Communication with the ex

I wrote back to the ex late last week. Yesterday, I got a reply from him.

I basically asked how he would make it comfortable for me if we do meet up. I indicated that I'd be looking across the table at a man who deeply hurt me, causing me emotional pain, anxiety, and depression. I didn't want a relapse.

He wants to start over with me. The thing is that he doesn't deserve to have my heart after shattering it. I have been fine without him in my life.

I doubt that he has changed. I don't know if he wants to. I got no indication that he does.

Birthday celebrations at a patio and at the beach

I had a great day celebrating our birthday with a good friend. Her birthday was last week. Mine is early by a week.

We spent time eating and drinking on a patio. We then drove down to the beach to chat and take in the relaxing vibes around us. We also exchanged gifts.

I got her half a dozen donuts from Toronto. She moved away a few years ago, so we meet midway.

It's a great start to my vacation. Happy weekend, everyone!

Training and a shift to my workday start time

Training is over for my colleague in India. I actually liked starting my day early. I let my manager know that I'd like to start my workday at 8 am (I typically start between 8:15 am and 8:30 am, so it's not a huge shift), and he was okay with it.

By starting at 8 am, my quitting time becomes 4:30 pm. He said that I'd be missed at our daily chat at 4:45 pm. I actually don't mind missing it, as some of the chatter with my colleagues is downright boring.

It's nice that I'm missed. I tend to be the one who sparks conversation. Take me out of the picture, and it's not as interesting because you have men who talk until the cows come home.

It's the weekend at long last. Yay!

Thoughts about an early start to the workday

Even though I have been starting my workday earlier these days, I kind of like it. It's nice to call it a day early.

On Wednesday, I started my grocery and takeout run at 4 pm. It was great. I'm debating whether I should start my day at 8 am permanently. I have fewer distractions. It's also nice that I don't have to participate in our team's daily chat at 4:45 pm. I find it tedious.

Two more workdays. It helps that this week is breezing by.

Bittersweet week

My vacation has started. It has been a bittersweet week.

I will write more about a positive recognition that I got on Friday. I'm simply exhausted right now.

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.

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.

Early start and a new modem to come

Yesterday, my workday started before 7 am. It's nice wrapping up work early. In my case, I ended up working a bit more because only one person was in a spreadsheet that I needed to update. It's much easier to update dropdown menus when there aren't a ton of users in the same shared file.

I do have an update on my Internet issues. Naturally, a test was done before 6 am and the signal was fine according to my Internet service provider. Of course, it was! I had rebooted my modem before I went to bed and I expect the signal to be strong when I'm not fully using my wifi!

Anyway, I am getting a new modem shipped to me this week for free. That's good news. This modem has two wifi bands. We'll see how things work out. I'm optimistic.

Early starts tire me out faster

The great perk about starting my workday at 7 am is that I can quit early.

The downside is that I'm tired. I should be in bed now.

I am nearly packed for my trip this weekend. I still feel like I have forgotten to pack something, though.

Happy Labour Day long weekend!

I left work at 15:00 on Friday. I worked a ton of hours this week that it made sense to leave early and start enjoying the long Labour Day weekend.

I'm all packed for my little staycation. I hope to get around to getting my hair cut and indulge in some good eats this weekend.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

K is for knees

This post is a bit different. It is more an observation about my guy and a perspective that I enjoy from afar.

My guy does stretches in the morning. He has a lightweight travel mat that he brings with him.

When he finally feels like getting out of bed, he will place his mat on the floor and stretch. I like watching him.

The most appealing part to me occurs when he is on his knees and he bends forward, with his butt up in the air. It's a happy sight to see in the morning. I like thinking about going over and smacking it. I just don't want to ruin his stretching regimen.

It's aways a great start to the day when I see my guy. It's simply eye candy when I enjoy such quiet moments.

In the beginning...

I've decided to start a blog about spanking. I've chosen Cutiebootie as my nickname, for my husband, G, thinks that I have a cute bottom and it kind of rhymes.

I'll be sorting out why I enjoy being spanked and doing the spanking. I'll also be jotting down how I feel about getting severely spanked by G and given him a few swats on his naughty little bottom, too.

Stay tuned...