She'd noticed thatEllie typically didn't smile much, but when she did, her whole face litup. Janet felt pity for Ellie- it was easy to guess why the t...enagerdidn't smile much, but depression and misery were vicious circles that itwas hard to break free from. Janet had already tried one method of'breaking free' from her own depression that had thankfully failed, andshe was determined never to try again, or to let anyone she cared abouttry either.Janet was confident, though, that Ellie's friends. ”“MBAs are ‘bean counting’ and ‘right-sizing’ us into a complete disaster,” I said. “Wiping out ‘middle management’ may have saved money, but it hurt consumers AND employees. You literally can’t get anyone on the phone who has any authority at this point because there are line staff and executives, and the one manager who oversees the line staff has no real authority. Assuming you can get anyone on the phone because of the reductions in customer service staff. And while that might save money in. . What a thought.I watched women come up, recognize each other, and hug and squeal - women who I knew had hated each other's guts in school, and who had constantly been cutting each other down like the bitches they were. Now they were all lovey-dovey, the cats.As I mused over those attending our 20th High School reunion, a voice interrupted my thoughts."Beth?"I looked over to see Dennis standing near me, smiling. He did look just the same as he did in school, really, except that now he looked. I'll just wake you up in a different way next time. Perhaps tug on your ankle or something."He laughed and poured another cup of coffee. "Thanks, Pam. I am sorry though. I didn't mean to sleep in and I sure didn't mean to attack you." He shook his head and sighed."You didn't attack me. As far as sleeping in goes, you were up late I assume. I'm sure this first night was hard. You aren't used to going to bed so early. You'll be fine tonight. I'll work you so hard, you'll be begging for the.