Time for a story...

Once upon a time I worked with a real bitch-child. The boss's daughter. One year I was elected by the other employees (V and R) to buy the bitch-child a birthday present. This was no easy feat since she hated me and was totally bereft of any social skills whatsoever. I thought and I thought. What could I possibly get this freaking little punk bitch that she wouldn't be able to criticize. It was tough since she was a master of the backhand complement but I finally got it.....a nice photo frame complete with a picture of her and her boyfriend that I coerced from her mother (who was just as devoid of tact).
Next obstacle....the card. It had to be completely neutral and utterly pleasant...not my forte.
Finally the day arrived. The bitch-child stood expectantly for the gift from her minions.
The card...simple...elegant. She turned to V and said "Oh, what a lovely card. Thank you V." To which V replied, "Don't thank me. Cat picked it out." She simply said "oh". The card was cast aside as she happily shred open her gift. Her eyes lit up when she saw the photo in the exquisite frame. She turned to V again and said "Oh, it's beautiful! Thank you so much!" To which V again replied, "Don't thank me. Cat picked that out, too."
And then the little bitch-child looked straight at me and said "oh, I didn't think she had that much class."
End of story....well, except the part where I told her to kiss my ass.

My point? I worked for this company for 3 years as a collection agent and I brought in a ton of money which my boss later embezzled from his clients. And not once was I ever given any recognition for exceeding their expectations. Typically, as in the previous entry about the Tobacco Exchange, someone else got the bonus or the raise. I got laid off. Pushed aside while someone else took the credit for the work I had done for the past 3 years.

Wow, and now, at MD, I'm just an admin working for someone who has been involved all of two months. All I can say is 'ouch'.

I took the decorations off of the Christmas tree today. I plugged it in last night for the last time and dh panicked that someone in the neighbourhood might see it and think we were deranged or something. He gets into a tizzy over the most curious things.
It has always been a very depressing task for me...the undoing of Christmas. It's almost as if I'm packing away the "good will toward men" along with the ornaments that grow shabbier and shabbier each year. The spirit of the season comes to a screeching halt when the doors of Walmart open the morning after.
What happened to all the bell ringers? I saw only one this year. He was standing outside of Michael's with his red kettle, ringing his bell half-heartedly. I gave dd 50¢ to donate and she thought it was great. There used to be somebody jangling away in front of every major store.
I miss Christmas the way it used to be...the ribbon candy, the bowl of nuts to crack, cheese on fancy crackers, snow, the smell of cedar and cookies. The television broadcasted wall to wall hallmark commercials, the same old comfortable Christmas shows, and Christmas merchandising didn't show up in the stores until AFTER Thanksgiving. Oranges still bring back very vivid memories of Christmases past. And figs strung on raffia. Nobody had them this year.
I just feel like Christmas was incomplete this year. I used to stay up past midnight every Christmas eve and spend time with my cats. Just the three of us. We'd sit and watch the shifting patterns of light that were thrown on the ceiling from the tree. They would purr and purr. That didn't happen this year. That part of Christmas is gone for me now.
So, everything is packed away and ready to be put up in the attic. People have gone back to being bitchy, and apathetic. I wish the Christmas spirit would hang around a little longer. I need some.