This is going to be a full-on rant about the working environment where I'm at. I'm entitled.

This morning, I realized I had a bladder infection. For me, this happens quickly, with symptoms going from first inkling to doubled over in as little as an hour. I know when it's happening, and I know why. I also know it is not to be put off.

In between having breakfast and getting a shower, I realized that the Unmistakable Signs had arrived. Shit. So I geared up (my motorcycle is my only transportation now that my car is back home) and went to the resort office to call a doc and see if I could get in.

Of course I can get in, 15 minutes before my first massage session is supposed to happen. Knowing how island life goes and how I might not get a more convenient time, I took the doctor's appointment, then went to the front desk to tell them I needed to reschedule the massage.

The assistant manager's response? "I'm sorry you're in pain. It would have been good if you'd have told us sooner, though, so we could have worked around it."

I am unhappy with this statement for several reasons.

One: I don't always get much notice that this kind of thing is coming on, so there wasn't any way I could have told you sooner. I don't schedule my illnesses. Your statement that you're sorry I'm in pain didn't really make up for the other part of the message.

Two: Your first assumption is that I did know sooner, and just wasn't responsible enough to come down and tell you. WTF? You think I like losing money any more than you do? You think I'm happy feeling sick? You think I like disappointing people? Fuck that. Your assumption is ridiculous, and representative of the kind of thinking that goes on here. Everyone is stupid and irresponsible until proven otherwise, and then when proven otherwise, they are still considered apt to disappoint in general. No wonder people leave this place and won't come back.

Three: I haven't been sick all summer, so don't begrudge me this little divertissement. Yes, I have needed accommodation for my back, but I'm still open for four one-hour massages a day, which is a typical massage schedule. I only needed accommodation after your front desk staff scheduled me for 7.5 hours of massage in one day!

Four: You think I like telling you that I have a bladder infection? I just walked up to the front desk of a resort and had to tell you something private. Your response made me cry, because I have little emotional reserve when I'm sick, and I just couldn't believe that you thought I was irresponsible. (But I have to give thanks to H, who offered help when I needed it. That's how one should respond.)

Five: I am sensitive that you have to deal with the guest's disappointment when they arrive from a 20-mile, hilly, rainy bike ride and hear that the massage they were so looking forward to has to be postponed. That's why I have not, until now, ever asked for a reschedule. I've taken massages that I shouldn't have, because the front desk overbooked. So consider this my indulgence for the times I covered the desk's mistakes.

That's it for now. I'll just sit here and suffer until I can ride to town.