fresh and frozey
December 05, 2005,

I had quite a busy and pleasant Sunday morning after I posted the last entry. I scurried around cleaning, whipped through SIX loads of laundry, did a bit more decorating in the living room (put the creche under the tree, put up my big "Santa popping out of the chimney" decoration), and even found about twenty minutes to do one of my very favorite Christmas activities--I sat down at my Casio keyboard and played Christmas carols! That is probably the one thing that makes me feel more Christmassy than any other, and having the ability to put my hands on the keyboard again--and have them cooperate--is a true joy indeed.

Shortly after our arrival, the twins (along with Mommy and Daddy)showed up, and what a delight they were! I got to squee all over the place, and it was fun to play with them and enjoy the best view ever of a Christmas tree--the one reflected in the wide eyes of a 14-month-old.

Scott's cousin G threw a great party--tons of people, tons of fabulous food, a river of good wine and booze, and the kind of warm, loving atmosphere that really makes you understand what people are talking about when they enthuse about this Christmas thing. I had a blast. And they certainly have a great home for it, too. G (and her husband who is also a G) picked this house as their empty nest home, but of course they had to make sure there was plenty of room for all their kids and family to come stay. So it's large, lovely, overlooks a golf course, has two decks and a patio, and three bathrooms to make things easy when company comes. Frankly, I fell in love with it!

As we were the first to arrive, we didn't really want to be the last to leave. We said our goodbyes and shared hugs all around, then headed back around 5:45.
I wasn't sure if Spouse had had a good time, but as we were leaving, he told me that that had been a great party--the kind that he remembered his Aunt J (G's mom) having when he was a kid. He said it really felt like Christmas.

By the time we got back to town, we were both feeling pretty tired, and Spouse was hungry (though after all that party food, I have no idea how he could be) so we stopped at Wingstop and got some wings to take home. And by 8:30, we were taking out the dog and heading to bed.

Well, since I now have to have my windshield replaces, we all know how "on top of things" he was....I really should have just taken it in to AGS myself and had done with it.

TCE continues to labor under the misapprehension that she is my boss, though. She was bugging me today about the state of my schedule. My entire schedule, 75% of which is none of her fucking business. I played along while she ran down every current project, with the noticable exception of her own. When we finished, she asked me my area of greatest concern, and it was quite satisfying to tell her that the only area of concern I had was her project. (Truly--this is one long and spectacular train wreck we're talking about.)

Annoying as this woman is, I can manage to (barely) tolerate her in a work situation. And I can understand the pressure she's under, and the time she's putting in on a job that she got slammed with, so I will cut her reasonable slack. BUT.

Now I have to deal with an arm-twisting lunch invitation. She wants to take her team out to lunch as a holiday treat. Well, let's review all the reasons why I don't give a rat's ass, shall we?

• I'm not ON her team.
• She is NOT my boss
• I hate her
• I don't socialize with co-workers
• I don't DO lunch
• I don't DO Christmas
• My lunch period is dedicated to smoking and the gym. I know that's fucked up, but it is ME we're talking about.
• Did I mention that I hate her?
• I'm already dedicating a substantial amount of my very limited free time to work, and am extremely disinclined to dedicate more.

• I can afford my own lunch, thankyouveryfuckingmuch!