I have a headache. Simple as that.

Okay, I've worked here for three and a half years. It's now June and I've taken exactly ONE day off this year. ONE. For a FUNERAL.

So LAST week I said "hey next Wednesday is my Birthday. You know, another year older and deeper in debt? I want to leave two hours early and go get in line for free tickets to South Pacific".

Shouldn't be a problem, I'm told. So this morning I get "gee, I really need someone here until FIVE". I am so mad I could SPIT!

A large part of the problem is that I could probably arrange something to cover this holy desk I sit at for two of the three hours IF I had a car. I am ready to freaking SHOOT SOMETHING because of this "who needs a car" attitude. I live in LOS ANGELES. I wish I didn't NEED a car, but I do. IF we had any damn public transportation it would be different.

However, in order to make a trip via mass transit I have to leave here at 3, take a bus at 3:15 in the opposite direction of where I'm actually going, then catch a subway downtown and walk to the theater. This will take somewhere in the vicinith of an hour and cost there of us $15.00 in bus fare (round trip).

When the show lets out we will have to do the same thing, in reverse. Except that the busses will have cut back to one an hour so we will end up standing on Hollywood Blvd. for up to 50 minutes waiting for a bus outside the subway station. We will get home somewhere between 12:30 and 1:30am. Two of us will then shag it out to work the next morning.

IF the car was operable it would take me, oh, half an hour to get there considering it's early afternoon drive time. Parking is 8 bucks. And, when the show breaks at 11, it will take about 15 minutes to get out of the theater, get downstairs, get the car out and on to the street and then, at that time there won't be any traffic and I'll be putting the key in my front door about 15 minutes after that.

And they wonder why we're wedded to our cars here in L.A.

So, anyway, since the first of the year I've taken exactly ONE day off. ONE. I was sick a day too. I asked A WEEK AGO if I could leave early. That's all I needed, just a couple of hours early.

The SAME DAMN thing any other person in this department can have at the drop of a hat.

ME? NOW it's a freaking problem! NOW someone needs to sit here until FIVE and keep the damn seat warm because there are a whole lot of people out this week and there's little to no activity here but GOD FREAKING FORBID I shouldn't be effing sitting here!

My other option is to take the entire day off, which I don't NEED and didn't plan on doing, so that they can hire a temp as a bench warmer.

An entire day off so I can sit at that apt, wash the dishes, cook breakfast and lunch for the people there, none of whom WORK, btw, and, you know what? That's just a waste of a day off. Seriously.

So this place begrudges me THREE LOUSY HOURS at the end of a day that will be as quiet as a mausoleum here anyway.

So I'll have to take a later bus, and I'll be farther back in line and it'll probably be fine but jeez, what an S.O.B. boss. It's now a HUGE big deal.

And then he wonders why sometimes it looks as if I don't like my job? My CAT could figure THAT out.

In honor of Memorial Day I made a blueberry pie yesterday. There's half of it left. It was good, actually, even though I had to use frozen berries, it has a crumble topping.

I think I'm going home and eat it for lunch. The whole thing. Just me, a fork and the pie. Save a dish. At least I won't have to wash it.