LIKE to pet tum (he likes tummy pets) REBLOG to scritch chin (he LOVES chin scritchies)

vaspider:

ms-demeanor:

krakenartificer:

elfwreck:

phoenixonwheels:

can-i-make-image-descriptions:

katsdom:

soberscientistlife:

Do Not Let HR do this to you. It is not illegal to talk about wages in the work place. I did and got a 12% raise!

True info. Now let me add something: The power of documentation. (I was a long time steward in a nurses union.)

Remember: The “‘E” in email stands for evidence.

That cuts both ways. Be careful what you put into an email. It never really goes away and can be used against you.

But can also be a powerful tool for workplace fairness.

Case 1: Your supervisor asks you to do something you know is either illegal or against company policy. A verbal request. If things go wrong, you can count on them denying that they ever told you to do that. You go back to your desk, or wherever and you send them an email: “I just want to make sure that I understood correctly that you want me to do xxxxx” Quite often, once they see it in writing, they will change their mind about having you do it. If not, you have documentation.

Case 2: You have a schedule you like, you’ve had that schedule for a while, it works for you. Your supervisor comes to you and says “We’re really short-handed now and I need you to change your schedule just for a month until we can get someone else hired. It’s just temporary and you can have your old schedule back after a month.” A month goes by and they forget entirely that they made that promise to you. So, once again, when they make the initial request, you send them an email “I’m happy to help out temporarily, but just want to make sure I understand correctly that I will get my old schedule back after a month as you promised.” Documentation.

[Image ID: Text reading: In the middle of a busy clinic at our practice, I got pulled in by my manager to speak to HR, who must have made a special trip because she lives several states away, and told I was being 'investigated’ for discussing wages with my other employees. She told me it was against company policy to discuss wages.

Me; That’s illegal.

Them: (start italics) three slow, long seconds of staring at me blankly (end italics) Uh…

Me: That’s an illegal policy to have. The right to discuss wages is a right protected by the National Labor Relations board. I used to be in a union. I know this.

HR: Oh, this is news to me! I have been working HR for 18 years and I never knew that. Haha. Well try not do do it anyway, it makes people upset, haha.

Me: people are entitled to their opinions about what their work is worth. Bye.

I then left, and sent her several texts and emails saying I would like a copy of their company policy to see where this wage discussion policy was kept. She quickly called me back in to her office.

HR: You know what, there is no policy like that in the handbook! I double check. Sorry about the confusion, my apologies.

Me: You still haven’t given me the paper saying that we had this discussion. I am going to need some protection against retaliation.

HR: Oh haha yes here you go.

I just received a paper with legal letterhead and an apology saying there was no verbal warning or write up. Don’t even take their shit you guys. Keep talking about wages. Know your worth. /End ID]

At one of my old (shit) jobs my boss would continually come have these verbal discussions with me and would never put anything in writing I took to summarizing every discussion we had in email. Like “just to confirm that you asked me to do X by Y date and you understand that means I won’t be able to complete the previous task you gave me until Z date - 2 weeks later than originally scheduled - because you want me to prioritize this new project.

The woman would then storm back into my office screaming at me for putting the discussion in writing and arguing about pushing back the other project or whatever. At which point I would summarize that conversation in email as well. Which would bring her storming back in, rinse and repeat ad nauseum.

Anyway I cannot imagine how badly that job would have gone if I hadn’t put all her wildly unreasonable demands in writing. Bitch still hated me but she could never hang me for “missing deadlines” because I always had in writing that she’d pushed the project back because she wanted something else done first.

Paper your asses babes. Do not let them get away with shit. If they won’t put what they’re asking you to do in writing then write it up yourself and email it to them.

If you don’t have this kind of job but someday you’d might: start practicing.

After a casual conversation with friends, write up a brief synopsis of what you discussed & agreed to. (…Do not email this to friends unless you have their agreement that this would be a fun group project.) Get practice with,

“A, B, and C had a brief meeting about food options after the big game. We decided on pizza, with A&B agreeing to contribute X dollars each, and C agreeing to contribute Y dollars and also bring soda. A will call for pizza on the day of the game and schedule it for delivery at 8:30 pm.”

“A, B & C discussed movie options. A wanted something lite and fun; B wanted something scifi; C was fine with anything but horror. Nobody wanted superheroes. Decided on Lost Space Wanderers which opened last weekend; C agreed to research theatre options and report tomorrow.”

…and so on. Practice describing the results of “meetings” with friends and you’ll be ready to sum up “boss told me to set aside Project A to focus on Project B for the next two weeks” - because what’s likely is that boss didn’t say anything that clear; boss talked about how important Project B is and how the company needs parts X and Y done asap and you have the best skills for that, and when you mentioned how much time Project A was taking, boss said “eh don’t worry about that right now; marketing is breathing down my neck so we really need part X by Friday, okay?”

…at no point did you get a direct instruction.

Which is why anyone who is not the screaming-drama boss mentioned above would think it was perfectly reasonable for you to say, “I want to clarify the discussion we had earlier - you told me to focus on Project B to the exclusion of Project A for the next two weeks, even if that means Project A will miss its deadline; is that correct?”

Genuine question: what do I do when the boss in question doesn’t reply to my confirmation email, then says that he never approved the project delay?

In person or over the phone you say “that doesn’t match with my memory of the project but let me check my records and I’ll get back to you about what happened on this project.” Then go back to your desk and write the pettiest email in the world.

To: Boss

From: you

Cc: work group, team lead, project partner, direct supervisor, etc.

(Depending on severity of problem) Bcc: your personal email

“Hi Boss, I’m trying to resolve some confusion here. After our conversation about priority projects on [date] I reached out to you for confirmation of these details (see attached outlook item) and didn’t receive an update to the timeline since that communication. I have been working from the agenda we discussed (summarized in attached outlook item from [date]) in absence of further direction. Do you have a copy of your response updating the changes or correcting mistakes in my summary? It’s possible that I didn’t see your email and I’d like to identify where a communication was missed so that we can avoid issues like this in future projects.

Best,

[Name]”

For this to work you have to be militant about sending summary emails and firm with coworkers and supervisors that you will be documenting project plans via email, but once they’re used to your MO it’s worth the work.

It’s worth noting that the good bosses and coworkers you have will either a) know where this reflex comes from bc they’ve been there themselves and gladly support it or b) actively appreciate it bc they are (like me) doing about 6 jobs at any one time and having someone else write up summaries of meetings is a huge weight off of their shoulders and gives them something to refer back to.

My wife’s current boss really really loves the fact that she keeps notes on every meeting for her own records and emails them to everyone after the meeting.

This habit protects you from shit bosses and makes you look gold-plated to good ones.

cryptotheism:

The Hollywood executives gather around the base of the water tower on Warner Brothers studios. They utter prayers as they walk up the ten thousand steps to where the Oracle sleeps.

Lo! It is Dot Warner! In her regalia as The Oracle of Studio City!

Executive: “O Oracle, the studio system is failing! We are fat upon our merchandising rights, and struggle under the weight of the writer strike. What can we do?”

The Oracle: “Look to the past ye ingrates! Thou hast forgotten the bearings of thine forefathers!Remember the studio crash of the 60s! Remember what ponderous budgets and lackluster production do to the foundations of our nation!”

Executive: “What the, is the path, O Oracle?”

And the Oracle paused, channeling the muse and hallowed Apollo. And the Oracle spake:

The Oracle: “Schlock.”

Executives: “But it was banished! Bound to the time prison of 1988, and sealed within the earth! We cannot allow the B Studio system to return!”

The Oracle: “Schlock! I say! Let there be Schlock! The wheel turns! The light of heaven shines upon low-budget watchbait!”

Executives: “I cannot be!”

The Oracle: “Let streaming services collapse at their knees! Let a new generation of directors be forged in the fires of independent cinema! Now is the time of the hidden gem! The cult classic! Let there be unwatchable tripe! Let there be Schlock!”

becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys:

Sebona Fi is an absolute cultural phenomenon. It’s absolutely absurdly popular among Welsh speakers, to a rabid extent. People who don’t like modern Welsh music like it; people who only like heavy metal like it; people who don’t speak a lick of Welsh hear it and like it. It’s faerie music because it makes you smile and want to dance, regardless of how you feel that day or whether you even understand it.

Yws Gwynedd played the main stage on the last Saturday of the Eisteddfod last year. I went up for it. Great concert throughout, but the last song they did was, of course, Sebona Fi, and you cannot imagine the crowd response. People went feral. There were little old ladies dancing like nutters. A hundred years could have passed in three minutes, we wouldn’t have known. No one asked for an encore, because they couldn’t have beaten it. We all understood that was the end of the night. Every band that’s lucky has one song that goes down in history, and for Yws Gwynedd it’s Sebona Fi

The translated lyrics, btw:

Go walking right across the sea

Catch your breath, you will faster feel the warm air

Like a kiss on your bare white skin.

Listen to nothing to open your world.

Sit down now, lay down your head,

every little thing will be all right if you sleep through the afternoon.

Because we’re all running like so many rats;

If you have half an hour,

Flatter me.

But remember the same old things are worrying everyone,

But in the end, we’re all dirt

Oh, life is so fine.

The taste of the grape is strong in the wine,

And the company is good.

Sing the song that kept us up,

Hold tightly - cats and dogs* are falling around your head,

But remember there is value to your smile.

Because we’re all running like so many rats;

If you have half an hour,

Flatter me.

But remember the same old things are worrying everyone,

But we’re all dirt in the end.

Oh, life is so fine.

The taste of the grape is strong in the wine,

And the company is good

*as in, it’s raining cats and dogs. The actual Welsh is ‘old ladies and sticks’, and that’s what he sings.

And here it is for anyone wondering what all the fuss is about:

(You may still wonder. But it’s a banger.)

thisarenotarealblog:

fierceawakening:

honeylazors:

arvethli:

tchaikovskaya:

had to be there i guess

I told y'all it was a pun

A very long thread on it: https://twitter.com/lmrwanda/status/1505646738627088389?t=06aHTTZkf1ZaJyCDhWUzTg&s=19

And the punchline, if anyone wants to jump there directly: https://twitter.com/lmrwanda/status/1505648702119202823?t=IHkQWeElTa0T63o3lbr12Q&s=19

that’s excellent

cracking open a cold one with the sumerian dog

3y3:

signum.noir

hopepunk-humanity:

Maggie the poet

bobacupcake:

bobacupcake:

bobacupcake:

ok but what if i

here you go knock yourselves out !!!

webgl and windows builds for now. let me know if anyone has any issues

cut content. i am so sorry i had to take it out i ran into some issues. but i promise it will make a return someday. i promise i’ll make something someday where you can eat the orbs

cairaleighexe:

INTO DARKNESS, UNAFRAID

enby-denby:

depsidase:

If they pull a surprised Pikachu face and/or can’t give you an answer, you may want to call it early