Hello and welcome back to the new but old version of the Dogpound. New because we are in a new year… but in this issue we are going back to 2015 for a visit. At work, the month of December is usually a very quiet month for us. We usually have our annual physical inventory the first weekend of the month and we plan for a shut-down at the end of the year for the holidays, which this year started on the 24th through the 4th. A very long and appreciated vacation after another hectic business year. However, management had a little surprise for us when we received an email dated 12/10th , stating that due to certain financial situations, we would have to work every day till shut-down…including weekends. Plus, as a kicker they said we would have to work through Christmas and the following weekend if we did not meet our dollar targets by the 23rd. Talk about a shock wave going through the plant. Labor was climbing the walls; no time for Christmas shopping, school plays, and some had planned vacations which included non-refundable deposits. One lady told me that she had already put down $2,000 to take her family to Hawaii to make their annual and only visit to see her sister, leaving on the Monday of Christmas week and returning the following Monday. Management told her she could take Monday… Tuesday and Wednesday off since these were her vacation days, but she would have to come back to work Christmas Eve and Christmas. If she did not she would not get paid for the all the time off from the 23rd through the 4th, plus she would get written up. Yep! That was their response. Fortunately we did not have to work past the 23rd and truth be told, the odds were very slim that it would be needed the way the budget was actually set-up. However, they failed to tell everyone else this little bit of fact. Not sure if they thought in their infinite wisdom that this would act as a motivational tool or not…but for some …even the extra over-time pay did little to remove the sour taste from their mouths. Of course, yours truly, did not get paid for his over-time. I essentially donated my time plus a few days of vacation I was not able to squeeze in before the end of the year.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
“Determine that the thing can and shall be done and them we shall find the way.” – Abraham Lincoln
THIS ONE IS BAD..LOL
A research group on sea mammals captured a rather odd porpoise on one of its trips. Its peculiarity was that it had feet. After they had photographed and measured the poor thing, they prepared to set it free. “Wait a minute,” said one of the researchers, “wouldn’t it be a kindness if our ship’s doctor here were to amputate the feet so that it would be like other porpoises?”
“Not on your life,” exclaimed the doctor. “That would be defeeting the porpoise.”
That is all I have for now. As always be good, do good, play safe, and remember whether in work or in play treat all with respect.
JR
