Ahhhh, Hi Alice. Haven't seen you in a while. Yes, we tell people to just SOB but when you've read the same post for years, we have a tendency to want to reach out and slap some sense into a fellow KTer. How hard is it to be grateful for the little things? (and I'm not saying $100 is a little thing). But evidently SamKaren has been there 13 years....she shouldn't expect anything more. I'm sorry she's unhappy with her Christmas gifts or rather, the lack of appreciation she feels from the departments. And since I'm not there to observe their working relationship, I'll just say this: I've been in secretarial jobs before and I certainly didn't receive or expect gifts from everyone in the department. Some people's glass will always be half empty or even cracked. We can continue to fill it for them over and over or help them fix their glass. Sometimes "handholding" just doesn't help. I do wonder if her unhappiness is apparent in her relationship with her co-workers? If she's truly that unhappy, perhaps she should look for a job where she will feel more appreciated. Me? I have two sons in college with the next semesters tuition due soon so my DH and I didn't exchange gifts. It was a quiet Christmas with friends and family. With the cost of everyday living rising with no end in sight, I think a lot of people are trimming their gift giving budget. I don't base how good my Christmas was on what I received. It makes me sad that year after year, SamKaren feels jilted by her co-workers. That's not what Christmas is about.

Hi sock-it-to-'em, You don't even need to put me on your list - if you come here and ask, and I feel that I have anything useful to offer (or just want to have some fun with it) ... no doubt you'll hear from me, anyway ... unless I don't show up for a while. I'll be happy to be on your list: my email address is on my profile - all that you need do is go there. You're the first person in about five years that has made that request, if I recall correctly. I've even offered my phone number to a few, and on a rare occasion, especially if someone seems rather hard up, or deeply distressed, have offered that if someone gives me their phone number, I'll call them. Will you be on my list? Tell me about your training, skills, interests, contacts, vacation destinations, hobbies, experience in maintaining various home, auto, computer, leisure, etc. issues. You've probably become fairly familiar with a number of my training, skills, interests, etc. so that you may have an idea of what kinds of concerns about which you might feel it relevant to contact me. Plus - your email address, if it isn't on your profile. Good wishes for a really fine New Year. ole joyful P.. My friend gave me 5 pair of white sport socks for Christmas ... but no one gave me any underpants: will have to buy some for myself, I guess (if I want to stop the binding-around-the-knees by the half-dozen or so lazy-elastic ones). o j

I am notorious for buying one for me, one for you! LOL.. but I didn't buy much for myself this year. The few things I did buy (some chanel makeup, a few clothes) were things I'd have bought anyhow. I put a lot of time into gifts for my family as this has been a tough year for all of us.. and I added some extras to my donations. I sent a huge box of long underwear to an organization a friend works with for the homeless, donated to the American Heart Assoc, a local organization supporting Breast Cancer patients and another supporting research for pancreatic cancer. It's been a rough year for my friends also. I was supposed to have my second eye surgery Dec 17-- so I really scurried to complete my shopping early-- unfortunately, my surgeon had to cancel/reschedule. He added 12/24 as a new surgery date but that just wouldn't work. I'll be rescheduling for late Jan/early Feb.. I guess THAT is my present to myself lol.

I do want to clarify, that other than the weird situation that for a couple years in a row I ended up buying a gift for someone who was through the revolving door of that position in the office in short order, I really don't mind the gift giving, even then I didn't really mind it. I was just in a mood this year about those people who, through no fault of their own, I didn't really know because they did not like working there enough to stick around. If they were there at Christmas, they contributed to my gift too. What I think I am annoyed about right now, is that it really would have just been better to do exactly what I always did, which is buy the same thing for everybody at the same place, that would come in it's own box for free, and be once and done. That, rather than trying to put people in a hierarchy of more deserving or less deserving. I would have saved time and stress, and in all likelihood money, because It would have been done and I would not have been jumping through a bunch of hoops to compensate for how things have played out. The only person I resent giving a gift to is that single secretary, and Everybody does, except her/our supervisor who for whatever reason thinks she's great.