Everybody Get Random in Book Four: Ichi-no-Tani 2017
- June 29, 2017, 11:17 a.m.
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- Public
Not that it is new but… my body and eyes hurt. I really hope that (after Wednesday) I can (1) get new glasses and (2) get eye drops to fix the high pressure. I honestly wouldn’t mind going blind except for the fact that computers, video gaming, and reading would be… uh.... lets just say “more difficult!” And… as to the body… I know the pain won’t go away. I know that if I run another 1.96 miles tonight… that pain is going to get worse. But… right now… I haven’t the energy, the body, the stamina, or the health to even run all of that. Frankly, I end up walking at least half. Now, since my goal is to be able to consistently run a strong 3.11 miles by the end of the year… I need to keep pushing. Just… the damnable pain.
Y’know what sounds REALLY good? Well… a few things. Let me see if I can’t concisely write a few of them down.
(1) An entire week off to sleep in, watch Television, play Video Games, read Prosebox and just recoup my energy.
(2) An entire week off with the Wife in Bermuda, Bahamas, or Hawaii. Soaking in sun, enjoying the calm of the ocean’s sounds, drinking fruity drinks as we go in and out of sleepy, restful naps.
(3) A weekend (or just a long evening) of ridiculous passionate life-altering sexual debauchery.
In other words… it sounds like I need a Honeymoon. lol. We never got one. Hell, in all of the time Wife and I have been together… we’ve never once just… gone on Vacation, just the two of us, with no “ulterior motive” (like Wedding or Family Reunion or something.) That includes when we were dating. So… July 2005 to today. No vacations for us. No honeymoons. No wonder we’re so fucking tired and cranky, lol.
But of course… we absolutely can NOT do one this year. First of all, she won’t be able to get the time off work because she is still “in her first 6 months” at the new location. Second, I’m allowed a grand total of one week of vacation from the firm. For non US Citizens with questions, allow me to attempt to preempt you: The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacations, sick leave or federal or other holidays. These benefits are matters of agreement between an employer and an employee (or the employee’s representative). Important to note that, for many, people view Japan as the land where people work themselves to death… but even Japan has laws requiring vacation time and other leave. But… in the United States… you are not guaranteed any form of Sick Pay or Vacation Time. Even still, I am kind of making it known that… My Cousin’s wedding and bachelor party were scheduled before I took this job. I am IN my Cousin’s wedding. AND my cousin is marrying a Filipino woman (big Asian wedding). So if the firm doesn’t like me needing 4 days for that… they can fire me. I have no problems saying “I put family first” in future interviews.
So… all of that? Yeah. No vacation for this year. And (frankly, horrifyingly)… I have serious doubts about a vacation for next year. Because either (1) Wife will have finally started figuring out what she DOES want to do with her life and, as the newest greenest person in whatever company or outfit she winds up in… she likely won’t get first crack at time off and the like; and/or (2) My work. Next year, I’ll either quit my current position (again) because it is insanely offensive to pay me $30,000. OR I’ll get a raise but stay at 1 week of vacation per year and won’t risk Vacation Time because five days over 12 months can easily evaporate due to emergencies and the like.
Now lets turn it political again, lol… I’ll grant you that Senators and Congressmen are required to do a lot of fundraising and other stuff so their “Time in Chambers” isn’t 100% of what they do when they are actually working. That said… Congress typically spends around 140 days in session each year. Less than 40% of the year. Meanwhile, the AVERAGE American Employee (according to Business Statistics) gets a total of 16 days of combined Holiday/Vacation Time per year. Or… vacation/holiday equaling less than 5% of the year. To cap this off with even more random facts… The average United States Citizen’s yearly income, based on most analysis tools, is approximately $51,000. The average United States Senator’s yearly income is $174,000 per year.
Funny tip… and this is just studying human nature and understanding how the world at large works from an observational standing.... if people are allowed to take leave, are paid better… in essence, if you treat employees like PEOPLE instead of like THINGS… they tend to work better and work harder. If you treat people like THINGS and require them to work themselves to burn out… you increase turn over, decrease efficiency, and (in the big picture) hurt your own bottom line.
Amaryllis ⋅ June 29, 2017
I hate it when people give me suggestions, so apologies in advance, but I suffer from really bad eyestrain myself. I'm also predisposed to glaucoma because my mother and grandmother both have/had it.
I wear anti-glare glasses I bought on Ebay. They look really stupid, but they help quite a bit. I do not need contacts or regular glasses so I'm not sure this is an option if you do.
I also uses programs on my computers to minimize glare. I use the HackerVision add-on in Chrome which turns any page black with white writing. You can very easily toggle it on an off an it remembers your settings per page, so you can get each page as dark as possible.
Lastly, and this has been the MOST helpful for me, I use a program called Flux that changes the colors on my computer to eye-friendly ones. It minimizes the harsh blues and makes everything warmer. Yes, it makes your photos appear vaguely orange-tinged, but you get used to it, and you can easily toggle it off for color-sensitive work.
I hope some of that helps you, if you aren't already doing similar things. I am on my computer like 12 hours a day and my eyes rarely hurt anymore. Before I started doing all of these things, I regularly (like, daily) had burst blood vessels and pain in my eyes.
Park Row Fallout Amaryllis ⋅ June 29, 2017
I am awful about following up on good advice; but this is all worthwhile stuff. I will see if I can try these. Thanks!
stargazing ⋅ June 29, 2017
Arizona voted in a new law that requires businesses to give employees sick time.
Park Row Fallout stargazing ⋅ June 29, 2017
At least that is a start. I get that people don't want Government dictating every aspect of life, and I am the same way... but the sheer number of ways (and areas) we've said "We would rather let Greed control us than the Government" can be scary sometimes.
Wallflowergirl ⋅ June 29, 2017
Can you take off without pay? I'm self-employed so I'm not accustomed to having any paid sick or vacation time. Sometimes not getting paid is worth the time off.
Park Row Fallout Wallflowergirl ⋅ June 29, 2017
Yes and No. My firm has never had an associate before so things are weird. Right now, they want me planted at my desk as often as possible and I get a (low) base salary with the potential to bonus if I hit Billable Hour Goals. So... time off doesn't affect pay in any perceivable way. However, in order to continue receiving that base salary; I am subject to the whims and expectations of my bosses who have given me "one week's worth of vacation time".
Deleted user ⋅ June 29, 2017
I agree. The better employees are treated, the harder they work and the higher their level of satisfaction with the work place .
Rhapsody in Purple ⋅ June 29, 2017
when we took our US holiday, we were shocked at the number of locals that were shocked that we were able to spend so long away from work. 4 weeks annual leave is standard in Australia for a permanent full time job. At my husband's work, they force you to take leave if they feel you've been too long without time away from work.
It often seem like our country is trying to change some of our stuff to follow the american standard but i just don't know how we can think that's a good idea.
I hope you get a chance to take a decent trip with your wife sometime. Go get that honeymoon done.