DW Community Catch-up Thread
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Just yesterday I had to send a photo of my drivers license to someone and it made me think about how the photo on the license is 15 years old. I had it renewed in summer 2020 when everything was still virtual and the old photo was automatically used for the new one, or I would’ve gotten a new photo. Also, my headshot on this website is like 11 years old now, too. But seems silly to update that one at this point.
I don’t think that’s bad advice, @anonymousse! The black blazer always feels stuffy to me (on myself! I know the long/oversized ones are on trend right now and have plenty of friends who opt into that even on more casual days), though I think it is the most professional option, but maybe if I buy a new, colorful top to go underneath I’ll be happier with the results.
I have literally never had a flattering DL photo. Which is fine. But I do always look forward to getting a new one because I’m like, maybe — finally! — I’ll get a good one this time.
My current license photo is before I lost about 50 lbs. I have considered getting a new one just because I look so different now.
In Washington, they made me take my photo without my glasses. In PA, they made me take the picture with them and the glare is just…I don’t get why they did that. We did multiple takes. It’s just a terrible photo. She made me tilt down and my chins look bad. Just kidding, but it’s not flattering at all.
So super random, dating related story. A friend of mine is running the Chicago Marathon in a couple weeks, she’s trying to qualify for Boston. A mutual friend is putting together a gift to motivate the friend during the race. In organizing this, she added me to an Instagram group chat with a bunch of the runner friend’s friends for anyone who also wants to be in on it. Well I was mindlessly clicking through the chat participants to see who else was in it while eating my lunch. One account I clicked over to belongs to my runner friend’s running team friend. This woman’s now-ex is a guy I briefly dated years ago who ghosted me. LOL! Small world. I’d totally forgotten about this guy. Glad he’s still alive, I guess.
The update nobody asked for: I had my consult with a dermatologist this morning. We went over my day-to-day skincare routine and she was pleased with what I was doing but made product recommendations. For vitamin C, she recommended Skin Ceuticals, which she said is the only one on the market that has undergone decades of research. I just looked up and it’s $$$$, but she said one drop is all I need to use for my entire face/neck. Also recommended some products by La Roche Posay (which I already know and have liked what I’ve used) as well as Alastin (specifically, a sunscreen) and Avene (a night retrinal), which are two new-to-me brands.
We also talked about some cosmetic procedures (chemical peels, Botox, and fillers) to think about in the longer term. I have not decided if that’s for me yet, but if anyone is in Chicago and looking for a derm, I can name drop because I did like her and her less-is-more take on cosmetic procedures.
Bringing this thread back for a sec. My company just announced that they’re doing away with PTO and instituting a “Flexible Time Off” policy. Basically, unlimited PTO as approved by your manager.
I know a lot of companies are already doing this or are switching. I don’t think I like it? I was already received the max PTO accrual at 5 weeks and we can carry over up to double. I had a nice little bank built up. With the new policy they’ll pay out our PTO bank upon termination.
Do any of you have the unlimited time off policy? Do you like it? Do you actually take time?
They are also taking away our floating holiday and we are down to 7 holiday days.
I’ve never heard anything good about unlimited time off. Mostly because in the United States most companies don’t actually want people to be out of the office. So this is a way to eliminate this as an actual employee benefit – you get as much time as you need/want but if you don’t use it, there is no payout like with accrued PTO.
My company is still on PTO but no one gives you grief about using it which is unusual. We did just reduce the amount that you can roll over, but that means going from 6 weeks roll over to 5 weeks.
I don’t have unlimited PTO, however, I have some friends who do and this actually came up at a happy hour in the past couple months. I asked if they take a lot of PTO and they said no, not really, which is consistent with the research that has shown that employees with unlimited PTO actually take less time off than those who accrue a set number of PTO days.
I’d I think company culture would make a difference in the reality of unlimited PTO. Like at my current company, if we implemented a change from our current PTO policy to unlimited PTO, I’d not be happy about it, but I’d also not necessarily worry too much about feeling pressure to take fewer days off. If my last company had adopted an unlimited PTO policy, I’d not have been happy about it and the change would’ve felt very discouraging.
Yeah, I have mixed feelings. I take a couple of longer vacations every year. Like next year, we’re taking my niece on a trip of her choice for graduation. Since we’re child free, we’re able to do this!
I have a good manager, so I’m not too concerned about actually taking it.
Previously, we could bank or roll over double our yearly accrual. So I currently have 350+ hours in my bank. Apparently, I didn’t regularly take my PTO anyway. Although last year I started taking my full five weeks. I built up a lot of the PTO during the pandemic when I wasn’t doing anything.
So I guess if I ever leave the company, they get to pay me my 350+ hours.
Oh, fun news that actually sort of relates to dating and this thread… the husband and I no longer work together… he switched companies about six weeks ago. It’s kind of weird. He got a great offer from a company that has been courting him for about a year and finally decided to take it.
We have generous PTO where I work (we start at five weeks, I’m currently sitting at six, and I think I’ll get another bump at my next work anniversary in March but I’ve honestly lost track and I don’t know where it caps). I’ve never taken all of it in a year, but have never lost any PTO when we roll over. I have way more PTO than the boyfriend and a generally more flexible work environment. I’ve thought about solo traveling to be better about using my time off.
That’s exciting about your husband’s new job, @ktfran!
ETA: If/when I move on from this job, which I sometimes think about these days, I do look forward to the payout.
I think solo traveling would be fun! Or a staycation once in a while to just chill.
Our company is actually losing a lot of good people / experts. It’s been happening for about 18 months. We have a new CEO and President that kind of suck. They’re on year 2, entering year 3. In the last year, we lost four of our top women who were leading work in emerging markets, three of which the husband was tied to.
My company closes every year between Christmas and the new year, so I have my annual staycation coming up! Last year, I forced myself to plan one activity every day because in past years the week always felt like it passed me by. So I did things I don’t normally do, like visit the Art Institute and the Garfield Park Conservatory. It was nice, but I do tend to hang on to PTO days for travel because I tend to waste my life on the couch during staycations. I’ve never traveled alone and am not sure if I’d even enjoy it, but even in a live-in relationship still enjoy feeling independent and think solo travel would scratch that itch.
