Stayed up watching Seasons 5, 6 of “The Office” with son,  did not get to sleep until almost 2 a.m..  Then, Gracie began her usual whining at 7 a.m.  Truly, if one has insomnia, dear blog readers, one would be wise to avoid ever getting a dog.

Self was out the door a little after 8, for traffic court.  Then, dashed home (after paying humongous fine and flirting with danger at three more signal light traffic cams in San Mateo) and fed li’l crits.  Then, realized there was not a single garbage bag left in the house so had to dash to Costco (Lines not bad:  only 10 customers per check-out line).  Suddenly remembered that a friend who ordered a copy of The Lost Language is leaving Dec. 31 so self had to hustle to the post office to get her a copy before she leaves.  So, more running around.

But now self is at home.  Because she is alone, she can watch whatever she wants on flat-screen HDTV, which this morning means “Scrubs.”  And, multi-tasking as usual, self mosies over to Salon.com, where Stephanie Zacharek issues her “Best Movies of 2009″ list.  “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and “Star Trek” are on it, but “Inglourious Basterds” and “The Hurt Locker” warrant only honorable mentions.  And there are some shockers, such as the inclusion of overwrought Willem Dafoe movie “Antichrist.”

Tomorrow self thinks she will certainly have time to watch a movie by herself (as hubby has to work and son is biking or hiking somewhere  –  self has not a clue as to how two people as physically uncoordinated as hubby and self have progeny whose favorite activities are firmly oriented towards the great outdoors.  Once again, self digresses).  Self would like to watch either “The Young Victoria” (as she heard that Emily Blunt just owns the title role) or “Did You Hear About the Morgans” (as self confesses to having quite a soft spot for Hugh Grant’s twitchy charm).

Stay tuned, dear blog readers, stay tuned.

I slept late again today, and that’s going to bite me tomorrow when I have to get up and go to work. I guess I shouldn’t complain about having to go to work though, as there are plenty of people who wish they had that problem.

It was raining when I woke up, and I guess it continued with that through most of the day. We still have some snow in the yard though. I hope we get some more snow again soon though, because I don’t like having bare spots in the yard. It’s just not as pretty! I did take a look at the roof of my house again. There was still snow up there above where I insulated, but plenty of bare roof where I haven’t yet. So that is clearly having the desired effect. There were no ice dams on either side, but I expect there would be on the back side if conditions were just right.

I did a little more knitting, and then Va, Beth, and I headed into Concord. First we ran a few errands, ate lunch at Olive Garden, and then we went to the church. I loaded all our unsold fruit into the trunk of the car. It came to about eleven or twelve cases. Beth and I drove that over to Friendly’s Kitchen which is a place where homeless (and not homeless) people can get two meals per day. They were delighted to see a dozen cases of citrus, and the lady helped me load them into their walk-in fridge. Even though we had that much fruit left over, we still managed to turn a profit on the fruit this month, so I do not at all regret buying as much as I did. In fact, I think I should always order an extra four cases for them. They do important work.

After that we ran a few more errands. Va had intended to get a Raggedy Andy for Beth for Christmas, but it somehow had fallen off the list. We found one at Toy-R-Us. Then we stopped at Target and I found a flashlight designed to clip onto the brim of a cap. Well, I don’t wear a cap, but I do wear a hat with a brim. I had even thought about trying to outfit it with LED’s and a battery at one point, because the standard headband lights just don’t work well with my hat. But there is no need to do that now. I tried it out when I got home and was mighty pleased.

When we got home, Beth was asking me to teach her how to knit. For that, she’s going to need her own needles, since I am in the middle of knitting that scarf (it’s about 18 inches long now), and it looks like it’ll be a couple of weeks before that’s done. Meanwhile, I had been eyeing some yarn Va bought five years ago or so so she could use it to make “hair” for a prop. It’s some super bulky yarn, and in my reading on the subject, I found that super bulky is great when you want to knit something fast, such as… a scarf. For that you need bigger needles though (as in more diameter). And what is the essence of a knitting needle anyhow? It’s pretty much a smooth, pointy stick. I figured I had some dowels in the basement that might be pressed into service, so I went down there and found some half inchers. Then I whittled points on them and smoothed the points with a block plane. Then I showed Beth how to knit a scarf. We’re using the garter stitch on hers so she won’t have the “tendency to curl” problem that mine will be cursed with. It worked pretty OK, except that I left out the “smooth” characteristic. The wood was catching yarn fibers. As soon as we finished a row though, I took the free one back to the basement and sanded it down. Then she knit another row and I gave the other one the same treatment. They’re working pretty well now, and her scarf is already five inches long. If she can keep her interest in it, she’ll have a scarf in no time.

In other news, I found another software package to serve as our school library’s card catalog: OpenBiblio. It’s a LOT simpler than Koha, and I had it installed and configured (for testing purposes) on my laptop in under five minutes. It took a little longer on the production machine, and I still have a web server issue to work out with it, but it is ready for Va to start keying in the data. Woot!

Where do I begin?  I have no idea where to start.  There are soooo many things that need to be done (cleaning, organizing, making sure I have everything I need, prepping all my food, etc.) that I feel bombarded and don’t want to start anywhere!  Maybe I should wait til DH comes home…and give him his “To Be Accomplished” list.  He was a good husband and did laundry and washed the dishes last night while I slept.  He always complains that I use so many dishes when I’m cooking.  I guess I do but that’s why we have a dishwasher.  Har har har.  : )

So far, I’m just going to make sticky rice, eggrolls, spring rolls, potstickers, and cream cheese puffs for Christmas dinner.  For dessert, I’m planning on making Key Lime pie, apple pie, and double chocolate cupcakes.  Bought a bag of Key Limes yesterday…I was surprised that they only cost $1.89 for a bag!  Yippee!  Can’t wait to try out the recipe!!!

The cousins and I are going to be baking cookies at my place this weekend.  Might get an early start and bake DH some peanut butter cookies today.  That is, if I get everything done and still feel like baking.  I know he’s been craving some lately.

My other cousin is having my niece’s birthday on Friday afternoon so if DH and I do go, that means I’ll have to get my prep work done early.  With the current snow storm that we’re getting, I don’t even know if my family is going to come over for Christmas dinner.  Hence, I don’t want to make so much food for DH and me because leftovers aren’t that good the next day, especially if they’re eggrolls.  So we shall see what will happen tomorrow.  Time to be productive!

Bekkers Piano Guitar Duo photo credit: Olaf Hornes, Utrecht

As soon as I returned home this afternoon, Robert asked if I wanted to rehearse together. He had been editing the last part of our duo CD and not yet practised the guitar.

Meanwhile, there was clean laundry scattered on the bed waiting to be folded and put away.

My to-do list remains endlessly long: decluttering the attic, giving up the 20% that contributes to the 80% of the mess, and everything else that stands in the way of greater productivity. I am tired of writing about this in my daily “free writing” journal. I want to return to that jetsetting existence of living in 5-star boutique hotels where clutter is a foreign word.

I fell back on the bed, exhausted from thinking about all that needs to be done before 2010 creeps through the door.

“I’m tired,” I said. I had gone to bed after 3 am, my eyes glued to the Internet screen while waiting for Robert to finish brewing a new batch of home brewed beer. The two (maximum three) hours he estimated last evening stretched to seven. Let’s hope the new pilsner is worth it.

“C’mon! Shall we finish playing the Grand Potpourri National?” he begged.

“Why don’t you practise by yourself?” I suggested. “You need to get your ya ya’s out.”

Lately I noticed that he was more relaxed after he had time to practise the guitar alone. Deprive him of a few hours of solo practice, such as that Friday when we had to get the house ready for a Christmas party, then he gets easily annoyed….. even by the sound of a violin.

“I got my ya ya’s out already,” I said. Earlier I had spent nearly two hours practising to my heart’s content. I could play the entire Undine Sonata of Reinecke without stopping. It was a joy to revisit Franck’s Sonata in A for violin — but equally for cello and piano. Stacks of new music sit on my piano waiting eagerly for me to devour.

“You’re right,” he lightened up. “I need to get my ya ya’s out!”

Meanwhile, I am getting my ya ya’s out by writing this blog.

Elsa naps between the Christmas stocking pillow and the soft doll angel

Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Waxing Moon
Mars Retrograde
Cloudy and cold

I am extremely grateful that I don’t have to travel over these holidays, especially with the weather problems and the fact that airlines aren’t actually interested in providing service for customers, just taking as much money away from them as they can. At this point, most of the major airlines deserve to tank. They’ve been in business for enough years so that when they’re hit with bad weather, they should be able to reshuffle their schedules and planes in order to get people WHO PAID THEM where they’re going in a timely, safe, and pleasant manner. That includes providing food and hotel vouchers in bad weather, or setting up food and shelter areas in the terminals — not expecting people to sleep on the floor and continue to pay outrageous terminal prices to eat during the ordeal. The new legislation limiting time on the tarmac is an improvement, but not enough.

I didn’t have that many errands to do yesterday, but I forgot to to mail my letters at the post office. I walked right BY the post office, but I was so excited about the Buche de Noel I bought that I forgot!

And you gotta watch those clerks at CVS. The one up the street from me is dreadful; the ones a few miles out are fine. But everything I needed to do was in walking distance, so I went to the dreadful one. I bought what I needed, she rings it up, and tells me the total. I hand her a bill and say, “Give me a minute and I’ll get you the change,” and I start counting the change out.

She looks at the bill, sneers at me, and says, “That’s not enough.”

“I SAID I was getting the change.”

She rolls her eyes at me.

No, I did not haul off and bitch slap her, although she deserved it. I kept digging for my change, then looked at the total and said, “That’s not right. You overcharged me.”

She rolls her eyes again. I pull out the item and show her the price on the sticker, which was several dollars less than what she rang up. She rolled her eyes AGAIN. I put my hand in my pocket this time to keep from slugging her and said, “So, you see, now YOU need to give ME my change.”

She voided the price, re-entered it, handed me the change with this “uh!” noise, and I said, “Cut the attitude, chickie, this is your job.” The manager wandered by and asked if there was a problem. I said, “If you won’t hire the competent, at least hire the polite” and walked out.

We all have bad days, but when you are dealing with customers, it is your job not to take it out on them. I’ll always start with politeness, but if you push me, I WILL push back, and if you start something with me — especially when you’re wrong — you WILL be sorry.

Remember when I said I couldn’t remember if a Mars retrograde made me stand firmer or stand down? Obviously, it makes me stand firmer. In other words, do NOT get in my face for the next two months, until it goes direct again!

On the flip side, the staff at the French bakery were absolutely delightful. I walked in, and it was like entering a Wonderland. Turns out all the ex-pat French, French Canadian, and Brits in the area hang out there, so I’ll probably start spending more time on site! Anyway, I get in and see that they’re offering the Buche de Noel by the slice — and they’re lovely. The woman behind the counter asked if she could help me and I asked if I could buy a whole Buche. She said, “But of course!” and proceeded the delicate task of rearranging everything in the glass cabinet so she could get at it, packing it beautifully, and making sure the box was in a convenient bag. I admitted I was buying one because I was too much of a coward to make one, and she said, “And that’s why we’re here.” Totally lovely people. If they had eclairs, I’d be there every day.

I will still frequent the Salzburg Patisserie (which is only two blocks away as opposed to five), because it is wonderful, I’ve gone there for years, and I love their quality. But I will ALSO go to this French bakery.

And yes, I’ve scoped out bakeries in the areas in which I plan to relocate! A good bakery in the area is as vital to me as a good bookstore!

I have to do an errand for my mom and then pick up the turkey for Christmas Day dinner. I marinated the pork roast this morning, so by the time I put it in the oven tomorrow, it will have marinated for 30 hours. Just perfect.

Excellent writing day yesterday. Really pleased with the progress. The piece I’m working on has hit just the right tone — it’s funny and a little scary and a little sweet. Wish that had happened, like, three weeks ago!

We received the final packages we expected, and got confirmations on all the stuff that’s shipped. One more big box will be delivered to the family in Maine on Christmas Eve. Wolferman’s has been my go-to place for food gifts this year. Their quality is terrific, prices reasonable, and they are completely reliable. Great quality and great customer service means I’ll keep coming back. And no, they didn’t give me anything to say that! Actually, I’m about to shoot an email to them thanking them for their lovely service.

Guess what? The bookstore in town that was supposed to close in January has been saved. There was such an outcry, it’s staying open. It’s tiny, it’s not very efficient, and it rarely has what I need — but it’s there, and I do use it, so I’m grateful. Christmas miracle, anyone?

Violet says that we have to have play time RIGHT NOW, so I’ll play with her for a bit before going back to the page.

Happy day, all!

Devon

I feel like I want to hop, to hone,                                  
Briskly back to my familiar home.
But errands I’ve lined up to achieve.
So instead I sit, grovel and grieve.

What can be done to oust from this rut?
I think I’ll set some hour limits, cut!
When my tempo’s in reasonable lots,
I can best manage to feel on top!

Yes, cheer with me, celebrate my glee,
Charge my efforts for a total spree!
When you are with me along the way,
My To-Do’s more fun, almost like play.

So I’ll take you along, ask your aid,
Make the best of life’s artful arcade!
When I finally reach my abode,
Loneliness and grief won’t be a load.

I’ve been increasingly dizzy, the past few days. My left ear is squishy and has been making its presence felt. Pressure in my head, and fatigue… I haven’t had good sleep hygiene, for the past few weeks, and it’s catching up with me.

It’s a scary thing, because it’s so disruptive for my daily life. I have things to do and stuff to accomplish, but if I stand up too quickly or move too suddenly, the whole world starts to rush and spin and I get very sick on my stomach. It also makes me extremely irritable, so I snap out at every little thing, which makes me very difficult to deal with at times.

The only thing that really saves me, is being totally focused on what I’m doing, and not moving much while I’m doing it. Working at the computer is a perfect solution for me, because I have to sit up straight and stay focused on the screen in front of me.

The only problem is, it’s Saturday… a few days before I take off on my marathon trip to see family… and I have a whole lot to get done. Dizziness puts me in more danger of falling or having an accident. If I’m not careful, I can get in a lot of trouble. The last thing I need this holiday season is another concussion — most of my adulthood injuries have coincided with holidays, when I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off and wasn’t paying proper attention. I was fatigued and disoriented… and I fell or had a car accident. Not good.

Yes,  I need to be very, very careful, in everything I do.

I think a big part of the problem I’m having right now is the impending holiday rush. The prospect of driving through several states to see multiple families, over the course of nearly a week is making me a little nervous, and that’s setting off my schedule and my focus.

I have been doing really well with keeping to my daily exercise, which helps.  I just finished my morning workout, in fact, and I feel noticeably better than I did before it. I worked up a sweat and got my heart pumping, which in turn moved the lymph through my system to clear out the grunge. I love lymph. So basic, so essential, so useful. Without it, I’d be in a heap of trouble, and I count my blessings that I don’t have lymph drainag problems, like folks with edema do.

Anyway, I’m feeling better, and I have a full day ahead of me. But I’m pacing myself. And I’ve blocked off time this afternoon to sleep. I haven’t had a good afternoon nap in weeks, and it’s taking its toll. If I don’t nap at least once over the weekend, it catches up with me — and that’s what’s been happening.

And now I’m really dizzy, with a lot of stuff to do, and I regret doing chores last Sunday, instead of taking my nap. I had three solid hours to myself, to use as I pleased, and I frittered away the time on futzing around and doing little chores that took longer than I expected.

Ah, well,  so it goes. At least I’m aware of my dizziness, so I can accommodate it and work with it. When I’m really, really dizzy, I find that keeping my posture ramrod straight and moving very slowly and deliberately helps tremendously. Also, if I sleep a lot and drink plenty of fluids and avoid sugar, that helps, too. I’ve taken medicine for vertigo, but it didn’t help a bit. Anyway, it turns out the medicine is really just for nausea that results from vertigo, not the vertigo itself — at least that’s what the PCP I had at the time told me. Come to think of it, they could have been wrong. They were a bit of an idiot, by average standards. (And it was a scary six months in my life, when they were my primary doctor.)

But now I’ve got a pretty good PCP, and I trust them a whole lot more than the last several I went to. Trusting your doctor is good. It simplifies a lot of things, in many ways, not least of which is the office visit experience.

But more on that later. Right now, I need to stay focused on my dizziness.

Tracking back over the past week, as it’s gotten steadily worse, I have been looking for what I’ve been doing differently that has contributed to this. The one thing that I’ve been doing regularly, that is very different from before, is that I’ve been eating pieces of chocolate to keep myself going. Not just chocolate, mind you, but those little Dove chocolates with peanut butter in the middle. I thought that the peanut butter would give them more staying power, but what I’ve noticed over the past week is how much sugar is in those little puppies.

Zoinks! Who eats this stuff regularly?! They’re dangerous! Sure, they give me a little pick-me-up when I need it — like driving home late from work when it’s very dark, I’m very tired, and I’m having a hard time seeing. But I’m finding that when I eat one, I crave another one about 10 minutes later — like I spike, and then I crash and am worse off than before, so I need another “little” piece of candy to keep me going… and my system gets totally fried by all the sudden, extreme ups and downs.

Which contributes to my fatigue… and apparently my dizziness.

Not good.

So, while I’m doing my errands today, I’m going to remove the chocolates from my car — just throw them out — drink more water, eat more fruit, and be very, very careful when I’m out and about.

The last thing I need is another accident or fall.

including my vehicle! Wouldn’t you know, holiday time, the most expensive time of the year, the most heavily travelled and wouldn’t it be the likelihood that my ”OL BESSIE” would be in the terminal stages of a car’s life! Who on earth would be able to find a reliable, affordable car for my transportation?

I am looking high and low for a solution when I stumbled across a not for profit organization here in Tampa that actually may have a solution: www.wheelsofsuccess.org . The founder and CEO  Susan Jacobs and I have talked and hopefully sometime before Bessie’s demise, they may be able to assist me in finding a reliable vehicle for transportation to and from work.

Yes, like many of us mature singles, I will be working just  to exist until I am well into my 90’s. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job, its creative, it’s talking with people and communicating which are my strongest suites! But the issue of reliable, affordable transportation led me to discover, Wheels of Success, a local non-profit that helps those in the working poor find reliable vehicles to take them to and from work. Check out their website and if you know of someone who has a vehicle, in good shape, and better yet not able to drive any longer, put them in touch with this organization. Not only may the person donating be able to use it as a charitable donation, but it will provide transportation for so many unable to afford to purchase a vehicle.

Check out their website, www.wheelsofsuccess.org and read the stories and testimony’s of those in need who have been helped. Their independence maintained and one never knows what other good may come by “paying it forward”.

There are so many folks who have lost jobs in this country and are struggling to simply get by, those that need transportation to get to a job, who want to work, it’s a way your unused vehicle can benefit another. And who knows, perhaps the recipient might be able to “pay it forward” by taking some of those that don’t drive, to their doctor appointments, grocery shopping and errands, spending quality time helping and providing a much-needed service to our aging population.

So why not read the info on: www.tampabayareaconnectionsandsolutions.com  or the website for www.wheelsofsuccess.org and decide how you can play a significant role in keeping the wheels of success rolling, it benefits you, it benefits your neighbor and community, it’s “paying it forward” in a tangible way…..Check the sites and contact them today, it may be the best gift of your life!

I was reminded and put in my place today about why it’s ok that I never get to venture out into the world. Because it stresses me out to much. Even more so when going out with the girls and someone who doesn’t know them as well as Loren and I do. We know not to take our time as it will cause us to run late in feeding them on time. We know how to calm them while in public. We know it’s to early to just let them cry (of course I think at any age, wether you are 4 or 44, you shouldn’t just be left to cry, but that’s a subject for a different entry). Perhaps it’s just the new mom in me wanting to make everything perfect and not liking the sound of my babies crying. It’s so much of a hassle going out! On top of that, I hate inflicting the sound of unhappy children onto the unsuspecting public. I know it’ll get easier with time and practice. That still doesn’t make our treks out enjoyable.

Other then the botched outing, today went rather well! The girls went to their first Christmas party this evening. Everyone who attended was a senior so you can only imagine how bringing two 3 1/2 month old babies was. They where very well recieved everyone wanted a look and a select few got to hold them. Both the babies and adults where enjoing each others company. My arms and back also appreciated the rest while my stomach was happy to finally get to eat a meal! Now with two sleeping babies and a full, happy body, I am turning in early. G’night!

Auntie Hotdogg holding Bella at the Christmas dinner.

Holiday parties, last minute errands, speeding up at work to cram all in before year’s end:  these are the hallmarks of the week before Christmas.  I don’t know about you, but I find it much easier to keep Christmas slow on December 1 than on December 15.  This week is when it all comes down to the wire.  We shift into warp speed with the crazed determination to get it all done, so we can relax next week.

Cats: when you need a nudge to live in the moment

But I’ll let you in on a secret:  the more we wind ourselves up, the longer it takes to wind down.  It’s what we Americans do:  we push ourselves to work longer, save up more, then spend it all on a blowout vacation to somewhere we can sit around for a whole week and do absolutely nothing.  The trouble is, when we get there, relaxing feels foreign to us.  And just when we start to get used to slowing down, it’s time to go back to work. When we get back, the memory of our vacation makes it harder to submit once again to the breakneck pace of daily life. Christmas is no different for most of us.

So what about if this year, rather than speeding-up-so-we-can-slow-down, we head off this madness right now? Here are 3 steps to help:

1. When you notice your mind racing and making lists, stop. Take ten slow breaths in a row, counting all the way to five as you inhale, taking another 5 to exhale. This is almost a cliché at this point, but believe me when I tell you, there’s a reason it’s become one.  Deep breaths actually send signals to your brain that trigger an “everything is okay now” response in your body.  This gives you an opportunity to slow down and take stock.

2. Ask yourself, is this a situation where my need for speed is legitimate, i.e. am I being pursued by bears? As the original fast American would be the first to tell you, there are some things worth breaking a sweat for:

Paul Revere galloping, 1775

But, if you find that you’re rushing to make an appearance at two holiday parties in the same night, or to pick up pink furry slippers for your sister-in-law at the mall, you may want to do a spot-check on your priorities. Your friends and loved ones will understand if you can’t make it to every party. And your sister-in-law may turn out to hate the color pink, but really want your recipe for snickerdoodles instead.

3.Take a look at your to-do list.  Cross 2 things off. Go on, do it.  Then, see if anyone notices that you didn’t do them this year. It’s a hard lesson to swallow for those of us who pay attention to detail, or have a perfectionist streak. But if you’re serious about slowing down your Christmas, you have to prioritize.  Frankly, some errands are just more important than others.  (Having planned a wedding not too long ago, there are a million details that couples can exhaust themselves getting right.  But when we decided not to send save-the-date postcards, or make a seating chart, no one even noticed.)

Try not to skip any steps, or it won’t work.  Let me know how it goes, and I’ll let you know how I do.  Now that you’ve done the hardest part, go forth and create Christmas memories!

Today self planted a New Zealand chaste tree.  She isn’t sure it’s still alive, as she kept it outside during the recent storm, and it lost all its leaves.  But, anyhoo, it was wonderfully sunny earlier today, so self took the opportunity to plop it into the ground, with lots and lots of alfalfa meal.

Then, she drove to Menlo Park.  The only reason self would ever have the courage to get behind the wheel of a car again, especially with traffic signal cameras popping up all over the Peninsula, is to go to the Library.  Redwood City Library is closed for “renovation” until Jan. 3.  At the Menlo Park Library, self found that all six copies of the book she wanted, Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood, were checked out.  Go figure!  The book is at least five years old!

In the wee hours of the morning, self finally finished Great Expectations (It took her two weeks! Which is almost the longest she’s spent reading any book in 2009!) The version self read was marked “Young Adult” (Self could never imagine this book as YA, but anyhoo, good luck to junior high teachers trying to get students to wrap their minds around the British class system, and so forth and so on)

Oh no, wait a minute — there was a book that took almost a whole month for self to get through, not because it was “a hard slog,” but because it was so fascinating that self couldn’t read more than a few pages at a time without wanting to stop and reflect. And that book, which she suddenly remembers she has to include in her list of “Favorite Reads of 2009″ was (Drumroll, please!):

• Gillian Gill’s The Extraordinary Upbringing and Curious Life of Miss Florence Nightingale

Anyhoo, self made it home safely, though she was practically shaking at each signal light, and there was a huge –  and self means HUGE, almost as tall as she was –  box for hubby from a store called Hammacher Schlemmer.  Self wanted to open it, but she called hubby first and he said he would like to do the honors tonight.

Wonder what it is?  Hubby, obviously, is the only one in this family with cash, so it figures that he would be the only one still ordering stuff from catalogues.  Self, as dear blog readers well know, has drastically cut back on her teaching in order to live the writer’s life (which means, at the moment:  abject poverty, depression — also, much bonding time with the two li’l crits who, self was really fascinated to discover, spend the greater part of their day snoring), and son has only $26.72 in his checking (which means he doesn’t even have the means to buy himself a full tank of gas.)

Stay tuned, dear blog readers, stay tuned.

Elsa thinks decorating is exhausting!

Sunday, December 13, 2009
Waning Moon
Sleet and cold

We’ve had heat the past few days (amazing, the super goes away, there’s a substitute, and we have heat. Unfortunately, there’s no hot water this morning. Urgh.

Yesterday was a pretty decent day. Got a lot of errands done, including dropping stuff off where my Mom is staying, going to Michael’s yet again, going to White Plains. I wanted to get something for my cousin’s son at the Metropolitan Museum of Art store, which had an outpost in WP in Spring — and has since closed. I had a fit. I’d parked at the Target complex and sprinted the X blocks to the other mall (with the really expensive parking in the really scary lot, which is why I parked at Target), only to find no store.

Most people seem to be panic-shopping. Inventories are low, lots of empty shelves, and people are grabbing whatever’s there. Uh, no thanks. I went into one store, asked for something I wanted, and the sales person said, “Well, we don’t have that, so you’ll just have to settle for something else.”

My response? “No, actually, I’ll go spend my money somewhere else. Buh-bye” and walked out.

Restoration Hardware’s keeping their shelves stocked — the store looks gorgeous. They also had the most business — the line wound all around the store, and they’re being really NICE to their customers — and customers are buying.

Sprinted back to Target, ran into Target, picked up two things I needed, and dashed through the express check out. I managed to get into my car and pull out of my spot on the moment my meter ran out. Phew!

I was going to go to Home Goods, since I was already all the way in White Plains, but couldn’t face it.

Ran some more errands, including to the liquor store. Stopped into AI Friedman’s, which is gorgeous. They didn’t have what I needed today, but I’ll definitely hit the after-Christmas clearance. Michael’s is just letting the empty shelves sit, which looks awful, and putting up a few Valentine’s Day things. Uh, no. Even the most dedicated crafters I know are still trying to make Christmas happen.

Went to Home Depot, wondering if I should buy another artificial tree to replace the little one we have. It’s looking a bit sad, both listing and listless. I have a huge tree in storage, but it’s 8 feet tall AND 8 feet wide, and there’s just no room in the apartment for it. The trees that would fit in the space look as sad as the one we’ve got.

I stood there, feeling a bit overwhelmed, and this little girl (about 3 or 4) walks up to me. She’s sucking a lollipop. She pulls it out of her mouth and says, “You look sad. Would you like some of my lollipop? It’s cherry.”

Her father is with her, dying a million deaths.

I couldn’t help but laugh. I thanked her and said, no, but I’d had a long day, and now it was much better. I wound up going to the garden section and buying a basket of decorated greenery and a two foot live tree in a pot (the latter was less than $8!) and haulign them home. The little tree fits in the window, and I put some tiny decorations on it. The basket is on the coffee table.

It was around 2:30 before I could even start the decorating. There’s a lot half done, all the ornaments I brought in from storage are out of boxes, although not necessarily in their final spots. I have to bring the empty boxes back to storage this morning, because there’s no place to put anything with all the boxes. But what’s up looks pretty darned cute. I will post pictures over the coming days.

At 1:30 this morning, Iris stepped on my EYE and launched with her back foot on a jump. Do you have any idea how much that hurts? There was no blood, but it really, really hurts. I’m using the rest of the eye drops I bought in Prague. If it seems infected or there’s any change in vision, I’ll go to the eye doctor. I’m hoping I’ll just be sore and uncomfortable for a few days.

Good writing session this morning, off to storage now, and then yet ANOTHER stop at Michael’s for one more garland (if they have it) and some floral wire. I’ve been using ornament hangers wound together — just break down and get the floral wire, already! I had to buy wire cutters when I disconnected the old land line. The right tools make all the difference.

The cats love the new faux “sofa” I built out of boxes of stuff I can’t yet put in storage because it needs to be sorted. I covered the contraption with festive fabric and lots of pillows. All three cats have their favorite spots, although Violet also likes to sleep in the chair covered in a fleece throw where one of the stuffed reindeer currently resides.

More eyedrops, then off to storage before the sleet gets any nastier.

I thought Christmas was THIS week, but it’s NEXT week — gives me another day or two to get out the cards.

Have a great Sunday!

Devon

Basil Blossom Postmenbag

Dottie and I have both had a lot of questions about our Basil bags. Now that I’ve had mine for 6 months, it’s time for a review. I have the Basil Blossom “Postmenbag” in white, and have been extremely pleased with it since I bought it at Copenhagen Cyclery in June. (The bag is also available on Amazon.)

Based in the Netherlands, Basil has been producing Dutch bike accessories since the 70s, and their whimsical patterns and quality construction have made them a well-known name. They make bags, panniers, seat covers, baskets and more, and their line is becoming available in more and more bike shops across the U.S.

The Postmenbag is basically a messenger bag modified to attach to a bike rack: the back is reinforced to add structure, and the design on the nylon fabric is moderately reflective (there are two reflective stripes on each side of the bag).

reflective stripes

The back of the bag also features sturdy plastic hooks that snap on and off the rack of any Dutch bike with ease.

plastic hooks snap on to rack

Between the two hooks is a piece of velcro that can be wrapped around the rack to reinforce the connection. I rarely use this. As you can see, the flap can be zipped close to hide the clasps when you’re off the bike.

The inside of the bag is pretty utilitarian, with just one zippered pocket and the main compartment.

At about 14.5 x 12 x 4, the bag is average sized. Despite that it can hold quite a bit of loot, as proven by today’s emergency grocery run.

The Bat with the loaded up Basil bag, hooked to a "Nashville bike rack."

A 2-pound bag of cat food, 2-pound box of sugar, trade paperback book, baking powder, two 8oz bags of coffee, 4 sticks of butter, curling ribbon and a wallet, plus keys and camera, all fit in the bag.

can you tell I'm doing my holiday baking/wrapping this weekend?

One caveat: the bag is water repellent but not waterproof, so mind what you put in there on a very rainy day! I have used it in light showers and the items inside stayed dry over the course of a 3-mile ride.

Overall, I’m quite pleased with my purchase — for the price (about $40), I have yet to find anything more practical and stylish.

What’s on your bike rack?

The Professor returned yesterday!! I’m glad to have him home.

Last night we had two parties to go to. Yeah, we are soooo popular. Since we had two parties, it meant I had to split my time between both.

One was a beer tasting party where we were tasting winter brews. Basically all of those holiday beers that come out around this time.

Yep, I’m talkin’ bout a celebration! I only stayed long enough to taste 4 of the brews, but luckily one of the ones I tasted was my favorite…Celebration Ale. I only took mini sips of each of my tasters so I didn’t get filled up on beer because I had to save room for some wonderful holiday cookies at the next party. The Professor stayed at the beer party (duh- he would never give up beer for cookies) and then met up with me at the cookie party later in the night.

The next party was a holiday cookie & cocktail party. I tried a rumball (it was delish) and had a bite of a tea cookie before handing the rest over to a friend (it was really doughy and I think it would have been better soaked in some tea).

All in all it was a fun, festive night!

This morning I woke up for my awesome 7:30am spin class and worked off the goodies from the night before and now I’m enjoying a delicious spinach, berry, banana, chia smoothie. Yummers!

The Professor and I are off today to get the last of our Christmas shopping done, stop by the consignment store to sell some of my clothes and look for additions to our 80’s costume. Yep, we need to perfect our 80’s look for a New Year’s party we have coming up. I can’t wait!

After that we need to find a power steering fluid cap for my car. The dummies who worked on my power steering didn’t put the cap back on right and it broke. I got an oil change and the guys duct taped it back on for me because the Pep Boys across the street didn’t carry the cap for my 2002 Saturn. Bummer!

More gingerbread cookies are also on the clipboard of fun for today. We’ve got to bake and decorate! I’m hoping we will watch Christmas Vacation while decorating. That has to be my favorite Christmas movie of all time.

I think I may love Clark Griswold. Actually, I think the professor is my Clark Griswold. ha ha! Good thing we don’t own a house…he would probably kill himself putting up lights.

Our Saturday will be filled with activity. We also need to give the house a good scrub down, but one thing at a time…we still have Sunday. I would also like to fit some relaxing into the weekend as well. I guess we’ll see.

Happy Saturday!!!

Self has made several attempts to leave the house, but the following factors are holding her back: a) an extreme — bordering on irrational! Almost frickin’ crazy! — dread of long lines and traffic cams; b) a program on TV (bio.com?) on the early careers of Clive Owen and Keanu Reeves!

Among a plethora of fascinating revelations about the aforementioned gents, self learns that:

• Clive’s first attempt to break into Hollywood movies was a dismal failure.
• When first offered the role of the bank heist leader in Spike Lee’s “Inside Man,” he was unsure about accepting because it meant keeping his face in a ski mask 3/4 of the time (and dear Clive, not being an idiot, was very well aware of the fact that his face is a very very strong reason for his appeal!)
• Keanu Reeves was 22 when he made “River’s Edge” (also known as the “Mother of Dark Teen Movies”, based on a true-to-life case): within months, he had an agent, and was cast in “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” (“Party on, dudes!”)
• He has a long scar on his abdomen from a motorcycle crash that nearly killed him (in his 20s).

Self needs to get a move on! She has to drop by Barnes & Noble to look up books, she has no more eggs in the fridge, she needs to mail out another set of stories, and she needs a smog test! Not to mention: she needs to get more Thermacare heat wraps for her aching neck!

But, there is still time to drop one more bomb:

In the latest issue of the Stanford Center for East Asian newsletter, there is a picture of self’s erstwhile Chinese philosophy prof, David Nivison. Almost 30 years ago, self was convinced he was 80. Imagine her surprise to see his picture, looking exactly as he did when she was in his class! He is now a professor emeritus, but he has just organized a workshop on the “Riddle of an Ancient Chinese Book, Zhushu jinian” (the Bamboo Annals)

Self is convinced:  Prof. Nivison must be a vampire  –  BWAH HA HA HAAA!!!

Stay tuned.

four [Wed, 9-Dec]

My first task of the day was to do my last London laundry load and begin the packing process.  I made a lot of progress and by afternoon it was time to get out on the Londontown.  Avey and I set out for a day full of assorted errands and final “must-dos.”  A major highlight: we climbed the 311 steps of Monument just in time for sunset and got to take in a breathtaking scape of London from above–definitely a great way to gaze at the city for the last time!  When we were over in the shopping district on New Bond Street I realized we were right near Postcard Teas, a specialty tea shoppe featured in the Savoir Fare: London book Allison Tomasino gave me.  Good thing we did!  We each savored the greatest cup of tea of our lives (Big Smoke black tea for Avey, Nokcha green for me), and posted some to ourselves to our Vassar mailboxes to be waiting for our arrival in January.  For dinner, we headed back across town to Brick Lane for Indian food, a classic London culinary experience that I never actually did but Avey relishes in.  We settled on City Spice after being offered a free bottle of wine AND 25% off our meal.  Cha-ching!  After sweating from the inside out, we met up with Lauren, Sarah, and John at Jerusalem Tavern located in Farringdon and awarded the title of “best pub in town” (or something).  It was a great place and I loved putting out my Indian fire with their delicious Winter Ale.

I thought I would take a mini break from blogging about the places I’ve been and the things I’ve seen, and bring it back down to a personal level, and reflect on what I have learnt on this trip so far, and what my thoughts are at this point.

I would generally have just kept most of this to myself, but I think that if I was in your shoes I’d be curious to know a bit of what is going on in the background of the person blogging, and what it is that affects their choice of location, their mood, their photos, and so on.

I am currently in Vicenza, Italy. My travel plans changed a bit dramatically a week ago due to a family issue that mum asked me to attend to, so no Belgium & Netherlands with Kayla.

Something that I have come to grasp more than anything over these past three weeks is that family will always be there, and at the end of the day it will always have to be my priority. I came to Europe to not only explore it a little bit over these three months, but to also get to know my family, and pretty much discover my history. I left 15 years ago, so to be back here and meeting everyone (like my Aunty who I’m with in Italy who I haven’t seen in 15 or so years) is overwhelming, but it means more than words can say.
I didn’t think I’d be playing the role I currently am with what is going on with my family, but here I am and with everything that has happening in my life this past year, with all that I’ve lost, I couldn’t turn my back now and say “no, I’m going to go and enjoy myself”. I’ve never been that kind of person, and I don’t intend to become that now.

I guess that is one con of travelling alone and staying with family. You are pulled into the drama’s that are going on, and even if they are your fifth cousins, twice removed, you still get caught up emotionally and mentally in everything that is going on.It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does make you see travelling in a whole new way – you really do live like a local.
Disconnecting from one part of your family life and connecting to another makes you question yourself as a person, the way you react to things, how you handle situations, where your cultural upbringing differs and how you accomodate, how independant you are, and so on.
It’s really different to travelling and staying in a hostel, thats for sure!

Being away from my family in Australia makes me realise just how much I appreciate them, how unconditional love can be, and knowing that they are there for me no matter what. It is humbling and I know I am blessed to have a family that cares for me, and who I want to go home to at the end of the day. Some days it is hard, that is normal, but they are amazing with all their imperfections and annoyances. I miss you all and love you all!
Mum I hope you’re keeping dad in line, and Almir, you better be running a muck! I want to see drawings on walls and your dad’s hair shaven off (while he was asleep of course!).

So… let’s change streams a little.

I’ve already been asked this question a million times… “Where do you like better, Australia or Europe?”

Considering I’ve only been here two and a bit weeks, it’s hard to say “Oh I like [...] better!!”
Currently there are things about both places that I love and dislike, that I’m constantly picking and choosing things in order to create my perfect world in my head.

First and foremost, I am extremely lucky to be living in Australia. We weren’t hit with the recession, people did lose their jobs, but when you look at what’s going on here in Europe, you count your blessings twice! I feel as though the multicultural aspect of Australia is a lot more accepted and tollerated than in some European countries, but I’m still sussing that out – I just get the impression that ‘foreigners’ arn’t very welcome if they come and intend to stay, which I guess is understandable; job security, etc.etc.
In Australia people are in general friendly and open, you feel safe most of the time, and even in ghetto Armadale I’d leave my bags unattended for a minute. Here it’s different, people in Switzerland were quite friendly when I started up a conversation, and the service in bars, restaurants and shops were really good. In Italy I’ve been confronted with snobby people who cut in line at the grocery store, crazy drivers on the road that have given me a reason to outright refuse to drive here, and impatience with people who don’t speak the language. But it is day two in Italy, and I’m not jumping to conclusions – it’s just what I’ve seen so far. But Italian people do love to talk, and that is something I’m far too comfortable with!
And thats the other thing, driving! I love that we have a social order of sort in Australia, that people indicate at roundabouts and on the highway, and that our roads arn’t completely packed with cars and you have to make snap second decisions. I thought Swiss drivers were crazy to be taking bends and corners at 80+ kmph, but they are a dream compared to Italy. Thank you Australia!
And no proper winter in Australia, means we don’t have potholes bigger than me!

On the other hand, there’s Europe. Something I am so amazed and lost in is how old Europe is, and how much history there is that rings in every corner. It’s amazing when you think that colonised Australia is just over 100 years old, and then I find myself standing in a Church built in the 1800s, or running my hand along a wall that was built in the triple digits. Crazy and so, SO amazing! Everytime I see something with so much history, and then look up to see its impact running through the course of that society, I wish that we had more of an understanding of Aboriginal Australia, and it was that history we embraced too. Too much politics, far too many horrible moves, and too many untold stories.

With history comes culture. Everything from the way you greet a person, the role of children in the house, what holidays are celebrated, to how and how much you respect the law, to the time you eat dinner and what it is you eat. In Switzerland it was cheese fondue and chocolate, here in Italy it’s gelato and pizza! I cannot wait to indulge in the song and dance of countries like Bosnia, to let the culture infuse right through me!

I’ll leave this post at that. It’s a bit all over the place, but for those of you that know me, know that I like getting my thoughts out of my system somehow, from my diary (well hidden back home in Australia), to my travel journal sitting in my backpack, to facebook, and now this blog!

I’m going to try and explore Vicenza tommorow after we run some more errands, so will blog to share what I have learnt! Oh and look up a place called Padova in Italy. I walked around for about an hour yesterday and fell in like, bought a book on the history and now I cannot wait to go back to explore it properly! Oh and Venice on Saturday!!…

Stay tuned!

Ciao!! xx

It’s that time of year, the holiday season, where you seemingly feel an overwhelming urge to grit your teeth and bare the discomfort to spend time with judgmental people you dislike the other ten months of the year. You sit and eat meals, you send christmas cards, and you also fight tooth and nail to the death for the best deal on a flat screen TV you don’t need in a house that is getting tougher to afford so you can watch assholes on Survivor in 1080i HD. Indeed, this season of barfight-like kerfuffles in the aisles of Toys ‘R’ Us and Best Buy across the nation to appease little Timmy and Susan Q American so as to keep them from hating you to the point they cut their wrists when off their meds, is a testament to the real spirit of the season as it stands today. It wasn’t so long ago that gift cards were lame and price tags on gifts were taboo, as you shopped with thought and care as to get the right thing for those special people in your life so as to light up their faces with joy and wonder. What it has become is the tabulation of a P&L sheet as to see how much you spent and what profit you may have made while sliding all the thoughtless plastic tender in to your wallet to get the things no one knew you well enough to know you might want. ‘Tis the season…

I remember when I was growing up and Christmas came around. As a youngster I rarely received gift cards, if ever. As a tiny tot I got a check from Grandma, but that is as close to a Best Buy card as I got; what I had under the tree were actual gifts wrapped with care and purchased with thought by those that loved me. When I got to ravage that pile of commercialized wonder I opened item after item, knowing I had wanted every one, and that ‘Santa’ had me in mind when every enslaved Elf built it…ok, not really, but you get the point. When I was a kid you bought people stuff, you actually went out and shopped. You thought long and hard about that thing you saw them looking at six months ago and they just never got for themselves, or that item of conversation in passing while waiting for a table at the Sizzler on some idle Sunday evening. These were the days when people put real care in to what they gave to you, and vice versa.

When I was growing up my mother always taught me to take the price tag off of things I was wrapping. In my mother’s eyes the price of something was between you and the poor, suicidal clerk at Cash/Wrap 1 who rang you up, no one else. My relationship to the price tag was that of a sin confessed between me and my priest, not for others to know. The greatest of follies in gift giving was for there to be any remnant of the price tag, so before wrapping you carefully inspected every crevasse to ensure that no evidence of the monetary value was present, even though the poor recipient would be walking through Target the next week and take a gander at the $19.99 discount price you snagged it at. A present was to be a gift and the price tag was removed to both keep the recipient from feeling guilty if you spent a lot, and to keep you from feeling foolish if you spent only a little. Money was taken completely out of the picture and gifts were to be given in ernest, never making either party feel like they got gipped, or owed, in the exchange.

There was a shift a long time ago as I got older. When I got in to my teens it started innocently with gift receipts from Grandma in case I already had one, or didn’t like it. With Grandma it was acceptable, what did she know, I only saw her three times a year; birthday, christmas, and thanksgiving; so it was forgivable that she was out of the loop on my interests and desires. After all, with Grandma it was really only talk of my grades in school and what I wanted to be when I grew up; would it have killed you to talk about anything but my job, really? But it started with my parents once I got a bit older, receipts with every gift, and now Grandma wasn’t the only one rolling out the money. My parents didn’t write me a check, that was Grandma’s gig. How weird would it have been to get a check from your parents at 12 years old? “Don’t cash it ‘til Friday, love you.” Parents started giving you cash and then some generic gift that seemed like an afterthought to the money, like they felt they couldn’t give you JUST cash, so they got you a piece of Coca-Cola merch or an eight ball skull. Thanks…for the money.

Thought in gifts was taking a turn at this point and once I hit puberty it was less thoughtful than ever. First off, your parents just asked you what you wanted in advance, if you weren’t dropping hints with with Sunday newspaper ads open to what you wanted, circled and highlighted as they drank their morning coffee. So they never thought about you, they just didn’t want you pissed when they got the wrong thing, you were distant enough already, so they just asked. So, if they got you something it was exactly what you asked for. Worst was when they would call you from the store and play the “Hey, what was that thing you mentioned last week, my co-worker was trying to get something for his son, your age?” game, and you had to play coy like you didn’t know what was coming home with your name on it.

Then went the wrapping, my parents and friends stopped wrapping things themselves. If they didn’t get it wrapped by some poor sap at the store then some girl scout troop was wrapping your gifts for you for donations so they could go camping in Spain in the summer to get their ‘running of the bulls’ merit badge or something. What’s even worse is the bag, you know the one, $2.99 and stuff with tissue paper with handles for easy transport. You see someone pull out the bag by the handles like it’s left overs from a Thai joint and plop it down in front of you, and you go through like a grocery bag making sure that you got everything before putting everything back in to it and tossing the tissue paper. By the way, how much does that bag take the fun out of ripping open a wrapped package!? I mean, there is no great reveal satisfaction when you look down in to a bag, but when you viciously strip a gift naked, then we’re talking some Christmas cheer.

Now we’ve skipped forward and the whole system is plastic today. Rare is the truly thoughtful gift. Price tags and receipts are standard on all gifts and they are given with the disclaimer, “you’re so hard to shop for, the receipt is in there in case you don’t want it,” gee, thanks for giving me an errand for Christmas, my favorite time of year to jam in to crowded streets and get stabbed for an Elmo doll, so glad to get back out there once my stitches heal. Now we don’t even give gifts, we just give the ‘gift card’. Boy did those make a huge leap. Remember when they were like paper gift certificates that sometimes looked like fake money. Now they went digital looking more like credit cards, good way to train up the little ones for a life of debt, get them comfortable with plastic early. So now we don’t even try, and we don’t wrap, and we don’t think. We instantly decide, at the register, what you are worth and what store we think you might like; Bath and Body Works for women, Sears for men, and Best Buy is gender neutral.

When did this happen? When did we go from taboo price tags on thoughtful gifts to arbitrarily assigning a person in our lives a monetary value on a piece of plastic? Well I guess I could go in to deep psychological and social issues and trends in the nation that have curved towards simply passing economic funds from one consumer to another, allowing them full buying potential leading to money spent beyond the gift card value on full priced items after the holidays which lead to higher profits in the first fiscal quarter of the following year which can float stock prices on publicly traded companies keeping liquidity intact allowing for a better projected earnings sheet in the next year, but that might just be a little convoluted. I could go on to say that the advent of the gift card in the shape of any normal credit card is the greatest invention since poker chips, removing the true value of money and replacing it with an item of almost no value except the agreed upon terms, which removes the ability to spend said item anywhere but at the table/store. The genius behind the gift card is actual turning cold hard cash in to funny money that has value in only one location; the gift card is actually worse than money since you have now limited it’s buying power to just one chain, locking your money up in them like a goods & services bank until you withdraw the money in the form of a liability(item) with limited longevity. Genius.

I think we can blame commercialism and the fact that once you turn 15 you become a bitch to shop for until you turn 40. Sadly, this is the prime target market for consumer propaganda to be designed for; everyone in this category is the prime spender with disposable income and emerging identity and status issues for which to compensate. Before puberty and after the midlife crisis image is less of an issue, before 15 you aren’t secure, but you don’t really notice the differences in status and in items as much, after 40, generally, you have accepted yourself and lived long enough that you can cast those types of impulsive behaviors aside (you stop giving a shit), my father not included, he bought his first house and first Harley in 2009…he’s 48. Well in this market there is so much stuff to buy that no one knows exactly what you want at any given time, what you wanted last month is not necessarily what you want this month, so people err on the side of caution and get you money to a place where you can get the stuff you want, yourself. The exchange of gift cards is not so much trying to please someone as it is not wanting to disappoint them with a poorly thought out purchase.

Why is there this shift though? My mother raised me to hide how much was spent, and to get someone something they really wanted so they never would return it, receipts were never included either. Now it seems that if a gift is given it was purchased so as to not just be buying everyone gift cards. Gifts have turned in to place holders for thoughtfulness and are bought in haste, wrapped by someone else, and given to you with a disclaimer and the means by which to return them, in addition to a gift card so you can get what you want…shit, now I’ve got to go to two stores Saturday, a full day of shopping, for me. It seems that we have grown comfortable with the recipient of your gift card knowing exactly what they are worth to you at any given time when they calculate what you spent and figure out what that equals in love. It’s like a supply and demand chart, where the love and the money intersect is where the price of the gift card will be, less love equates less money. After all, you’re not going to give Bob Q Jackass from the office a $100 gift card and your wife the $5 one…think about it, I’ll put together a graph later.

In this country we have gotten so busy and fear the embarrassment of giving the wrong gift that we have been bullied in to giving out funny money to the people in our lives. This disconnection with the good ol’ days of scratching price tags off of carefully wrapped items has fallen just short of Grandma’s $25 dollar check and turned in to the game of the gift card. No longer are we scared of letting people know just what we think of them at a time like this. I fear the distaste for our families during the holidays has seeped to the surface and is now poisoning our shopping. We now relish in giving people $10 gift cards to Applebee’s to passive aggressively tell Uncle Rich he can shove his snooty corporate-job digs. Every one of us is guilty of giving the gift card, the modern equivalent of a new tie for dad, but now we give them to everyone and expect the same in return so as to get our money back. But now the hostage exchange of gift card for gift card can really stick the shame to a friend when you give them fifty and they only give you twenty five. Like savvy Wall Street brokers we’re investing gift/shame equity in our friends and loved ones so as to turn a profit somewhere down the line. I’m just spitballing here, but let’s leave the gift cards to Grandma and actually get a thoughtful gift, carefully wrap it, a watch the disappointment fill your sister’s eyes when she rips it open on Christmas day and sees how little you actually care, like Jesus intended. Happy holidays, folks.

I’m out and about, doing a week’s worth of stuff in a couple of days because i still have one more final to take on Thursday that I have to study for.

S0, here I am, at Java Dave’s in Edmond, just had lunch, and they have one computer here for customer use, and I’m using it.

I was talking to Larry on Yahoo! Mess-up-enger, but seems that he’s gone to lunch now. Just when we were having a stimulating conversation, too.

*sigh*

Well, better be on my way. It’s cold, wet, and I don’t want to be out in it too long.

That’s all from where I sit.

–MorelaterZ–