one of the best-kept secrets is that it's one of those days where things actively conspire to make you happy.

Oh, that's a great thought! I'm going to remember that - thank you.

Seska, if I were closer, I'd offer to go pick up The Girl's gift for you!

Thanks, java - that's really sweet! If I were still in London I might have someone I could ask for help with this, but I don't know anyone in Nottingham who'd be able to organise it for me.

Know that not only are your physically nearest and dearest behind you, but we are too.

You are all the sweetest people ever. So there.

Thoughts for your brother, P-C. On the other hand, yay for baby steps!

Having only ever worked as a teacher, I don't know this system of taking sick days from holiday. We were mainly meant to turn up unless we were actually dead (and even then I think they'd have made us make lesson plans for our cover teachers). I once went in for several days, every one of which I should have been spending at home sleeping, and eventually passed out when in charge of a class. Good times!

I threw up in a wastebasket in front of my 3rd hour last week going to school with a migraine! I also fell out of my chair, because I threw up so hard, and the poor kids thought I'd passed out.

There were some great rumors when I came back to school. The most popular theories were pregnancy (unpossible), alcoholism (i.e., hangover -- nope; went to school with a hangover ONCE my first year of teaching - NEVER NEVER NEVER again, but I don't drink on weeknights) or I'm dying of brain cancer.

Pretty much the only way to get sent home from teaching is public vomiting, breaking a limb, passing out or having a full-on psychotic break.

Seska, may everything that needs doing get done, may everything unimportant fall by the wayside, and may you be able to distinguish between the two.

(hey, smonster, did you get my checking in email the other days?)

Uh, crap. yes. Epically behind on replying to emails - I did a whole lot of nothing last week, basically. Trying to catch up this week. (flea, if you're around, same goes for your email)

not Zen, but maybe. I'm bad at the actual moving, but good at packing and unpacking. And a good car companion!

I need help with the purging/packing/unpacking, and could definitely use a car companion. My dad is offering to drive a Uhaul truck down for me, and I'm trying to figure out how to tell him no. 1) His reflexes aren't the greatest and I'd rather I drive the truck and 2) I kind of want to do this without my parents.

Seska, I've never been married, but it seems to me that the only important things are your bride, your officiant, and people that love you. Everything else is gravy. It's going to be wonderful, even it it isn't "perfect"

80 hours of vacation - I can now accumulate up to 160 - sick goes on forever. I can use sick leave to take care of someone else, but it is supposed to be sick time. Even though this is my first year full time I ay get to the use it or lose it stage. When I was part time I worked Tu, We,Th - so I rarely took vacation.

I've never been married, but it seems to me that the only important things are your bride, your officiant, and people that love you. Everything else is gravy. It's going to be wonderful, even it it isn't "perfect"

Oh yes, absolutely true. My brain is just having issues. But it will all be fine. The Girl has worked incredibly hard on the planning, and we have some wonderful friends doing most of the hard work from here on in!

In other work-related media disasters, the local news has jumped on the hating-our-new-computer system bandwagon. a very insightful article with more information about the system than we were given before rollout (because why would worker bees need to know cost and implementation details??) and a truly awful faux news spin, complete with utterly pointless "man on the street" interviews with random cinco de mayo revellers who clearly have no idea how 911 systems actually function. But that's cool, they're still entitled to spew their opinions in front of a tv camera. i'm pretty thrilled that none of my coworkers were fool enough to talk to any of the reporters, tho one did comment rather scathingly on the first article.

found out about all this hullablaoo today when yet another tv camera crew showed up on the operations floor to hover over our shoulders while we attempted to work. I'm sure they appreciated my hot tea, honey, and illicit mouse (shhhhhhh, that's a whole other story.)

Also, appropot of this rubbish, they're talking (again) about banning our access to facebook and other blogging media while at work. Cuz that threat has worked soooooo well before (think: mutiny)

edited to fix my html

I've never been married, but it seems to me that the only important things are your bride, your officiant, and people that love you. Everything else is gravy. It's going to be wonderful, even it it isn't "perfect"

Been married, 3 times! Each wedding had lots of stuff that didn't happen exactly as planned, but nonetheless wonderful. I forgot my earrings last time! But the spouse and loved ones were all that mattered. It will be awesome. Remember to breathe and enjoy yourself.

Having worked the last 11 years in a field dominated by non-profits who derive funding for employees' wages and benefits packages from states' budgets for health and human services, I've worked at places where I only got 40 hours of PTO per year (could accumulate, no limits). I find myself quite grateful for the current outfit's plan of accumulating PTO at a rate of about 120 hrs per year plus having 10 floating holidays. While I do miss getting time-and-a-half for working holidays, because of the way my schedule (two-week rotation) is set up, I can use two float days plus one PTO day to get myself a whole week off if timed carefully. And we are allowed to cash out 40 hours of PTO once each year. So I have my float days all planned out - and have arranged three weeks off, plus a handful of random days off. That should be plenty of vacation-y leisure time, and I'll happily ask for a cash-out without being drained of PTO for actual emergencies. That's quite generous, as far as I can tell.

I'm going to be very glad to fly home to see my lovely wife on Saturday. Two and a half weeks out of town can be a bit much.