disco surprise

(...i can't get away from mice)

this year at our department holiday party, there was an unfortunate mix up with our secret santa game... apparently, when writing my name to be pulled out of the hat, i didn't write 'kaci', i wrote 'arlene', because arlene got two secret santa gifts, and i got none. which really, in real life, is not a big deal at all.
that said, i had a lot of sympathy from the team for not being included in the gift giving. that sympathy has now manifested itself in not just ONE secret santa gift, but three! arlene, the receiver of double gifts, bestowed upon me a 'happy bunny' flip book, which contains amazingly insightful quotes like 'have a great day you worthless turd' and 'it's cute how stupid you are' (this flip book is now displayed proudly on my desk). curtis, the giver of the first gift to arlene, gifted to me an itunes album of a local and favorite band of his. i haven't downloaded it yet (home computer + downloads= disaster) but i bet it's awesome. and sam- oh beloved sam- arlene's second secret santa, he dropped off to me a lovely gift of festive red glass goblet candle holders and ornaments.

sam's was my favorite for the double irony: gift number one, the one originally intended for arlene, was wine; if anyone else on our team was missing from the secret santa exchange list, he could have pawned the wine off on them and pretended like he had their name the whole time. but with me, he knew wine was not a gift for me (perhaps he met drunk kaci in another life?). gift number two, the one he dropped off at my house with a ring of the doorbell and surprise package on the porch, was mice ornaments. MICE. if you've been reading, you know how desperately i've been trying to rid my house of mice! i love, love, love that i opened my door to receive a surprise gift, and it is two dancing, disco mice.

thank you sam. you are officially the best gift giver of the whole year. maybe ever.

(for the record, since i'm vetoing a tree, the mice are now in a round, cage-like candle holder on my dining room table. i hung a sparkly snowflake tag from the inside top, so it looks like the two disco mice are dancing in a disco ball, under a disco ball. best new decoration, ever).