Friday, for reasons that have never been clear to me, my own personal ChaosManage, Vela, was singing my praises to Gidget. Something about my work ethic or something, I don't know.

Today, Gidget was sending emails to Vela and me, celebrating because leads for last month (that's what I do) were up 91% over the same time last year. Does it not seem obvious to all of us that, yes, if they hire someone to do this job full-time, instead of relying on Gidget to do it nights and weekends, that results should improve enormously?

Vela forced a (well-deserved) day of comp time onto Gidget to help make up for the long weekends Gidget has been working recently. She also informed Gidget that I should plan to take a comp day soon and, yes, I do a small amount of work on weekends but not much and I'm not really sure that, objectively speaking, I approve of people being given comp time to reward them for working the hours they're already being paid to work.

I'm frequently amazed (and even appalled) how coming to work regularly and doing the work they're ostensibly paying you to do inspires management to frolic about, strewing flowers and crooning kudos. It speaks very poorly of today's workforce, don't you think?

Seriously. They give you money. You give them a certain amount of time and a certain percentage of your brain. I'm not complaining about this.

Anyhow. I'm under orders to leave at noon this Wednesday and if I'm not able to talk Vela into letting me work instead, I may take the opportunity to dash out and do a little Sekrit Shopping. I already have Monday off for my Birthday Holiday. (I wouldn't normally waste a day off when I'm already getting a long weekend, but there were a lot of schedules to juggle and this was the day that worked best with everyone else's schedules.

This past weekend was fun. An early (and gluttonous) Thanksgiving feast with a group Saturday. Everyone made Gourmet Delights (even me!) and we ate. Rack of Lamb, a savoury bread pudding with sun-dried tomatoes and fois gras, a green bean casserole**,fresh-baked bread***, and carrot cake****. And about five bottles of wine.*****

Sunday I abandoned my usual round of laundry-clean-the-kitchen-clean-the-bathroom to hit a mall with the R.C. From now until after January 1, I try to avoid malls on the weekends, so I had a desperate need to get a birthday gift for Gidget (12/1) and grab Christmas gifts for department co-workers here at the Argonut Café.

I succeeded in the former, not in the latter. While no one has said anything about a department gift exchange, watching Vela and Gidget swapping birthday-wedding-whatever gifts over the last 8 months has convinced me that the need will arise. After Gidget's birthday, I may discuss it with her. She's as cash-poor as I am these days and will probably be relieved to be off the hook for a gift exchange between the two of us (I love a friend who is close enough to think that not having to shop for a gift is as good as getting a gift). Then I can toss a bottle of wine Vela's way and be done with it.

So, you might be wondering (I know--you're not), what's happening in Anne's World over the long weekend, aside from the potential Sekrit Shopping? Very little. Holidays built around massive gluttony don't really appeal to me and I gave my thanks this year on November 4. What I'm planning is what I'm usually planning when I have a long weekend. Really Good Cleaning. Massive amounts of laundry. Dusting some of those things I don't remember to dust on a regular basis (baseboards, ceiling fan blades), scrubbing floors, tidying up various piles of whatnot that have accumulated over the last month, etc. And watching DVDs! I'm in the middle of one series with another one waiting (Ahhh, the luxury of birthday bounty!) and am eager to find a few hours to spare for viewing.

I may go mad at some point and eat chip-and-dip. (A once-a-year indulgence.) I might make a pot of soup. I will unquestionably sit up far too late at night (watching DVDs or reading) and sleep too late in the mornings, thus throwing my inner clock out of whack and making the eventual return to the workaday routine a nightmare.

Quite the little Party Animal, aren't I?

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* Gratuitous Men In Black reference. Because I like science fiction. And because, like the best of the best of the best in the movie? I have no idea what I'm doing.

** That was me! Meg's recipe and supervision made sure this from-scratch version of the Campbell's soup classic turned out not only edible but delicious!

*** Slow-rising, though. The bread was not available until later in the evening.

**** I missed this on account of Extreme Tiredness. I went home about 9, long before this party-hearty group was ready for dessert. I think they were all a lot younger than me.

***** I had a sip of a much-discussed white. As always, I found it interesting, but not something I would drink a lot of. It's amazing how, once I stopped drinking, I began to realize that I'd never really liked the taste of 95% of the alcohol I used to pickle my liver in.