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Look I am just saying, that it seems that I just have bad luck in general. Why do you ask, because every time I try to do something, whether it is starting a business, taking a day off, buying something, talking to someone, something always bad happens that shoots down whatever I am trying to do? Let me start with what just happened ok so, I had plans to go to lunch with my son since he is visiting from college, but my wife’s employee just got up and left. I haven’t had a chance to talk to him, you know man to man and I took some time off from work to do that. Look, I have just over 200 hours of paid time off (PTO), and there comes a point that I can no longer accrue time off, so I need to use it sometime. I planned to take a few days this week to spend time with my son and do some things on my blog and online store. I also had plans to take off next week a few days so that I could spend time with my daughter, plus do a few personal things at home. Now the thing is that except for spending time with my kids, I really do not due anything with my PTO, why you may ask, well let me tell you.
This coming August I will be married for 25 years, and even though the first say 7-10 years were amazing, the last 15-18 years have been one bad thing after another. It has gotten to the point where if I take time off, my wife gets really upset. The reason I know she gets upset is that she cannot simply take a day off from the daycare and it pisses her off when I do. Look I have been married 25 years, and like most men, we know when our wives are angry or don’t like something – ok. Now she does have vacation time, but she just can’t take a random day, so I think when I do it, she doesn’t like it. Now you wondering that I may be exaggerating, but I am not. Whenever I take a day off and say I try to go out for lunch, she looks at me with that look that all men know too well, which is, “it’s ok, go out and have fun”. We all know what that means, and it has gotten worse over the last 5 years. Unless of course, I do things around the house, she is fine with me taking a day off, and then people or anyone that might listen to me, understand why I feel like I just have bad luck. I can’t take a day off without getting reprimanded. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not blaming my wife for her employee just getting up and leaving, of course, it’s not her fault, but as I was saying I simply have bad luck everywhere I go, every moment of my day.
These past several years, more since this pandemic, trying to find workers has been tough. I know this because my wife has been struggling since this has happened. My employer is struggling to find employees that are willing to stay and even work. Every candidate, whether here at the daycare or the company I work at, demands so much and for some reason, this pandemic has created a society of workers that feel they are entitled to everything, yet when they get hired, they don’t a dang thing – nada. For example, my wife has had three employees in the past 8 months, and each time they come to the interview they tell her everything she wants to her, but a week into the job, they get lazy, they show up late, they don’t do things right and that makes me wonder why would a candidate tell an employer that you want this and that and that you are all that and a cookie, then revert to being lazy. Now wait this happens at my company as well, just recently they hired an individual in my group, an Industrial Designer, and for the first couple of weeks, she rocked, now she is barely online, doesn’t complete her work on time, calls out at least once a week. Now you are wondering how I know this, it’s because the other coworkers tell me, they complain. The reason the other employees get mad is that more than likely she got hired on for more money for the same amount of work. Now, wait, the thing is we are all working from home, and from a few team meetings everyone on the team does not want to go back to the office, so I have a feeling when we do have to go back to the office, some folks on my team will be leaving. The thing is that employees or candidates are not the same anymore and I feel that this is going to get worse before it gets better.
Anyhow, back to my thing, as I was saying, with all that happens around me, I just don’t get a break, and just when I think I am ahead, bam something happens, knocks me right back down. Maybe it is in the universe, or the moon, or the air, but trying to get ahead seems to be out of reach for me. Maybe, just maybe the universe or something is trying to tell me to stop trying and simply live each day (paycheck-to-paycheck) and hope that whatever I have saved up is going to be enough to carry me until I pass. I have a feeling that I am going to have to work until I croak at my desk or wherever I am working.
Crazy huh, well I appreciate you stopping by and I leave you with this thought, “Listen to the things around you, they could be important for you to move on to the next thing in your life or it could be a sign to let it go and just go with the flow – who knows.”