Four Schlepping Days Till Christmas

So, my quick trip to the grocery store resulted in a bit longer visit than necessary. The "15 items or less" line should also be revised to include "3 children or less". The kids with the grabby hands who take candy and throw it onto the conveyor and the mom who says "That's stealing!" are little reminders that perhaps single-hood suits me. Although, while other people's children are often charming and beautiful, I also have the luxury of leaving and returning home to the cat, whose biggest issue is the occasional fur ball or whatever that brown thing is that he vomits at 3am. It scares the crap out of me when I hear it (whatever it is), and I never fail to step into precisely the spot of the vomit at 3:01am when my aging bladder requires the nightly visit to the household can. I believe his devious little cat-brain has positioned it precisely where he figured. But I digress.

It's Christmas, and around the office (my little Hell away from home), it's about time for the bosses to remind the rest of us why we aren't. The holidays, it seems, are the perfect time for them to let us all know that there is a caste system in place, and it isn't about to change. The countdown has begun. Five days till Christmas, and three days until the bossy-messenger arrives with his envelopes full of Christmas cheer for the girls and boys who are deemed more important than myself and the other office drones who made them what they are.

Sometime this week, I assume, the office messenger will arrive with gifts and big checks for the necessary, and apologies and tiny checks for the rest of us. Yes, last year, my boss actually apologized for my year-end bonus (the Christmas bonus, P.C. style) before he handed it to me. I was later to find out exactly why he apologized. The bosses got 3% of their yearly salary and a nice leather briefcase (which they interpreted as a thinly-veiled hint to take work home with them) while the rest of us got $350 and a nice -- card.

Before you dismiss this as Blog-whining, let it be known that those in my salary grade have not had a salary increase since 2001. I blame the Republicans.

I protested (as you could figure I would) to our Human Resources department (which has the Resources, but lacks the Humans) and was later told that my letter, while nicely written, was met with stares of incredulity and later dismissed as sour grapes. I can either take it or leave it, which is precisely why I fear the season and relent my position, even after fifteen years in Hell.

So, anyways, thanks for indulging me. I'll keep you posted - which is Blogger-speak for these silly things we write from time to time, but you already knew that.

A little bitter today. Venting.

On the bright side, there's good news -- here.

Just trying to make some of my Blogger buddies feel better. And me.