Break, birthday, and a brat

It's Spring Break! I've been off since last Friday and don't go back to work until Monday. Easter was so late this year that it seemed like this break would never get here. For the teachers and kids, there's only about four weeks left in the school year. I work all summer (with the exception of a little over a week off around the 4th of July) but as soon as school's out I'll be on "summer hours" and I'm looking forward to that. District employees who work through the summer only have to work 9am-3pm, Monday through Thursday and Fridays off. How sweet is that?

Meanwhile, this week, it's vacation. A much-needed vacation.

Today is Administrative Professionals Day. Since we weren't going to be at school this week, the administration and staff surprised me, Robin (the receptionist) and Ms. Williamson (the data/records/attendance clerk) with all kinds of gifts on Thursday afternoon. We got flowers, chocolate covered strawberries, $50 Walmart gift cards, and a nice card signed by teachers and staff. It was all so thoughtful and lovely!

Pretty pink hydrangea plant!

The strawberries were absolutely delicious! 

Today is also St. George's day, which I picked as our George's birthday the first year we had him. He's 12 years old now! He's come a long, long way from the wild, slightly traumatized shelter pup we adopted back in 2013. He's mellowed into a gentle, sweet, loveable old fellow who's always happy. He's also really active and healthy for 12 years old which I'm so thankful for. 

Gregg has a special thing he does with George occasionally, just the two of them. He gets up very early and the two of them tiptoe out of the house, jump in the van, and go to the park down the road for an early morning ramble. This morning I woke up at daybreak when I heard George's harness click into place, and I knew they were headed to the park. It made me smile (then Poppy and I went back to sleep).

Later in the morning I went to Sam's, and I found some large, good quality dog beds on sale for a really good price. So Georgie got a new bed for his birthday! He's already taken a nap on it, so I guess he likes it.

We love him to bits. He's a very good boy!

Speaking of George and life with our pets, I'll leave you with one other thing that happened this week. 

Guess what I caught Marco doing a couple of days ago?

Creeping around on the floor eating dog food out of George's bowl!! That's what! 

Little a**hole. He drives me crazy.

Appreciation

Today is Administrative Professionals Day. I was surprised this afternoon with a big basket full of gifts and a nice card from the staff at work! The receptionist and attendance/records clerk were also recognized. I don't know about them, but my gifts were obviously chosen with my tastes in mind. 

There were gardening tools, a gift card to the bookstore, a set of candles in pretty pastel colors, and hand soaps and lotions. 

In other work news, it's been a busy and productive week so far. I'm really starting to feel like I have a handle on everything that's expected of me in my new role. (I also got a really good performance review last month! Yay!) It's been almost a year now that I've been there, and I haven't had even one really stressful day yet. Not even one! 

Getting this job was a really, really lucky break. I'm grateful for it every day.

Catty

Today was Administrative Professionals Day. When I got to work, the principal called me and three other women who work in the office together. She said some nice things, thanked us for our hard work and so on, and told us she was sending us off campus for a long lunch at a nearby Italian restaurant to show her appreciation. It was really nice of her; I wasn't expecting anything, so it was a pleasant surprise. 

Two of the women in the group are okay and I like them well enough. The third, though, was one of the bullies who made me so unhappy last year. She's much nicer to me this year (mainly because her mean girl bestie found another job last summer) but she's still a truly awful person. I've never met anyone who loves vicious gossip as much as her! She thinks it's funny to talk trash about people and their personal lives, and the school secretary (who was absent from work and not at the lunch) was the target of her nastiness today. I thought of how hurt the secretary would be if she heard some of the things this woman (who acts like her friend to her face!) had to say. It was disgusting.

I ate my food in silence and just listened. The other two women seemed to enjoy the gossip, but at least they didn't really engage with it too much. If you overlook the content of what the bully talks about, she can be very funny and personable, and she's fairly popular among the staff. But I keep thinking this: if she'll talk shit about everyone else and start/spread/embellish vile rumors, what makes them think she'll spare them when they're not around? 

So anyway, although it was a nice lunch and very nice of the principal to treat us, I'd have been happier sitting at my desk eating a cafeteria meal. 

The only good part of the lunch conversation was when the bully confirmed that she's been offered a job elsewhere and won't be back to our school next year. Pretty soon this woman will disappear from my life forever, and that will be a good thing.

And maybe, just maybe......I won't be back next year, either. 

I have an interview at the other school next Tuesday morning!