i rarely talk about my ob-jay on this og-blay, mostly because a) i think it's bad form and b) i do genuinely like the people there, though the ob-jay itself can be a bit mind-numbing. but, surely i can freely talk about other people's jobs, right? and thus i present this information from my, um, friend...err...let's call her fatherine. fathy, if you will.

fathy has this problem. and this problem is that she hates social interaction with people who are not as irreparably cynical and bitter as she. lately, in the past couple of years at her job, this has become a problem as she has been required to attend several baby and wedding showers at the office. not only has she been required to put forth a forced cheery and optimistic and cooing presence at these events, she has often been roped into a) preparing or buying food and b) buying presents for the occasions. well, not so much roped into as passively-aggressively pushed into it, by receiving several dozen kindly-worded emails requesting help or containing links to half a dozen different registries.

now, see, fathy often thinks that the rage that sometimes boils deep down inside of her should not be revealed for public consumption, as it is not exactly normal, so she goes along with these things, even going so far as to acquiesce to a different coworker's desire to buy a basket, several yards of pale blue ribbon, and sparkly glitter in which to wrap one gift. it is tough not to reveal rage to her colleagues, but fathy has by now long been a master of being nice in public and bitching only on her blog. but she wants to know one thing:

isn't this kind of shit illegal?

baking cookies for somebody whose major interaction with you has been asking you to create a PDF document? buying a present for the unborn spawn child of somebody who HAS to earn AT LEAST twice what you are making? PLAYING BRIDAL SHOWER MAD LIBS?!?!?!?!

now, fathy wants to make it clear that she loves her coworkers and is only bitter about the social constructs that dictate these sort of showers. but as long as she is buying an artfully arranged pile of diapers for somebody who owns a beach house, she will bitch, and one day hope that society will be as such that SHE will get her own personal showers thrown for her milestone accomplishments like powering through a friday hungover, spending rent money on a really sweet pair of shoes, or eating an entire bucket of KFC chicken. come on now, people. what are our REAL priorities in life that should be celebrated?