The World's Second Smallest Violin...

The world's smallest violin actually belongs to a co-worker.  She has a "bad" day, every day.  Seriously, how do you have a bad day every day?  If every day is bad, you're doing it wrong. 


All that aside, I'm about to bow the strings of my runner-up, wee violin.  Tomorrow is No Whining Wednesday and yet, all I can do is whine.  All I want to do is whine  Whining just sounds SO good right now.

I feel that I may be coming down with bronchitis.  I'm actually certain of it.  When I smoked, I used to get it every year and it suh-hucked!  Since I quit, almost 3 years ago, I haven't gotten sick, but I recognize that burn in my chest;   that scratchy burn in my throat that spreads down to my lungs.  Ugh.  So, yeah, not that there's ever really a good time to get sick, but now is the opposite of a good time. 

 - Job Fair with Stupid Thirteen (I've expanded her name) all day on Wednesday.  I have to talk to people and smile and be friendly.  I have to coax people to talk and I have to talk loudly over the din of the crowded room.  Army Douche better not be there, that's all I'm gonna' say about that.

 - After the job fair, I'm meeting with the HR ladies I befriended.  We've already postponed our get-together twice now, so I'd feel really sucky if I had to reschedule it again, but the idea of talking to job seekers and Stupid Thirteen all day and then going out to talk about work for another couple of hours just fills me with dread.

- Thursday we're bringing in lunch and serving it to our staff as part of Employee Appreciation Week.  I just don't think my hacking and throat clearing is going to be appetizing for 300+ employees trying to eat their food.

 - The Vice President offered my services to one of the Vice Presidents in the Denver office (because he doesn't have an assistant  - I don't know why, I only know that he should have one) to help him edit his budget presentation.  I helped our VP with his and I'm certain it's karma's way of teaching me a lesson because, you guys, I totally gloated about red-lining his presentation on Facebook.  Now, I'm paying for it.  In addition to being out of the office for a full day and then doing employee relations shit all week and OH YEAH, heading that damned committee that he assigned me to a couple of weeks ago, what I really need is to get loaned out to another executive.   

 - Angel-ica and I are supposed to get together this weekend to play with the Wii Sports Resort and maybe watch Drag Me to Hell, but unless I can do this while laying in bed, doped up on antibiotics and cough syrup with codeine, this doesn't sound the least bit appealing to me.

- And FINALLY, my sexyfuntime friend is back in town next week and DAMMIT, I was looking forward to making the sessy with him and generally not coughing up phlegm globs while he's ripping my clothes o.... ahem...I mean, while we're playing a rousing game of Yahtzee!  Naked!  We've been sending dirty, sessy texts and emails for the past week in anticipation of seeing each other & now instead, the only thing I want in my mouth is a lozenge.  Yeah, I just said that, 'cause I'm a filthy hoo-er.

So, now I need you guys.  At the risk of sounding even more obnoxiously dorky than I normally sound, I need your positive energy today to be my "medicine" (or I'll take codeine cough syrup if you have that instead).  What good things are going on with you?  How's your life?

Karma Isn't Always a Bitch

About 10 years ago, things were not going well for me. I got sick. I left my job. My boyfriend was married, but somehow forgot to mention that tiny detail to me. I was alone and depressed and feeling very sorry for myself. This sounds like a Country & Western song, but I promise it isn’t. I found a new job and things were turning around, but I wasn’t going to get my first paycheck for a while.

A friend loaned me $200. I told her I didn’t know when I could pay her back, but I would as soon as I was able to. She told me not to. She said that someday I would be in a position to help someone else out and I should give the money to him or her. This stuck with me for so long because it was just really, really, kind, but also because she didn’t have an extra $200 to give to me. She was living paycheck to paycheck and had recently been living in her car. I asked her how she could do this and she told me that when she needed it, someone helped her and asked her to do the same when she could.

There’s a non-profit organization that does stuff like this every day. Modest Needs helps people who need urgent assistance to make it until the next paycheck and before they get sucked into the cycle of the vile Cash and Go loan sharks or government assistance/dependence.

I’m posting this for two reasons. The first is that you may be in a position to help. If you’re looking for a charity organization that helps people who need unexpected, but basic things like to replace a dead car battery or glasses because they broke the pair they’ve been wearing for 10 years and don’t have any extra money in their budget to have them fixed. Or to help someone pay for the vet bill because their dog had a tumor which needed to be removed.

The second reason is that you may need help or know someone else who does. It’s a good place to start. Modest Needs won’t just give someone money, but will help with an unforeseen expense and will issue a check directly to the vendor. It won’t take away all their problems or make them rich, but it may help them sleep a bit better without worrying how they’re going to fix the broken water heater or pay that delinquent medical bill.

I urge you to check them out, particularly the “thank you” page.

www.modestneeds.org