Here comes the beginning of the awful, dreaded "holiday season." I don't like it for a variety of reasons. Topping the list is the cycle of mandatory office social events of which I just endured the first for the past hour.

There are very few social occasions where I do not feel toxic. I am nearly incapable of small talk, and come to a point in life where I don't even try. I don't like anyone I work with with one exception and she teases me when I get socially upset.

Why do managers force "their" people into non-work situations that are literally toxic to them? And then laugh at their painful ineptitude? Most people who would not even think of pushing a physically handicapped person down the stairs will gleefully push the socially handicapped down their figurative stairs and enjoy their superiority?

This is not a happy time of year...