Today is Christmas Eve...

and I was reminded by a friend's tweet yesterday how employers treat this day.  There is a very broad spectrum when it comes to who works on this day.

In the military, we were always instructed to have all functions staffed with minimum manning when this day fell on a week day.  I worked for another employer where we had a week off either the week of Christmas or New Year's but Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve we never really worked for very long, if at all.  I also had a job where not only did we work a full day (they sometimes let us go a couple of hours early) on Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, and even the Friday after Thanksgiving.  Then again, that employer gives employees a day off each year for their birthday and another for the anniversary of their hiring date.

Unless there is a real business reason to be staffed and open on Christmas Eve, it makes more sense for employers to give as many employees as possible this day off.  Their minds aren't going to be fully focused on their work.  They want their holiday to start.  They want to be like all the other people who don't work in food service, retail or other industries that are busy serving people.  The courts are closed.  The police are in maximum enforcement mode.  If you owned a business, would you have all of your employees working?  Some?  None?

Among the things I'm pondering today are:

I mentioned this one in my FB headlines yesterday but I'll raise it here.  How is it that people who are stars of the Real Housewives of Wherever remain "housewives" when they get divorced?  They are definitely no longer wives.

If what his son Tagg says is true, why in the world did Mitt Romney run for President for nearly 10 years?  It sure sounds like he didn't want the job.  He certainly wasn't in it for the money.  Did the magic underwear force him to run?

How many bad jokes will we hear about Senator Michael Crapo's DUI arrest?  I can think of a bunch of them but will spare you.  Just pretend I just wrote several of them and then click the link below:
http://instantrimshot.com/index.php?sound=rimshot

Is Calvin J. Candie really the worst, most vile villain from 2012's crop of films?  That's one opinion.  I haven't seen how Leonardo DiCaprio did with the role, but of the villains I've seen thus far, it's a very close race between Javier Bardem's 'Raoul Silva' from "Skyfall" and Tom Hardy's 'Bane' from "The Dark Knight Rises".

Picture ten people out shopping for Christmas gifts today.  How many of them were out shopping last Christmas Eve and swearing not to put it off until the last minute this year?  I'd say six or seven out of the ten.  There are some who wait until the very last minute because desperate merchants offer the best prices on the last shopping day.  Of course, that assumes what they are shopping for will still be available.

What kind of ass defaces a Nativity scene by drawing a Hitler moustache on one of the Wise Men?  The kind who can't spell 'Heil Hitler' when they write it next to their artwork of course.

What kind of idiot steals a 1989 Corvette and then locks it away in a self-storage unit, spending $70,000 over the years to store the car?  It was discovered only when the idiot stopped paying the storage fees.  It's been sold on EBay by the insurer that paid the stolen vehicle claim off long ago, for right about the original sticker price of $40,000.

Anyone want to contribute to my latest idea?  I think we should get together and send idiots like Todd Akin and others who insert their feet firmly into their mouths a flash card to refer to before they say anything.  It would read "Remember, that it is always better to remain silent and let others think you are a moron than to speak and remove any possible doubt".  I'm kicking in $18.72 to start the movement off, all the cash in my pocket at this moment.

We haven't done Fun With Classified Ads for a while:

"Company looking beautiful and professional girls for door to door / phone marketing and customer services."  Why do they have to be beautiful for phone marketing?  Or do they mean that the beautiful girls go door to door and the professional ones work the phones?  Dare we ponder what profession they want these girls to work in or what "customer services" they will be offering?

"We prefer bartenders that are culturally aware and sensitive since most of our customers are Asian.  All are welcome to apply!" Either they've been sued before or someone smart knows to accept applications from everyone to avoid being sued later.

There was an ad seeking an experienced barber that speaks fluent Spanish.  Nothing wrong with that, except it was under the "Food Service/Beverage category".

"PLEASE....DO NOT SEND ....your resume as we do not respond.  Instead, please email us a very brief history of your past experience including your telephone number and best time to call you."  So how is a brief history different from a resume except in terms of brevity?

The last ad was one for a "young attractive girl" to work in a boutique on Melrose.  Then in the body of the ad it added the word "energetic".  So I guess old, lazy but attractive girls need not apply.

This Date In History:

On this date in 1294, Boniface VIII becomes Pope, following the resignation of St. Celestine V.
On this date in 1814, the Treaty of Ghent is signed, ending the War of 1812.
On this date in 1818, the first performance of "Silent Night" occurs.
On this date in 1826, the "Eggnog Riot" breaks out at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
On this date in 1851, the Library of Congress burns.
On this date in 1865, the KKK is founded.  A dark day in our nation's history.
On this date in 1914, the "Christmas Truce" of WWI begins.
On this date in 1943, General Eisenhower becomes Supreme Allied Commander.
On this date in 1951, Idris becomes King of Libya as the nation gains independence from Italy.
On this date in 1955, NORAD tracks Santa for the first time.
On this date in 1968, Apollo 8 enters lunar orbit and for the first time, humans orbit the moon.
On this date in 1974, Cyclone Tracy causes widespread damage to Darwin, Australia.
And, since I watched "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" last night, on this date in 1945, writer/director Nicholas Meyer was born.