Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Christmas lessons

I haven’t liked Christmas in a very long time. To me, all the gift giving is such a hassle.  Wrong sizes, wrong colors, gift cards to places we’d never go…never mind that on our end we have lost gift cards and mispicked orders sent to us.  I’d much rather spend the time just being with my family and friends than worry about whether or not they like the contents of the boxes.  But every year, I get a little better with it.  This year, I’m actually listening to Christmas songs.  Granted, it took me until 3 PM today to fire up the iTunes playlist, but they’re on.

Every year, I also tend to learn a valuable lesson. Normally, they’re of the personal sort and related to my status as an orphan, but this year I actually learned some lessons worth sharing.  Enjoy!

Things NOT to say during your Christmas vacation:

1) One more game! (Said during hour 2 of a 6 hour Lego Star Wars marathon)

2)  Holy cow, is this sweater fugly!  (Yeah.  It really is.)

3) Do I look like a girl? (Wonder Hubby ofter opening a package containing a very feminine looking Halloween t-shirt.)

4) C’mon,  you wuss, let’s go! (Wii Sports - Boxing, after I won a match, and lost the next two.)

5) I don’t need a level! (Apparently, I DID need a level to hang the corkboard.  Whoops.)

Things not to buy with Christmas money:

A freakin’ Nintendo Wii.  That thing is such a major time suck.  Plus the active games, like Wii Sports, are really ACTIVE.  We’re still sore after a few games of tennis, baseball and the previously mentioned boxing matches.

Things to buy with Christmas money:

1) A Keurig B60  We have one of these at work and while I love it,  I was never going to buy one - I mean a buck fifty for a freakin’ coffemaker?!?! I became converted after 4 days in a row of washing out a coffee pot for one cup of coffee.  It should be here soon!!!!

2) A Circa Zip Folio  Since I’ve finally decided to become a true grownup (wearing suits to work every day creates a different mind frame than my usual jeans and sweaters…), I decided to buy a nice cover for my beloved Circas. 

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Obligatory year end post

My life has always been this incredible ride - some years more than others.  This year, I’ve seen The David twice, mended fences with old friends, made superficial contact with old friends and family members, hung out with people I love dearly and don’t see enough of, dropped more balls than I can count, made new friends, lost some, did a very good deed, started watching football (!!!!), went to Ohio and changed jobs (which included changing the 5 year plan).

Normally I do a silly new year’s resolution list and I probably will again this year.  It’s the joy of the fresh start, not the actualization of anything on that list, mind you… I do want to do one thing and get it done before I go back to work on Wednesday and that’s finish this stinkin’ design.  None of the back pages are finished and that bothers me.  I hate leaving things undone - I’ve come to learn that its not the end of the world & that I’m doing more important things with that time (homework, Wii, family, sleep) but that doesn’t make it any less grating. 

I have also closed up shop on my other blog.  I didn’t like where it went after I had a pretty good breakdown and I wanted a fresh start - without my name attached. I’ve got a new domain, privately registered, and I’ve begun using that persona in a couple of forums.  It’s not as comfortable as “Matty”, but since I’ve been a Mat for a long time, I’m sure the new name will grow on me. Whatever.  The whole point is, I miss my daily rants full of language I do not wish co-workers and other random googlers to find. This here is nice but very stifling.

I did a lot of stuff this year that I wasn’t planning on and discovered, for the zillionth time, that my father was right. I can survive.  I am strong.  I am independent.  I am me, and that ain’t such a bad thing lately.

It’s funny that everything that happened this year was never on my 2007 list of resolutions. I guess we’ll just have to see what winds up on my 2008 List of Things That I Want To Do But Will Probably Never Get To.

Have a happy and safe holiday weekend, no matter how you plan on spending it.

Friday, December 14, 2007

I love sammiches

You can’t always get what you want.  But if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need. —Rolling Stones

After a wicked ugly fight, I finally made up with an old friend.  She was coming up on Saturday to hang out when our third friend called.  He and his brother would be an hour away. Did we want to meet up with them?  Um, YEAH!!!!!  (No, the surprise is not a pony.  You could ride it if you want, but I wouldn’t recommend it.)

It was the most twisted, most disgusting, most juvenile, and most AMAZING day of my entire life (she says…).  There’s a very specific chemistry the four of us have - and it’s not meant for everyone.  I haven’t laughed that long and that hard in forever.

I am constantly reminded of why I fought so hard to move back to New England.  it was definitely the best thing I have ever done with my life to this point.