Saturday, December 25, 2010

Mama's got a brand new....

The following exchange (which actually took place) represents how things are going for me in terms of diet and exercise this holiday season:

JTM: *rummaging in fridge looking for butter*
Me: I must have bought at least ten pounds of butter for holiday cooking and baking over the last month.
JTM: I know, I'm wearing a lot of it around my waist, AND I've even been working out!
Me: *looking down at pants that actually fit properly three weeks ago * Uh, yeah....well, I've got a new camel toe.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Filling the Hole

Laid Off - Day 35

One of the things that really surprised me after I was laid off - because I honestly had never given it much thought before - was the lack of calls and emails from my former coworkers -  Not every single one, but most of them - people I saw and spoke with every single weekday -  just completely disappeared from my life a couple of Wednesdays ago, without so much as a "good luck" or "take care".  I mean, I guess I could have done the walk of shame through the building saying goodbye to everyone - there was no security guard escorting me off the premises or anything - but I guess I didn't think I needed to - thought they'd still be in my life

Now maybe there is a lot of survivor guilt, or maybe (eeps!) they were glad to see me go.  But most likely they all just went on without skipping a beat.  Because for them, I only existed in their lives between Monday and Friday, and when I wasn't there, the space I took up in their lives just closed over or filled up with the next person.

It's a little lonely here at home sometimes, and the quiet was nearly deafening the first week or so, but really I'm not missing my workday people, or my workplace that much at all anymore. And for someone who others would say is very, very sociable, I really do dig spending hours hearing nothing but the courtyard fountain and the dog scratching himself.  I guess my hole is closing over too!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

The Middle School Bake Sale

So in between lunching and job hunting and spinning in circles, I've been doing a lot of holiday baking (of the "from a mix" or "five ingredients or less" variety), mostly for the various holiday concert bake sales that are an inevitable part of the December schedule for the average North American household with kids between the ages of 3 and 16.

So last night I was working the baking table at the middle school band thingy when a woman came scurrying up, quickly scanned the wares, and then executed a smooth forearm sweep of the table, including most of the stuff I'd brought (ahem! quaintly and festively bagged, tagged, and be-ribboned in single-serving portions) into her open backpack.  Shamelessly, unapologetically said "This is how I'm doing my holiday baking this year" as she handed over about $20.

I had a very brief moment of "hey that's not for YOU to pawn off as the fruit of your own efforts, lady," but then realized we were in a win-win situation here:  I help the school by doing the baking, and other people help the school by buying it.  And, bonus: I get to be all smug about my civic-mindedness and my fine, fine treats; and some other woman gets to tick another item off her already unmanageable to-do list.

And I was impressed as hell by her brazenness in letting someone else do the work for her. All this holiday business is already so overburdened with expectation and obligation, and pre-primed for a generous application of guilt and shame,  I could really learn something from people who refuse to let any of that stick to them.