It's Friday, Friday

Okay, yeah. (And now I'm thinking of the Aquabats! show parody of the song, which was about Wednesday. Yes, the Aquabats! is pretty stupid, but it's INTENTIONALLY stupid, so that's okay, and it actually makes me laugh. (And Weird Al Yankovic has had cameos on there)

I admit to a bit of perversity here but I'm glad it's most likely going to rain tomorrow, as it will likely cancel the trash-off day which (a) I didn't really have time to do,I need that time for research and getting caught up on grading and (b) my hip bursitis is acting up again so walking long distances over uneven ground is not such a great idea at the moment. Instead, I can come in and work on research here.

I am glad it's Friday, though. If nothing else I don't have to set my alarm tomorrow (both my body-clock alarm - seriously, most days I wake up a good 20 minutes before the alarm is set to go off, no matter what time I went to bed the night before - and the actual alarm clock I use as a backup). I've also sort of promised myself that if I get the couple of things on my agenda done early this afternoon, I'm going to swing by downtown and just look for a few comfort items at the Kopper Kettle or some of the other gifty type shops. And maybe pick up a skein or two of floss.

Because, I restarted a set of embroidered pillowcases last night. These are ones stamped with a mare and colt surrounded by flowers. I am doing the mare in color 918 (they specified colors but I went my own way, picking ones I liked) and I may run short for the second pillowcase, I don't know.

The colt will be a slightly less-redbrown color; I like the idea of them being distinctive.

Embroidery is one of those things I put aside because "it takes a long time to get anything done" but it's also something really soothing to work on when you are working on it. (And the mostly-outline-stitch pattern on this one really doesn't take that long)

I'm also glad next week is mid-fall break and I have something to look forward to. (I think one of the secrets to being happy in life is always having something to look forward to - even if it's just, as I said, a day you don't have to set your alarm clock). My sister-in-law was talking about how they have plans to go to Colonial Williamsburg this weekend (yes, it's still open - it's privately run). She remarked sort of wistfully, "It's been a long time since we did anything FUN."

I know that feel, sis. (Though I think she probably has a rougher time than I do; working full time and returning home to do the evening shift with the baby. She also has a fairly ugly commute).

(Also, she's been having to make up the time she was taking off, hour for hour, by going in early and staying late. She's "exempted," even though she's a Federal employee, so now they're telling them that because the non-exempted folks are gone, even sick days have to be made up, hour for hour. Ugh. )

***

Something weird happened the other evening. I got a phone call from some staffing service. Apparently one of my neighbors - one of the new ones, I barely know him other than to say "hello" to - put me down as a reference.

Wait, what?

I admit, I felt kind of bad that I couldn't give her any information, not even "do you know if he's currently employed." But after I hung up the phone, I thought....wait? Is it done in other fields to put someone down as a reference without telling them? Then I felt annoyed.

In my field, I get asked to be a reference or write letters of reference all the time. In botany/conservation/fish and wildlife sciences, it's the standard to ask the person if they're willing to serve as a reference (if it's one of those "They'll call you if they need to" things). Partly so you're not surprised out of the blue by a random phone call, but also partly so you have the right of refusal.(And I have gently refused to serve as references for people if I didn't feel I could recommend them well. Though any more, a lot of the phone "recommendations" I've given have been only verification of dates of employment....as things get even more lawsuit-happy, apparently a lot of references won't say any more, "Oh, he wasn't a very responsible worker" or "She was consistently late and complained about the workload." Which makes references pretty useless, in my opinion. Yes, you can get that one person who didn't like the person, but again - it's standard to list references who will support you, and also, if you check with several, you get a more complete picture)

But - in other fields, is it done to just put people down and expect they'll tender recommendations if called? That seems strange to me. And kind of rude, really. (And if a neighbor who barely knows him is the best he can do....well, I'm afraid his prospects look dim, especially in this economy)