I'm a good person.

What does that mean? Well, for one, it means I am a pleaser. Because I don't like conflict, I strive for perfection. No, I know I'm not perfect and I am not trying to be, but if things flow smoothly, it means less stress for me.

I was just looking at my planner at work here, where I write everything down. This year, in 2010, I have only had 2 days off: January 18th and July 9th. This does not count my [unpaid] maternity leave (which my boss may or may not consider to be "vacation") or the three days I took off for Andrew's surgery (for those of you taking notes, that was NO vacation whatsoever).

I have decided that I do deserve some time off. I have worked here over six years now and all of the other department heads take off much more than I do and I never complain that I have to answer phones more or anything. The receptionist, whom I supervise, is off quite often, or she leaves early, and it's never a problem because she works 5.5 hour shifts, so if she is gone, I am just out at the front desk, covering it, rather than in my office.

I filled out my request and put it in my boss' mailbox and hopefully I get off. I happened to glance at my calendar and the receptionist is, in fact, working just until 2:00 next week which means there is a 2 hour gap (until 4:00) when there is nobody out there -- this will come up in conversation when my boss sees my request, but I am going to talk to the evening receptionist and see if he can come in 2 hours early. This will also mean that the day receptionist will have to put in a full 8 hour shift on Thursday, but I hope my boss remembers that back in July, when we were supposed to all get off the day after the 4th (typically when a holiday falls on a weekend, we get either the Friday or the Monday off), I came in and worked it so there was coverage out at the desk. I was the only one who had to work that day (besides nursing staff, who have holiday rotations and can also trade) and no, I didn't get holiday pay.

So there you have it. I am taking off because I am a good person and I deserve it.