18 May 2010
I made some good headway today in beginning on my projects. I spent about three intermittent hours importing footage into my computer to edit it into workable, watchable movies. I also began reading Bone which, so far, is quite underwhelming.
Meanwhile, Owen has only three weeks remaining in his preschool career. I’ve been told that there is a graduation ceremony to be held following his final day. I don’t put much stock in such ceremonies, since they’re just a bunch of to-do surrounding the real (albeit boring) event. I guess graduation ceremonies are a lot like weddings: signing the marriage certificate (which actually marries two people) is so boring, that an entire ceremony has grown up around it. Likewise, receiving a diploma in the mail is so pedestrian, that a ceremony has sprouted up in response.
But I’m looking forward to Owen’s big ceremony. After all, just as a wedding can be a meaningful event (and how many attendees at a wedding even care about verifying if the marriage certificate gets signed?), so a graduation ceremony can be a meaningful moment. I hope that the event will help Owen to remember his preschool career as a special one, and that he looks back on the day as one of the first major accomplishments in his life. I am taking the day off work. He did a good job and made a lot of progress. It really helped prepare him for his formal education. The cap and gown are on order…
19 May 2010
Today I called Unum. Have you ever heard of this company? I hadn’t until I started at my present job. The rules are, an employee is expected to call them when they are going to take a leave of absence. I’m not sure why I have to call an outside company. It seems like I should just be able to walk up to my boss and say “Hey, my kid will be born in July, so I’m gonna take some time off, okay?” But, you know, modern society would be lost without bureaucracy.
When I first called, I had to listen to an automated voice which said something like “Welcome to your employer’s FMLA hotline for blah blah blah.” After pressing 1, then pressing 1 again, then waiting for a few minutes, a woman came on the phone and began by asking me which company I worked for. I actually stumbled in my response because I thought it was a trick question. I mean, didn’t the voice menu that connected me to this woman just say that I was calling from my place of employment?
She asked me if the leave was to care for myself or for a family member. I said: “Family member.” She said: “And who would that be?” I said: “Um, I guess my wife.” And then, after another question, I said that my will be delivering a baby. So she said: “Oh, well then this isn’t for your wife, it’s for your unborn child.”
Well…yeah…I guess it is. But I suspect my wife will be recovering, too. And, also, as the unborn child has no name, medical coverage, or social security number yet, I wasn’t sure the fetus actually qualified (from my employer’s point of view) as a member of my family yet.
Then she asked: “Do you authorize us to speak with anyone else about your claim?”
I didn’t really know how to answer this, either. I figured she meant that she would need to call my employer, or possibly my wife’s midwife to verify some things. Since there are really no secrets involved, I just said: “Sure.”
She said: “Who would that be?”
I laughed. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand the question.”
She: “You just said you authorize us to talk with other parties concerning your claim. Who did you have in mind?”
Me: “Oh, I don’t know. I just figured if you needed to call my supervisor, or something, you can go ahead and do that if you need to.”
She: “No sir, there’s no need.”
Me: “Oh, okay.”
She: “It’s up to you, sir.”
Me: “What’s up to me?”
She: “If you want us to talk to anyone else.”
Me: “I guess, if you don’t need to, then I don’t see the point…?”
She: “It’s up to you, sir.”
Me: “Okay, I guess I’ll say no, then.”
Man, people can be so confusing sometimes.