yankee swap report

*I traded to get my own gift back. (Thanks, person who opened my gift right before it was my turn, giving me a chance to do so! Sorry about the trade, but it was your boss who brought the wacky bagpiping Santa statue you ended up with, so maybe talk with her about that?)

*The hotly traded gift of the year was a pocket-sized power bank. (The person who brought it also traded to get it back, but then it moved around a couple more times after that.)

*Ten people is a good amount for a yankee swap. Having said that, it continues to astonish me that leadership is so conspicuously absent from these events. (I had a whole thing ready to go on that, but it's Christmas.)

*One gift was alcohol. Technically that's not allowed -- we signed a thing about it. You're not even supposed to have it in your car, because I remember there was consternation about people who did grocery shopping on their lunch break. (Apparently it's allowed because Christmas? This is why people break rules, though -- because it's completely unclear when they apply and when they don't! Which reminds me, I never signed that privacy policy. On the other hand, they never sent me the answers to my questions, like they promised they would, so I suppose we're at an impasse.)

*I can only assume that less and less work will get done the closer we move to Friday night. Challenge accepted.

*PS Happy Shortest Day of the Year!

The Longest Night of the Year

"They say that spring will come again
No one knows exactly when.
Still the sun's a long lost friend
On the longest night of the year.

We stare into the firelight
While December beats outside
Where the darkest hearts reside
On the longest night of the year

So keep me safe and hold me tight
Let the candle burn all night
Tomorrow welcome back the light
It was longest night of the year

I used to think the world was small
Bright and shining like a ball
Seems I don't know much at all
On the longest night of the year

We press our faces to the glass
And see our little lives go past
Wave to shadows that we cast
On the longest night of the year

So keep me safe and hold me tight,
Let the candle burn all night,
Tomorrow welcome back the light.
It was the longest night of the year

Make a vow when Solstice comes:
To find the Light in everyone
Keep the faith and bang the drum
On the longest night of the year

So keep me safe and hold me tight,
Let the candle burn all night,
Tomorrow welcome back the light.
It was the longest night of the year

So keep me safe and hold me tight,
Let the candle burn all night,
Tomorrow welcome back the light.
After the longest night of the year"

-Mary Chapin Carpenter
'The Longest Night of the Year'