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The OT may fatten my bank account but it’s killing my body. Got off work last night just shy of 9pm. Since our pay-week is Monday through Sunday, that means last week I think I put in 12-13 hours of OT, maybe more. Today was a holiday so in theory I only worked part of a day. I was already prepared for that theory to go tits-up, and the text hit my phone this morning to confirm its demise. (The theory, not the phone.)

Any resemblance to the Doctor Who intro and Weeping Angels in this post header is purely intentional. It’s been that kind of week and it’s only Monday.

Buuuut… last week had a few nice perks, aside from future OT pay.

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My former employer screwed a lot of people over. Which is obviously not what I’d consider a “perk”.

Backstory:

I left because 1) my present job came open at the perfect time and offered me the chance to work from home; 2) it was obvious the previous place was on the cusp of implosion; and 3) previous employer created a hostile environment which teetered and crashed into blatant danger. My way in and out of the building, thanks to my wheelchair and limited ADA-compliant options, meant driving under scaffolding, over power cords, etc. (I have a couple of cellphone snaps I considered using to pursue an ADA lawsuit. I probably should’ve gone after them but decided it wasn’t worth the trouble. However, I might still go there. I think the statute of limitations is counted in years, and I’ve got plenty of evidence and witnesses to back me up.)

The above photo shows my only way into and out of the building. What you can’t see is that on the ramp – off to the right – there were cords, torn pieces of carpeting, debris, and god knows what else I had to roll over to get to the scaffolding. In fact, one morning it was so bad I couldn’t roll over it. I had to reach over, grab a handful of stuff and throw it over the side. Considering it was 3am-ish and too dark to see, it probably wasn’t my safest option, but it was my only option.

This went on for about four or five months before I rolled out for the last time and on to the new job.

On top of everything else, they screwed a lot of people out of a lot of money. It was egregious enough that even in a right-to-work state, it resulted in a lawsuit in which the employees won. Y’all, that never, ever happens.

I didn’t do anything except fill out a few papers, and received a check for a few hundred bucks last week. Considering I’d forgotten all about it, it was a nice surprise. Also considering the average class-action suit results in payout of six bucks or thereabouts, I’ll definitely take the one that’s enough to make a car payment and have a little money left over.

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I shared the image of my artisan spoons a few days ago. The image below is part of why I bought that set. This picture is of the cutting boards my spousal unit built for me. Walnut for the outer dark bands, and I think the inset is zebra wood. Whatever it is, I loves them, the precioussssss….

Ahem.

And yes, they’re a matching set, and even more beautiful in person. My veggies are chopped in style these days.

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A not-so-happy “perk” of living out in the boonies: wildfire. These pictures were taking by my older daughter, from her front porch.

To the uninitiated, you think BBQ or maybe bonfire. In our part of the world, this time of year, it signals, “Get your shit together so you can grab it fast and bug the hell out.” These things can spread from a few hundred square feet to a few hundred acres in an hour or two. This is about 20-ish miles from the nearest town, but it IS right next to the highway, maybe a quarter of a mile or so from my daughter’s house. And that highway is their only egress. Here’s hoping they knock the fire down fast, before it goes on a full-fledged rampage.

Oh – and the weatherman isn’t my favorite right now, either. We’ve got a predicted high of 109ºF for this Thursday. And since looks like the heat wave is hitting the fan nationwide, I’m not looking forward to this week, much less this summer.