Yes, quite. Thank you.

I always feel so bad for all the sick people in the thread. Maybe my mom's right after all when she says that I'm natzrally a caring person.

Seems to be so! Nothing wrong with that. I have it with animals. I really can't stand animals in pain or distress.

And I have this weird quirk where I can't be evil in video games. I'll try to go the evil route but I end up feeling like such a jerk and hating myself, so I have to stick to being a goody two shoes.

Good Morning, my dear friends! *hugs and waves*

I've been away for awhile now, as I've had two extremely exhausting weeks. I just told you back then that I'm in need of hugs, but I think now it's time to talk. On the one hand, because you deserve to know, but mostly because I need people to talk to. I hope this doesn't bother you.

About two weeks ago my wife received a dismissal from her employer, saying she will have to quit at the end of march. She's been working there for six years, and it was never a sincere relation, but we always considered it based on mutual respect. Things became cheesy last year when she was absent for some months because of a disc prolapse - when she came back, she felt pressured and isolated, and never had the feeling that her work was worshipped again. She was constantly told that it was a "hard time" for her colleagues, but nobody about her health or how she felt with it. We started doing sports again, lost about 15 kilos of weight, felt in the shape of our lifetime and she regained self confidence, but things at work remained troubled.

When my wife got the flu at the beginning of this year, resulting in a pneumonia, she had to stay home again for 3 weeks. She returned to work for 2 days, fell sick again and received her dismissal. It was sent home without any previous conversation, and without her boss ever telling her she was dissatisfied with her work.

Of course we were shocked, but as working there had been painful for some time, we decided to consider it a chance. So my wife talked to her boss, which said she doesn't want to put further obstacles in her way, and she asked for a reference letter.

The letter turned out to be horrible, written in a way that tells every employer: Don't give any job to this woman! We felt angry and desperate, and seeked help from a trade union. Usually you have to be a member for three months before anything occurs to be eligible for legal protection. But today, we were told that they take her membership in another union into accout, that isn't responsible for her branch and which she left last month to switch to the new union. So they treat her as if she'd been member for 14 years and they're willing to help.

I can't tell you how relieved I feel today, now that there's a better chance to oppose this kind of treatment. The next months are going to get hard, but I feel much less stressed than ever before during the last two weeks. I don't even care that the flu returned last weekend and we almost continuously felt sick since New Years Day. We're gonna make it!

So, I'm back to hug anybody who wants to be hugged, and to talk about games, movies, music, books and whatever.

Wow, great! You're about to visit the Bowie-exhibition, right? Enjoy it! And don't forget to hug Fearful!


Sorry to hear that *get-well-soon-hug*

Zombieland (the only zombie movie I know) and Plants vs. Zombies.
Sorry about the illness :-( I hope you feel back to your regular self in no time. *lots of big hugs, blankets, tea, and more hugs*

Wow, what a story. Your wife's boss sounds like a real piece of work. Sorry you had to go through that, but hopefully things will begin looking up now and your wife will be able to get a much better job. *supportive hug*

I do the same thing. I can't hurt civilians, kill animals, steal, or be a dick. I feel too bad. I always take the "good" route. It gets boring :-p

I've thought about that one, but considering I know neither the comics nor the TV show and that 23€ (for one season) is a bit heavy for an impulse buy...

Well, there's a sale at that rental shop atm...
Thank you!

*Big perseverance hugs*

That's quite the story, sorry to hear all that. While I can understand that an employee who is sick often and/or for a prolonged time is a problem for a company, that specific boss really deserves a ... [censored]. Seeking a talk with your wife should be the least, the thing with the resume is the icing on the cake.

I've got a bad resume once, when I left a company where the boss really didn't like me... Fortunately my references speak for themselves, so I could safely burn that thing.

Haha same here. I still haven't done a darkside playthrough of KOTOR I & II and I've been telling myself to do that for ages.

Fair enough. I didn't know the TV series of the comics either but I got it for cheap on sale. I thought it might be on sale now too, but if it's not it's definitely kind of expensive.

Same here... I usually end up on a "chaotic good" path, if the game leaves that choice.

On the other hand, if a game expects you to be "evil" I can go about this business with a gleeful grin too and enjoy it very much.
I'm not using that vaporized water thing...

Oh wow. That is a really nasty situation. Glad to hear that it seems like you are finally getting a break from that. Hope things will improve even more and that it'll turn out well *extra big hug*

You are officially sick until Tuesday? Is that German efficiency, where you schedule when you will be sick and when you will not? :-)

But on a serious note I am sorry that it will be effecting your work, but I do hope that the medication will help fight it off so you can feel much better soon.

*big get well soon hug*

I am sure, but how could you betray all those romantic prostitues and let Owl conquer all? Unless she will be keeping them on? She must be, I am sure she would not want bike theft to increase. :-)

I am doing good, quite a few things I could complain about, but I won't. Things could always be worse. How are you feeling? I hope you have a great day with Owl.

*big hug*

You don't have to worry about sharing your problems here, the place is full of quite a few lovely and caring people who I am sure would be more than happy to lend a friendly ear and offer some support.

I am not really up on my German employment law, but are they able to just dismiss your wife without giving a justified reason like that? Will she at least be getting redundancy pay of some sort? And in regards to the reference letter, in the UK at least there is some degree of legal protection towards them lying on their letters, is that not the case in Germany? I know you mentioned the union being able to help, but does Germany not have legal backing in the form of an employment tribunal?

I am guessing maybe not. I really hope your wife will be able to get some help and that she finally gets the reference she deserves. I wish you both the best of luck, and I hope that the bad parts are behind you now for the most part and things will keep improving.

*big comforting hug*

Been to the hospital. Mom is still in a coma.

Well, I'll be sure to make a really good case for all those poor romantic prostitutes. Can't put them out of a job. :P

Good to hear you're doing okay, and hopefully the less good things will go away soon. I'm okay, still not completely healthy yet but getting better each day. And my mood is excellent since the most annoying of my stitches just came out. That one had been bothering me for weeks. Strange how you can be so happy about such a small thing.

I'm sure Owl and I will have a good time. I'm looking forward to it. :)

*mega hug*
I missed what happened, but that sounds terrible. My best wishes. :( *big hug*