Visiting Edgar

Remember Edgar?  He's been a manager for years.  This year he wasn't able to come back because he opened a balloon store.  So Shortcake went to visit him!

Edgar challenged Shortcake to learn "Over the Rainbow" on her ukulele last year, so she's been practicing, but she doesn't have it yet.  But she brought the ukulele anyway to show Edgar what she could do.

Edgar made Shortcake a bass balloon in her favorite color - PURPLE!

He also made a mini-Shortcake out of balloons.  Complete with headset!

And a ponytail!

Fruit & Cheese Day!

Dear readers,

You probably remember Fruit and Cheese Day.  Shortcake started it back in 2012 to try to have one day where she and Santa ate something other than cookies and sugar.  Like natural sugar (in fruit) and fat (in cheese).  It's been successful over the past two years (2012 and 2013), so there are two Fruit & Cheese Days this year.  The first one was Friday.  (Today, according to the date that this is being posted because Shortcake is post-dating it.  Haha!  That sentence may not have made sense.   Tenses may change throughout this post.  Shortcake doesn't care.  Haha!)

Shortcake brought clementines.

Santa brought a fruit platter cheese cubes (Shortcake ate all the cheddar) and crackers and gluten-free crackers (for Ruby and Gingersnap) and blueberry goat cheese (delicious) and apple cinnamon goat cheese (a little weird).

There's a school group that visit Santa every year.  About 60-70 people come.  They all want individual photos.  This is usually not allowed, so they call ahead to arrange it.  Miss Denise is in charge of this group, and Shortcake loves Miss Denise.  Mostly because Miss Denise knows her group is a pain in the butt, and does everything she can to make it easier for Santaland.  So Shortcake helped facilitate the visit, and said hi to Miss Denise and hung out with a fifth grader who likes Percy Jackson, so he and Shortcake got along famously.  (Shortcake loves Percy Jackson.  She thinks it's better than Harry Potter.  Yes.  She said it.  And she's not taking it back.)  Anyway, Marzipan did a great job with the school group (she was Santa's photo elf.)

After work, Shortcake walked up 5th Ave a little and saw some decorations.

Garlands on Macy's first floor.

Random statue in Bryant Park.  With strangers.

Shortcake and the Bryant Park tree.

Aaaaaaand selected photos from the Lord & Taylor windows:

Holy School Groups Batman!

It was a busier day, only because we had a lot of school groups.  Of course, Santa loves school groups, but then take up a lot of room in the line, so it gets longer, and then some moms want personal pictures with Santa which we don't usually allow, but we try to accommodate everyone...

Santa had some elves drop off delicious gingerbread cookies.  They were the perfect texture.  Thin, slightly chewy, and slightly crispy.  Maybe that sounds like a paradox, but what it is is cookie brilliance.

There's a red phone in the break room.  Not many people have the number, so when it rings it's usually a wrong number.  But today, when Shortcake answered it, it was a stranger, not associated with Santaland, who thought it would be fun to call Santa.  It was bizarre.  Shortcake mentioned it to the managers, but as long as it doesn't become tiresome, they said not to worry about it.

So here's some photos to round out the day:

Sprinkles and Shortcake took a selfie with Santa.

Shortcake gesticulating wildly.  Per usual.

The best picture of three elves ever.

It's snowing!

It's snowing in New York City right now.  Shortcake can see it out the window.  It's almost magical.  Any time it snows, she thinks of "New York City" by They Might Be Giants.

It was another easy day.  Santa had an event at JFK, so Cider went with him.  But it was weird for a bit in the break room while Cider and Shortcake were both there.  As Santa put it, it's like seeing Clark Kent and Superman having a conversation together.  It weirded everyone out.  (In this scenario Shortcake is Clark Kent and Cider is Superman.)  Then when they came back, Genie had also arrived, so all three strawbosses were in the room at once.  This never happens.  It was very exciting, and they were able to have a strawboss meeting, all together.

Also, Genie brought rice krispie treats:

They were delicious.

Remember Teddy Bear?  (Featured here)  Well, he's still with Santa.  Shortcake has been working with Teddy Bear for six years (out of seven).  In those six years, she has never seen Teddy Bear Photo elf.  Never.  That's not something he does.  And then.  Yesterday, Teddy Bear was a Photo elf.  Shortcake knows.  She was shocked too.  And Teddy Bear said he would do it again.  What.  The.  What.  

You may remember Willie - he's a regular visitor.  He came earlier in the season to show Santa all of his dolls. 

Shortcake appreciates who Willie tells Santa the item number of the toy he wants; thoroughness is rewarded.

This note was also on Shortcake's desk this morning:

Fan Mail!

Santa gets a lot of mail - as you know.  People write him letters all the time.  (Shortcake should probably write her letter to Santa sometime soon.)  And sometimes they draw pictures.  And sometimes they hand those letters to Santa when they visit him.

Olivia and Ella had help writing their letters, but you can tell the pictures are originals.  Shortcake was glad she could remember enough French to decipher the gist.  (Santa speaks all languages, so he didn't need any help.  Obviously.)

Tina drew a picture for Santa.  Shortcake's favorite part is the "A Day Without Reading is Ruff!" sticker at the bottom.  Shortcake feels the same way, Tina.

The cream of the crop belongs to Irene.  Let's admire this lovely picture she drew for Santa.  Note the hot cocoa in Santa's hand.  And the cookie.  Note how Irene also has hot cocoa, but not a cookie.  Note the original color and design choices on Santa's outfit.  Note the original aesthetic of Irene's self portrait.  Note the fish on the bottom.  Note how the entire page is colored in.  Irene does nothing half way.

Then read her letter.  She has very good questions.  Why does Santa eat cookies all day?  Why is he Santa and why aren't other people Santa?  As Santa put it, Irene has a successful career studying philosophy ahead of her.

But in all seriousness, why aren't we all Santa?  Why is Shortcake Shortcake and not Santa?  Why doesn't she spend her time spreading love and joy?

And here's a bit of advice Shortcake got from the sidewalk last weekend:

Whatever your magic is, protect it.  Hold it close to your heart and treasure it.  Because it's yours.  And no one else has the same type of magic.  

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Monday was December 8th or, as the Catholics call it, Feast of the Immaculate Conception.  Or as Shortcake kept calling it the Feast of the Immaculate Consumption.  As if Mary ate a lot of food without sin.  Or died of tuberculosis without sin.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception is a Catholic Holy Day of Obligation.  When Shortcake was growing up, it meant she had to go to mass on a non-Sunday day.  Now it means all the Catholic kids get the day off from school and come to Santaland.  We were in Parade Hallway in the afternoon and didn't get out until 4:30pm.  On a Monday!

Housekeeping was super kind to Santa.  Shortcake asked them to vacuum the break room.  An hour later they came back with a team of three women who vacuumed, Lysoled, dusted, swept dust out of corners.  The break is the cleanest it's looked in years.  Years.  Shortcake gave them an EARS (Elfin Awesomeness Recognition System - something like that) and gave them Safety buttons.  It looked that good, people.  It was brilliant.

To celebrate, Shortcake and Peppercorn had a dance party.

St. Nicholas Day

HAPPY ST. NICHOLAS DAY!

Shortcake had a lovely morning.  She woke up, opened her presents and was quite happy with the results.

Look at the bounty!

That's what Shortcake and her roommates got.  Note the traditional citrus fruit and nuts and cookies and chocolate.

This is what Shortcake got.  Why, yes, that is a copy of Goodnight, Mr. Darcy.  And a Beauty and the Beast with an African cast.  Which is super exciting because it's rare to have a non-white Beauty.  And the classic ornaments, and a lovely purple running coat which is perfect for cold weather.  Zip pockets!  And moisture-wicking underwear!

It's okay to be jealous.

Then Shortcake ran 11 miles, including the 4 mile Jingle Bell Jog.  She ran her fasted mile ever - 8:41! - and celebrated with a candy-cane-shaped bagel.

And now Shortcake is wearing her red and white striped socks and watching all the tv while waiting for the rain to stop.  Once the rain stops, she can go and play with friends.  Until then, she's happy to revel in the St. Nick Day-ness of the day.