September 19, 1991
Dear Everyone:
Christmas is coming!
Yes, I know that it's not even Halloween, much less
Thanksgiving, but it's never too soon to start your holiday shopping.
Particularly at Emporium, which
has had its Christmas decorations up for two weeks now (they even beat
out Kmart). Of course, this chain
is on the verge of bankruptcy and desperate for
anyone to shop there. Consequently,
everything is on sale (a word
close to our hearts). “Jeannie”
and I were there last weekend, comparison shopping for winter down
comforters. I saved about $100.00
(in America, it's not how much you spend, it's how much you “save” that
counts) on a really nice full-size which is now stuffed into the linen
closet, waiting for winter to arrive. It's
in the 90s here now.
(Trivia question: Why
do they make comforters with down? Answer:
Because up won't keep you warm.)
Getting back to Christmas.
If you are a sibling, you will
find an extra envelope with this letter.
Inside the envelope is the name of the one person you should get
a gift for this Christmas. (No,
they don't all read “Jeannie”; I already checked that.)
“Jeannie” and I put considerable effort into making
these selections. They are based
on 1) the responses to the ballots I sent out earlier this year; 2)
random luck; and 3) a particularly late night with a Ouija Board and a
bottle of Cold Duck. Basically,
we pick names out of a hat, then “tweaked” them for a better fit.
I'm sure you'll all be delighted
with your person.
As for the rest of the family… Everyone is
responsible for getting something for all the nieces and nephews because
what's the point in having six aunts and uncles if it doesn't get you
lots of presents at Christmas time? Everyone
is responsible for getting something for Mother and Dad because they
were responsible for us for a long, long time.
In other news…
“Natural Petroleum” used to be a subsidiary of
“That Other Company”. When
Company bought “That Other Company” lo, these many years ago, we got
“Natural” along with it. Now
“Natural” would like to use our CRMIS system to keep track of their
records. So three “Natural”
people will be coming out here next week.
“Rowena” will be training them (and me) in how to run a Records
Center out in “Livermore” for a week. This
works out great for me because I'll be learning that part of “Rowena's”
job (which I'm to take over in mid-October) from start to finish,
instead of in scattered pieces, which is how we usually get trained
around here.
The week after next, I will continue to tag along
with “Rowena” to a 3-day meeting in “Hobby”, followed by two days in
"Oklahoma City", Oklahoma with the “Natural” people.
“Natural Petroleum” is in “Oklahoma City”.
Right now, all I know about
“Oklahoma City” is that it's south of Kansas and has four (4) airports.
What this all means, of course, is that I won't be
able to write another letter until I get back from Oklahoma.
All of our lunch breaks are going
to be “business lunches”. In
fact, “Rowena” asked me if I would “host“ lunch next Thursday for the
“Natural” people in “Pleasanton”. Since
the only places I know of to eat in “Pleasanton” are Garcia's and
McDonald's, I need to consult with “Jeannie”.
“Jeannie” knows all the good
places to eat in the Bay Area. That's
because lawyers say things like, “Let's break for lunch and be back in two
hours.”
There is, however, a downside to all of this “doing
lunch”. Since lunch time is the
only time I have to read the paper, I'm going to have to go two
whole weeks without the San Francisco Chronicle!!!
Of course, I could probably pick
up the paper in “Livermore” (I think there's a newsstand across the
street from the warehouse) and read it after I get home at night; but I
would be surprised to find the Chronicle in “Oklahoma City”.
I guess that's why so many travelers pick up McNews
(aka. USA Today): it's everywhere. But
it doesn't have Herb
Caen.
Love, as always,
Pete
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