Friday – Soul In a Box
Oct. 30th, 2009 09:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ninanevermore.
.
.
It took more than two weeks before the box from Big Death arrived at my house. Not the one containing my dead brother in law – that one showed up the following Thursday. This Halloween I will have an honest-to-goodness dead guy in my living room. For once, Pete is not causing any problems and has behaved himself admirably since he showed up. He's on a book shelf by the mantle, looking benign in a simple white cardboard box that weighs a lot more than it looks like it should.
But the box I am talking about, the one I was anticipating so much, was the copy-paper box filled with the contents of my cubicle from when I worked at Big Death. I was hoping they remembered to pack my soul in it. I seem to recall in the new-hire paperwork I signed two years ago that upon leaving the company, I would have my soul returned to me unless I stayed for a decade or more, in which case my soul would be discarded since the ability to work there for that length of time would indicate that I didn't need a soul, anyway.
At first I was worried they forgot to pack it. I saw the canned soups for lunches I anticipated working though, my Rose Hills Mortuary coffee mug (which I had to fly all the way to California to get), and all the photos of my son that had been pinned to the wall of my cubicle. There were other sundry items – my wall calendar, a legal pad I had written some personal notes one, a box of microwavable popcorn bags. Then, when the box was almost empty, I spotted it in the bottom. It looked a little the worse for wear and rather dingy, but it was there.
It was worn thin and weighed almost nothing (even less than the 21 grams it weighed when I gave it to them). The edges were kind of ragged, it had what looked like staple holes in the upper corner of it, and it had a circular stain that I'm pretty sure was caused by someone using it to rest their coffee cup on it on more than one occasion, and then using it to mop up spilled coffee when they had a mishap. I held it up to show my husband.
"Hmmm, I'm not sure that's going to come out," he said. "Maybe we can get you another one."
"Another one!? Where?! You only get one! I'm pretty sure about that."
"Well that one's a mess. I don't know if it's worth keeping it."
I decided to put it through the laundry to see if it would look any better. I soaked it overnight in the machine with Oxy Clean, which promises to get out even the most set in stains. I sewed up the holes as best I could, and slipped it back on. It's definitely lighter, no more than 15 or 16 grams. I think they starved the poor thing.
The best part? The coffee stains barely show unless I stand in direct sunlight. Whatever shape it's in, at least it's mine again.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * # * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
.
.
It took more than two weeks before the box from Big Death arrived at my house. Not the one containing my dead brother in law – that one showed up the following Thursday. This Halloween I will have an honest-to-goodness dead guy in my living room. For once, Pete is not causing any problems and has behaved himself admirably since he showed up. He's on a book shelf by the mantle, looking benign in a simple white cardboard box that weighs a lot more than it looks like it should.
But the box I am talking about, the one I was anticipating so much, was the copy-paper box filled with the contents of my cubicle from when I worked at Big Death. I was hoping they remembered to pack my soul in it. I seem to recall in the new-hire paperwork I signed two years ago that upon leaving the company, I would have my soul returned to me unless I stayed for a decade or more, in which case my soul would be discarded since the ability to work there for that length of time would indicate that I didn't need a soul, anyway.
At first I was worried they forgot to pack it. I saw the canned soups for lunches I anticipated working though, my Rose Hills Mortuary coffee mug (which I had to fly all the way to California to get), and all the photos of my son that had been pinned to the wall of my cubicle. There were other sundry items – my wall calendar, a legal pad I had written some personal notes one, a box of microwavable popcorn bags. Then, when the box was almost empty, I spotted it in the bottom. It looked a little the worse for wear and rather dingy, but it was there.
It was worn thin and weighed almost nothing (even less than the 21 grams it weighed when I gave it to them). The edges were kind of ragged, it had what looked like staple holes in the upper corner of it, and it had a circular stain that I'm pretty sure was caused by someone using it to rest their coffee cup on it on more than one occasion, and then using it to mop up spilled coffee when they had a mishap. I held it up to show my husband.
"Hmmm, I'm not sure that's going to come out," he said. "Maybe we can get you another one."
"Another one!? Where?! You only get one! I'm pretty sure about that."
"Well that one's a mess. I don't know if it's worth keeping it."
I decided to put it through the laundry to see if it would look any better. I soaked it overnight in the machine with Oxy Clean, which promises to get out even the most set in stains. I sewed up the holes as best I could, and slipped it back on. It's definitely lighter, no more than 15 or 16 grams. I think they starved the poor thing.
The best part? The coffee stains barely show unless I stand in direct sunlight. Whatever shape it's in, at least it's mine again.
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no subject
Date: 2009-10-31 02:32 am (UTC)Since you didn't get either, it's only fair that you got yours back.
Congratulations!
no subject
Date: 2009-10-31 01:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-31 03:58 am (UTC)::Hugs::
no subject
Date: 2009-10-31 01:39 pm (UTC)I'm not sure what can be done about the coffee stain. It seems to have set.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-31 03:52 pm (UTC)In the news recently, it was saying that Walmart now sells urns and caskets, and if you select one of those, the mortuary MUST use it.
no subject
Date: 2009-11-02 10:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-02 05:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-02 10:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-02 10:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-02 11:02 pm (UTC)