Merry Friggin' Christmas

I'm not a big lover of the Christmas holidays.

I mean, getting together with family (in some cases) is great. Eating so much you have to loosen your belt a notch, or unbutton you jeans is wonderful. Seeing lights on the houses in your neighborhood (as long as they're done well) is fun.

My sister and I enjoy Black Friday shopping every year. We know there will be people, crowds, lines...but we don't care. We make it an event....we save money when shopping for the season....we laugh, we get coffee at the one coffee shop open before 5:00.

But, the music playing in the stores starting the day after Halloween....the endlessly repeating cheesy Christmas carols rewritten to sell someones product......children screaming because the mall St. Nick has scared them half to death.....children telling their parents what to get them, and parents going broke trying to do it.....

I LOVE buying gifts for those people I know, those people I see or talk to daily, those people that will love what you get them, no matter what it is. But then there's the worrying about what to get for those people you really rarely see, and don't know that well. Will they like it, do they have one, how much should I spend, are they spending money on me, etc, etc.

But any old hoo....back to the reason for the post.

It's November 12, 2008. Christmas is nearing the one month away mark. I got news from work yesterday that we will be shutting down our offices from December 24 - January 4.

Don't get me wrong, not being here for almost 2 weeks rocks!!!!

Being told a month from Christmas that you will be off those days by either using your vacation or taking it without pay...well.....that's not so cool. (what is being salaried good for anyway?)

#1 I have no vacation left. I'm not a vacation hoarder, I use it. That's why they give it to us, right? To get the f**k out of here for a couple weeks a year, right? I just got back from vacation this weekend, there's nothing left. :-)

#2 A little notice of this would have been nice. It's the principle of it all!! Granted, a month notice is WAY earlier than we usually hear stuff around here, so how can I possibly complain???

(my sarcasm - is it dripping from your monitor? sorry!)

Do you feel my pain? Do you hear the frustration in my voice?

We can afford to do this. We'll have to cut back a little this month and we're OK. It would have helped to know this BEFORE spending money on vacation, but it's not the end of the world. I still have a job. That's what I keep telling myself.....

"Chill out Nej - you still have a job."