Most Cordial Greetings

Hello, sweet and sour readers. Happy Sunday to you all. This was week with more downs than ups, but that's ok. Well, actually, I'm pretty sure you can't have more downs than ups, but the downs lasted longer than the ups. So that's how it was.

Wednesday, I hosted the first young adult Bible study to occur in quite some time. I spent about six hours reading Romans and St. John Chrysostom's commentary on said letter. I baked delicious and fluffy cheddar cheese and garlic rolls, and excitedly hopped off to church.

Then no one came. So that happened.

It wasn't a waste of time, though. First, because Scripture study is never a waste of time, so it was good for me personally, I am sure. Second, because my sister came (late) and we had Bible-study-with-many-tangents discussion with our parish youth minister, who is a cool guy. We like him. The food didn't really get eaten, though. It may have become the family dinner on Halloween.

Speaking of Halloween, I decided that at twenty-four years old, I was old enough to carve my own darn pumpkin. I did one, which turned out to have a split personality.

We had another pumpkin around, too, and I couldn't help but carve it. Once I started, I found it really, really, really hard to stop. And that was my basic method for carving them. I just sorta started carving shapes and followed where the spirit-o-pumpkins led me. For example, this one started out as a winged demon, but I was scaring myself, so I decided to make it like Batman, but then it turned into Darth Vader with that nose. Consistency is not my priority here, obviously.

And yep, the Bones costume was recycled from last year. It's so perfect for me that I don't think I'll ever need a new costume. (See, Bones is performing a postmortem examination on a pumpkin. Cause of death was being severed from all nutrition. She determined this by disemboweling and repeatedly stabbing the corpse.)

In a glorious change-of-pace it rained not once, but twice in the last few days. Deo gratias. We need the rain so badly... keep it coming, Most High Weather Man! :)

Don't forget to smile this week, friends.

Stinging Injustice

I was victim to two acts of injustice today. Both came from the same person. The sunshiny, happy, but law-abiding, lawsuit-fearing HR lady.

The first offense concerned the Halloween costume contest. I went to work as a gypsy today. I had bells around my ankles and neck, a colorful, floor-length silk skirt, hoop earrings, ornate scarves, bangles, etc. I didn't put any effort into it - one of my coworkers provided me with most of the stuff - and I didn't expect to win. I wasn't even going to bother participating very much.

When I went down for my lunch, I inadvertently found myself smack dab in the middle of the costume parade. I was stuck in a mass of people. Figuring that I should make the best of an awkward situation, I danced and waved like a good little gypsy around in the circle. The judges ate it up - everyone else was marching somberly.

I still didn't think I'd win. Without giving it a second thought, I went up to cover the receptionist's lunch break. She mentioned that the judges had been up there discussing the winner and for the individuals, they unanimously picked "the cute gypsy girl." I was surprised and rather pleased... until I heard that the HR lady had vetoed their decision.

Huh?

It was all in the name of preventing strife among the employees. You see, I am a temp. According to some menopausal, cranky pants women people, since temps are not company employees, they are not entitled to win any company contests... or even eat company-provided meals. It was too risky to announce that the winner of the company costume contest was a temp. Horror of horrors, right?

Anyway, so I didn't win. I didn't get anything. Not that I expected anything... but I should have won. That makes me feel good on the inside. Missing out on the $200 Visa card because I'm not a permanent employee... that doesn't make me feel so good on the inside. Oh well.

The second injustice is the reason that I am able to bring this blog post to you so early in the day. You see, I have a tendency to pass out. If you know me, you also know that this is very, very normal. Not a big deal. Give me a few minutes, I'll be up and moving. Well, I passed out yesterday and today. The HR lady flipped out. Not my boss, not my supervisor... the HR lady. And she sent me home. She asked if someone could pick me up. I explained that my mom could get there in about 20 minutes, but I would be fine in five or ten. I insisted that I was fine. But she wouldn't let me stay. She nearly ordered me out of the building. I had work to do. Money to make. But no. She made me leave because she's afraid of liability.

So much injustice. Just because I'm me. How is this fair???

Happy Halloween.