Fourth Week of March . . .

. . . The Girlfriend and I will be flying out to Manitou Springs, Colorado and points of surrounding interest.

In doing so, I have to ask off for vacation.

My Boss isn't a difficult man to work with. But, like most bosses, he likes to exert authority in the most annoying fashion.

I submit a report or some document. He'll return it with a retarded suggestion for a revision. I won't make the change and send it back explaining why that's not necessary. He'll stand firm. I confront him face-to-face, and it's no longer a problem. Through all this time and energy, it would have been easier to simply have made the change in the first place.

He also does this on vacation requests. No matter what the date, if you ask for time off, he'll put up a front making it seem as if that day(s) would be inopportune for you to take off. I think he just wants his staff to grovel. What follows took about a year to figure out.

>>> A.v.E 2/23/2009 10:28 AM >>>
(Boss),

I'd like to request the use of vacation time for the 18th (Wed.),19th (Thurs.), and 20th (Friday) of March 2009.


Attached is my revised Vacation Template.

Thanks,
A.v.E.


>>> (Boss) 2/23/2009 10:43 AM >>>
On the 18th and 19th, I already have someone on vacation. I will accept the 20th. Please look for an alternative.

(Boss)


>>> A.v.E 2/23/2009 10:48 AM >>>
Oh, wait. I forgot that I'd written the wrong dates on my desk calender.

I'm asking for the 25th, 26th, and 27th of March.

Sorry for the confusion and attached is a revised calender.

Revisingly,
A.v.E

>>> (Boss)2/23/2009 10:52 AM >>>
Approved.

This is the equivalent of placing my junk on his desk.