slonezp

Company I work for has about 50 employees. We used to get a Christmas bonus equal to a weeks pay. They decided to pull the bonus and blend it into the weekly salary. No one lost pay. I'd rather have the extra check at Christmas. Boss gave a $500 Christmas bonus companywide last year and a $2K bump in pay companywide this spring as an inflation adjustment. While I say I'd rather have the money, and yes I would, respect from the owner of the company goes a long way with me. The 18 months mom was sick with cancer and she eventually passed, the owner of the company told me to take off as much time as I need, and he paid me for all of it. I never took advantage of it and I could have. I've been offered jobs by a number of my customers. I have a number in my head that, were it offered, I'd leave. That number encapsulates the respect I would lose if I ever left my company. My loyalty is to myself and my family first. My current employer is a real close second. It is the only employer I have had in my working career that I would even say that about.

Small gestures are nice but I'd rather have the gesture on my check. The company I work for throws a weekend getaway every September for all the employees. They also do an annual dinner in February, normally at a steakhouse. They also occasionally throw an after work thing which I never attend because that means I have to drive to and park in Chicago proper. I'm not going to head into the city during rush hour and pay $30 to park, if I'm lucky enough to find a spot for the SuperDuty, to have a couple drinks and then drive 40 minutes home(providing there is no traffic). Honestly, the best part of working here is they leave me alone and give me free reign to do what I want. I took a store that had stagnant sales of $800K for 5 years to $1.2M my first fiscal year and to $2M my second fiscal year. Now.... I have an employee. He's paid hourly whereas I am hourly plus commission. My conundrum, Do I give him a spiff for Christmas. I didn't get one when I was a "branch biatch" as the branch assistants are known as. He generates $ but also generates headaches. The headaches come out of my paycheck, not his. His mistakes cost me $2K this year since May when the powers that be brought him in. OTOH, he's probably increased my income simply because he's breathing. Prior to getting an assistant, If I missed calls or took too long to respond, my customers would just call another store. He's wrangling calls for me when I can't get them. He'd be the perfect employee if he could get out of the box he lives in. Great work ethic. He just refuses to ask for help. My attitude is I don't have to know everything. I just have to know where to get answers for the things I don't know. He tries to know everything and would rather beat himself up than admit he doesn't know everything.

I'm taking my grandson to Disney and grandma gets to tag along.

Thank you @redmexican5081

Probably has less to do with the platinum itself and more to do with the lack of usage. The catalytic converter in a hybrid will last longer than one in a gasoline powered engine. Odds are there will be more recyclable platinum in the Prius converter because it is used less.

I believe Ford has taken over that title but, at one time, you were correct. When I had my '08 Tundra in for service, on a few occasions I got a Prius loaner. Tons of room in the drivers seat for a big guy like myself. Tundra was in for warranty service probably a dozen times. The SuperDuty just had it's first repair done last week to replace the water pump at 75K. Nothing against Toyota, bad experiences with the Big 3 is what drove me to them. As of right now, when I get rid of the Ford in another 5-10 years, Ford will be my next choice

Thank you @heavyduty

Thank you @deaknh03 Christopher S and John H Christopher S and John H, if you want to be part of the raffle, please PM me your screen names

Thank you @padlin

Thank you @roadwarrior

On the way up to the lake we passed the Volo Auto Museum which, if you've never been, it is a must see, when visiting Northern IL. https://www.volocars.com/ As we drive by, they have a Batmobile, life size dinosaurs, and some other cars out front. "Can we go there sometime?" I reminded him we were there last year for the grand opening of the dinosaur park. "Can you take me again?" So after my first 3 spots are a no go because of ice, I went to the dam. Asked some fisherman where the closest bait shop was and if the had caught anything. They said they hadn't caught anything. I asked Eric if he still wanted to fish or if he wanted to see the dinosaurs. Said he wanted to fish so we got some bait and went back to the dam. I was sure he was going to opt for the dinosaurs.

Thank you @VolFan

I know a lot of guys don't hit all the different forums on BR. This is my second year running a BR Christmas raffle for a children's charity. Any help is appreciated.

I know a lot of guys don't hit all the different forums on BR. This is my second year running a BR Christmas raffle for a children's charity. Any help is appreciated.

I know a lot of guys don't hit all the different forums on BR. This is my second year running a BR Christmas raffle for a children's charity. Any help is appreciated.

Took the grandson out for the last time this year. Hit up McHenry Dam. Drowned worms and minnows for a couple hours without a bite

The last hoorah! Drove around for an hour looking for open water. Been in the 50's all week but all my crappie spots still had ice. Drown minnows and worms for a couple hours with out even a nibble.

Think about this. The majority of shore fishermen will cast as far as they can to reach deeper water. The majority of boat fishermen will cast as close to shore as they can. Figure out what the fish relate to and fish that.

I'm working regular hours tomorrow for regular pay. Typically the slowest day of the year for us. I'll watch TV and get paid to do it.

Learn how to read a depth finder before you purchase one. If you don't know how to read it, it doesn't matter what depth finder you buy.

Disagree 100% Women are more critical of other women than they are of men. Women dress up to go out, not because of men. They dress up to compete with other women. Let's face it, a guy will screw most anything. While I do have standards, I don't give a crap if my ol' lady is dressed to the nines or is wearing sweat pants and hasn't showered in a couple days. She's not dressing up for me. She's dressing up for the competition.

Still have 4 generations, probably for not much longer. I will be the "old people" soon enough.

Ok, I missed it Thanks flyfisher

Thank you Jason and if you want to be included in the raffle send me a pm with your screen name