Ho, Ho, Ho.

It'll be Christmas soon. 5 more days. I've finally settled into a rhythm at work, with the guest traffic and the demands of business as it comes through the mouths of my supervisors as driving Redcards, resetting endcaps and keeping busy, busy, busy. Just in time for it all to be over. Yesterday afternoon I started to enjoy myself, which felt wrong, so I redoubled my efforts to be too busy to think. Thank goodness I can look forward to closing on Christmas Eve at the end of the week.

My story tonight begins in the grand old days of several months ago. Occupy Wall Street was just beginning, a growing number of protestors gathering in Zuccotti Park. The antics and gaffs of Republican Presidential candidate hopefuls Rick Perry and Herman Cain were ahead of us. Andy Rooney was still throwing in his two cents on 60 minutes and Community was still a bright light on the mid-season horizon. It was such a hopeful time.

I was making my way to work in the early hours of the day and I came to an intersection as the light began to change and I decided to speed through it, not wanting to be late to work. As I did, a light flashed over me and I knew I'd been caught. I should've known better, I mean, I knew there was a camera there.

I don't know how this thing works, so I assumed when no ticket came after several weeks I was, for whatever reason, in the clear. I relaxed.

But then there's this problem I have of getting my phone bill paid, which drives me nuts. Not because of me, but because I share the bill with two other people. One of these people is great about paying, typically on time and definitely talks to me if there's going to be a problem. The other person does not. And if you're reading this, other person, I really don't care how you feel about my discussing it here. It's ridiculous that you can't even talk to me about it.

Anyway.

This past month was the worst I've seen. No communication and no payment until over two weeks from the due date. I got that payment yesterday. The good one was late, too, but she'd talked to me about it and I told her it was cool. I got her payment today.

At the same time I got yesterday's, I got a mailer from the Central Missouri Humane Society. I'd sent them some money before and this was their Christmas solicitation. I'd managed to pay the phone bill already, so I thought maybe I could donate some of this check. It says $50 feeds all the animals for one day. I'd like to do that. Like some sort of santa with a big bag full of dry bits of cat and dog food.

Having a nontypical day off today, I made an itinerary. First on the list was to go to Best Buy, return a couple of items, and use that money to get a new alarm clock for my iPhone. I'm in the process of selling my old phone, an Android, because it drained the battery way too quick and ate too much data. It was ridiculous and I missed having an iPhone. So I got one relatively cheap on eBay and immediately set to selling the Android on eBay. I'm very happy to have my old apps back and the familiar feel of a 3GS. Ahh.

I went to the bank to deposit my checks, which totaled $124 together. I'd filled out the deposit slip before checking the mail and getting the second check, so I had to make a few corrections. At Walgreens I wanted to pick up a prescription, but the doctor's office had denied it, so that necessitated a quick phone call. And next, finally, the courthouse.

I went to the wrong courthouse, county instead of city, but after a short walk I got to the right one, up to the second floor and the city clerk window. The letter I'd received about -- oh, wait, I didn't mention. I got a letter today saying that I had a court date for my "red light traffic violation". I figured I'd see this sooner or later. I was surprised by, slightly amused by, a little annoyed by, the court date: January 23, 2012 at 9 a.m. My exact birthday

It reminds me of that time in college when I was arrested on New Year's Eve Day and my friends had to come bail me out.

At the courthouse I showed the guy the letter and asked if I could pay a fine to avoid the court date. I told him it was my birthday, but he didn't seem to care. I noticed he was wearing blue jeans, which strikes me as inappropriate office attire, when you're dealing with the public. He came back after grabbing my file and said I could pay it off. It would just cost $120, only $4 short of what I'd gotten for the phone bill. There went my buffer until the next payday and a day of food for the puppies, kitties and bunnies at the shelter. I'm sure someone else will pick up my slack.

If I'd received those checks on time, the money might've been gone by now, which would mean I couldn't pay it. And then I might've had to go to court on my birthday. Which would suck. Is it serendipity that things worked out this way? Fate? Divine intervention? Kentucky Fried Chicken? (Don't go to the one in Columbia, by the way. It's terrible.)

No. It's just the way it happened. A lot of things could've happened. I'm just glad Christmas is almost over and after this week I get a day off to spend with my family. And I might find a way to donate to the shelter, still. Because, y'know, it's just a better thing to do than living dangerously.