Work anniversary and spaghetti

Yesterday was my work anniversary. I have been with my employer for twelve years.

My manager acknowledged it, and thanked me for supporting and leading our team. It was nice. I essentially got a $100 e-certificate, which I spent at Amazon.

I fell asleep an hour ago. I dreamt of spaghetti. I wonder what it means.

My wedding anniversary - reflections

Today would have been my wedding anniversary. Although the marriage didn't work out, this date is firmly in my head forever.

It was a week before my undergraduate convocation. That month of June was crazy. I got married, graduated, and moved to a different province.

If I could do things differently, I would have taken my time getting married. I knew him for nearly three years at this point. I needed to know him better. It was a long-distance relationship, so I didn't pick up on some of his quirks that were red flags.

I suppose that's what happens when you are young and in love. You overlook red flags. You then spend time trying to muster the strength and finances to get out of the relationship.

I look back and I've learned a lot from my marriage. No regrets.

Being taken for granted and dealing with insensitivity

This post is a rant. Frankly, I am tired of dealing with dealing with people who take me for granted and come across as being insensitive.

At work, I have an incompetent colleague. She decided to join a holiday committee to determine what our entire organization should do this year for our holiday company bash. This committee of four people didn't really come up with ideas, other than to have each department in this organization arrange something.

When it came down to my manager asking her was she would recommend, she caved. Instead, she threw the question at me. I told her that it was a horrible action on her part. In the past, I arranged a number of lunches and outings. Heaven forbid, what happens if I get hit by a bus? Who will be your go-to person for organizing such events? I flat out said in front of my team that I should not be the go-to person. I did offer a suggestion, though. I am not lifting a finger because this team can't arrange a thing.

Idiot. The folks in my department can't think for themselves. We also have an incompetent older guy who, every year, says that he's fine with whatever our team comes up with. He can never make a decision on his own. Ugh.

Then, there's my blog. I write what's on my mind. I'm entitled to. It's my blog.

Don't ask me when I am going to self-spank. My mood dictates when. Not you. I don't customize my blog to suit your needs.

Oh, and if you're reading along and you spot a typo, don't point it out to me. It's rude. I don't point out your grammatical or mechanical issues. Why? Because it's rude. I write blog posts before I go to bed. I find it relaxing and therapeutic. I am not perfect. Let the typos slide and cut me some slack.

I am not at work. My blog is my down time. I didn't ask for you to proofread my blog.

So, you found a typo. Does that make you feel good when you tell me to go find it and time how long it takes me to fix it? Who the hell do you think you are? That post was a perfectly joyous one for me and you decided to rain on my parade. Does that make you feel good, too?

This incident feels just like my manager telling me to report an issue to human resources about a field that only he relied on and no one else. He simply had forgotten to wish me a happy ten-year work anniversary and his actions put a damper on that special milestone. 

How about putting away your negativity so that I can enjoy being happy about something? We are in a pandemic. We need something cheerful. One step further: How about thinking about how insensitive you come across when you have to bring up a minor imperfection? It's not the first time that you have pointed it out, either. Let it slide.

And, don't tell me to go find my typo. I'm not playing your hunt-the-typo game. Good for you for finding it. I hope that your achievement makes you feel accomplished and you can sleep well tonight.

I'm done. Frankly, I shouldn't have to write such a post. However, not everyone gets it, or what the effect of their actions or comments is on others.

Thanks for reading along. I have more cheerful content to write about.

Getting HR involved to tell my manager that he's using the wrong field for my start date

It has been 1.5 months since my manager ruined a perfectly fine discussion on our team with my hitting a milestone. It was my ten-year work anniversary.

In our human resources application, there are two dates. One is my start date. The other is my contract signing date. To normal human beings, the former is the one that you go with to calculate how long you have been with the company. My manager went with the latter.

Naturally, I am an anomaly. Because I was involved in a company acquisition, my contract date is roughly two year after my start date. To me and HR, this discrepancy wasn't an issue. To my manager, it was. He insisted that I get it fixed.

He is a jerk.

So, after 1.5 months dealing with HR who said that it was fine and wouldn't make these fields the same, it took an HR generalist to contact my manager to let him know that there's nothing to change. The start date is correct. I actually had to reinforce it by saying that going forward, he should be using the start date.

It is ridiculous that I had to basically tell him that everyone on the team got an e-mail to sign my virtual work anniversary card. He simply ignored it and ultimately looked like an insensitive idiot.

My hitting such a service milestone happens once. I expect a manager to get on board and acknowledge it instead of telling me to get HR to fix an issue that really isn't one.

Tea steeper - work anniversary has arrived!

Roughly two weeks ago, I picked out a tea steeper as my ten-year work anniversary gift. I was given a delivery date of late October. Well, I got it on Monday.

Early is great. I'm not complaining one bit!

The tea steeper is fancy. I love it how it looks. I haven't tried it out yet, but I'm looking forward to. I love small appliances. I'm also a fan when it's free!

My manager can ruin a perfectly nice day

I have an interesting working relationship with my manager. Sometimes, I dig what he does. Other times, I shake my head.

Our team has these brief chats at the end of the workday. Last week, he suggested that each person lead a chat with a topic. I was the first person to say that I liked how casual and natural it flows. We think of topics to discuss as if we were in the office, chatting in the lunch room. It should not be a structured meeting. It's a chat.

Yesterday, a colleague congratulated me on my ten-year work anniversary. Naturally, my manager ruined it by saying that in our human resources system, my start date working for the company is September 24 and that I should contact HR to have it fixed.

Why? I told him that I know what my start date is. Obviously, my three colleagues in this chat knew what my start date was, because they signed my virtual card. He dropped the ball by failing to sign it. He got the e-mail. He chose to not act on it.

Anyway, I contacted HR and spoke to a nice guy. I know that my manager won't and wouldn't do it. As noted, in the system, my start date is correct. However, my signed contract date is September 24, 2012. It's practically two years after I started working for the company, which obviously makes no sense! Anyway, he has a separate department who will fix this issue.

It's always nice when my manager ruins such a lovely occasion. It's not every day that one hits a milestone like what I just did. He could have been more attentive. That's just my take on it.

Anyway, my colleagues left me nice messages in my virtual card. They made Monday far more cheerful.

I got to select a gift to commemorate this occasion. I got a fancy tea steeper. I drink lots of tea, so it will come in handy. It will take a month to ship, which is the downside. Luckily, I am patient.

Ten-year work anniversary on a Sunday

Yesterday marked my ten-year work anniversary. It was quite the unexpected milestone.

I used to be the person who held a job for two to three years. At this company, there have been many ups and downs that I have experienced and that I continue to endure. I am still kicking around.

I feel that I have stayed on for this long because my role seems to change every year or two. I also have established myself as a competent, reliable employee that I'm comfortable and my manager feels the same way about me. I also continue to pick up new skills and my job is still interesting to me.

Reaching this mark makes me look forward to a week more of vacation.

Reflections - ex-hubby's birthday and love for my guy

Today is my ex-hubby's birthday. It's strange that he has been out of my life for several years now. Yet, I still remember dates that I should forget.

Our wedding anniversary was June 5th. I thought about it briefly earlier this month. I remember how happy I was that day. Sadly, things did not work out.

He died over three years ago. It seems longer. He died too soon. However, I am at peace.

He wasn't upfront and honest with me during the first few years that we dated. That foundation of our relationship was cracked right off the bat.

I am in a much better place with my guy. I am thankful that he dropped into my life. He is my best friend and the love of my life.

It's true that through rough times, happier times ultimately prevail.

Aggravating insurance question, farewell to a student, and hello to celebrating seven years at work

This week has been quite the mix. Frankly, I can't wait for this week to be over.

Late last week, I got a call from the drug program that I am on for my eye injections. This program will cover the remaining 10% of the drug cost that my insurance does not cover. That's good. I had to schedule a phone meeting with yet another person at my insurance company. It was on Monday.

We talked. She asked me whether I wanted my insurance to handle getting the drug from its own pharmacy or to go with my ophthalmologist's pharmacy. This question actually caused my stress level to go up. I asked what the difference was. Apparently, going with my own insurance's pharmacy would lower costs for my insurance.

I basically slammed this woman by saying that I shouldn't have to decide. All I am concerned about is showing up for my appointment next week and having the drug available for my eye injection. Can this insurance's pharmacy guarantee that it will deliver the drug that I need to my ophthalmologist's office on time? I told her that I should not need to be concerned about whether the drug will be there for me. I need to get better. My health is more important that dealing with such an odd issue that only benefits my insurance company, but could cause issues for me if someone drops the delivery ball.

I flat out said that I wanted to go with my ophthalmologist's pharmacy. It has worked fine for my first appointment. Why break it? Why add more unnecessary stress?

Friday is one of my co-op student's final day of her work term. She is a sweet person who gave me looseleaf green tea from China as a gift. She wasn't one of my better students, though. I think that she is young and needs to mature. She also needs to establish a better work ethic, which I hope will get better with time and experience.

On Friday, we have a farewell lunch for her. I also have three interviews to conduct that same day, as we are hiring new writers and can't keep up with the growth. It will be hectic, to say the least!

My guy and I talked about how long we have been with our employer. He started six months before I did. He hit his seven-year anniversary last month. Mine is in September. It's crazy that we have lasted this long and met at work. We are grateful.

Our next date is on Sunday. He has already requested my wearing a skirt. It's sweet that he asks ahead of time.

Being together and learning about a spreader bar

My guy and I always have good chats over Skype when we are apart. Somehow, our conversation got a bit serious for a bit the other day.

"It has been over five years that we have been together," he said to me.
"Yes. It doesn't feel like it, though," I replied.
"I agree."

It doesn't. It's probably because we see our relationship constantly strengthening and growing. Things are still fresh and exciting after all these years.

Then, there's the spreader bar that intrigued me from Fifty Shades Darker. It did the same thing for him, too.

Again, our relationship continues to be fun the more we learn about things together.

E is for engaging event -- making an exception by commemorating my wedding anniversary

I don't typically commemorate my wedding anniversary these days, simply because I have been divorced for several years now. I thought that I would make an exception.

Today would have been my wedding anniversary. It would have been a milestone.

For those of you who have been reading my blog for a while, you know that I was extremely unhappy while married to a man who cared more about himself than those around him. It was difficult living with him. I stayed in the marriage many years too long until I had enough strength to leave it.

My ex-husband proposed to me early in our courtship, which I found odd. It was within a matter of weeks. He wanted to get married immediately. I had started my second of year undergraduate studies. I wasn't ready to get hitched. Instead, I insisted that we get married after I graduated. He was good with that.

We married at Old City Hall in downtown Toronto almost three years later. It wasn't a fancy wedding. It was a civil one. We had two witnesses with us. We said our vows, kissed, and were married.

I remember what I wore. Only my blouse was white. I have never liked a full dress on me, especially when I was fifty pound heavier then than I am now.

We took a cab from the hotel where we were staying in Scarborough to Old City Hall. After we got hitched, we took another cab back.

We started our honeymoon immediately. The first thing he did was have me face down, lying on the bed. He lifted my skirt up and gave me a number of smacks across my panties. They were hard smacks.

My ex-husband was the first person who has ever spanked me. He was the first person that I ever spanked. I lost my virginity to him.

Although he treated me badly as our marriage progressed, I try not to recall all the negative memories that I have. It's difficult, especially when I am a reflective person with a decent memory.

I was happy on my wedding day. It wasn't the wedding that I had dreamed about, but I have never asked for much. It was a good day.

A week later, I graduated from university. My parents and my ex-husband attended my graduation. My ex-husband and I then went to celebrate by having a lovely dinner.

We both learned that beer and ice cream do not mix. I have never done that combination ever since.

My guy and I talk about my ex-hubby now and again. I typically don't bring it up in conversation. It is usually some sort of trigger that causes me to briefly talk about him. My guy never rolls his eyes and tells me to stop talking about the ex-hubby, simply because I don't talk about him much and my guy doesn't mind when I do talk about the ex.

When I told my guy of my ex-husband's death, my guy was the one who asked questions about him and how I was coping. I truly believe that my grieving caused my guy to slowly come out of his depression. We are alike in that we both feel that we can't be depressed simultaneously. At least one of us needs to get the other out of the darkness. I have done that more often for my guy these days. He rarely sees me get to such a stage and reacted immediately when I did last month.

I have learned so much from my ex-hubby. I continue to learn so much from being with him and from living my life with my guy.

Life is definitely better when you are with someone who loves you completely and gets you. It's a mutual sentiment, which is one reason why my relationship with my guy works.

One-year anniversary - celebrating it with phone sex

It has been three months since my guy and I have used Skype to chat. He is in India on business for a couple of weeks.

As I had briefly mentioned in my last post, I was bummed that my guy had said hi on Skype on Tuesday morning and then signed off. I had missed him by ten minutes.

On Thursday, we finally got to message each other on Skype. He had signed off so quickly on Tuesday because he has been jet-lagged. For the first few weeks in Calcutta, he would leave work, head back to his room at the hotel, and sleep. So, that was his main reason for not being online.

He was finally getting used to the ten-hour time difference. We talked about regular stuff online. We then moved to chatting on Skype. It was wonderful to hear his voice.

It has been a year since we have been together. He had told me last year that he found me attractive in our communal kitchen at work. We first really talked about ourselves and about what we enjoyed from an intimate, sexual perspective on Skype. So, chatting on Skype is special to both of us.

I still find that I am not as good doing phone sex as he is. Still, I can manage to get him off, so I can't be as bad as I think I am.

We chatted on Skype for a good hour, catching up on our lives. I missed him a lot. He felt the same way about me.

Our relationship continues to grow. In the past, we wouldn't really spend that much time on Skype chatting about what we ate for dinner or about my crappy Internet connection at home. But, we enjoy hearing what we have to say. We are good friends, which helps a ton in keeping a healthy relationship going, among other aspects.

My guy hadn't had dinner yet. So, we decided to break for a bit and come back. He said that "we'd get naughty" upon his return.

We reconvened on Skype. He asked me what I was wearing. I was working from home. I was in a tight, grey, short-sleeved t-shirt. I had a lacy, cream-coloured bra underneath. I was also wearing a pair of short shorts and a navy blue pair of lacy panties. My guy approved what I was wearing.

Phone sex with him is terrific. He knows what buttons to push without any hesitation.

"You know that I don't like when you are not online when I want you to be," he stated sternly.
"I was online, but I had to walk away briefly," I reasoned. "It wasn't my fault that you were impatient and logged off in less than ten minutes."
"You have a new cell phone," he pointed out. "You could have logged on to the Skype application, had it on vibrate, and placed it between your legs. When I would send you messages, you'd know."
"My phone doesn't have a case yet," I pointed out.
"Well, the point is that you need to be online all the time and you weren't," he said. "Besides, I would be making you happy if we had used your phone that way. We want to do the opposite. You need a good spanking for what you have done."
"I don't think so," I replied. "You're just being your usual mean, cruel, unreasonable self."
"Oh, really?" he mocked while questioning me. "You need to remember what you have done wrong."

He pointed out that my wearing my usual Gap jeans wouldn't be good, as it provided a bit of protection. He told me that he'd pull them down, exposing my lacy black panties covering my backside. He also would expose my legs.

My guy talked about using a wooden ruler hard across my backside, occasionally checking to see how wet I was. He said that he wouldn't hesitate to slap the backs of my thighs and calves. He then said that he's stop using the ruler and switch to spanking me with his bare hand. Hard smacks would ensue. I was incredibly turned on. 

"Have you learned your lesson?" he asked me.
"Maybe," I said deliberately.
"Maybe? That's not good enough. You need far more discipline than I had imagined. I will tell you what. I will remove my leather belt, fold it up, take down your panties, and strap you."

My guy always brings an element of surprise to whatever we're doing. I don't like the belt in a real spanking, but it does make me extremely horny when I think about it.

"But, the belt will hurt," I whined.
"Your opinion is irrelevant," he pointed out. "It's what I want that is important. You are a slut. You are my slut and you need to remember your punishment, so it doesn't happen again."

He made me beg for him to stop and to tell him that I would be good.

"How are you going to make up for your disobedience?"
"Whatever you want me to do, I will do it," I replied without hesitation.
"You don't know what your master likes?" he asked me.
"I want to suck you."
"Yes, that is what I want," he said approvingly.

What is interesting is that my guy has never used master in any conversation that we have had. It's significant to me.

I described to him that he'd be standing up. I'd undo the button on his trousers and unzip the fly, pulling them down. I'd then take down his briefs. I'd kneel in front of him. I would then ask him for permission to hold his erect cock and place it in my mouth.

I'd look up at him. I'd kiss the tip of his penis and start licking it. I'd put more of his cock in my mouth, continuing to lick and enjoy having it move up and down in my mouth, feeling like a whore. I told him that he'd push the back of my head, so that I could have more of him in me, regardless of whether I felt like gagging. I liked the thought of him grabbing my hair.

I described having my manicured fingers wrapped around his cock. It didn't take too long for my guy to ejaculate.

It was midnight his time. He was content. He was sleepy. If I were with him, I would tuck him into bed, kiss his forehead, and cuddle up next to him.

Happy first year being together, sweetie.

Anniversary (a.k.a. pre-birthday) spanking

G and I just spent a lovely week in Philadelphia.  I fell in love with the city immediately.

G's birthday is at the end of the month, so I have been thinking about how I am going to administer his birthday spanking this year.  Apparently, he has been doing the same for mine in July and gave me a preview of what to expect.

On our wedding anniversary, it has been a tradition for us to spank each other.  We spank each other on our wedding night, so why break a good thing, right?  Well, G unveiled what I can expect on my birthday.

I had white panties on and he lovingly spanking my bottom with them on.  After the lovepats, the panties came off and I got more light spanks.

Still over his knee, the swats got harder when the first hundred were delivered -- fifty spanks on each cheek -- with his hand.  The intensity was consistent between spanks and I was enjoying the warmth as my backside was being warmed up.

My age plus an extra swat for good luck was administered several times to both cheeks.  They were getting harder and I could feel the sting after each set.  So, I got just over a hundred spanks on each cheek from this repetition of spanking sets!

A few days ago, I had purchased a pair of salmon-coloured Converse sneakers.  I have yet to wear them.  He used the right sneaker as an implement.  I got 76 swats with the sneaker on each cheek, as we were in Philadelphia.  I was hoping that the colour of my bottom matched the colour of my Converse sneaker.

With birthday spankings, we rarely ask each other to count each birthday spank that lands.  I insisted that he make me count.  So, we did.  I got an extra four spank after my birthday spanking had completed.  My backside hurt so much, but I was a happy girl.

I'm looking forward to my birthday spanking.  Maybe I should get a pair of leather shoes.