One of the things I love about my job is the opportunity for overtime. Until I became a dispatcher, I was either paid either straight salary regardless of hours or hourly without any chance for overtime. But now if I want to make some extra money, I can sign up for extra shifts. If I’d rather keep my days off, I can. Well, except for Saturday morning, when so few people had signed up for overtime that they had to start at the bottom of the seniority list and find someone legal to cover a shift. That someone was me, so I got called around 3:30 AM and semi-forced to come in for overtime even though I hadn’t signed up. I was supposed to help Katy and Eric move that day. I hated to break that commitment, but I must say it was nice to sit in an air-conditioned office making time and a half instead of lugging heavy boxes and furniture around in the muggy Texas heat. Anyway, our contract says that if someone works two or more overtime shifts during scheduled time off, every shift after the first is doubletime. Since I’d already been “juniored” on Saturday and had several days off ahead, I signed up for every overtime shift I could get! I worked two shifts on Sunday from 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM and another Monday afternoon. I was tired by the end, especially after Sunday, but it will give me a very nice bonus in my next paycheck. Note: I’m not trying to brag. I just thought you might find this process interesting. =)

That bonus comes at a great time since we’ve finally decided to replace my beloved 1996 Dodge Avenger, Sarah (11 years, 137,000 miles, the car I’ve driven since my senior year of high school), with a black 2007 Honda Fit, a small SUV-hatchback type car that offers great gas mileage, mucho flexibility, and Honda quality. I had to reserve it because they’re hard to find and in demand. Mine is currently sailing over from Japan and should arrive within a couple of weeks. I’ll be very sad to see Sarah go, but I’m really excited about getting a new car of my own. I’m probably going to donate her to Irving Bible Church’s car ministry. I’m working on names for my new Fit already. Since she’s black with tinted windows, mysterious and sexy, the frontrunners are Elvira (as in Mistress of the Dark, not the Oak Ridge Boys song) or Avril (as in Lavigne). Write me if you have any suggestions.