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.

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

No, that's a great present. Homemade AND delicious!

Laura, as an employee, I gotta say that bonuses rock.

Sophia, that really sucks, for all the reasons you enumerated. Enough so that if I were you I'd almost be tempted to call an anonymous whistleblower line (if your uni has one? All I know is that mine does, but I don't know how common it is) to talk about it.

Steph, sounds good to me. Granola is one of those things that I only ever eat a tiny bit at a time and so never buy and never have on hand; a decent size in a nice jar sounds fab.

ICompletelyON, WTF, The Atlantic? The combined fail of the article and the comments is horrific (the comments are edging out the actual article, but not by much -- she sets the bar pretty high by approvingly quoting both Charles Murray and Christina Hoff Sommers). I'm totally gobsmacked that The Atlantic even posted this embarrassment. WTseriouseverlovin'F?

Jim C. Hines and Scalzi are doing a cover pose-off for charity. Hilarity has ensued: [link]

JZ, I think this comment sums up my thoughts perfectly:

this article is BONKERS, and no amount of classy three-asterisk transitions can change that.

This is our "Holiday Offering" to the housekeeping staff.

Holiday offering is definitely a skeevy way of putting it. Very "alms for the poor".

Wish me "get through this day" ma. I had a come to Jesus with an employee last week but in the ensuring days I've discovered that she's fucked this project up way more than I even realized at the time, so now I get to go in and let her go today and try to salvage this critical project. And I just locked myself out of the house. FML.

Homemade, delicious and survivally!