The Grinch Who Stole Christmas

borrowed from tvguide.com

Okay, I'm being too general here. I don't really hate HATE Christmas, I am just getting close, and closer to my breaking point this season. So many factors too consider, and talk about. Especially today, I've had my ups and downs. It was a rollercoaster of emotions.

My mother thinks I have anger management issues. Not really. I happen to keep my cool rather well under duress, and trust me, every day at work is a challenge.

So what issues have I been battling with today?

It was actually a revelation yesterday from one of my co-managers.

You see, it's our staff's Christmas party this Saturday, and naturally, I am the one in-charge of the budgeting and logistics of the event. Each manager who handles a department has a set budget for the staff's Christmas party, and normally, the budget is not enough. Thus, we end up asking for donations from clients and contractors, and use the extra funds for the party. Regardless, these are often still not enough, and we end up asking the staff to pay up a minimal amount to help out the party's funding. During the party, we also give the staff their grocery bags, filled with ham, and other food items. Last year, we spent about PhP 800.00/head for each grocery bag.

My co-manager called me yesterday, while I was in the middle of the meeting, sounding quite dumbstruck. I had sent an email asking the managers of the departments to inform me how much money has been donated to them. The first manager, the one who called me, had PhP 20,000.00 already. The female manager (aka object of my ire for the past few posts - yes, it's that bitch again) claimed they had only received PhP 2,000.00 in donation. The third manager, also received PhP 2,000.00.

The first manager received a tip from one of bitch manager's staff that she had actually received more than PhP 2,000.00. One check donation alone, according to the mole-staff, was PhP 20,000.00. Another client gave PhP 5,000.00. And there were several whom had given loose change of PhP 1,000.00, and so on. In other words, she had at least PhP 25,000.00 worth of donations with her. Why did she declare that she only had PhP 2,000.00?

At first, I thought this girl was going to pocket everything. I wished it was plain as that. She is planning on a different Christmas party for her department... at the expense of the central Christmas party. She is holding on to all of the donations, not giving any for the staff Christmas party we were organizing, because she is so selfish, and wants to spend the money she received on her staff only.

How ironic that this is coming from a woman who this week sent an email stating "Christmas is the time to cast away individual differences." Well, what did I expect? A day after she sent that email, she was screaming at my assistant over the phone, believing the lies that her assistant had told her, and not listening to a word my assistant was saying at all. Evil.

Which brings me again to my question: why is it that people with this horrible attitude are almost always all women?

I told our direct superior all about this issue. It was taking its toll on the other 2 managers already. They had already started on a "what's yours is yours, and what's mine is mine" tirade already. To the point that even raffles may have been done on a per department basis.

I don't want to wish ill of her, it is Christmas after all, but she is just impossible to forgive. She is the devil incarnate.

borrowed from prlog.org

On the one hand, I had my own pity party just a while ago. While I was picking up the cellphone I had bought for my boyfriend for Christmas, I ended up noticing the gaping scratch on my Blackberry's fascia. Right there and then, I wanted to buy a new phone. However, my budget for a new phone has been eaten up by the phone I bought my boyfriend, and the phone I gave to my mother, both for Christmas.

Why am I not enjoying the season then?

First, I will not be happy until I stop interacting with that bitch in the office. Second, I wish my Christmas shopping was all about me. I really want to buy a new phone, but it is out of budget already. Maybe I have to save money from my teaching gig, and purchase an iPhone by summer. Haaaay. That's the only way I can get through this funk, I suppose.