Lifestyles of the poor and nameless

I was looking for a little graphic to help usher in the new year and I came across this picture. Wowsers. Hope you're having a happy (responsible) celebration.

Geez. Where does the time go? I'm sick, and I've been spending many sleepless hours in bed for the past few days. Today I took it to a new level when I locked my office door and passed out for an hour and a half. Hey, they shoulda sent me home, but instead, they gave me another contract to review. I don't have any time off and everyone in my house is sick. Blah.

By the way, I saw Brokeback Mountain this weekend. I thought it was a well-done movie. Although it was sad to see two hotties like Jake Gyllenhal and Heath Ledger as a couple, their "love" seemed real and heartfelt. Perhaps there's an offscreen romance as well? Lol. See, that's how rumors get started.

In other news: Am I the last person on earth to know that Busta Rhymes cut his locks off after 15 years? What's up with that? I always thought that his braids/locks combinations were "interesting"...the cut looks good, but it seems like he has no neck? Here's a video of the haircut for the bored/those who care.

Now that the strike is over....we can get back to the real issues...lol. Like how much money are you supposed to give in a car pool with co-workers?

For the three days of the strike, my coworker "Rob" gave me a ride to work. On day one, it was just the 2 of us, since our other co-worker, Mike, decided not to come in. On the way home, Rob stopped at a gas station, so I offered to help him out with the gas. I gave him $10. The next day, Rob came to get me in the morning and then we went to get Mike. (Rob bragged the whole way about the fact that he was getting an 18% raise by taking a position in our department. Ugh!) We never stopped at a gas station, so I felt a little awkward about randomly giving Rob some money. I figured I'd follow Mike's lead for the day. But Mike never gave Rob any money and we never stopped at a gas station.

On day 3, I figured that Rob would have to stop for gas at some time and I'd give him $10 then. But again, he never stopped and Mike never gave him any money. After we dropped Mike off, I decided to give him $10 anyway. For a second there, he looked like he wasn't going to take it, but he did and that was the end of it.

I'm *grudgingly* grateful to Rob for taking me (I say grudgingly, because if he hadn't taken me then I would have gotten to work from home without losing pay. *sigh*). But I was just wondering about carpool etiquette. Any thoughts?

Here we are at day 2 of the strike. Things seemed to be moving alot smoother today. I was out of the house by 6:35 and at my desk by 8:15. Not too bad, considering we had to pick up another co-worker and the strike is on. I worked straight through lunch and left work at 3pm. Not too shabby.

I missed out on the transit talk of the day, but from what I heard, the unlimited metrocards will be extended by the number of days that the strike lasts (yipee!) and moves may be made to get the union leaders in jail (Boooo).

Although I'm opposed to the strike (yeah, I said it. And what?!), I think that jail for the union leaders is extreme and uncalled for. Fines, whatever. Jail time?! What is that supposed to solve? If anything, it just makes the "powers that be" look like they're on the same "thuggish" level that the union leaders are on. *Sigh*

In any case...it's comforting to know that in the midst of all that's going on, the media is still maintaining sight of what really counts: Mayor Bloomberg's outfit. I can't find the NYTimes article (I think the editor must have snatched it off the website), but somewhere in there was a comment about the fact that Mayor Bloomberg appeared to be wearing "the same leather bomber jacket and faded blue jeans" that he wore to cross the bridge on Tuesday(yesterday). Lol. None shall escape the fashion police.

So....the MTA decided to strike after all. I am "working from home" today without penalty. *Whew*. That's just for today though...if it's still on tomorrow, I have to find a way to get to the office. To all those who are walking/waiting for cabs or LIRR service, God Bless you. It is cold as hell out there. After the partial strike on the Queens bus lines yesterday, I figured a full-blown strike was coming...after all, they couldn't just have a rinky dink little strike and then let everyone continue about their business.

I'm probably in the minority here, but I support the Taylor Law (which outlaws strikes of this nature). I don't think Transit workers should be allowed to strike because they're an "essential service" in NYC. My dad and I have been having this debate all week. Yes, their contract may suck (although, if what I hear--- about platform sweepers making $40k/year and token clerks making 55k/year---is true, then they're doing pretty well) but they're still essential and the rest of the city suffers dramatically when they strike. What if nurses went on strike because they felt they weren't getting enough? Or Fire/Police workers? Or teachers? I'm all for people getting more money, but at whose expense? For every MTA worker who will benefit from the negotiations, there's a few poor people out there who can't afford the LIRR fare or alternate transportation fare to get to work during the strike.

Word on the street is that the union didn't want the retirement age raised from 55 to 62, and as a matter of fact, they were trying to get it lowered to 50. OK, I can see how that's problematic. But allegedly, the MTA offered to maintain the retirement age as long as people contributed more to their pensions. I don't see why that's such a bad thing? In the private sector, there are no pensions. In most other public sector jobs, the minimum retirement age is 57, regardless of how many years of service you have. What am I missing here?

Now, I'm not saying that the MTA should be allowed to abuse people, but Mr. Union leader, let's not act like it's really all about the workers.
"Our contract expired on Thursday at midnight, but we postponed a strike in deference to our riders," said TWU Local 100 President Roger Toussaint in announcing the strike shortly before 3 a.m.

OK, in deference to the riders?! Deference to the riders is not striking when it's the beginning of the workweek and 20 degrees outside. The strike could have happened Friday morning and gone into the weekend, but as many reporters noted, it wouldn't have had as great an impact as a strike at the beginning of the workweek, and if the union is forced to pay double fines for every day that they strike, then they want to maximize the impact of the strike...hence, striking early in the workweek. And let's not forget that this is supposed to be a busy retail week, since Christmas is on Sunday. Can we say more leverage for the union?

Well....just got word that I might have to get in today after all....Dammit. Save some hot chocolate for me!

This extended absence was just a test to see if anyone noticed that I was gone.....thanks for the shout outs. I figured you're probably tired of staring at that ugly turducken (and GC is leaving messages about new posts) so here goes....

Work- is going well. My most interesting assignment so far has been to write a memo about employer liability for employees who get drunk at company-sponsored functions and then injure themselves or others. The short version is: in NY, the employer is seen as a social host and has no liability for employees' drunken revelry. However, there's a stronger case for liability when the employee pays an "admission fee" for the party or there's a cash bar. *But that's not binding legal advice so don't use it as an excuse to go drinking and driving!*

I'm getting more comfortable with the whole attorney situation. The contracts have increased in value, but I'm not too paranoid about screwing them up anymore since I got good reviews on my first 2 contracts :-). Of course, now that they've come to expect good things from me, they're piling it on thick. They're slowly trying to extend my workday (without O.T. pay or comp time) but I'm fighting to make sure I'm out the door at 4:30 or 5 at the latest. Then it's off to the gym.

Love- no complaints on that front. Pretty Ricky has been behaving rather well and actually exceeding my expectations in some areas :-D. A move to NY may be on the horizon for him, but we'll see. In the meantime, he's doing pretty well with the NY transit system ---without the strike. I'd rather look at him than the scary turducken below ;-).

Life withthe parents- Actually, it's not as bad as it has been in the past. Ever since Pretty Ricky started coming around, they've been treating me more like an adult. But now Mom is trying to act more like a good friend and less like a mom. After 25 years of knowing her as Mom and not as a friend, it's a little creepy and just a tad bit uncomfortable. At least now she seems to grasp the fact that I've made it this far without any major screw-ups so maybe I can be trusted to make my own decisions.

Alright kids...that's all the news that's fit to print. Maybe next time I'll tackle the pending MTA strike or something more substantial. Until then...