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| E-Mail from "Matt" Dear Mamma Alice Names: Matt, Jamie, Sam(antha) & Corey Ages: 28, 25, 25 & 3 Details: My girlfriend, Jamie, & I have been together for 5 years, known each other all our lives (grew up down the street from each other) and have a 3 year old son, Corey. I wanted to surprise Jamie for our 5th anniversary, so I asked a close friend to watch Corey for us. I got off work a few hours early, the day of my anniversary (2 days ago), so I could get flowers for Jamie. I called Sam (our friend) to let her know my plans were in motion and that's when she informed me she had a bad headache and wouldn't be able to watch Corey that evening. She said she was going to go home, take a warm bath and go to bed. Fortunately I was able to make alternate for Corey, so with just a minor glitch, the evening was off to a start. Reservations were made at the nicest restauraunt in town, tickets to see Jamie's favorite play at the theater were in hand and a horse drawn carriage, to end the evening, was to be waiting outside the theater when the play was over. Jamie calls me a hopeless romantic, but I just wanted her to know how much I appreciate her in my life. Situation: While Jamie & I were having dinner, Sam walks in with the guy she recently started dating. On our way out, Jamie & I stopped at their table and I asked Sam how her headache was. She stammered a little bit then said it went away. The next day, she called me and told me she forgot about agreeing to watch Corey when she accepted the invitation for dinner and she was sorry. Question: How should I handle this? Everything worked out but I can't seem to get past this & Jamie thinks I'm holding a grudge. Do I have the right to be angry still? Dear Matt, I see that you have two issues here, the first that your friend backed out at the last minute, the other is that she lied to you. Since you were able to find alternate arrangements for your son & your evening went well anyway, forget about her backing out. The fact that your friend lied to you is cause for concern though. She should have told you, maybe she thought you would be mad if she told you she forgot. For future reference, if you make arrangements that far in advance, remind them about a week ahead of time and touch base with them a few days before just to make sure all is still a go. Do you have the right to be angry still? Yes, you have the right to feel whatever emotion you are experiencing, however think of it in these terms... is it worth wasting your time over? If it really bothers you, don't ask her to watch your son again. Mamma Alice |
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| Pappa Woody Mamma Alice |
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| Mamma Alice Says... |
| Date: March 21, 2005 |
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| Message from "Sandy" Dear Mamma Alice, Last month, under direction of my boss, I planned and threw a surprise baby shower for the CEO's wife. I reserved a meeting room at our civic center to hold the party, invited close to 150 guests and had the party catered by a very reputable company. I also went so far as having a videographer tape the party and provide the new parents a DVD. Well, the beginning of this month, I received an invoice from a vendor requesting payment for services rendered at the baby shower. Since then, I have received 3 other invoices. I asked my manager about this and she told me not to worry about them, they had already been taken care of, yet when I contacted the vendors, they disputed this saying they hadn't received any form of payment or made any type of arrangements. I advised my boss of this and she again said not to worry about it. I directed the vendors to bill the company I work for when I signed contracts with them, however I needed to use my home address and phone number as I didn't want anyone to find out. What should I do about this? I don't want this to interfere with my credit and I don't feel I should have to foot the bill either. I don't feel comfortable going above my boss's head because that person is the new father. Dear Sandy, First thing you should do is provide your boss with a copy of each of the invoices you have received along with a check list of all vendors contracted and a copy of their quote. Secondly, instruct all the vendors to send invoices to your place of employment to the attention of your boss. If that still doesn't solve the problem, I would talk to someone in the HR or Finance Departments to get it resolved. If all else fails, I'm afraid you're going to need to consult an attorney for professional advice. Mamma Alice |
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