A brief cast of characters for this story: I job share my job with another female engineer who I will call, Tabitha. We have an engineering aid who I will call Eve.
I've known Tabitha for 25 years. She was my mentor out of college. Eve has been our assistant for the past 7 years. She is about 15 years older than Tabitha and I (we're two years apart) and is kind of the mother of the group. She keeps all of us unruly engineers in line, barking at us about deadlines, and shaming us when we stray out of process. Which happens. When we're under stress. Too often.
Eve is a DEVOUT Catholic and Tabitha is a Presbyterian. I threaten to join Tabitha's church often. Cool people.
So Glowing St. Gerard is at my place of work. I kept him. I got attached.
To a piece of plastic.
A piece of glowing plastic.
Really, I decided that since he is the Patron Saint of Motherhood, and since I'm a mother, and since there are times my job is so stressful I think I surely must be in the depths of hell and I therefore need some protecting, that he should stay on a shelf on my credenza.
Someone said to me, 'Do you think he'll scare the cleaning men at night?' to which I replied, "Hell no, they're all Latin."
And I kept him because the twisted side of me cannot not quit laughing at the thought of this 8" statue glowing all night in the middle of an aerospace building.
Today I brought him to his new home. When I got to my cube, Eve was in Tabitha's cube talking to her. Tabitha sits right behind me.
I grabbed Glow in the Dark (GitD for now on) St. Gerard and said, "I'm putting him on my shelf. Do you think I'll get in trouble for that?"
Eve, taking it from my hand: Oh! Look at this! Nah, I think you'll be fine.
Tabitha: So you decided to keep him here? (I brought him in on Friday for her to see.)
Me: Yup. I think he's going to watch over both of us. We're Moms. We need it.
Eve: What is up with him?
Me: We emptied Joe's place and I found him. *excitedly* He glows!!!
Eve is now stroking him with her hand, as he's very textured with his cross and rosary: He grows?
Immediately, Tabitha's eyebrows shoot up and she and I lock eyes.
Me: Um. NO. He GLOWS. That's 8 inches you have in your hand there. He ain't getting in bigger than that...
Tabitha: However, he's probably glowing now!
And the cackeling commenced and my Tech Lead walked by, stopped, looked in Eve's hand, looked at the three of us and said, 'I. Do.NOT.want.to.know...' and he kept walking.
I can't look at my 8 inch GitD St. Gerard the same way anymore. Good grief.
Posted by Boudicca at January 23, 2012 11:16 PMWell, he is the patron saint of motherhood. Makes sense to me!
My cheeks hurt from smiling and laughing. You are already blessed but I know the one above is enjoying all of this with us! Just wish I could call my dad and tell him. He would LOVE this.
Posted by: vwbug at January 24, 2012 05:51 AM"Keep it down over there!
I don't know WHAT you have over there, but I'm in the next cubicle and you girls are talking nasty!"
Roses, I know! Fortunately, I don't think anyone heard us... but sheesh. I think it's good that we don't sit together. I was just so shocked. "It grows?" Gah!
Sticks- made total sense to me. I'm just hoping management doesn't make me take him down. :(
VW- Don't forget to come by and see him! He's next to the Mardi Gras beads you gave me.
Posted by: Bou at January 24, 2012 09:09 AM'It grows?" Needed a keyboard alert for that one! Thanks for the giggles - made my day!!
And yea, we mom's need all the help we can get . . .whether it glows, 'grows' or does both!! LOL!!
Posted by: Nina at January 24, 2012 10:47 AMBrand new laptop and I almost spewed my Koolaid all over it. Through my nose.
Situations like these are like a snowball rolling down a mountain - once it starts, it picks up speed, grows bigger, and there's no stopping it...er...maybe I should rephrase the part about growing...dammit... look what you started... :p
Posted by: diamond dave at January 24, 2012 06:01 PMThis was completely a snowball effect. And it got worse yesterday. VW came by and someone decided St. Peter was the Patron Saint of bathrooms or something crazy... (It wasn't VW. She was a spectator! Of the conversation. Not the bathroom...)
Posted by: Bou at January 25, 2012 07:59 AMHahaha! Definitely gives a *deeper* meaning to "Patron Saint!"
(Oh...and if you tried to email me in the last few days with pics of any left over religious stuff...my email was all wonky, and I wasn't getting anything from anybody. Nor was I able to send stuff. Erf!! I think it's fixed now though. Cross your fingers. Or say a prayer to the patron saint of email! Ha!)
Posted by: DogsDontPurr at January 26, 2012 01:36 AM