happy birthday Consuela

Thanks, beth!

And now to bed...

Right. I get why no one does the dork handslap with my sister. Boobs! She's got a rack--why is she gung ho about smacking them?

Happy late birthday Suela!

I know I complain about this every year, but I get so annoyed at the idea every year. This is our "Holiday Offering" to the housekeeping staff. Every year we are solicited to give cash, which is divided amoung our 3 housekeepers and the facilities worker. Because there are so many people in the building, they usually get around $400 each. Except I think it is kind of insulting. I think it implies we think these poor housekeepers need charity in the Christmas Season. But they make the same as the secretaries and they have a union! No one gets us a cash "offering"! And we are expected to give at least $40 to the offering Also I hate that we call it an offering.

ETA. I think it also bugs me because all of the housekeepers are black, and none of the professors and only 2 support staff members are not white. It just seems icky and condescending and more about making us feel good and better than them through charity

Oh, thank goodness -- I slept well last night and am feeling muh more able to face the world. And my cat. Which is a good thing, because I'll be on the sofa bed at my parents' tonight.

Do you get a present from your boss, Sophia? The place I worked that solicited cash for a gift for the housekeepers, the assumption was that for staff in the building, bosses would buy gifts (and mine did, but generally in the $10 range, not $40). (Also our housekeepers were not unionized and they did make less than the building staff.)

Tons of birthday wishes, virtual Scotch, and a better and gentler year ahead to you, Suela, a year worthy of your awesomeness and of the year you've been enduring (and an appreciative job, to boot).

Skippyness made me miss the birthday, but I'd like to echo the wishes above.

I suck at presents. When I see something right during the year I will get it and pass it along. But when faced with a list of people to do for, totally no clue how to proceed. The employees get bonuses. I wish I could be more personal or inventive, but so it goes. I remember a couple friends that were in a play directed by Burt Reynolds here in Florida. They were delighted when the show closed that each person in the cast and crew were given super personal and just perfect gifts by Burt. He just apparently paid close attention and took notes during the run of the show and got it right. I'm envious of that ability. My MIL has this talent too.

I'm not good at the family gifts either. I do stuff for them all during the year, but holiday specific gift giving is an issue. I need to use MIL or a gift inspired friend or something.

Ooh, maybe after I'm done with my current Tolkien run I'll go on a L'Engle binge.

The only thing I find weird about her writing is the dialogue. No one talks like that. NO ONE.

I suck at presents.

Oh, man. I'd gotten used to not getting presents for friends; instead we all go out to dinner or something. Well, some friends decided to have an end-of-the-world dinner party on the 21st, and we're all bringing food and booze. And then the host texted me yesterday to ask me what we were bringing, and said "I am so excited about the presents we got everyone!"

Which made me go "...FUCK. I don't know what to get them!" I wasn't planning on getting them anything. It's not a financial issue; it's very much an I-don't-want-to-keep-shopping issue.

So I think I'm going to go to Target at lunch and get big glass jars and make a ton of granola and put it in the jars and tie a pretty ribbon around it and be done with that.

Is that a shitty present? I can't tell, because I love it when people give me food.

I know I complain about this every year, but I get so annoyed at the idea every year.This is our "Holiday Offering" to the housekeeping staff.

Maybe just a change in mindset would help. The teachers here give holiday gifts to our custodians. We take up money and give them cash or gift certificates to somewhere. We see it as a thank you for keeping our rooms clean. They provide us with a service and feel they should be thanked for it. Yes, they get paid for that service, but I see it as no different than tipping a hairdresser.

Now, we all chip in about $5 each, so it's not as much as you do.

So I think I'm going to go to Target at lunch and get big glass jars and make a ton of granola and put it in the jars and tie a pretty ribbon around it and be done with that.

I would love to get that as a present.