What Would Be Your Breaking Point?

If you had worked at the same job for years, met or exceeded your performance objectives and rarely missed a day of work, what would be your breaking point?
"Dennis" is a man that I work with. We have sat in proximity of each other for around 3 years. He is a man that can come across a bit blustery or opinionated, but he has a heart of gold. If you sit and talk to him, you realize how much he cares about others and willingly goes out of his way to help people whether at work or on his own time.
Since he started working here, Dennis has gotten his Bachelor's Degree (which at our company is a requirement for many areas of work). He also works part-time assisting others in emergengy medical situations.
Dennis is very open about his opinion of things and sometimes comes across rude or angry, which isn't the case. He wants to make sure that people are looking at things from another viewpoint, but it can come across wrong. We have actually had discussions about this a few times.
This is the rub. Dennis has applied for 21 different positions in this company and been interviewed at least a dozen times. To date, he has been promoted 1 time and received a lateral transfer 1 time as well. Since I have known him, he has interviewed for at least 5 jobs and was passed over for each one.
I am not really sure why they don't offer him the position. He has a plethora of knowledge and willingly helps anyone who asks (even to his own detriment). They use excuses like "You don't seem confident in your decision making"(uh, he has has to make decisions on who has a better chance to live in an emergency more than once) or "You don't rate high enough in the matrix" (which is a ridiculous tool that they use that means VERY little in regards to a persons ability). It used to be "You don't have a Bachelor's degree" so Dennis got a Bachelor's degree. Now the excuses that they are using are getting more and more ridiculous.
It seems that for some reason, Dennis has pissed of the PTB (powers that be). How? I am not sure. Maybe because he doesn't back down when he has an opinion. Maybe it is that he is a 6'4" man that can come across as cranky or annoyed unless he really tries hard to tone down his personality.
I am not sure why he is being continually turned down for jobs that he is more than capable of doing. The last one he more than deserved. Instead it went to someone who has half the skills and has been here half the time that Dennis has.
At what point would you just say screw it? I am done and then tell the company to stick it where the sun don't shine and start looking elsewhere?
I wonder if Dennis has reached that point yet. I probably would have been long gone by now if it was me.

I'm Not Worthy ..(Schwing!!!)

I am being honored along with the plethora of porn sites, sites that try to sell you diet pills, food bedazzlers, pet rocks, and "vintage" whatever.
I am now Googleable. Is that a word? If not, I should copyright it.
Anywho... I was perusing my statcounter site to see how people linked to my site and I found this.
I know this is silly, but it totally made my day.....I wonder if I should get all snooty, forget who my real friends are and enjoy my non-existent .15 minutes of fame?

Some Things I Love About You - And You Know Who You Are

You make me laugh until my sides hurt
You have a smile that makes your eyes sparkle
You always give me a hug goodbye
You can finish my thoughts
You drop everything to be there when I need you
You listen to my doubts
You calm my irrational fears
You think that I am funny
You go to movies that you don’t want to see because I want to see them
You love my son
You ask for my advice
You take my advice to heart
You like my brother in spite of what he has done
You give me moral support
You can’t stand D’s dad just on principle
You include me in your family things since mine aren’t here
You baby sit for free
You like my surprises
You haven’t taken down that AWFUL photo of you on my fridge because I think it is funny
You adore animals
You are saving yourself for marriage
You brought me back to Jesus
You laugh when people think that we are more than friends
You think it is funny when I call you Sasquatch
You are so tall you can reach things in the upper cabinets for me
You do the best rendition of “Without Me” by Eminem EVER done at karaoke
You don’t want to move because of our friendship
You know that if you move we will still be friends
You are great at Improv
You won’t forget me when you make it big
You listen to my fashion advice
You show me parts of yourself that you hide from others
You like to eat my cooking
You care about other people’s feelings
You have shown me how to be silly
You are dedicated to “Girls Night”
You like cheesy reality T.V.
You aren’t afraid to cry
You let me cry too
You always encourage me
You love how excited I get when I plan things
You let me plan things
You like my rendition of “More Than Words” at karaoke
You don’t get jealous of my other friends
You love game nights
You take D shopping to buy my Christmas presents so that I can be surprised
You love my family
You are a massage whore
You like to go shopping with me
You didn’t believe in having a best friend – until you met me.

Spa-tacular?

The company that I work for had a fundraiser last night. It was for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) which is a wonderful organization.
The concept was that we donate $50 to JDRF and get to go to a spa and receive a 15 minute massage, a micro-derm abrasion, a mini-pedicure, mini-manicure and a haircut. For another $25 we could bring a friend for the same pampering. They also had a jazz band and "hearty hor'devours".
The idea was great, but the execution left a bit to be desired. The event lasted from 6:00 to 8:30. The spa services were to start at 7:00 so that we had time to mingle and stuff our faces first. What they didn't tell us is that we should get there around 5:45.
I work until 5:45 and I had to pick up D and meet up with a friend who was going to watch him while I was there (D's dad flaked out again as usual). I got to the spa center around 6:30 thinking that I would have time to sign up for some services. Ummm...not so much.
It was a madhouse. I walked in and there were women everywhere and the music was so loud that it was hard to talk. They had me sign in and sign up for a door prize. They then told me to walk around and sign up for the services that I wanted.
My friend Funny Girl was meeting me there, but didn't get off work until 7:00 so I had her list of things that she wanted so that I could sign her up as well.
Off I go to find the services that I want to sign up. I get to the first room which was for micro-derm abrasion. Now this was the second thing on my list so I thought, cool, I will put my name down. First room list was full. I go to the second micro-derm room. That list was full. I start walking around. All the massage room lists - full. Pedicure list - full; Hair list - full. The only list that still had room on it was for the mini-manicure which basically consisted of a 1 minute hand massage and a paraffin wax dip. I sign my name on there and I put Funny Girls name on there too.
I was NOT very happy. I thought, people paid good money for these services and very few people are getting them. Some lists only had room for 3 or 4 people. There were 50-60 people there. I went through and started looking at the lists again. It became very apparent that the first people that were there signed up for all of the services without thinking that maybe there might not be enough for everyone.
At this point it pretty much turned into a joke. I would walk all over hoping that people were ahead of schedule (which shock of all shocks, they were). I would stand by the door and once someone was finished, I would find out what time they were scheduled for. If it was 15 minutes before the next appointment, I would ask if they could fit me in.
Although things didn't go exactly as planned, the spa employees were fabulous. VERY accomodating and willing to do more than they had been originally asked to do. And everything that they were doing was for no pay. They were volunteering their services for JDRF just like we paid for the services.
I was able to slip in and get a micro-derm abrasion which felt like a very rough cat tounge licking my face. The funny thing was that the technician used to work at a day spa that I go to and she gave me a facial about 4 years ago.
I talked to the people doing hair and the lead hair stylist said that she would get me in even if it meant staying until 10pm. I thought...now THAT is a cool chick.
I still wander around and someone comes up to me and says, "I can't use my massage time, do you want it?" We go and cross out her name and write down Funny Girl's name. Massage was #1 on her list.
I meet Funny Girl at the door. I tell her that her massage is scheduled for 7:30. Unfortunately because they are moving so fast, there are about 30 minutes ahead of schedule and she misses her time slot. We talk to the masseuse and he fits her in. She gets her massage while I go and get a manicure. She meets me out there and then she gets her manicure.
We then go back to the massage area and talk to Justin (her masseuse) and he says that he will fit me in after his next appointment. At this point I am thinking..... OK, so they are doing their best to accomodate everyone. It definitely isn't their fault, it was probably more of a miscommunication between the spa and the event planners.
In the end, I was only signed up for 1 service but because of the absolutely awesome spa employees I was able to get 4 services. Microderm, massage, manicure and a haircut.
Even though the event ended at 8:30, I walked out the door at 10:15 with a fabulous haircut and I even won a door prize of a large, beautiful urn style pot with potpourri which I gave to Dolly (the babysitter) as a thank you since she wouldn't take any money. I ususally go to a different spa for hair and pampering, but I was so impressed with the people and the ambience of Vasaio (which I found out means pottery in Italian), that I think I have found my new haven.
Oh, and I have gotten TONS of compliments on the new "do".

What A Way To End The Evening

For some reason my son D likes to watch TV in my bedroom. I have the smallest TV in the house in there, but he likes it so I didn't mind.
Until last night.
Right around bedtime he was watching a cartoon in my room and apparently had been doing some digging around in my things.
D comes out of my room with a look of utter confusion and said "Mom, what is this?"
I couldn't see what he was holding because he was behind the chair. He comes around the chair and to my absolute horror, he is holding B.O.B. And, he has it turned on.
Speechless and with nary a thought to pop into my head, I grab it, take it into my room and hide it on the top shelf of the closet and turn around and guide him to his own bedroom.
"It is time for bed" , I say.
"But what is it?", D asks again.
"Don't worry about it" I say.
"But I wanna know what it is. Is this a grown up thing? Will you tell me when I am older?" he asks.
Still unable to think of anything to tell him, I continue with evasive tactics.
"It's bedtime. Goodnight." I say.
D realizes that he isn't going to get an answer to his question and goes to bed without complaint. I, on the other hand, sit in the living room, trying to figure out what I will say if he tells anyone or asks them what it was.
I think that it is time to invest in a lockbox.