What am I 16 again?!

Oh if only I were...

One of the pains in the ass of this new company is that I have to "clock in." I haven't had to clock in since I worked at Shakey's Pizza Parlor when I was 16. I didn't even have to "clock in" when I worked at Arctic Circle. I had to fill out a time-sheet. Same when I was a temp. Ever since that time, gosh, since I was, I don't know TWENTY?? I was treated as a responsible adult. Now I'm back to clocking in.

You could NOT imagine how much stress this puts on me. Now, again, I keep telling myself this is just something I have to get used to. And I fully grasp that concept but that still doesn't mean I don't get a little bit pissy having to do this every day.

Here's what happened on Wednesday. Friends called me up and wanted me to go to lunch. Lunch with this group is always at least an hour if not 1.25 or 1.5 hours. The SWEAR they will get me back in an hour. If this is so, I only have to make up a half hour, which won't be difficult. At least I don't THINK it will be difficult.

So I clock out at 12:08 and run down the hill. They're waiting for me and off we go to "Seven Stars Peppers." An EXCELLENT restaurant in the International district. We have our five main courses (curry chicken balls, sweet and sour fish, pork with string beans, tofu with sauce, beef in double mushroom) plus you get a choice of seaweed or hot and sour soup. This all comes with rice and we get two appetizers. Fried Chinese pancake and hot and spicy dumplings. It's all FANTASTIC and total price for 4 people: $40. So we eat, talk, laugh and haul ass back to work.

By the time I run up the escalators and to the "clock in" - it's 1:18. And I'm dinged for a 1.25 lunch. NOW I have to make up 45 minutes.

The question is: "Do you have to make up the time?" As in, "Will I get in Trouble?" Well, no. Not really. But...my paycheck will be less and I don't want to create a pattern, and I don't really want to lose money so I want to make up my time...but how?

So yesterday I go to catch the early bus. If it gets me in by 7:35 or 7:36, I get counted as if I came in at 7:30. That would get me my 15 minutes and then I just have to work through my lunch. No problem there...except that I have to write a note for the teacher-I mean, interim manager. You see, you can't just "skip your lunch" - you have to fill out a form saying WHY you skipped your lunch. It's a "decline lunch form" - so every time I work through my lunch - I've got to tell them: "Uh, I worked through my lunch and here's why." Again, this may eventually create some sort of shit storm of stupidity - but I'm not grasping why. And, let me remind everyone out there reading this: I'M 42 FUCKING YEARS OLD!!!

So I fill that out, work through my lunch, even spend an extra half-hour at Happiness and working so now I'm 15 minutes AHEAD (or hope to be) - but that's bad, too. You see, you can't just work OT. OT is bad. You have to have a logical reason. So now I either somehow find another 15 minutes to spare and leave a half-hour early (which would be nice). Or....I take a 45 minute lunch and call it good.

Oh, yay, stress. I'll get use to it. Right?