"My hamster ate it"

I have been working at my job now for about 5 months. There are some good days, there are some bad days, and then, there are the days in-between where some excuses just don't make sense to me. I can deal with the excuse "I forgot" but when I give you an important, very important, piece of paper and you tell me "My hamster ate it", we have an issue! First of all, I HATE those little geerbils and the way they eat makes me want to vomit. Second, a hamster! Not a dog or a cat, a hamster.

Let me back up! For those of you that don't know what I do, I work for the Marriott Foundation where I work with disabled (learning disabilities, mostly) inner-city young adults who don't have the "soft skills" that is takes to find a job (interview skills, resume writing, etc...).


Now that we have that one covered, let's get back to the story! A hamster! A small geerbil that makes me sick to my stomach when I see one. My face was covered with a look that my mom probably would have pulled out a mirror just to show me that it was not at all an attractive face to have. I was speechless and all he kept saying was "I'm sorry, Miss!" (I work in East Los Angeles where calling a woman "Miss" is a form of respect!) So I took the piece of paper from him and made a copy of it, I need something to document this occasion of "My hamster ate it". He was shocked that I wanted to keep the torn up thing. That hamster had a good time with this paper. What I pondered next was actually having our corporate offices and funders believe this story. I have not been questioned yet about this torn up, half eaten paper that exists in his file; but I know the day will come when I get questioned about the piece of paper and the words must come out of my mouth, "His hamster ate it!"

But atleast the hotel discounts are nice!