I Stepped In It

I don't know about you, but I'm about sick of this rain.  My yard is flooded. 

My neighbors' yards are flooded. 

All the yards on the way home from work are flooded.  

 The whole dadgum world is flooded.  On the bright side, at least it's not ice.  On the brighter side, the rain is supposed to move out tonight, and we'll have a couple of dry days ...before it starts raining again.  Oh yay. 

I think I really stepped in it at work today.  If you'll recall, yesterday a couple of the other brazers and I were talking about how we're always cold standing in front of our fans.  When I got home, I bagged up all the hats and scarves in my gift drawer and this morning, I took them to work.  Honestly, I didn't expect them to be so popular.  I'd already expected to have to bring at least half of it back home and try to find someplace to donate it to.  

It didn't happen that way.  I emptied everything into a box and within ten minutes, they'd cleaned me out. 

I sure didn't expect that!  

Everyone was gushing over the hats and scarves, and I was feeling over the moon seeing my coworkers walking around sporting their hand knit/woven gear.  My mood was quickly spoiled when one particular coworker from all the way across the plant -- as in, not a sub brazer -- walked up behind me. 

Now, let me step aside for a moment to tell you that if you know this particular coworker, none of what I'm about to say will come as any surprise to you.  She is what the young people would call "very extra."   

If they still say that.  I don't even know any more.  Whether they do or not, she is.  Extra.  Very extra. 

So Miss Extra walks up behind me and barks into my ear, "Becky!  Why didn't save a hat for me?  All of these people who don't care nothing for you were getting hats out of that box!"  

It was at this point, my face must have looked something like this:

because Miss Extra has never given two squats about me -- or anyone else for that matter.   Miss Extra cares about Miss Extra and no one else. 

Long story short, I told her I'd make sure she got a hat next time I brought some in, and finally placated her enough that she walked off.  And went complaining to someone else.  She told one of the brazers, "She told you to get a hat, and you got a whole bag!"  Only I never said such a thing.  I'd told them -- meaning the brazers-- to get as many as they wanted. 

After lunch, someone else came up and told me I'd better get to knitting because some people were mad that they didn't get a hat!  I asked, "Miss Extra?"  Yep, it was her.  Another one said, "I can't believe she would say that!"  I replied, "I can!  It is Miss Extra after all!" 

I was talking to some of the brazers and said, "I just wanted to do something nice for my coworkers, and now I'm thinking I made a mistake even bringing the stuff up here."  They told me, "It wasn't a mistake!  Miss Extra is just a Sour Patch Kid."  Another one chimed in and said, "I'm going to pray for the evil spirits floating around here that are getting jealous over a hat!"  Even Group Leader Shark came over and told me not to worry about what Miss Extra said.   

I tried not to, but still, she's the kind of person who can suck all the joy and light out of a room the moment she enters.  

Be that as it may, my gift drawer is empty now, and I can work on filling it back up.