gah!

[winterbadger]

Well, this definitely qualifies for the "oh, bugger!" icon. A thread of gloom has slipped into my idyll, in that I've realised that I'm not going to be able to turn around and take another holiday the first week in September. :-(

First of all, I forgot before I left that I have to hand in an itinerary to work a month beforehand if I'm travelling out of the country (even to the UK). And I haven't done that, because I hadn't even the faintest idea where I was going to stay yet. Then, when I was wondering whether they would be willing to bend that rule, I remembered that I need to file my timecard for this week. And realised that I'm going to max out the amount of leave I can "borrow" (i.e., take before I've earned it) this week, and so won't be able to borrow more within a month for another trip. I had thought I calculated this all out carefully, but apparently I goofed somewhere. It's going to be another couple of months before I can take another week off.

Apologies to those I was hoping to see--I seem to manage to do this far too often. My falling out with my friend in Glasgow, Dad getting sick, the car breaking down, my running out of leave... I don't seem to do well with planning trips there; I don't think I'm even batting 50% for executed out of planned. :-(

Comments

[maureenkspeller.livejournal.com]

I have to hand in an itinerary to work a month beforehand if I'm travelling out of the country

Er, gosh ... without wishing to pry, do you have to be on call, because otherwise that seems a little like ... more information than most employers deserve.

[winterbadger]

Well, working for the government (even indirectly), they tend to have more...intrusive expectations than other employers.

[skill-grl.livejournal.com]

Yikes. That's quite frustrating! That sounded like a fun trip.

[winterbadger]

Yes, most frustrating. :-(

I console myself with the thought that I can do something different in the winter or spring, and see the feis next year, or when I'm actually living there. :-)

My niece and her partner were asking if I could stop and see them (and wee baby Peter) in London--if I go later in the year I could do that and maybe see some more people Down South as well as catch up with friends en Ecosse.

[cmlc.livejournal.com]

Re the itinerary: blimey, do you work in the Soviet Union?

Good luck with the holiday plans, hope you get a break eventually

[winterbadger]

itinerary: Nah, just people who want to know how to get in touch with me if bad things happen.

I can't complain too much, given that I'm having such a lovely break now. I just wish it didn't work out that about a week of vacation a year was all I seem to wangle, what with having to take leave for sickness, family emergencies, etc.

[skill-grl.livejournal.com]

And, oh yeah, that would be part of the reason that category of job pays more. :(

[winterbadger]

Indeed. And there are places they would say "no" if I wanted to go there...

[skill-grl.livejournal.com]

And, now, you've made my icon collection seem more anemic than usual. Four in one thread!

[winterbadger]

And I never seem to have all the ones I need! :-)

[silme.livejournal.com]

Oh no! Are you out the money for the plane tickets? :(

[winterbadger]

No, I'm out of *leave*. I only get three weeks a year for holidays and sick time combined, and I've spent a lot of time (a) home sick trying not to spread contagion in the office and (b) travelling to VA and NJ to deal with family issues. I'm borrowing the leave that I'm using for my trip up here to VT (essentially, taking an advance on leave I will earn the rest of the year), and that will max out the amount I can borrow for the time being. I thought I had worked it out so that I would still be able to take some time next month, but it turns out that's not the case. Plus I didn't firm up my plans in time to satisfy the travel office at work. So it will have to be put back a few months.

[silme.livejournal.com]

Ah, I'd figured you'd bought the plane tickets months ago. I usually buy plane tickets for abroad well ahead of time as they tend to be cheaper then.

Three weeks total for holiday and sick leave? Perhaps I've been in the UK for too long, but that sounds like so little time off. :(

[winterbadger]

It is. I was warned when I joined the company that they sucked when it came to leave, and boy were they right. It's something I live with, but I'll also be glad to be rid of it.

[silme.livejournal.com]

You need a government job at NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research). My friends there (at the Boulder branch) always joke that there's something wrong with someone there who runs out of sick and holiday leave. They get amazing time off and it accrues.

[winterbadger]

My old asst. division manager always used to have to sell leave back at the end of the year--I never understood how he did it.

But, yes, federal employees get lots and lots of leave. We generally get paid better as contractors (which of course gets us resented) but federal employees are always getting days off we don't, and they are almost always given a half day off before any official holiday.

[pisica.livejournal.com]

Aww phoo. :(

But that course does sound really cool.

[winterbadger]

It does, doesn't it? Sometimes I think, "Oh, sod it, just go for the student visa." But with Chris and Mel coming back to DC, I do want to stay around long enough to spend some more time with them before they take off for Timbuktu or Shangri-la. And then after a week in New England I'm having trouble not just pitching it all in and moving back up here. "Patience, and shuffle the cards", I guess.