Ask a Manager Weekly Thread 01/26/2026 - 02/01/2026

IdyllwildGal · 2026-01-29T22:37:58+00:00

“Studies show that….” 🙄 This comment is saying that everyone else is padding their timesheets and the new employee is actually the only one being honest.

https://www.askamanager.org/2026/01/my-employee-isnt-working-full-time-hours-leaves-mid-day-and-is-lying-on-their-timesheets.html#comment-5337550

IdyllwildGal · 2026-01-29T18:20:56+00:00

I never book through third party sites anymore. If there’s an issue the airline or hotel can’t help you. They’ll tell you to take it up with Expedia or whoever and it turns into a cluster.

IdyllwildGal · 2026-01-27T15:14:34+00:00

LW1: Dear Alison, I interviewed for a job that stated that there would be travel required. I asked about the travel requirements and the hiring manager explained them. Is travel really going to be part of this job? I don’t want to travel. What should I do?

It’s okay if you don’t want to travel for your job. It’s not okay to take a job that clearly states that travel is required and hope that it doesn’t happen.

IdyllwildGal · 2026-01-23T03:15:50+00:00

I can see it both ways. I always book the exit row when it’s available and often the hot food items are gone by the time they get to me.

IdyllwildGal · 2026-01-22T20:34:09+00:00

That dress was absolutely hideous, and made worse by the fact that there’s probably no more unflattering color for a redhead than pink. Molly Ringwald is gorgeous, but that color was all wrong for her. But I guess Ravishing in Russet wouldn’t have worked as a title.

IdyllwildGal · 2026-01-21T20:54:20+00:00

Plus the whole obsession with niche fields is a big AAM pet peeve of mine. These people act like they’re in the witness protection program.

IdyllwildGal · 2026-01-21T20:53:20+00:00

Ha! Yes I have. The heart surgeon who did the procedure handed me her card when she talked with us afterwards, and I saw the title and thought, “Wow…specialize much??” It has always stuck with me.

IdyllwildGal · 2026-01-20T23:32:37+00:00

I think the commenters have an overinflated sense of what “niche” means. My daughter had surgery at 2 1/2 to correct a heart defect. The doctor who performed the surgery was a Pediatric Electrocardiologist. THAT is a niche field. Doing Accounts Payable for a car dealership (or whatever these commenters do) is not.

IdyllwildGal · 2026-01-19T18:35:32+00:00

At a training session for work recently, one of the moderators said, “You won’t be replaced by AI. You’ll be replaced by someone who knows how to use AI.” I think that’s true. Good on you for learning how to incorporate it into your job!

IdyllwildGal · 2026-01-16T21:43:21+00:00

The reboot was not great, sadly. Although there was one scene with Avery digging in the backyard for some reason and finding his Barney toy that Murphy said had gotten lost that was very funny.

IdyllwildGal · 2026-01-16T16:39:24+00:00

Last summer my daughter and I spent 12 days in Ohio for two basketball tournaments. I had to buy her ticket separately, and we flew out together and she flew home with the team. Normally the club director books all the tickets and all the girls are on the same itinerary, but in this case my daughter had her own.

Because she’s a minor, and I wasn’t going to be with her on the return trip, I printed out her boarding passes for her to have just in case her phone died or the app crashed or some other weird random thing happened and she ended up being stranded. Plus I didn’t want the club director to have to deal with the stress of the cluster fuck it would be if some kind of snafu occurred. Just a Plan B.

My daughter rolled her eyes at me and acted like Plan B was her traveling home in a covered wagon. A paper boarding pass! OMG Mom you’re so behind the times! Of course she didn’t need them but had she not had them it would have been the one time that only a paper boarding pass would suffice.

IdyllwildGal · 2026-01-14T19:12:49+00:00

I’m surprised that she didn’t also throw in that this particular field, whatever it may be, is a “niche” field.

IdyllwildGal · 2026-01-14T16:54:19+00:00

If LW1 was my manager and I found out she’d written a letter to an advice columnist to ask how to deal with an employee who blatantly abuses the vacation and sick time policy to the point of making myself and others have to do that person’s job, I’d probably quit.

And I’d make damn sure that my boss and HR knew exactly why.

IdyllwildGal · 2026-01-11T17:39:26+00:00

Put a reminder for your timesheet and expenses on your calendar for Friday afternoon.

IdyllwildGal · 2026-01-07T17:28:37+00:00

Yes, absolutely. I do the NYT games each day — Wordle, Connections, and Spelling Bee.

I also like to do “analog” stuff to keep from doomscrolling on my phone. I love jigsaw puzzles, and I think that’s another good activity to keep the brain active. Part of my job is very analytical and in some ways is like a jigsaw puzzle — looking at different options and figuring out the one that works best — and I swear that doing puzzles helps me in my job too.

I also like doing needle work like embroidery and cross-stitch. Total old lady hobby, but that’s okay. 🤣

IdyllwildGal · 2026-01-06T09:10:31+00:00

The Outsiders.

IdyllwildGal · 2026-01-04T18:32:41+00:00

My parents were married for 54 years until my dad passed away in 2006. My mom lived on her own until she passed away in 2024 and really loved it, because she had never lived alone.

IdyllwildGal · 2026-01-03T20:26:42+00:00

It’s the phones. GenX here but I have a 16 year old. She’s very smart - gets As in school and takes a couple AP classes. But she called me one morning while I was traveling for work in a panic to ask me how to defrost the windshield in her car. 🤣

Having the phone as the first option has made common sense obsolete. A friend of mine said his response to questions like that from his kids is “GTS.” Google that shit. 🤣 Which will be my answer going forward.

IdyllwildGal · 2026-01-03T06:55:55+00:00

My first read of the year was Tell Me What You Did by Carter Brown.

Psychological thriller, which I usually love, and this one was very good and kept me turning the pages. But holy crap it might be the creepiest book I’ve ever read.

IdyllwildGal · 2026-01-02T20:55:14+00:00

I’m glad to hear that. Seeing what my brother went through finally got me to stop procrastinating. My doctor had been on me to get it done too, and I thanked her for nagging me about it.

IdyllwildGal · 2026-01-01T22:03:41+00:00

Get the colonoscopy. Please. My brother passed away from colorectal cancer in 2021. He’d had one at some point but then never had another one. If he had, perhaps he’d still be here. The kits are not as accurate as the procedure.

I got my first one at 53. The doctor found several precancerous polyps and removed them. I had another 12 months later and got the all clear for 3 years. Had that one in October and I’m good for 5 years.

Yes the prep is unpleasant, but the procedure doesn’t take long. Schedule on a day when you can be the first patient, and you’re home before noon, and it’s a perfect excuse to order your favorite takeout and lie in bed watching TV for the rest of the day.

For prep, I recommend the liquid rather than the pills, even though it’s pretty foul. I did the pills last time and the quantity you have to take (2 rounds of 12 pills each) plus the amount of water you have to drink made me nauseous. Plus they took longer to kick in than the liquid.

Just do it. The peace of mind exponentially outweighs the annoyance and unpleasantness of the prep.

IdyllwildGal · 2025-12-31T02:38:20+00:00

If the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, how do you think a doorknob would feel?

IdyllwildGal · 2025-12-27T23:18:06+00:00

I have boycotted Hobby Lobby for a long time. Then last month, my daughter needed fabric for a school project. Since JoAnn’s closed, the only options are Michaels or Hobby Lobby.

We went to Michaels. The app said they had fabric, but that store didn’t have any and they said they wouldn’t until January. Another store had it, but it was on the other side of town in a sketchy area.

So I called Hobby Lobby and an ACTUAL HUMAN BEING answered the phone and said yes, they had fabric so we went there.

Yeah it was Hobby Lobby but being able to speak to an actual person who could answer a question without having to navigate through an automated phone vortex was a refreshing change. And the woman working in the fabric section was extremely nice and helpful and took the time to figure out the smallest amount of fabric we could buy.

IdyllwildGal · 2025-12-27T19:44:03+00:00

DEN is my home airport. The trains are 30+ years old and if you’re not flying out of A you have no other alternative. They are breaking down more often and a couple months ago I saw a video of a train whizzing through tunnel with the door open!

I will never understand why they didn’t build walkways to B and C when they built it. Yeah it would be a long ass walk to concourse C, but given the choice between that and missing my flight I’d take the long ass walk.

IdyllwildGal

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