Graaaaaaaayyyy
The solstice holiday has been put away and the sun is starting its journey northward but it was one of those January days when Mr. Golden Sun did not make an appearance any time all day. There may have been a short period of “brightening” in the mid-afternoon. It was a little dicey walking this morning too. Icy wipe-out spots were few and far between but I knew they were there. So I couldn’t wear my YakTrax but I was a wee bit nervous (okay, very nervous) walking around in my Red Keens and stuck to rotting snow wherever possible. Crunch crunch. I wonder how many people I woke up with my crunching. Sorry about that.
I went to work today even though I could’ve taken a paid holiday. It’s okay with my employer if I work during a holiday and take the time off some other time. That was a good strategy for me today. The GG was home for the holiday and I figgered if I telecommuted, I might be distracted by his activities so I drove on over to Cubeland. In the Ninja. With the goddamn check engine light on. Again… Hint… And yes, that was passive-aggressive. I am very sick of passive-aggressive communications in general. If you have an issue with me, just say it to my face! That said, although I have been trying not to be passive-aggressive myself, I still… do… it… … …
Who else has MLK Day off as a paid holiday? I know that most public school employees do but I also remember when that wasn’t true. When I began my Adult Career, we had MLK Day off (and the day after Thanksgiving too… Sigh…). A couple years later, we merged with a larger company. No more MLK Day. No more day after Thanksgiving. Interestingly enough, MLK Day became a paid holiday again about a year later. I’ll leave you to speculate about the politics behind that choice. Not day after T-day though, alas… I am all for honoring folks who have done very important things but what about those very important mooms who have put together a big Thanksgiving Dinner? Don’t they deserve a day off too? Whatever. [grin] I know that all too many mooms provide Thanksgiving for their families and then head over to Waldemort or wherever to work. And some of them may even like that, or at least the pay… But still.
Although I do think Dr. Martin Luther King is worthy of great honor, this holiday has always felt a bit off kilter to me. Up here in the Great Lake State, there are many ceremonies and things to honor Dr. King. And then there are all the “rednecks” who take advantage of the long weekend to haul their snow-mos Up North. Alas, we are often on the I75 SUV Speedway with all of those sno-mo folks, although not this particular weekend and our cargo at this time of year is x-c skis and snowshoes, etc. I’m not sure that these activities honor Dr. King. Does anyone else find this ironic?
Anyway, I slodged over to Cubeland today and when I got home, the GG asked if I wanted to cook or go out to eat. I wanted to cook and he said something like, “Okay, I’m taking the Ninja over to wash it [yay, (it needed it)] and then I’ll make a faaarrrr.” Yes yes yes yes…
January 19th, 2015 at 8:48 pm
I don’t believe I’ve worked at any job that observed MLK Day. And only ONE job that observed Presidents Day (January 2nd until Memorial Day Weekend has always been an excruciating 5-month slog). I’ve always had the day after Thanksgiving off, though. In many cases a lot of companies “trade” Veterans Day for the day after Turkey Day. I’ve been fine with that (very much appreciate that 4-day weekend).
There are definitely times that cooking feels a lot more relaxing than heading out to a restaurant. Especially when it’s dark and dreary, I just wanna be HOME.
January 19th, 2015 at 9:22 pm
What happened to the GG’s lamb chops!?
January 19th, 2015 at 9:25 pm
Also I used to get Cesar Chavez Day at my old job in Oakland — we voted as a staff to trade Columbus Day for Cesar Chavez Day. It seemed better to get a holiday in March than in October, and it was true, I miss that now. Also nearly everyone in that workplace either was Latino or spoke Spanish, not to mention that we served that community (migrant workers included).
January 19th, 2015 at 11:39 pm
There are so many other African-Americans who could(should?) be honored as well, in my opinion. I do love MLK Jr. quotes though. He was a pacifist but wanted to cause disruption and I like that attitude. Nothing ever changes otherwise. Public school employees don’t really get any paid days off, we have to work 180 days a year and that’s what we get paid for. It gets stretched out into 9 months by all the 3 day weekends and other breaks. When my dad started teaching they paid them at the beginning of the summer and nothing until September. It was PRETTY rough for budgeting. I still remember my mom biting my head off sometimes when I asked for gum at the store. There was a lot of mac and cheese and sh*t on a shingle served at the end of the month since teachers are still only paid once a month. 🙂