

[Alicia88]

 
Just had a wonderful visit with my daughter.  It was the first time I'd seen her in years so I wasn't sure what to expect but we just had the nicest time.  Paul and Chula were thrilled at the company and to show it, Chula barfed up a big pile of freshly eaten food right at my daughter's feet.  

  She managed to do this on my best carpet, of course.    One of the things I hoped to do was get a nice photo of my daughter on my fancy new camera.   Note to self:  always check battery level before planning a photo shoot.  

     Anyway, I have that warm peaceful feeling of a successful visit with a loved one and a freshly cleaned house.  

I'm glad you had such a good day!!!  

 

[tarasgirl06]

Great!  Sounds like a good time for all.  *Hoping for a pic of Chula and her "work"* 

 

[margd]