Copa
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
@Rangerchic and @BGM I’m glad you two are almost out of the woods and hope for negative test results.
@Rangerchic My moods have been up and down this entire time, and my lows last longer at this point than they did early on. I have teletherapy appointments about once/month and my therapist and I have talked about it, she says it’s a common theme, and tells me to keep riding the waves up and down and try not to fall in, basically. It’s harder than ever with the election right around the corner, but I hope your mood bounces back up soon!I just found out that one of my friends, who moved in with her now-ex boyfriend in June, had to be hospitalized last week and have two surgeries because he beat her with a golf club. I’m so angry, shocked, and upset about it. I haven’t liked her last couple boyfriends, but this one seemed SO great. I really liked him and I’m disgusted.
Well, we just got the email about staff changes for our November workforce reduction. A few previously vacant positions will not be filled, a few positions were reduced to part-time, a few were let go (including the one who has not figured out how to use Zoom). I thought I’d feel relieved but it just feels kinda shitty.
So I work out of our small satellite office in a big city, while our HQ is in a smaller city several hours away. There are quite a few coworkers that I don’t know well or whose names I wouldn’t be able to put a face to. I have impressions of some that may or may not be correct based off of email and phone calls. So I really can’t guess who will be let go aside from the one woman who can’t use Zoom, and she’s only on my radar because I’m directly affected by her lack of Zoom skills. As much as the news caused me anxiety, I also imagine the decision-makers and news-breakers are also not thrilled by the situation.
Yes, it’s weird, and I don’t understand why her supervisor hasn’t told her to figure it out. I’ve also heard she’s never learned how to use the printers in our offices and would ask someone else to print things for her every single time when she was in (she was mostly remote pre-COVID). We work with a lot of attorneys, some of whom are very much on the older side, and they can all use Zoom with relatively few issues. I actually find it endearing how some of them marvel at Zoom/technology and get excited to show off their backgrounds and whatnot.
One of my coworkers has not learned how to use Zoom, so there are a few of us who have become go-tos to run her meetings for her. I’ve never really understood what the deal is — like, why hasn’t she learned? Why hasn’t anyone told her to? It’s not hard! — and I think it’s ridiculous that this has been the arrangement for 6+ months now. I have to wake up early on Saturday to run a meeting for her. Anyway, I’m pretty sure she’ll be gone soon.
Yeahhh, my sister’s company has already been through two rounds of layoffs and they have another one coming. She’s been freaking out for awhile. We had to let one person go in June. I feel fairly confident I will not be laid off but I wish I didn’t because… well, ya never know. I have no idea how they ultimately choose who stays and who goes. I do suspect I already know who one person will be. We’re already a smaller company and staffing is already pretty lean, so I’m hopeful it’ll only be a few people. We’ll see! I know I’ll eventually land back on my feet if I am let go, but I graduated into the last recession and I feel like I still have some kind of, like, workplace/unemployment PTSD from that chapter of my life.
I just finished a company-wide meeting. Two rounds of layoffs are coming, in November and again in early 2021. I’m not shocked — my boss recently asked if I have the capacity to do more work, and I knew exactly whose work he was talking about by the thinly veiled description — but that was certainly a sobering way to start the day. Hoping that asking if I can handle more means my head isn’t on the chopping block, but who really knows what’ll happen.
I have a pair of shorter Sorel boots and they’re okay. Warm and comfy, but they tear up my ankles if I don’t wear thick enough socks, and I’ve heard some friends complain about the same issue. Uggs were trendy when I was in college and I had two pairs. I gave my classic short pair to my mom, and I really dislike the style of the other (I bought them when I was maybe 18 and settled for that specific pair. It was maybe the height of the Ugg craze, and it was the only pair available in my size. I didn’t want to wait for the ones I wanted, which were on back order. What a dope. I should sell them.). They are warm, comfy, and cozy, though — the classic short pair don’t look new by any means anymore, but they’ve held up for like 15+ years at this point.
My grandma’s nursing home in the Bay Area is now allowing socially distanced visits, but I feel like it’s too late. She was likely in the beginning stages of dementia when she went to assisted living, and within a couple months of isolation due to COVID was diagnosed with aggravated dementia. Phone calls were pretty difficult so I’m glad family can visit her a bit again.
@ktfran If you find any great winter gear for Chicago temps, don’t hesitate to share on this site! Ha!
I also went to one get together where I felt misled once I arrived. A friend moved in with her boyfriend in June and last month they had a housewarming party. I was told it was going to be very small and out on the deck, so we agreed to go. It was NOT small for a COVID get together (~20 people). They had the door to the back open to circulate air, but their deck can’t accommodate that many people and most people opted to be inside in any case. My boyfriend and I did stay for a bit, and we did make a point to be outside, but I felt shitty about the whole thing. My friend was surprised when we left pretty early.
My boyfriend and I definitely need to talk about the holidays this year. We’ve already decided to do a low-key Thanksgiving at our place this year. I’ve invited my sister, who is still figuring out what she’ll do, and it’s likely he’ll invite his single friend whose family is on the west coast. I’d be okay with the four of us indoors, though we’re looking for ways to make our outdoor space an okay hangout for colder weather at the moment. I’m more worried about Christmas. My family is not nearby so there won’t be any pressure to travel unless I want to (and I really don’t), but I can see pressure coming from his family. I’d probably be okay with a nuclear family only celebration with his family, rather than the huge family get together I’ve gone to with him the past two years, but knowing his mom and stepdad are doing whatever makes me wary even of something small. So, we’ll see.
Yeah! We’re in one of the top floor units of our building and have the rooftop to ourselves. The previous owner left a grill, high top table and stools, and a hammock, and we already had zero gravity chairs, so we’ve already been able to have a few people over outside. We figured buying patio furniture was a problem for 2021 — but his mom and stepdad had some old love seats, ottomans, chairs, and tables. I was out of town when they dropped by and had no idea they were bringing anything so I was pleasantly surprised when I got home. BG put a TV out there and watches sports on the roof, haha. Now that we have comfortable furniture, we might splurge on some heaters or something this year after all so that we can take advantage of our outdoor space a little longer.
So I can understand SIL feeling like she should’ve been told that you guys are expecting in a different way, but bursting into tears and storming out of the room sounds so dramatic. Good grief. Although, really, I would’ve expected her to have that reaction because you’re “overshadowing” her fairytale Disney wedding rather than feeling left out of the news. But, yeah, if she says she’s happy, you can just take it at face value for now and assume she means it unless/until she pulls some kind of drama queen stunt.
Patty melts, tots, and a cake sounds like a great anniversary dinner to me!
Unpacking is going well! Everything is out of boxes but we still need to find permanent places for some of our items and need to get art on the walls. It’s taking longer than I thought! His mom and stepdad actually brought by some of their old patio furniture for our rooftop on Friday, which was super generous of them, and they were all able to have a drink together up there.
