Holidays, cars and other such sagas
It's been an interesting week.
I got my pay slip on monday night and discovered that I was owed 2 days holiday ... and they have to be taken before the end of the holiday year .... which is Saturday 31st March! Now - this would have been my fault - but is all fairness I have been asking my line-manager if I needed to take any holiday as I wasn't sure what I was entitled to, since I was made permanent a month ago. She wasn't at work (I do the grave yard shift) and her line manager wouldn't do anything about it .... So I had to go to work Tuesday night (her day off), and left a message saying that I needed to speak to her. She did sign me off for the only 2 days work I had off this week - so I got Thursday (my wedding anniversary) and Saturday off. The thing is she could have just said no - as you're supposed to give 1 months notice!
Then, on Wednesday I was reversing out of the parent and child space and was just about to go forward and drive off when someone knocked into my car and hit my bumper. I straighten up and got out - only to realise that they'd just driven off. I wouldn't mind as there's only a little mark on my bumper - but they could have checked that I was ok!
So - on our wedding anniversary we took Ste's car in to the garage .... the exhaust was beginning to blow, and as we needed a new timing belt in 4,000 miles time, we thought we'd get them both done at the same time and just pay up. We were expecting it to be about £350-400 .... but ten other things were wrong (water pump leaking and crank shaft pulley breaking down) so it was a mere trifle higher than that - £676.80 eekkkkkkkkkkk! :-( In fairness to the car it's 5 years old, done nearly 100,000 miles and not cost us much beyond new tyres, services, oil and filter changes and MOTs. Also the garage reckoned that the exhaust would have fallen off in the next few days .... which would be whilst I was in the car by myself with the kids on a long distance trip to Gloucestershire.
Today I've got to take Ste's car to the body work garage and get them to test the rear parking sensors .... which responds to things that aren't there now .... a trifle confusing when your parking and trying to work out what was there!
Then on Sunday I drive for 4 hours across the country with 2 children, and go and visit mum and dad. This will be the first time in years that I share my birthday with them - and we get to stay in the new house! I shall have a second celebration on the 3rd when I'm home with Stephen.
I got my pay slip on monday night and discovered that I was owed 2 days holiday ... and they have to be taken before the end of the holiday year .... which is Saturday 31st March! Now - this would have been my fault - but is all fairness I have been asking my line-manager if I needed to take any holiday as I wasn't sure what I was entitled to, since I was made permanent a month ago. She wasn't at work (I do the grave yard shift) and her line manager wouldn't do anything about it .... So I had to go to work Tuesday night (her day off), and left a message saying that I needed to speak to her. She did sign me off for the only 2 days work I had off this week - so I got Thursday (my wedding anniversary) and Saturday off. The thing is she could have just said no - as you're supposed to give 1 months notice!
Then, on Wednesday I was reversing out of the parent and child space and was just about to go forward and drive off when someone knocked into my car and hit my bumper. I straighten up and got out - only to realise that they'd just driven off. I wouldn't mind as there's only a little mark on my bumper - but they could have checked that I was ok!
So - on our wedding anniversary we took Ste's car in to the garage .... the exhaust was beginning to blow, and as we needed a new timing belt in 4,000 miles time, we thought we'd get them both done at the same time and just pay up. We were expecting it to be about £350-400 .... but ten other things were wrong (water pump leaking and crank shaft pulley breaking down) so it was a mere trifle higher than that - £676.80 eekkkkkkkkkkk! :-( In fairness to the car it's 5 years old, done nearly 100,000 miles and not cost us much beyond new tyres, services, oil and filter changes and MOTs. Also the garage reckoned that the exhaust would have fallen off in the next few days .... which would be whilst I was in the car by myself with the kids on a long distance trip to Gloucestershire.
Today I've got to take Ste's car to the body work garage and get them to test the rear parking sensors .... which responds to things that aren't there now .... a trifle confusing when your parking and trying to work out what was there!
Then on Sunday I drive for 4 hours across the country with 2 children, and go and visit mum and dad. This will be the first time in years that I share my birthday with them - and we get to stay in the new house! I shall have a second celebration on the 3rd when I'm home with Stephen.