Comments on: Home — For a Little While http://www.melindasnodgrass.com/musings/2007/05/31/home-for-a-little-while/ Rational Life Sat, 30 Aug 2008 02:34:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.1.2 By: Steve Stirling http://www.melindasnodgrass.com/musings/2007/05/31/home-for-a-little-while/#comment-417 Steve Stirling Fri, 01 Jun 2007 06:33:24 +0000 http://www.melindasnodgrass.com/musings/2007/05/31/home-for-a-little-while/#comment-417 Actually, being paternalistic (sorry!) about your employees is a deeply conservative notion -- noblesse oblige. You're the Squire who looks after the tenantry, Melinda... 8-). Actually, being paternalistic (sorry!) about your employees is a deeply conservative notion — noblesse oblige. You’re the Squire who looks after the tenantry, Melinda… 8-).

]]> By: Melinda http://www.melindasnodgrass.com/musings/2007/05/31/home-for-a-little-while/#comment-420 Melinda Fri, 01 Jun 2007 14:38:10 +0000 http://www.melindasnodgrass.com/musings/2007/05/31/home-for-a-little-while/#comment-420 Not for a long time, Steve. Today it seems the conservative ideal is throw 'em out if they can't work. Gotta take care of that bottom line and the share holders. Look at what major companies are doing -- reneging on their pension and health funds. Filling positions with people who work 39 and half hours so they can call them "part time" and not pay for benefits. I'm a capitalist and a business woman, but what companies are doing today just sickens me. Not for a long time, Steve. Today it seems the conservative ideal is throw ‘em out if they can’t work. Gotta take care of that bottom line and the share holders. Look at what major companies are doing — reneging on their pension and health funds. Filling positions with people who work 39 and half hours so they can call them “part time” and not pay for benefits.

I’m a capitalist and a business woman, but what companies are doing today just sickens me.

]]> By: Kathy H. http://www.melindasnodgrass.com/musings/2007/05/31/home-for-a-little-while/#comment-421 Kathy H. Fri, 01 Jun 2007 14:45:25 +0000 http://www.melindasnodgrass.com/musings/2007/05/31/home-for-a-little-while/#comment-421 Melinda, I need a little more backstory here. Are the bookkeeper and Diane two different people? If so, I take it the bookkeeper was not the person who was skimming money off the company, since you feel kindly for her and want to give her severance pay? And why is your leg cramping after the long drive? Doesn't that Mercedes have cruise control? Inquiring minds want to know! And as for our approaching old age without any children, I've found that (a) it's a good idea to be friends with younger people -- which you are! -- and (b) there are some very nice retirement communities around, and more are being built as the Baby Boom generation ages. Best, Kathy H. Melinda, I need a little more backstory here.

Are the bookkeeper and Diane two different people?

If so, I take it the bookkeeper was not the person who was skimming money off the company, since you feel kindly for her and want to give her severance pay?

And why is your leg cramping after the long drive? Doesn’t that Mercedes have cruise control?

Inquiring minds want to know!

And as for our approaching old age without any children, I’ve found that (a) it’s a good idea to be friends with younger people — which you are! — and (b) there are some very nice retirement communities around, and more are being built as the Baby Boom generation ages.

Best,
Kathy H.

]]> By: Melinda http://www.melindasnodgrass.com/musings/2007/05/31/home-for-a-little-while/#comment-422 Melinda Fri, 01 Jun 2007 16:03:56 +0000 http://www.melindasnodgrass.com/musings/2007/05/31/home-for-a-little-while/#comment-422 Sorry, I was clearly tired while I was typing last night. I didn't want to use my bookkeeper's name. I'm trying to protect her privacy a bit. Yes, bookkeeper and Diane are two different people. It was a company out of Texas that was purchaing our gas for 27 years, and the calculation formula they were using to pay us made literally _no_ sense. It meant that every month they didn't pay us a few thousand dollars we were owed. Diane audited the payment records going back three years, and discovered the problems. My bookkeeper has been incredibly loyal and hard working for almost forty years. Since my predecessor paid no attention to the company this lady could have robbed us blind, but she never took a cent. When I took over the company I discovered she had not been given a raise since 1980 and she was making $17,500.00 per year. That changed the day I took control. I used the cruise for part of the drive, but when you drive really fast it's better to keep total control. Also, there was enough traffic that I needed to keep my foot on the gas so I could adjust very quickly. Sorry, I was clearly tired while I was typing last night. I didn’t want to use my bookkeeper’s name. I’m trying to protect her privacy a bit. Yes, bookkeeper and Diane are two different people. It was a company out of Texas that was purchaing our gas for 27 years, and the calculation formula they were using to pay us made literally _no_ sense. It meant that every month they didn’t pay us a few thousand dollars we were owed. Diane audited the payment records going back three years, and discovered the problems.

My bookkeeper has been incredibly loyal and hard working for almost forty years. Since my predecessor paid no attention to the company this lady could have robbed us blind, but she never took a cent. When I took over the company I discovered she had not been given a raise since 1980 and she was making $17,500.00 per year. That changed the day I took control.

I used the cruise for part of the drive, but when you drive really fast it’s better to keep total control. Also, there was enough traffic that I needed to keep my foot on the gas so I could adjust very quickly.

]]> By: Kathy H. http://www.melindasnodgrass.com/musings/2007/05/31/home-for-a-little-while/#comment-433 Kathy H. Fri, 01 Jun 2007 19:50:43 +0000 http://www.melindasnodgrass.com/musings/2007/05/31/home-for-a-little-while/#comment-433 Thank you for answering so promptly, Melinda! I realized I have one more question. I don't see a connecting factoid between "I'm worried about my bookkeeper" and "My bookkeeper was released from the ICU this afternoon." I don't see the bit where the bookkeeper went *into* the ICU (unless I missed it somehow.) I realize you can't give medical detail, but just a general idea of what's wrong would help. Maybe this was in an earlier post and I missed it. Regards, Kathy Thank you for answering so promptly, Melinda!

I realized I have one more question. I don’t see a connecting factoid between “I’m worried about my bookkeeper” and “My bookkeeper was released from the ICU this afternoon.”

I don’t see the bit where the bookkeeper went *into* the ICU (unless I missed it somehow.) I realize you can’t give medical detail, but just a general idea of what’s wrong would help.

Maybe this was in an earlier post and I missed it.

Regards,
Kathy

]]> By: Steve Stirling http://www.melindasnodgrass.com/musings/2007/05/31/home-for-a-little-while/#comment-438 Steve Stirling Sat, 02 Jun 2007 02:57:12 +0000 http://www.melindasnodgrass.com/musings/2007/05/31/home-for-a-little-while/#comment-438 "Today it seems the conservative ideal is throw ‘em out if they can’t work." -- that's technically the classical-liberal attitude; it's pure laissez-faire individualism. Only in America is laissez-faire thought of as the "traditional, conservative" position, largely because America was founded by classical liberals, who were the 18th century equivalent of Marxists. In most places, freebooting capitalism is (rightly) thought of as a _radical_ ideology, one that dissolves traditional, conservative social arrangements with their paternalistic hierarchies, Crown-Altar-and-Squire attitudes, and a place for everyone and everyone in their place. “Today it seems the conservative ideal is throw ‘em out if they can’t work.”

– that’s technically the classical-liberal attitude; it’s pure laissez-faire individualism.

Only in America is laissez-faire thought of as the “traditional, conservative” position, largely because America was founded by classical liberals, who were the 18th century equivalent of Marxists.

In most places, freebooting capitalism is (rightly) thought of as a _radical_ ideology, one that dissolves traditional, conservative social arrangements with their paternalistic hierarchies, Crown-Altar-and-Squire attitudes, and a place for everyone and everyone in their place.

]]> By: Melinda http://www.melindasnodgrass.com/musings/2007/05/31/home-for-a-little-while/#comment-439 Melinda Sat, 02 Jun 2007 03:03:23 +0000 http://www.melindasnodgrass.com/musings/2007/05/31/home-for-a-little-while/#comment-439 My employee will have been in the hospital for almost two weeks on Sunday. She came down with a flu/cold, stayed home from work and thought she could wear it out. Finally she called her brother and asked him to take her to the hospital. She had double pneumonia, and was just in a regular ward. Then a week ago Thursday she took a turn for the worse, and was sent into the ICU. She came out of the ICU a week later, and is back in a regular room. Which is why I could visit her before I headed home. The problem was that they kept her illness from me for almost a week. I generally only call once a week or so because interruptions annoy her, and I tend to communicate mostly with the pumper and my petroleum engineer. I can understand the mechanics of the wells better than I can accounting. :) My employee will have been in the hospital for almost two weeks on Sunday. She came down with a flu/cold, stayed home from work and thought she could wear it out. Finally she called her brother and asked him to take her to the hospital. She had double pneumonia, and was just in a regular ward. Then a week ago Thursday she took a turn for the worse, and was sent into the ICU. She came out of the ICU a week later, and is back in a regular room. Which is why I could visit her before I headed home.

The problem was that they kept her illness from me for almost a week. I generally only call once a week or so because interruptions annoy her, and I tend to communicate mostly with the pumper and my petroleum engineer. I can understand the mechanics of the wells better than I can accounting. :)

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