Day Off In Bed

Once again, the Universe provides. Just after my post last week whining about being broke and not getting ahead on the bills an opportunity presented itself. We have hired a new, full-time manager at work and another part time. The part time guy was solely responsible for working the late, nightclub hours. The new full time manager would help out both in the nightclub and during the regular restaurant hours. The thinking was that if we had a little help in both areas, we could curtail our own hours and maybe have some time to rest, finish any special projects, and do better in the areas we had already taken on. So of course, the weekend that the new manager takes off for a previously scheduled weekend away is the same weekend that the part time manager decides to quit. It seemed that a night or a weekend of 14+ hr. shifts might be in the offing. My boss tried to soft-sell it by assuring us that he wouldn't demand that anyone step up. He tried to sweeten the deal by commenting that "of course, you'll get the extra pay". I'd like to say I chuckled, but the truth is I sneered derisively. "I'm sorry. It's just that we never got paid for the last shifts we were promised money." I couldn't resist. The other manager that was supposed to be paid as well as our CFO were all in the room. I'm afraid I may have pissed off my boss a little. He sounded irritated. But so was I. As well as sick of working so hard and not being able to have anything to show for it.

It was then that he claimed he didn't know we hadn't been paid. I have no doubt that's true. But how is it part of my responsibility to see that my employees are paid what they are owed and not part of his? Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love my boss. And in his defense, I wouldn't know that my employee hadn't been paid if he or she didn't bring it to my attention. But I do have to send their pay information to the payroll office. His passive/passive act can frequently leave us to fend for ourselves. And of course, I'm much better at taking care of others than I've ever been taking care of myself. So after assurances from him on several occasions that we were free to pay ourselves the money we were owed, as well as any additional payments this weekend would incur, it seems that the opportunity to put in a couple of very long late nights would finally have a tangible result in my checking balance.

I admit, a part of me briefly considered taking the back pay and skipping this weekend. I can be lazy. But fortunately, in the end, not stupid. I got home Saturday morning at 6:30 and to bed at 8:30. On Sunday morning it was 8 am. Bedtime was sometime after 10:30. I slept all afternoon and woke up to sore feet, a crabby disposition and an upset stomach. I also had a pocketful of cash. Today I paid off an Amex bill almost exactly equal to one week's take home pay. And I still have some money left for hookers and beer. Minus the beer. More importantly, I have a bit of breathing room. If I'm careful, I should have a little bit of money left from my next few paychecks. That means I won't have to recreate that Amex horror next month. I'll also have paid off another minor credit card, and can get to work on paying down one of the more substantial cards I've been carrying.

See, that's the thing about trusting the Universe to sort it out. The solution you need will almost always present itself. But you still have to be smart enough to see it. And you may have to bust your ass for a weekend and spend your day off recuperating on the couch. But since the hard work becomes a means to an end, it doesn't feel like it's all that hard at all. Now if you'll excuse me, I haven't showered in 36 hours. I stink.