Monday, August 29, 2011

Great News!

So guess what? Human Resources, after checking with the Department of Labor, has determined that the ridiculous schedule my job had me working was illegal! I know. Crazy, right?

I mean I know the schedule was cruel and unusual punishment, myself, but I had no idea such things were illegal in this society. I can't say I'm the least bit upset. So the great news is that I'm back to my regular 9 to 5, which is actually 6 to 3, but I'm going to be able to be a real blogger again, not to mention a writer and critique partner. You might think I would have gotten more done with more time off, but you'd be wrong.

I've never been much of a morning person, or anything like that, but I definitely am more productive when I'm up in the morning, with a plan of action, and out of the house where the urge to just chill is too great.

So there you have it. I can finally read your blogs again!

Also, more good news: since I joined a gym a month ago I've lost 15 pounds. I still have a beer-muscle the size of the Hindu-Kush, but I'm working on it, and things are going well so far.

Thanks for all your support through the rough times, but I'm glad to be back.

67 comments:

Natalie Aguirre said...

Wow! That's so awesome about your job. It's terrible when you have a bad work schedule. And I'm so impressed on how much weight you lost in a month. And a little jealous. I have to get exercising again.

Shain Brown said...

I'm sure that is such a relief for you. Now you can get back to being normal, well as normal as you are. Congrats on your hard work and welcome back.

PK HREZO said...

Hey rock on! i could so use the loss of 15 pounds. And yay for cut back in work hours! Isn't it crazy how we all seem to be working more and not ever getting ahead??

Talli Roland said...

Yay! I'm thrilled you're back to a schedule that works for you. And congrats on the weight loss.

Suzie F. said...

That was a crazy schedule. Good to see you back in the morning! Way to go with the weight loss!

Will Burke said...

Congrats on a regular schedule! Nice to have time to get re-acquanted with the family, eh?

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Glad you're back with the normal people!

Creepy Query Girl said...

that is such great news Matt! A healthy schedule and excersise make all the difference! Enjoy your new freedom to blog:)

Jess said...

That's awesome! Have fun!

Carolyn Abiad said...

That's great news!

Becca said...

Sounds like something I just got over. I was working 6 days a week, over 40 hours. Thankfully I was getting paid for the overtime, but I was supposed to be getting a day off each week (besides Sunday) for the past six months.

Now I have a new job.

Congrats on a regular schedule for you! Nice that you get a long afternoon.

Laura Pauling said...

What great news! And congrats on losing weight, that's never easy.

Melissa Sarno said...

I'm glad things took a turn for the better. And congrats on the weight loss. You cracked me up with the Hindu-Kush comment. Good luck with the new schedule and continued weight loss!

S.A. Larsenッ said...

That's wonderful, Matt! I can tell you totally feel liberated. It will be great to connect again. And congrats on getting in shape. :)

Anne Gallagher said...

Glad you're back!

Jess said...

That's awesome! Those bastards should pay you punitive damages for having you work illegal hours :)

Congratulations on having a bit more time!

Old Kitty said...

Oh what?!?!!? You mean your employer broke the law?!?!?! Bad, bad, bad employers! Hooorah for Human resources and labour/employment laws! Phew.

And great news about your gym success!! I look forward to your six pack and I'm not talking beer. Or maybe I am. It depends. I like beer!

Take care
x

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Illegal, huh? I remember an employer in NM who tried to get everyone to work Saturdays without time and a half. Law caught up to them, too.

Liza said...

As a former HR professional (the department that usually gets a bad rap), I'm glad to see that your schedule reverted back to one that is reasonable!

Jessica Bell said...

That's excellent news! Yay! And wow, congrats on the pounds. Feels good, huh?

Slamdunk said...

That must be great news.

The only folks not happy are your fantasy football competitors.

storyqueen said...

Yay! This is great news. As a writer, it is so hard to have no chance at a routine due to a crazy work schedule!

Shelley

Michael G-G said...

Awe-some!! Illegal?! Is your employer going to be handcuffed and frogmarched out into the light of waiting cameras before being hauled into a flatbed truck? If so, post to YouTube.

Your beer muscle sounds impressive. The Hindu Kush indeed. Yet another sign that you are one witty dude.

Welcome back.

Bryan Russell said...

I never trusted Mr. Dupont. He had a sly look about him...

Sarah Ahiers said...

Yay! Glad to hear it! And also, in the most recent pic of you i thought you definitely looked thinner, so not only did you actually lose the weight, you look like you did too!
You are on Fire!

mshatch said...

yeah, that schedule sounded pretty crazy to me. Glad your HR dept figured it out!

Karen Baldwin said...

Good that you had H.R. check on your schedule and congrats on your weight loss. That's a heavy feat.

Margo Lerwill said...

Glad to hear you're back on a sane schedule. I found that working odd schedules kept me tired all the time. There was not much writing going on during that period of my life.

Janet Johnson said...

Congrats! That's awesome news. :) Well, not the fact that your work was doing illegal things, but you know what I mean . . .

Amanda Bonilla said...

Congrats on your schedule going back to normal and YAY for the Dept of Labor! :)

Sarah Tokeley said...

Glad you're back on a better schedule, I couldn't begin to get my head around that last one!

And 15lbs, that's awesome, way to go!I'm (almost) inspired :-)

Josin L. McQuein said...

That's the sort of thing that makes a person wonder why they didn't just check that sort of thing out before trying to make people work insane hours. :/

Emily White said...

That's wonderful news! Hooray!!!! :)

Lisa Gail Green said...

I'm so glad you're going to have a bit of a breather from the job. Oh and "Beer muscle" he he he he. <33 that!

Jonathon Arntson said...

It surprised me how excited I am! See you at Andrew's ;)

Hart Johnson said...

GREAT news! I thought it sounded unreasonable, but I would have thought they'd checked that before they imposed it on you. Very glad you can get back to normal! And congrats and well done on the weight loss! Man, i need to get going on that.

Cynthia Lee said...

Yay!! We're all glad you're coming back.

Michael Offutt, Phantom Reader said...

Yay. I love the Department of Labor. They are so good to have in your corner.

Robyn Campbell said...

Yay! Glad that was settled. Too much work makes for a bad day. Plus, you havta write. :-)

But really, MacNish. You've lost fifteen pounds in one month? *turns green* I've been swimming, walking, and doing my elliptical for two months and have barely lost that much. Say, what'z your secret??

Marsha Sigman said...

Male metabolism is so freakin' unfair.

Congrats on better schedule! Always question these things if they seem unreasonable. It's so worth it. I have some experience with those situations.

And I love that new pic in sidebar with your daughter. Awesome!

Christina Lee said...

WOW-- what a nice suprise for you!!!! *YAY MATT*

Anita said...

I am SOOOOO HHHAPPPYYYY for you!

Kelly Polark said...

Congrats, Matthew! It must be great joining the normal time frame of the world again!
And 15 lbs in a month! Awesome!!!

Nicole Zoltack said...

Yay, so glad to hear about your work schedule changing! And congrats on the weight loss!

Shari said...

Hurray for the job! Hurray for the poundage! And hurray for being back to reading blogs!

Ted Cross said...

That's wonderful! Glad you are getting a workout, too. I bought a rowing machine and have started out doing 5km a day. It's nice to get back into an exercise routine. Now if only I could jumpstart my writing.

Rachele Alpine said...

Woo hoo! Congrats on losing your bad work schedule and 15 pounds!

Bish Denham said...

Doing the happy dance with you Matt. I could not comprehend that schedule at all. I'm glad "they" put a stop to it.

Shallee said...

Glad your work schedule has been made more regular! And congrats on the weight loss-- that's such a great feeling.

Jeff Beesler said...

Glad to have you back, Matt! You've been sorely missed, my friend.

Lydia Kang said...

Hooray for better work schedules, and hooray for you being healthier and happier.

I started exercising again recently too, and have been doing some plyometrics. I am growing back muscles I thought were atrophied into nonexistence.

Susan Kaye Quinn said...

Wow! That's great news! And kinda stunning that they'd actually figure that out and, yanno, fix it! :)

Unknown said...

Matthew that's incredible!!! Congratulations on the weight loss! Great news on the job front! I've been so damn distant I've missed everything!!! I feel like a normal blogger again because my hubby's back in school and I'm querying! Phew! Life is back to normal where I get to learn all about what my besties (YOU) have been up too!

Rusty Carl said...

Sorry I'm not a faithful enough follower to have known, but I'm glad things are looking better. Thrilled you lost 15 pounds too. I'm about to get fer real serious about my weight loss plan.

Donna K. Weaver said...

Congrats on both those! I look forward to more blog posts. =D

Elana Johnson said...

Wait. You weren't reading blogs?? Are you SERIOUS?? You are awesome. I need to be more like you.

Congrats on the losing weight! I have been working on that too, and it's hard, so I know how this is. :)

Ishta Mercurio said...

Congrats on the weight-loss and the back-to-normal working hours, Matt! YAAAY!

Welcome back to the blogiverse. :D

Ishta Mercurio said...

Congrats on the weight-loss and the back-to-normal working hours, Matt! YAAAY!

Welcome back to the blogiverse. :D

Anonymous said...

Congrats! on the weight loss. I've been doing the P90X because I can do it out of the home. And good luck getting back into the swing of things.

Jamie Gibbs said...

Congrats on the weight loss! And it's good news that you're not working the insane shift anymore - more time for us lot to have you :)

Bkloss said...

Oh, congrats to you on many fronts! AND welcome "back"...I'm sure you're enjoying being able to make sense of your life again.

Caryn Caldwell said...

Yay for more writing time! Hope you get to take advantage of it once you recover from your crazy schedule.

Steve MC said...

This has 7 AM Awesome written all over it.

Illegal Hours, huh? That'd be a great title.

And yeah, I thought that Dupont schedule was more like something from the folks at Dharma.

And you can still wear your PJs under your work clothes.

Dawn Simon said...

Yay that you have better hours! I'm the same way, more productive when I'm up early with a plan of action.

Also, congrats on the gym/15 pounds. :)

Carol Riggs said...

Awesome! Now you can pare back the ole work hours and have a more normal life. Enjoy!

Angela Ackerman said...

This post is worth at least six YAY's, rather than just the usual one. :) Well done!

Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse

LTM said...

ROCK. ON. U.S. govt FTW.

But see? This is why I had to make my current MS historical. The things that happen in it, you just can't get away with nowadays. At least when it was YA. The point may be moo (sic) now that it's being revised for the adult market...

very glad you're back to normal~