ML1: Two Sides

It's true what they say. There are two sides to every story. Two ways of looking at any given situation. Probably more.

You can be the type of person who is looking to be offended. Keeping tabs of wrongs to be used against another, later.

I try not to do that. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt. Because they usually deserve it. It's easy to misunderstand people, situations, circumstances, and I know that.

But sometimes you get to a certain point and you realize you've been seeing this... how many times has it been now? You haven't been counting, but suddenly you know it's been a regular occurrence and you wish you HAD been keeping track. Not because you're looking to make demands... but because you have to take care of yourself to a certain extent and you want to know if you have a good reason for feeling as bad as you do.

So I think: I'm a part of this team. Things happen, and I want to support them where I am able. If that means doing a few extra massages, coming in for a few extra hours, ending up a little more sore at the end of the day, that's okay. It's for the good of the group. It's just this once. I'll make it up to myself next week.

But then something else comes up next week. And the week after that. The circumstances are a little different each time, but the end result is the same. "Can you do this for us? We're begging. Pleading. We'll kiss your face and let you go early. [all of, what? 45 minutes? 30 of which will still be spent on closing duties?] Just this one little thing. Please?"

I'm starting to feel like Dagne in Atlas Shrugged. The heroine, she lives in a world of "looters" that think it's okay to place more and more unreasonable demands on her and her business, expecting her to deliver the same results, and fix their problems that they created out of greed and irresponsible choices. They haven't thought about it seriously enough to realize it's impossible... "She'll figure out a way to do it. She always does."

I called the spa and was able to talk to my boss. I was on the verge of telling her I wouldn't be able to come in tomorrow. If they know that I'm not going to get better before I can rest my wrist, but expect me to work a five day week after I've already expressed that I need to have my week split up into two sets of two days due to my normal physical limitations and I'm actually suffering on top of that, something's not being communicated to one or both parties. If they valued me as an employee, wouldn't they be the ones to tell me to stay home and let it rest? Wouldn't my longevity as a therapist be more important than having to make a few phone calls to cancel with clients? Isn't the fact that I have to give a sub-par service reason enough to tell the client to reschedule so they're getting what they're paying a fortune for?

But from Stacy's view, four of those five clients I have tomorrow are coming in have purchased packages - if they have to cancel these clients, it affects like six other people's ability to earn their income for the day. And why do we only have three and a half therapists working? Well, because she doesn't want to hire any more "bad fits" like Gloria, but they're the ones that have been sending in the applications. So... she's trying, but would rather only hire "keepers" than to settle for "warm bodies" that will wear out their welcomes in two weeks, just for the sake of having someone there to give the massages.

On the other hand, I'd settle for having warm bodies if it would alleviate some of the work we've had put on us. As long as we're thinking along those lines, why are we trying to bring in so many in the first place? Wouldn't it be simple enough to put a cap on each of the therapists rather than filling every possible time slot?

If it didn't happen so often, I wouldn't notice. But at this point I wish I'd been keeping track so I have a realistic view of what's been happening and have some facts to show Stacy if I needed to make a real protest. If anything, I try never to protest without the details behind it.

As for my wrist... I've iced it. I've wrapped it. I've frozen-peas-ed it. I've soaked it. I've jelly bathed it. I stretch it before and during the day. I've started drinking more water. I baby it. I tiger balm and biofreeze it. Each massage is dreaded because I expect it to give out on me at any moment... meanwhile my elbow, shoulder, neck, and back are bearing the brunt of the work and starting to take on their own shooting pains.

"Just five hours tomorrow. Only six on Friday." And Saturday is a nine hour day with a 45 minute break.

I probably shouldn't be typing. But I needed to talk through this....