Bah, Humbug

Posted: Thu 25 December, 2008 | Author: | Filed under: Festering Season | 1 Comment »

Bah, HumbugAnd a merry fucking christmas to you lot, too.

*Slam*

Posted: Wed 24 December, 2008 | Author: | Filed under: Charm School, Festering Season, Work-related | Leave a comment »

And that’s it, out of the office now ’til Monday.

Yes, I could have taken time off over the Festering Season – but to be honest, I don’t really see the point.

  1. It means I’ve got more holiday time for the relevant stuff when we actually want to be away
  2. Herself is going to be working most of it too, so *shrug* it’s not like I’m being overly antisocial in that context
  3. The office is going to be lovely and quiet – most people are taking the time out to be with family/children/pets/whatever, so I can get on with stuff without being disturbed
  4. That’s it, really

Still, it’ll be good to have some time away from work. (Although of course, me being me, I’ve still got plenty of my own stuff to be getting on with)

Christmas Decorations

Posted: Mon 22 December, 2008 | Author: | Filed under: Festering Season, Work-related | 2 Comments »

Bah, HumbugAs it comes closer to the Festering Season, the header image for D4D™ has done it’s usual (automatic) change.

And that’s it for decorations, so far as I’m concerned.

In the office, it turns out that there’s some kind of bizarre competition for “best decorated” section, with some kind of prize. So the entire place (with a couple of notable exceptions) looks like some fucked-up version of Santa’s bloody grotto. There’s trees, tinsel and tat all over the place as well as some frankly weird things – papier mache camels are a prime example – just for variety.

Of course, round me there’s chuff-all. And that’s fine. I suspect I may end up with recognition for making least effort, or somesuch rubbish. That’s fine. I haven’t grouched about any of the other decorations, so people shouldn’t grouch about my lack of effort/decoration/festive tat.

All the same, roll on Jan 6…

Halting State

Posted: Fri 19 December, 2008 | Author: | Filed under: Charm School, Festering Season, Health, Work-related | 1 Comment »

I’m coming to the conclusion that either December doesn’t like me, or I don’t like December. It could even be both.

As it is though, just in the last two weeks I’ve:

  • Had one day off sick through puking and generally being unwell
  • Had Herself be off for three days through puking and generally being unwell
  • Picked up a lovely cold
  • Turned into a streaming snot-production facility
    And finally
  • Now ended up with a hacking cough, and a load of phlegmy shit in my lungs.

This is after not being properly ill for ages.

Of course, I’m still going in to work – my head’s still in “contractor” mode, and while I did go home post-puke, I’ve not done the same while having a cold. I just don’t see “a cold” as reason for being off sick – I tend to stick with the kitchen ethos (and the contractor ethos) of “If you can stand, you can work“.

Maybe this all means I’ll be OK for the Festering Season (this time next week and it’s all over!) but time will tell on that one. I normally end up crashing and burning over the Festering Season simply because it’s a few days off, and that gives me the chance to relax. I don’t know if it’ll be the same this year, considering what I’ve already been hit with.

Regardless though, I’ll be glad when I’ve stopped coughing lumpy bits out of my lungs on a regular basis.

Ethical Gifts

Posted: Tue 2 December, 2008 | Author: | Filed under: Animals, Customer Services, Festering Season, Thoughts | 1 Comment »

Bah, HumbugIn general, if I am going to be buying people gifts come the Festering Season, I’d rather get them something they actually want. Yes, it means it’s not such a surprise, but personally I don’t see the point of buying something that the recipient will find to be utterly useless.

For that, wishlists are bloody great – they keep the surprise, but at least you can list a number of things that you actually want, rather than “Oh, just buy me anything. You know me, you’ll find something“.

Anyway, for those times where people don’t have a wishlist, and do stick to the “Buy me any old thing” ethos, I now tend to buy an ethical gift (Water supply, chickens, etc. to some remote third-world area) rather than buying something useless. And so I thought I’d bung up a quick list of places with ideas I think are great…

  1. World Vision‘s “Must Have Gifts” for projects around the world.
  2. Sponsor A Tree do a number of Trees for Individuals in packs of 5,10, 20 or 30 trees
  3. Slightly more expensive is WaterAid’s shop where you can buy water supplies etc. for projects around the world
  4. In the UK, Garden Organic have the ability to Adopt a Vegetable, where £20 pays for the seed handling, propagation and storage in the Heritage Seed Library. There’s a list of the veg varieties available here.
  5. Still in the UK, you can also support the Cats Protection League or sponsor a dog through Dogs Trust (something Herself does already)

I’m sure there are plenty of others, but these are the ones I tend to support/use. If you know of any other good ones, add them to the comments!

Secret Satan

Posted: Mon 24 November, 2008 | Author: | Filed under: Charm School, Festering Season | 1 Comment »

Bah, HumbugSometimes, you just have to love ScaryDuck. Today is one of those days.

The post “On Christmas Cheer really does take some beating. An ace idea for the office Christmas Party.

Christmas Events

Posted: Fri 31 October, 2008 | Author: | Filed under: Festering Season, Work-related | Leave a comment »

Bah, Humbug I’ve just been reminded of another of the down-sides of being in a “proper” job… The Christmas Do.

Over the years as a contractor, I’ve been able to avoid even being invited to office Christmas events, and that state of affairs has suited me fine. In fact, it’s pretty much the way I plan to keep on doing things.

But today I got invites to not one but two Christmas meals in work. I don’t plan to go to either – a useful excuse being the 40 minute drive home – unless forced, but I’m sure there’ll be other things coming up.

Bah, Humbug indeed.

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