Lately I have been dreaming about work. It’s not the usual kinds of dreams someone might expect a corrections officer to have.

Usually, if I dream about work, it’s got something to do with finding a dead person in a cell, or getting jumped by inmates. Both of these scenarios are scary, and when I do dream about these things, I am always wary at work for the next couple of days.

Lately, I have been dreaming about getting into trouble at work for missing a round. Ever since we started using the pipe system, I have been paranoid about my rounds. The problem I find is the more I worry about getting it all right, the more I screw up.

• I dream about forgetting to do rounds, forgetting to go into areas, forgetting to check on specific cells. If there is a way to screw up doing rounds at work, you can bet I am dreaming about it.

I hate this. I work 8 hours a day in a jail, come home, go to bed, and spend 8 more dreaming about jail. I am trapped…. heeeeelp!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, I am not sure how I can change this. I see my job as the only thing keeping me from drowning; without it, I wouldn’t be able to provide for my family, pay my house payment, etc. What can I do to stop worrying about screwing up? I need to have some kind of healthy fear of termination. Without it, I would just quit anyway, but I feel like my fear is becoming a tad unhealthy. Frankly, I am at a loss.

Today, my wife and I took the family down to Sears to get a family portrait taken. Jamie called in first thing this morning to make an appointment. In order to make sure that we would be able to get in, she called direct to the store and asked when would be the least busy time to come in. According to the receptionist, 4pm was clear of anything, so she set the appointment.

After getting the kids ready (not a light task), we packed into the van and slogged down to the Kelso Sears for picture day.

We arrived at 10 til 4, because I find that being early is usually better than being late, but the line to the front desk was about 2 families long, so we waited in line until 4. When we got to the receptionist, she told us that we wouldn’t be able to be seen until “maybe 4:45″. Uhhh, ok?

We walked around for about ten minutes, but I was confused. I knew that Jamie had called, I knew that we were supposed to be there at 4, and I knew that we weren’t late. Why did we have to wait … at all?

I went back to the receptionist desk to ask her my questions. First, I asked them whether or not our appointment was for 4 or not. I was told that it WAS for 4, but that sometimes the sittings go a little long, and that everyone wants to get their pictures done around this time of the year. I was obviously frustrated, and a photographer standing at the counter was very accomodating and apologetic, but then a woman (later identified as the manager) came up and started making excuses. Not the nice, “Gee, we’re sorry about all of this, we are just a little behind” kind of excuses, but the “We’re all backed up, but it’s not our fault, so you will just have to sit and wait” kind.

At first, she just told me that it was the kids’ fault and that they couldn’t “just plan on being done after the alloted time for the sitting”. It was more the tone she used than the words, but the intent was clear to me. Sit down and shut up. She said, since I had made my appointment over the phone, a company in India made the appointment for me, and there was no way for them to know if they were double booked or not.

BS ALERT! Jamie called the store DIRECT and talked to the very woman I was talking to now. The only reason Jamie even remembered her, is because she has had to deal with her when the grandchildren got thier pictures taken. It wasn’t good then either.

Then the woman told me that because the appointment was made that day, the 4:00 time was an estimation. I asked her if I had called 5 days ago, would 4:00 mean 4:00 and not 4:45. She said no, so I asked her what her point was. Without skipping a beat, she told me that a customer had come in from Wal-mart because they were turned away for being 4 minutes late to their appointment at Wal-mart. I told her that I was 10 minutes early to this “appointment” so whether someone was turned away by Wal-Mart or not doesn’t really matter to me or to this situation.

The man behind the counter could tell that the manager wasn’t making things better, only worse, so he chimed in with a “We’re Sorry” and a couple of “I understand” comments. Too late.

By this time, I felt like the manager wasn’t just arguing with me, but was angry at me for even questioning her at all.

To tell the truth, in the beginning, I just wanted someone to tell me that they were apologetic, and that they would try and hurry the best they could. Lie to me, I don’t care. That was in the beginning. By the time I was finished talking to the manager, I was done.

After relaying the conversation to Jamie, we decided to leave and figure out some other way to get our pictures taken. I took the family out to eat as a consolation prize. At least THAT went ok.

Note: When I originally wrote this I didn’t immediately publish it. Later that day, I recieved the yearly Sears forwarded e-mail talking about how great Sears it to it’s employees who are service members. I just want to note that my problems weren’t in any way with Sears itself, only the portrait studio, and specifically the Manager of the Kelso Studio. Man, she made me mad.

I’m not sure where my tipping point is, where’s yours.

This is a pretty funny clip from one of my favorite shows that has been banned in my house by my wife. Reno 911.