Kid Tetris

My parents have a Maltese (not really sure if that is supposed to be capitalized or not - is capitalizing it insulting people/things that are actually from Malta?). It was a rescue dog, kind of shy, but incredibly happy and friendly. Its hair is kept pretty short - a "puppy cut", I guess - so it doesn't look like those weirdo show dogs that looks like a mop. But the hair still grows out and will get tangled a bit. When this happens, there is a fun game to play: dog rodeo. Sort of like bull riding, you try to brush the dog for 8 seconds. You score points for how much hair you brush and how loosely you hang onto the dog.

It is hard to describe the scoring system. It is an impression you get about the degree of difficulty and the execution - like diving or gymnastics, I suppose. If someone is holding the dog under their armpit and has it locked down, that is a terrible score. If they are barely holding it and there's lot of good brushing happening, they score a lot of points.

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I am an inveterate snooper. I remember ruining a lot Christmases because I would actively try to find my presents. This has carried over into my work life. Last week I was snooping and I found something I should not have. It suggests that there will be some serious layoffs in my department, sometime after I leave and that there will be little in the way of compensation increases.

There's only one person I really trust at work. I told him about it and showed it to him. He basically said "Yep. That's the smoking gun." He's begun looking for a new job more earnestly.

After I found the document, and I nearly crapped my pants at what it said. And you know what? I kept snooping. I dug around for more stuff. It is a horrible problem for me.