Sunday, November 05, 2006

DID I MISS THANKSGIVING?

did i miss thanksgiving?... has it already come and gone and i didn't know?... i am very worried if that's the case...

see i'm supposed to work the night (11 pm - 6 am) shift at the hospital Thanksgiving night... being the only one that works in the micro-lab on my shift, makes me responsible for all the micro tests requests from all the floors and neighboring units... my absence would be very noticeable... i think some one would have pointed out that i was not at work if i was absent... but no one did or have done so yet... and that has me even more worried...

let me explain:

i am horrible at remembering dates... it takes me until Valentine's Day (the earliest) to get the year right, and quite often i don't even remember which day of the week is today... a lot of that may have to do with being a work-a-holic, so days doesn't matter much...Sundays won't stop me from going to work, neither will Saturdays or holidays... when duty calls i answer... but i still rely on these check marks for several reasons, including one that is work related...

so these holidays are of significant importance... they affect my disposable income and i also use them to nail down (within months or season) the time of the year.... New Year's Day is the start of a new year... Valentine's Day is February and winter... July 4th is, well July 4th and is summer... Labor Day is September and October has Halloween in its latter days... like wise, Thanksgiving is close to Christmas and Christmas is the ending of the old year... i have mastered this calendar system and it works for me...

now i am worried that my system is all screwed up... and this is leading me to wonder if i missed work... back in September (i know cause it was not too long after labor day) i started seeing Christmas ornaments popping up in the stores... then in October (i know because of the ghoulish adornments being sold) i saw Halloween and Christmas stuff all over the stores... so far i am not yet confused... but then Halloween is gone (i know because i had all kinds of little ghouls on my door steps wanting candies) and i haven't seen or heard any mention of Thanksgiving... all i am seeing is Christmas stuff... where did Thanksgiving go?... or is it still to come?...

i am not into the killing and eating of turkey and i hate stuffing... but this day is important as a marker... when i start seeing Christmas stuff, i think Thanksgiving is gone... now can you understand my worry?... you may think this would have been an issue back in September, but it wasn't then... i knew it was too early after Labor Day for Halloween and Thanksgiving to have gone by...

these "extended holiday" seasons are driving me nuts and messing up my system... i am nervous that i may miss the holiday nights i am scheduled to work and then lose my job on grounds of "no call - no show" for work... but more importantly, i cannot afford to lose the difference in pay i would get for working holidays (it's like a whole $16.00 before taxes and other expenses)... plus i get a $10.00 Thanksgiving grocery coupon (that's about what it was last year) from the hospital and a $4.00 lunch ticket usable in the hospital's cafe for working that night... i also get to park in the visitor's garage which is across the street from the hospital... there is no way i am going to let these perks pass me over and i not voice extreme disappointment... i am taking a stand...

to everyone especially the merchants who are trying so hard to get me to go holiday "spending"... understand this:

IF YOU MESS UP MY CALENDAR SYSTEM CAUSING ME TO MISS WORK AND LOSE MY PERKS BECAUSE YOU CANNOT WAIT UNTIL THE HOLIDAY'S ARRIVAL BEFORE CRAMMING IT DOWN MY THROAT... YOU WILL NOT SEE A DIME OF MY MONEY...

allow the holidays to come... extending the season is more annoying than anything else... those who are gung-ho on the holidays know it is coming and you cannot make it come any faster...

please let me breathe... and not confuse me or screw up my holiday check marks... i get great perks for working these days... these perks, which amount to savings, enable me to patronize your establishments and buy your products... so you too stand to benefit... let's work together to build more enjoyable holidays...

by the way... did i miss Thanksgiving?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like your sense of humour! :)

SimplEnigma said...

Ah, another anti-holiday person. I think that's one of the things I hate most about this country - the way people behave about the holidays. People act like you've committed a crime if you say you have no interest in Thanksgiving, except not having to work. Or you say Christmas simply means you'll have leftovers to take to work for a week.

I feel your pain...:)

(P.S. This isn't five, just in case your counting is all screwed up too LOL)

Enchantress said...

Funny...I haven't seen any Christmas decorations, items for sale, etc. Hmmm. This country is losing tradition...there is actually less hype compared to just 10 years ago. The bright side is if this continues you may be a happy camper. :-)

Anonymous said...

finally! I can post without registering.

Anyways, I too, hate this time of year....I'm not ready to let go of the idea of summer (Indian summer still counts, ya know...and we don't really have falls anymore)....

yet Christmas trees and lights are up, streets are decorated...carols are playing...

yet it's still November....