We've agreed to disagree

Up early and off to a meeting - more on that later - and a chance to put together the nurses week gifts for the sistas in my union local. They turned out quite nicely if I do say so myself and were well received. Nurses often hear about what went wrong, how much they cost, if something wasn't done, if there's been a complaint - founded or otherwise - but not as frequently when they are appreciated.

Today was a time of discussion with management and....we've (or at least I) have agreed to disagree about funding for continuing education. The budgets for the two facilities within our health authority are separate so I am not in a position to comment on who was funded from anothers budget. That being the case, I make no apologies for affecting morale or commenting publicly about this situation as the whole issue suffers from lack of full disclosure.  The poster with a note from management instructing those interested to state what they were willing to cover does not lead one to deduce that most of the costs would have been covered. No one from our facility requested to attend except myself and I only requested one day off and covered the other costs - obviously we (me) are not needy enough. Now as to whether a request would actually have led to covering the cost of accommodation and registration is a bit murky. The situation reminds me of those television commercials with the kids being given either a pony (my little pony) or a truck (cardboard cut out) while another child is given a live pony / driveable truck and when they protest are advised "I said it was a pony / truck you didn't ask if it was real". My instincts tell me that despite the manager being a well known champion of continuing education with the present climate of fiscal restraint, being above budget on 'required' for department education and this being a conference not a course that it would have been a stretch. And it's as easy for a staff member to say "I would have asked" as it is for management to say "I would have given it to you" as there is no chance of being called on it. But whaddayagonnado when confronted with "you didn't ask, no one asked" as a response? When I relayed to the membership the "no one asked" response the reply was "it wasn't clear". And that is most certainly something I agree with. Time to leave that topic.

I was delighted to find that the Tide pods had arrived at my local grocery store. And yes I am an 'early adopter' as I snapped them up with only a sideways glance at the cost. Convenience sometimes trumps bargains and as I live with two males who (occasionally) wash their work clothes I am tired of detergent all over the washer, floor and cupboard so this is the solution. I'm pleased to report that the product does work as advertised. I stopped to Frenchy shop which even with prices rising is still cheaper than therapy. Found a neighbour and discovered that she'd been retired from the bank since October - can never be accused of being up on the news - and one of the kids teachers so we caught up on what they were up to now and the state of education. Then rewarded myself with a skor flurry as the Dairy Treat has opened for the season. Ate it on the waterfront while reading the paper as I waited for the time of my massage appointment to arrive. Nice chat with an acquaintance to catch up on the news. Ah life's small pleasures. Now I'm off to open the mail which looks suspiciously like it contains some Mothers Day loot.