Bummed Out

Alot of little things are piling up on me right now.

I noticed on Friday that there is damage to the front bumper of my car. When it snowed this past winter, I had a disagreement with a bush and damaged the passenger side of my front bumper. Now the driver side is also damaged. I don't even know when or where it happened. Thursday/Friday I was in alot of different parking lots. I didn't notice the damage until I happened to park with that part of the car in the sun. In the shade, it is almost invisible.

I went to see my insurance agent -- I've never made a claim before, so I had some questions to ask. She told me it would be classified as a hit-and-run, and I would have to pay my collision deductible to have it fixed.

That really sucks.

I have $1000 deductible on collision. I took the high deductible because if I do that little damage to my own car, it will still be in drivable condition. I never considered that I would have to pay for damage that someone else did to my car.

On the upside, It won't cost me $1000. They have another little rule that says I only have to pay up to $750. But chances are, it will cost less than that to fix anyway.

I hope.

I'll find out on Wednesday.

Friday, the kids and I went to Powell River for the weekend. We have never been there before, so it was an adventure.

It took us a while to find our hotel. I located the travel infocenter, and they were closed. But they left town maps out where I could take one. That was very considerate of them.

Once we finally found the hotel, we had a hard time finding our room. We were told room 30. We found rooms 1-29. So we went back to reception.

Back at the reception desk, we were told there is no room 30.

Great.

We had 2 hotel employees running around the hotel looking for someone who knew where our room was.

I sat down in the lobby and looked at old magazines, trying not to stress about it.

The kids were stressed about it.

It took about 5 minutes for someone to find our room.

We weren't impressed with it.

It was in desperate need of rennovation. The hardwood floors needed refinishing. There was no cable TV. The ocean view was blocked by the pulp mill. The beds were small. The ceiling was cracked. The digital clock couldn't keep time. The door locks were difficult to use. There was no phone in the room.

Somewhere along the line, I realized I had not submitted hours to payroll before leaving home. So, I needed a phone.

The Hotel had a courtesy phone, but I was unable to make a collect call from it. I had to go looking for a pay phone.

I found three of them near the Hotel. Two of them did not work. The third one kept insisting that "all circuits are busy now" after I took the time to key in my credit card number.

We went for a drive, looking for a newer payphone. I found one at the mall. It had a slot for my credit card, and allowed me to make all the long distance calls I wanted! So I left some messages, trying to find someone who could go to the office and submit those payroll hours!

It's no big deal if I miss a pay period. I was more concerned with my employees getting paid on time.

I still don't know if they will be or not.

The trip I've been planning to take the kids on this summer is being scaled down. I talked to them about it. I just don't have the money to do what I wanted to. They are ok with it.

We are still going to Jasper and Banff. We won't be going to Edmonton, Calgary or Drumheller. It will be a one-week trip instead of 2-3 weeks.

We will be camping out every night. We will be doing alot of hiking and other free stuff. And for our one indulgence, we are going on a trail ride.

When I got into the office this morning, I checked my email. Another annoyance there.

Head office is moving people around, and closing the office I report to. I'll have a new supervisor in another province. We will be separated by 3 times zones.

I don't like change.

At least I know the new person. He's been with LT for quite some time. I met him last summer at the convention. I told him then that he doesn't make a very good first impression... but I warmed up to him by the end of the event. He's cool. I can work with him.

Then the mall caretaker came in to give me the keys to my new office.

We have to move again.

I've had neighbouring businesses ask me when I'm moving for about a month now.

No one with any authority has said anything to me about moving the office.

When we moved into our present location a year ago, I knew we would be moving again.

I just expected to have some notice.

I hate moving.

I've got it all planned in my head... have had for weeks.

I'll call up all my employees and get them to come help move and set up the new office. My kids will be paid for the day, too. I will order pizza and make a party of it.

It will be fun.

Once the moving part is done.

Hopefully everyone will be able to help. It will go much faster that way.

And leave more time for partying.