Merry Christmas

It's been awhile since I last blogged, and I'm afraid that I'm all out of tune. I don't know what to say or how to say it in a way that makes it interesting, or at the very least funny. But if you would like to know what's been going on in my life recently, here goes:

I've been working around the clock for the three weeks following Thanksgiving, and while I'm grateful for time-and-a-half overtime, I am not thankful for not having enough time or energy to do anything when I get home other than throw something in the oven for dinner, and then to fall asleep on the couch before it's done. That's why I refused point-blank this week to work any overtime. No money in the world could have made me work late on Christmas eve since I had to drive five or six hours after work that day to make it home in time for Christmas, but really I refused to work overtime because enough is enough. My hours are 4AM to Noon. Not 4AM until after 3PM, and most certainly not until after 6PM. It's not like I sit at a desk all day - I am on my feet all day long, and the work never ends. So, new year's resolution - 1 hour of overtime per day maximum. I don't know if it will work; we'll just have to see.

This past weekend, I went to church with Mel and Lyne in North Charleston, and then spent that night shopping with them to find a pair of off-white shoes and a pretty off-white top for Mel to wear during the Christmas Eve service. We combed all of Northwoods mall and came up with zip, so we headed over to the Citadel mall in West Ashley, and even though it was after ten and almost all of the department stores were closed, we found Mel a nice pair of shoes and a pretty shirt. In the mean time, I was told by a vendor closing up shop in the inner mall that I had a body like a 'sista,' no offence meant, because I wasn't a sista, but I had the body of a sista. I turned to Mel and Lyne and translated: I think he was trying to tell me I have a fat ass. Chris, my friend Sarah's boyfriend, told me that yes, that's probably what they meant, but phat, not fat. Whatever. And then to add insult to injury, another vendor handed me a bag of specialty soap and refused to take it back, saying it was a Christmas present from him to me. So I have a fat ass, and apparently I need to shower more because I must smell or something.

Monday night I went to visit my boyfriend in Summerville. Loki is relatively young for me, but he's just so cute and furry, and he's my friend Sarah's kitten. He is appropriately named for the Norse god of Mischief and Chaos because he's a right little devil; I never leave there but my hands are sorely the worse for wear because they've been ventilated. However, I call him my boyfriend because every time I go there, he circles me, makes this weird lowing noise, bites my shirt sleeve and refuses to let go, and then tries to mount my arm so he can hump me. I am not joking. You may not have known that cats will hump people, but let me tell you: they can, they will, and somewhere inside of you a part of your self-respect dies each time they do it.

Tuesday night, I went to the Christmas Eve service at Church to see Mel sing in the choir. I know Tuesday wasn't Christmas eve, but the church is huge, so they had four services: one on Tuesday, three on Wednesday. It was AWESOME. That's all I have to say. I'm so glad I went, and then afterwards, I went with Mel and Lyne to dinner at Olive Garden, and then they gave me their Christmas present. When I got home, even though it was past 11PM, and way past my bedtime, I had to open it. They got me Dirty Minds!!!! I LOVE it! I'm so embarrassed to read the clues, but I've always wanted it and now I have it. Yay!

Wednesday I went to work and worked really hard and really fast, and made it out of there by 12:30, rushed to the store to get Mo Cuishle some cat food, waited in traffic to get back to my apartment. And waited. And waited. Traffic at the mall was terrible! I'm so glad I got all of my Christmas shopping done over a week ago. Finally, I made it to my apartment, packed, kissed Mo Cuishle goodbye, and left. I can't tell you how many times I almost fell asleep at the wheel, but it was more that the number of fingers I have on one hand. I'm never driving past my bedtime on three hours of sleep again - that is some dangerous stuff right there!

But now I am home, and we've opened the presents and I have a full set of bake ware, and some garden things, and some pictures, and a Thomas Kincade puzzle (my favorite kind of puzzle!), and some mint hot cocoa, and some mints and flameless candles that are really cool and I wish I'd had them when I was in school, and a lot of other presents that I'm so grateful for. But right now I need to go shape the rolls because I'm in charge of the dinner rolls at every big dinner here. I wish all of my friends and loved ones a very Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas!!