An Update of Sorts

“I have tried to live my life so that my family would love me and my friends respect me. The others can do whatever the hell they please.”
John Wayne

We were standing outside smoking the other day when one of my friends from Saipan called. Our company (Totally Bogus Communications**) has two offices; one here on Guam and the other on Saipan. He called to tell us about the Christmas party the company had the other night (and that the company paid for). What he didn’t realize is that we here on Guam didn’t and aren’t going to have a Christmas party. He also mentioned that our beloved CEO and various other Managers flew in the day before the event so they could pay a short visit to the staff there, before adjourning to the golf course and their mistresses. My friend also mentioned the fact that the prime rib that was on the menu really kicked ass.

This struck me as wrong, in that our Christmas party here on Guam was cancelled. It also struck me wrong in that our CEO and various other hangers on had no problem flying to Saipan and spending two nights in a very nice hotel at company expense, while at the same time our Finance people nickel and dime us to death. This is the same CEO who can’t be bothered to walk across the street to the department where I work to visit the people who make his network function.

Yeah, I’m feeling the Christmas spirit from those who I work for, if by the Christmas spirit you mean the spirit of Ebenezer Scrooge prior to the visit by the Ghosts.

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I sent an email to all 3 of my bosses the other day asking, point blank, whether or not we were going to get Holiday Bonuses, expecting to get absolutely no answer. Surprisingly, one of my bosses replied to the email in my favor, telling our next boss that if we aren’t going to have a Christmas party, the least they could do is give us a small stipend, show a little love. Surprising me again, our COO replied that he didn’t know of any plans to give us bonuses, but he would ask the CEO if it were going to happen or not.

Some of my friends thought it was pretty bold of me to ask the question. In my head, it was a pretty easy thing to do. The worst they could tell me is no, which is what I expected anyway.

Late this morning, we actually received a bonus, of sorts. We all received a Christmas card that contained a $50 gift certificate to be spent at Pay-More-For-Less, which is our local grocery store chain here on Guam. Money would have been nicer, but as someone once told me, “Never kick a gift horse in the balls”. As soon as I got mine, I used my lunch hour to spend it, the logic being that the bastards might change their minds about it and make us give them back.

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For those who are unaware, my beloved Wife flew back to the Philippines last Saturday. Since she works at an elementary school, and the school let out for Christmas vacation last Friday, we figured a few months back that it would be a Good Thing for her to fly to the PI for a few weeks, rather than sitting at home doing nothing. She’s also there to get an MRI on her neck to see if there is something more serious than a pinched nerve in her neck.

It’s another Christmas alone for me, but it’s really not that big a deal. Christmas hasn’t meant much to me since my daughter got into her teenage years. Add to that the fact that I’ve been a shift worker for most of my adult life, and getting Christmas off was a very rare thing when I did work shift. My plans for Christmas Day are to do as little as possible, watch some movies, eat a lot of junk food, and maybe have a long discussion with Dr. Bombay later that evening.

Normally, I always send out Christmas cards to everyone, but just didn’t feel up to it this year. As I’ve said before, the Christmas Spirit has eluded me this year for some strange reason. With that said, though, I wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas and a joyous and prosperous New Year. 2010 has been an iffy year for me, and I’m hoping that 2011 is a lot better.

Happy Holidays, Ya’ll.

** Not the real name of the company I work for, but it fits nonetheless