Argephontes
11/28/2002
I have mixed feelings about Thanksgiving.
Of course, I love to have the day off and gorge myself on fantastic food as much as anyone else (possibly more). On the other hand, it disturbs me that on the day of “thanks” for all that we have, we go out and get more with which to do the gorging. Shouldn’t we cook something for people who don’t have anything?
I also think I’m a bit Jaded because, for four years, I worked in a restaraunt that served both Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Busiest two days of the year, with the exception of Mother’s Day. We I busted my ass for rich old people or large families that didn’t feel like cooking. Was I thankful to have a job? Well, yes. But were those people thankful to me for providing them with a means to enjoy their dinner stress free? Mostly not. I got cussed out and yelled at every holiday at least once by someone who showed up 15 minutes early for their reservation and had to wait on a table, or someone who didn’t have a reservation at all and didn’t understand why they couldn’t just sit down anyway.
I’d finally get home around 3:00, feet killing me, and it was hussle hussle to get whatever food we were bringing together and over to my grandmothers house. My grandmother was a prim and proper displaced yankee. Thanksgiving meant china, linens, pulling out the silver... No football at her house. No sweet tea. We sat up straight in the dining room and we did NOT put our elbows on the table. But we had a good time. Sometimes we’d play Bridge afterwards, or if there were too many of us, we’d play scattergories (and my grandmother, who never properly understood the rules, always won because she cheated. She was so cute, we didn’t have the heart to call her on it).
See? Mixed feelings. I can’t even bitch properly without throwing in some of the good.
This year, its going to be quiet. My fifteen year old sister is coming to spend the day. Alicia is bringing over her gamecube. We will eat, and then be thankful to the Nintendo gods for creating Mario Party.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. And if you have to work, may you be appreciated by those you serve (and may you get an extra piece of pie. You TOTALLY deserve it). ¶ 11/28/2002 10:59:00 AM
Of course, I love to have the day off and gorge myself on fantastic food as much as anyone else (possibly more). On the other hand, it disturbs me that on the day of “thanks” for all that we have, we go out and get more with which to do the gorging. Shouldn’t we cook something for people who don’t have anything?
I also think I’m a bit Jaded because, for four years, I worked in a restaraunt that served both Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Busiest two days of the year, with the exception of Mother’s Day. We I busted my ass for rich old people or large families that didn’t feel like cooking. Was I thankful to have a job? Well, yes. But were those people thankful to me for providing them with a means to enjoy their dinner stress free? Mostly not. I got cussed out and yelled at every holiday at least once by someone who showed up 15 minutes early for their reservation and had to wait on a table, or someone who didn’t have a reservation at all and didn’t understand why they couldn’t just sit down anyway.
I’d finally get home around 3:00, feet killing me, and it was hussle hussle to get whatever food we were bringing together and over to my grandmothers house. My grandmother was a prim and proper displaced yankee. Thanksgiving meant china, linens, pulling out the silver... No football at her house. No sweet tea. We sat up straight in the dining room and we did NOT put our elbows on the table. But we had a good time. Sometimes we’d play Bridge afterwards, or if there were too many of us, we’d play scattergories (and my grandmother, who never properly understood the rules, always won because she cheated. She was so cute, we didn’t have the heart to call her on it).
See? Mixed feelings. I can’t even bitch properly without throwing in some of the good.
This year, its going to be quiet. My fifteen year old sister is coming to spend the day. Alicia is bringing over her gamecube. We will eat, and then be thankful to the Nintendo gods for creating Mario Party.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. And if you have to work, may you be appreciated by those you serve (and may you get an extra piece of pie. You TOTALLY deserve it). ¶ 11/28/2002 10:59:00 AM
11/27/2002
Every year it's the same. I am responsible for the distribution of scholarship information packets and applications to every high school counselor in the state of Mississippi (and despite being low on both the population and education charts, it's still quite a lot). Not to mention other High Schools in the southeast that we have established good contacts with (or just have their address- same difference). Every year, I aim to get them all out before Thanksgiving. Every year, they end up going out the 2nd or 3rd week of December. Different reasons every year, but with the same ending.
This time, I was going to make a difference. I ordered reprints, envelopes, etc. at the beginning of October. I started generating lists weeks ago. Last week, I busted my ass to get everything done so that I could concentrate SOLELY on THIS PROJECT during the holiday week, when I assumed (wrongly, of course) that it would be quiet.
Not. So.
Friday at about 4:45 my boss gives me a list of a billion jillion things that she thought it would be fun to get done this week. Including volunteering my services to one of the department chairs to help him with his bi-annual assessment of the department. The hell? He's the Chair, for Chrissakes. What can *I* do to help?
So I came up with a solution. I packed it all up (3 sets of posters, brochures, and applications, plus letters) and brought it home. Guess who's banking some overtime this weekend? I plan to stuff them all, and get time and a half for all of it.
I seriously think that people at work believe that I am magic. I have two or three big things that are solely my responsibility that I am just supposed to do. Crinkle my nose or something. A project like this, with only one person on it, should take 2-4 weeks to do. Give me my own work-study or three and we can clip that. But no one thinks "Oh, Mikkie's doing that thing. I should LET HER DO IT." But I also "assist the Dean's Office," which means that anything that goes through administration usually ends up on my desk for some reason or other. Editing, correspondence, scheduling, assessments... People assume that if I *can* do part of something that I should. I TOLD my boss that I did cleared this week for this project. And she smiled, said "Great! Here's some other stuff, too."
I wanted to ask her if she'd ever stuffed 20 gazillion envelopes in three days, much less with a day and a half's other work to go along with it. I didn't. I said "Okay," and I did it. Like I said, Magic. I know it's a compliment, but... pay me more, and I might be more inclined to take it as one.
¶ 11/27/2002 07:22:00 PM
This time, I was going to make a difference. I ordered reprints, envelopes, etc. at the beginning of October. I started generating lists weeks ago. Last week, I busted my ass to get everything done so that I could concentrate SOLELY on THIS PROJECT during the holiday week, when I assumed (wrongly, of course) that it would be quiet.
Not. So.
Friday at about 4:45 my boss gives me a list of a billion jillion things that she thought it would be fun to get done this week. Including volunteering my services to one of the department chairs to help him with his bi-annual assessment of the department. The hell? He's the Chair, for Chrissakes. What can *I* do to help?
So I came up with a solution. I packed it all up (3 sets of posters, brochures, and applications, plus letters) and brought it home. Guess who's banking some overtime this weekend? I plan to stuff them all, and get time and a half for all of it.
I seriously think that people at work believe that I am magic. I have two or three big things that are solely my responsibility that I am just supposed to do. Crinkle my nose or something. A project like this, with only one person on it, should take 2-4 weeks to do. Give me my own work-study or three and we can clip that. But no one thinks "Oh, Mikkie's doing that thing. I should LET HER DO IT." But I also "assist the Dean's Office," which means that anything that goes through administration usually ends up on my desk for some reason or other. Editing, correspondence, scheduling, assessments... People assume that if I *can* do part of something that I should. I TOLD my boss that I did cleared this week for this project. And she smiled, said "Great! Here's some other stuff, too."
I wanted to ask her if she'd ever stuffed 20 gazillion envelopes in three days, much less with a day and a half's other work to go along with it. I didn't. I said "Okay," and I did it. Like I said, Magic. I know it's a compliment, but... pay me more, and I might be more inclined to take it as one.
¶ 11/27/2002 07:22:00 PM
