The Queen of Pentacles

She raised her ugly head yesterday for me.

I'm finally getting into the Christmas Spirit. I'm taking a day off today, but the Queen yesterday ruined Christmas like the Grinch stole Christmas from the Who's in Whoville.

Fade out to two days ago when I get a phone call at work "Help me figure out what coding structure to use for this check that's returned, Tenna?"

"Oh sure," I reply, just give me a little time to research---and so I did, right there on the phone, with very little wait time considering....

Two days later, she's forgotten all about how I helped her, never mind the countless other times I've done things of the sort AND how I used to do all the filing for her unit, but you know what? That apparently was just what was "expected" of me, even though she's NOT my boss, NOT my customer, but just because I'm a heck of a nice person! How quickly they forget all the favors you've done for them over the last 20 years.

And so, when at Christmastime, this person decides to stop doing the computer coding so that our office can do the replacements for our payroll on a priority basis, I freak out.

Now I have to tell you, any other time of the year, I probably wouldn't be so *affected* by this unilateral, arbitrary and capricious and meanspirited action, but IT'S CHRISTMAS! The kids who's parents get these funds are dependent on these funds---sometimes so that they can have a roof over their heads at Christmas. So I appealed to the humanity of her staff person who actually does the job, and SHE agreed to do it.

My ignorant move was to tell my supervisor about it.

Who then sent my email to HER superisor about it.

Who then decided that I've done nothing for HER over all these years, and how is it that she owes ME big time.

How quickly they forget.

So now, my plan with this bitc (need I go on), is to funnel any further requests from her office through MY supervisor with the "Oh, I can't do that anymore--I don't do favors for other people--only what MY SUPERVISOR tells me to do."

I seriously believe in consequences for your actions--and then I will make her WAIT for 4 TO 6 WEEKS before I give her an answer, just as she is going to make the parents of the children we serve WAIT UNTIL AFTER CHRISTMAS to be able to HAVE A CHRISTMAS.

The Grinch's got nuthin' on this woman, and I hope that God is merciful when the Spirits of Christmas' past, present and future coming knocking on her door.

ME? ANGRY? Pfft. She deserves a face lift--with a two by four. I don't care about much, but kids having Christmas on Christmas Day--well, I *DO* care about that. And for her to make a decision like this that affects a child's Christmas--well, that's just meanspirited (I said that before, didn't I?).

In my own ignorance, I surely believed that my supervisor should know the good I'd done--but the Bible says don't even tell your left hand what your right hand is doing--so that was my mistake in the first place. But in the second place, I should not have told my supervisor that this person owed me some favors big time. The supervisor sent a copy of the email to the person who objected to it. So if the supervisor hadn't DONE THAT to begin with, the kids would be getting their checks. The entire thing is that MY SUPERVISOR has decided that she wants to micro-manage everything--make all the decisions about who gets their check on a priority basis--so now, we have two grinch's going. Okay, A grinch and a Scrooge.

So now, today, I have to find a way to counteract these people's effect on my psyche. I didn't think that they really existed. I thought that they were figments of someone's overactive imagination. Let me tell you something--

THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT WILL NOT BE QUENCHED! By God, not if I have something to say about it!

So for the next couple of weeks, my plan is to answer the telephone with a cheery "Merry Christmas!" Because if the caller is about a missing check, there will be no Christmas for that family--and there are more of them than I care to count. Too many.

I need chocolate.

Today I'm putting up the Christmas Tree. Hubby will just love that--he's a bigger grinch than my boss (If that could be possible....), but perhaps I can impress upon him how important Christmas is to me, and how I work for people who clearly don't give a hoot whether kids have a Christmas or not--then maybe tomorrow, I can put up tinsel and decorations--just to irritate the grinch I work for. Then, perhaps MONDAY, I'll take in a loaf of pumpkin bread to the Scrooge in Accounting.

You know what they say "Do good to those who persecute you, and pray for your enemy--for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head!"

Well, about now, I'm all about those burning coals.

Today, however, is not a time for spending thoughts about those who are fruitcakes...I am going to get in some SERIOUS knitting time in today. I'm up to the V for my son's 2nd sweater front now, and then I start on the back of the 3rd. I am nearly done with the bulk of the knitting....I will say about 60% done once I finish the front. I'm taking my mother to have her eye worked on, then we're going to Long John Silver's for lunch, and if I can convince her, I'm going to go to a Christmas/Holiday Decorations place--no idea yet which one--and find something nice to put on the wall in the living room....

You see, I have this big 12 foot space--It's a big space--with nothing on it. I'm thinking a wreath with different colored Christmas lights on it. I'm thinking my White Tree in front of the Window, so the whole world can see that at least *I* celebrate the season.

I'm thinking colored lights all around the deck and sliding glass door and windows that face the main road--I'm thinking Rudolph on top of the roof--might take some doing--since I'm not fond of heights.

Why all these lights? Because I need em. Because I want em, and because I will have em. I've wanted them all my life, and no one--not the grinch, not Scrooge and not the electric company will keep me from having them...well, okay, maybe the electric company will have something to say about it all...but they shouldn't cry much when I turn it on and blow out the transformer.

sigh

Would that I could have that many lights hehe.

Don't worry, out there in blogger land. I've got a plan for today, and it includes truffles.