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WELCOME TO RADIO FREE MONDAY! :D I think it's a bit shorter than usual this week, but away we go nonetheless.

Action you can take:
Ball Memorial Hospital in Indiana mocked, denigrated, and refused treatment to Erin Vaught, a transgendered person who had an unrelated health issue. That's right, they refused a woman medical care for the blood she was coughing up because she is transgendered. Read more here.

Relatedly, A Transgender Journey is excellent reading about Juliet Jacques' transition and all the emotions and fears and triumphs associated with it. It's in five parts so far with a new part coming out this Wednesday.

never_ender's raffle to win a free custom My Little Pony is still going on!

Help us research!
twirlynoodle has a friend who is looking for access to a recording of a documentary series that aired on Radio 4 not too long ago, The Chinese in Britain, specifically episode 2. If you know where to find it or happen to have the file, feel free to comment so she can get in touch, or email me if you're feeling shy.

Rewards for your work:
misswinterhill posted a fic a while ago which I, as a beta, FELL DOWN ON THE JOB at recc'ing. Ten Out Of Ten For Subtlety is all about how Merlin is awesome and Arthur is aware of it. I love Jenny's dialogue. :)

Damned_Colonial on Dreamwidth just posted a brilliant panfannish Age Of Sail vid called A Vindication Of The Rights of Women. Highly recommended.

This has been Radio Free Monday -- thanks for reading!

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Coworker: Brr! It's cold!
Sam: Would you like me to put in a call to the building to have the thermostat adjusted?
Coworker: Well, I don't know, what temperature is it? *checks readout* Oh, it's cold!
Sam: I'm actually very comfortable, but I like it a little cooler than most. Are you cold just here in the lobby, or at your work area?
Coworker: It's just cold!
Sam: Would you like me to put in a cold call for your work area? There's no charge.
Coworker: Umm...whatever.

When I finally write my guide to independent adult living, entitled Your Sink Is Not A Dishwasher, I am going to dedicate a chapter to the gentle art of vocalising your needs and communicating with others. Surely at some point in their lives these people were taught how to answer a direct question...maybe they're just out of practice.

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I have a friend in the human resources area of our company, and last week I emailed her saying, "I have a very complicated employment situation. I don't even know who to talk to if I want a raise. Do you know?"

She was out of town until today, but she just hit me back and scheduled a half-hour meeting with me after I get off work.

I have no clue why. I just wanted to know who to talk to. MAYBE IT'S HER. Jesus.

I have a little chart I made, because I'm a dork, of the work I was hired to do and the work I do in addition. I also made a little folder of nice emails people have sent me telling me I'm rad.

Things I do not have:
Any idea how to negotiate a raise.
Any idea of what is decent to ask for when negotiating a raise. I know what my union-mandated raises have been, more or less, which I guess is something.
Any skill at all with math, even if I knew the above.
A tie today. Seriously, the one day I dress down.

WELL. THIS SHOULD BE FUN.

Posted using TxtLJ

Meeting went well. Lol paperwork. Saga when I get home...

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So then R came over and I didn't get to post. The good news is, all that meat I gave him? He ate the chili out of the tub but he did actually get the pulled pork onto a bun before he devoured it. He told me his strategy with the chili was "Nuke and spoon."

He's also working a steady job now, which is startling; he's doing construction with an independent contractor.

R: He starts work at 7:30 in the morning.
Sam: How do you manage?
R: That's nothing. He starts talking at 7:15.

Apparently the boss is a talker.

(It was pointed out to me recently that if Sherlock Holmes played the blues instead of solving crimes, I would be Watson.)

Anyway, the meeting with HR went well, she just wanted to prep me for the apparent horrors that are to come. Because I'm union, I have an assigned "grade", right? And guess who else is union? The guy who replaced Coworker Fail. We're the only two Union people apparently.

The problem is, if the new guy and I are in the same grade, they can't give me a raise unless they give him one. And if I'm already making more than him within the grade, they can't give me a raise at all.

I KNOW. My salary is dependent on the competence of someone else. I often say it: I love unions and support them, I just hate mine.

But she gave me the one-page form to fill out to apply for a raise and the six pages of documentation about the form, and said she'd email me when she knew what my grade was (I've never been told). So it's a start.

Thank you, by the way, for your advice and good wishes -- it was all quite helpful, especially in arming me to understand what she was saying.

And now I'm going to go make pancakes.