Blogcoven

Things… are strange. Middle management have fled, fled like rats for three to four weeks apiece from now. Leaving me, co-worker and Senior Management. I am now, due to CWs newness, the senior engineer on a field that I know little about. Already on my desk today landed ‘we need an ops budget for that your field. Now, please’.

So I’m looking at this going ‘tee hee the worlds gone mad, what shall we do for butter’ when one of the Senior managers comes in and gives me a … well rather mild bollocking about using flexi days and not using up my leave. So I am to take more holidays By Order.

“But,” Said I, “I’ve sort of got it laid out that I’m going to go away in October, since I’ll be offshore over next month and August.”

“But then you’ll earn *more* holidays offshore!” he said.

To which I must admit, I sort of opened and closed my mouth like a goldfish a few times and then said I’d do my best. Maybe take some on-offs where I come back onshore, bugger straight off on holidays, come back and go offshore directly again.

I checked with the grizzled vet I share an office with – “Did I just get told to take more holidays?”

“Yep.”

So. I’ve blocked out a few things to burn up the 40 Days – I’ll defney be back for Leprecon, I’ve assumed a fortnight over Xmas (even though that’ll prolly get scotched due to ops requirements) and blocked out a fortnight for a trip to NYC and points beyond for July ops lull. And a long weekend in Edi for Aug, and I ought to go to Berlin before Imp comes back… and… I simply don’t have the funds for this.

Which is what I reckon the issue is – they don’t want to pay off my offshore leave again next year, so I oughtn’t use the flexitime I’m racking up at a rate of a day a week. Pardon me for being Jacks Entire Lack of Sympathy – cause if I use my flexi cunningly, I can put 40% extra on my leave time, and I have zero truck with this attitude that I can have it but shouldn’t be so gauche as to actually use it.

So I need to ask for a raise so I can actually *take* my leave properly. Goodness knows if I’m covering for no less than three people at the moment, I probably deserve a little sugar. I need… *crunch*… sorry, I need nothing, I *want* about £6K to fund two more trips this year, and another March blowout next year to suck up the loose ends of leave I’ll have then. Oh why be conservative, I want £10K to squander like a nouveaux riche, squander shamelessly in air-travel and hotels.

*dreams merrily*

Right, but enough of that, its surreal enough at work. I’m so looking forward to my next appraisal. Its going to be fun.