Yesterday after I got home from the chiropractor I was, as per usual, sitting at the computer working on a picture and listening to music, which is why it took me so long to notice that my cell phone as in the kitchen ringing.
By the time I got to it I was too late and the call – from Kathleen – had rolled to voicemail.
I checked the voicemail and learned that Kathleen was “30 seconds away,” so I looked out the window, saw her car, and headed over to open the door.
She had stopped by to give me one of my presents.
This one wasn’t the actual Christmas present, but was, rather, the mysterious “thing” that she’s been referring to ever since I returned from Michigan back in October.
Basically, if things had gone according to plan, when I returned this “thing” would have been waiting in my condo as a surprise for me, but of course, things didn’t go according to plan, so nearly two months later, on the day after Christmas, I finally got the “thing.”
Said thing, is, in fact, a living thing: a Betta fish.
She proceeded to set up its little tank and give me the quick tips she’d picked up from the pet store, and then was on her way as she had places to be.
That just left me and the fish.
Apparently she and Brian felt that there needed to be another living thing in my condo besides me, and apparently that it is a life has some sort of symbolic value in terms of being a gift given to assuage to whatever extent possible my feelings of loss brought on by the death of my father.
I don’t want to seem ungrateful, but, well, I am ungrateful. I mean, I appreciate the sentiment, abut the fact that there were no other living things in my place besides myself (and whatever microbes and insects and whatever else happens to be here that I haven’t detected or which are entirely unavoidable) is by design. I chose to be in living thing-free zone.
Of course, that’s precisely why they felt the need to put a living thing in my place. I suppose that the theory is that somehow having to take responsibility for this uninvited guest will initiate some magic transformation and melt my cold, cold, antisocial heart.
I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were them.
And anyway, what would have been wrong with giving me a plant? That’s a living thing, and it does require some amount of care, but is at least slightly more low maintenance.
Still, it’s here now so I guess that until it goes off to fish heaven I’ll do what’s necessary to postpone its departure, though I suspect that it might not make it through the first weekend as I’m sure that it will be very easy to forget to feed it during the brief period before and after work in which I’m actually up and about and doing things.
So far it doesn’t seem to do much. My aquarium screensaver is actually a bit more interesting, and with my high-def, widescreen monitor is much more vibrant and lifelike, and personally, I think that the random fish I drew is much cooler.
Before she left, Kathleen asked me to be sure to let her know what I decide to name it.
Name it? Do people actually name fish? What for?
Still, I suppose I have named my computers (though that’s primarily to identify them on the network), so I guess it’s not so crazy to name a fish.
For a while I thought about calling it “Fish.” Hey, it’s more imaginative than you think: I was going to name after Abe Vigoda’s character on Barney Miller.
Ultimately, though, I decided to give it something more in the way of a designation than a name – it’s long been my assertion that initials are not a name – and call it L.T., which stands for Living Thing.
I have to say that it more than anything it bothers me that there’s a living thing in my condo. It’s not a germ thing, or some weird paranoid fear that it will somehow rise up against me, it’s basically just the thought of something else that’s alive and above the level of complexity of an insect being in my space. It’s like an itch in my brain.
And yes, I know how crazy that sounds.
Still, I suppose I can take comfort in knowing that there’s a life in here that is even less exciting than mine.
And because I don’t enjoy causing suffering and have no inclination toward killing living things – no matter how much Brian may want to believe that there’s a place in West Virginia where I stack up the bodies of my victims like cordwood – I will, as mentioned, avoid deliberately harming L.T. and will do what I can to ensure that it has a long and ultimately pointless life.
My friend Betts always used to keep fish, though periodically – and I always thought this was strange and cruel – he would get tired of them and kill them, usually by emptying the tank and “drowning” them.
I can’t picture myself doing that.
Speaking of Betts, today is his birthday. So if you actually are still out there somewhere, happy birthday. I hope you’re safe and have found what you needed.
In any case, not much else is going on. Somewhere along the line I suppose I’ll have to take a picture of L.T. and post it here.
(*Scott is the only one likely to get the reference in the title of this post, though even he may not recognize/remember it.)
Showing posts with label gift-giving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gift-giving. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
A Christmas Miracle: Clean Clothes
First off, Happy Boxing Day to those of you who celebrate it.
I hope you all had a good Christmas and that Santa gave you everything you wanted.
As promised, I didn’t do much on Christmas beyond doing the laundry.
On Christmas Eve I had dinner with Scott and Stacy, who had also invited Jamie and Casey, presumably not simply for the sake of rhyme, and that was the extent of my holiday travels.
When I’d left for Manassas I’d forgotten to grab my cell phone, which I didn’t realize until I was well underway. When I got home I found that I had a voicemail from Kevin who, from the time stamp, had managed to call just as I was walking out the door and forgetting my cell phone on the counter.
I gave him a call back, but I’m afraid that I probably didn’t do much to help him shake his holiday blues.
I understand that people get depressed around the holidays. I know I used to. These days, though, most of the holidays are devoid of any real meaning for me beyond memories of happier holidays past, so I find that when they roll around I’m not really that bothered by them. Sure, there’s plenty that I could get depressed about should I choose to put the holidays to that use, but I don’t really see the point of bothering with all of that.
Instead I tend to treat them like just another day, while affecting a half-hearted air of mostly facetious grinchitude.
This year I did put a little more effort into the whole Christmas cheer thing, though, by actually buying presents rather than simply giving money.
For example, normally I just give my sister Kim a check for her to divide equally amongst her family, either as cash or in the form of presents. This year I decided instead to pool the money (plus a bit more) and buy a family gift. In this case, a 19” LCD monitor or their computer.
I bought an XM Satellite Radio receiver for my sister Kristy and her husband Ken, and a two month gift subscription to Netflix for my brother Brad.
My mom got a gift card simply because that’s what she said she wanted, and I sent Jourdan some cash just because I know that’s what college students need more than anything else. I also sent cash to my nephew Todd because he can use it to go shopping for himself when he’s visiting my mom this week.
As for me, I had only one present to open on Christmas morning, a massaging neck pillow from my sister Kristy and her husband.
I’d previously received a card with cash from my sister Kim, and of course my package o’ meat from my mom. My brother Brad, apparently, was indecisive about what to get me and so my present was shipped too late to arrive by Christmas.
I had gotten a card from Brian and Kathleen (with notes from Kathleen pointing out all of the things that are pink on the front of it), and later in the day yesterday I got a call from Kathleen in which she explained that the fact that she sucks is the reason why I have yet to receive a present from them.
Apart from doing laundry and calling Kim’s house to find out what kind of haul everyone got, I spent the day watching shows about UFOs on The History Channel, the movie Madagascar on HBO2 (which is supposed to be G4TV), which featured Borat himself, Sacha Baron Cohen, as the voice of the King of the Lemurs, and back to back episodes of Mythbusters until Cartoon Network began its Venture Bros. marathon, which I stayed up watching until 2 am.
Flipping through the channels between UFOs and myths, I caught a glimpse of the non-Borat Sasha Cohen on some figure skating thing or another, though I’d tuned in too late to see her actual program and instead only got to see her sitting on the bench looking extremely cute and waiting for her scores, which were, apparently, good. I was sad to have missed a display of her flexibility, so I changed the channel as soon as they went to commercial.
It seems to be semi-traditional for non-Christians and loveless loners to eat Chinese food on Christmas, so I did do that much that was traditional, though it was actually left over from lunch on Saturday and didn’t involve actually going to a Chinese restaurant.
And that was only for lunch, as dinner was the ring bologna from my package o’ meat.
In any case, that was my Holly Jolly Christmas.
If I’d let it, it could have been a pretty depressing day, but it really wasn’t so different from most days, so there’s no point in getting maudln.
Today’s plans are about as ambitious as yesterday’s, with a quick visit to the chiropractor in a few minutes being the extent of them.
I’m sure I’ll be back later, as I have a picture that combines my recent renewed interest in line art and my developing obsession with a certain Hollywood “It” girl that’s nearly complete and ready to be viewed by the world, or at least the statistically insignificant percentage of the world that stops by this blog.
I hope you all had a good Christmas and that Santa gave you everything you wanted.
As promised, I didn’t do much on Christmas beyond doing the laundry.
On Christmas Eve I had dinner with Scott and Stacy, who had also invited Jamie and Casey, presumably not simply for the sake of rhyme, and that was the extent of my holiday travels.
When I’d left for Manassas I’d forgotten to grab my cell phone, which I didn’t realize until I was well underway. When I got home I found that I had a voicemail from Kevin who, from the time stamp, had managed to call just as I was walking out the door and forgetting my cell phone on the counter.
I gave him a call back, but I’m afraid that I probably didn’t do much to help him shake his holiday blues.
I understand that people get depressed around the holidays. I know I used to. These days, though, most of the holidays are devoid of any real meaning for me beyond memories of happier holidays past, so I find that when they roll around I’m not really that bothered by them. Sure, there’s plenty that I could get depressed about should I choose to put the holidays to that use, but I don’t really see the point of bothering with all of that.
Instead I tend to treat them like just another day, while affecting a half-hearted air of mostly facetious grinchitude.
This year I did put a little more effort into the whole Christmas cheer thing, though, by actually buying presents rather than simply giving money.
For example, normally I just give my sister Kim a check for her to divide equally amongst her family, either as cash or in the form of presents. This year I decided instead to pool the money (plus a bit more) and buy a family gift. In this case, a 19” LCD monitor or their computer.
I bought an XM Satellite Radio receiver for my sister Kristy and her husband Ken, and a two month gift subscription to Netflix for my brother Brad.
My mom got a gift card simply because that’s what she said she wanted, and I sent Jourdan some cash just because I know that’s what college students need more than anything else. I also sent cash to my nephew Todd because he can use it to go shopping for himself when he’s visiting my mom this week.
As for me, I had only one present to open on Christmas morning, a massaging neck pillow from my sister Kristy and her husband.
I’d previously received a card with cash from my sister Kim, and of course my package o’ meat from my mom. My brother Brad, apparently, was indecisive about what to get me and so my present was shipped too late to arrive by Christmas.
I had gotten a card from Brian and Kathleen (with notes from Kathleen pointing out all of the things that are pink on the front of it), and later in the day yesterday I got a call from Kathleen in which she explained that the fact that she sucks is the reason why I have yet to receive a present from them.
Apart from doing laundry and calling Kim’s house to find out what kind of haul everyone got, I spent the day watching shows about UFOs on The History Channel, the movie Madagascar on HBO2 (which is supposed to be G4TV), which featured Borat himself, Sacha Baron Cohen, as the voice of the King of the Lemurs, and back to back episodes of Mythbusters until Cartoon Network began its Venture Bros. marathon, which I stayed up watching until 2 am.
Flipping through the channels between UFOs and myths, I caught a glimpse of the non-Borat Sasha Cohen on some figure skating thing or another, though I’d tuned in too late to see her actual program and instead only got to see her sitting on the bench looking extremely cute and waiting for her scores, which were, apparently, good. I was sad to have missed a display of her flexibility, so I changed the channel as soon as they went to commercial.
It seems to be semi-traditional for non-Christians and loveless loners to eat Chinese food on Christmas, so I did do that much that was traditional, though it was actually left over from lunch on Saturday and didn’t involve actually going to a Chinese restaurant.
And that was only for lunch, as dinner was the ring bologna from my package o’ meat.
In any case, that was my Holly Jolly Christmas.
If I’d let it, it could have been a pretty depressing day, but it really wasn’t so different from most days, so there’s no point in getting maudln.
Today’s plans are about as ambitious as yesterday’s, with a quick visit to the chiropractor in a few minutes being the extent of them.
I’m sure I’ll be back later, as I have a picture that combines my recent renewed interest in line art and my developing obsession with a certain Hollywood “It” girl that’s nearly complete and ready to be viewed by the world, or at least the statistically insignificant percentage of the world that stops by this blog.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
I Want To Appear On A TV News Show With That As My Caption
Those of you who also read Brian’s blog may have noticed that in his most recent entry, in which he seeks to understand the meaning of the song Red Rain by Peter Gabriel, he makes a reference to me as being “pretty much an expert on most things 80’s.”
(I can just see myself on some show on like CNN or in some documentary with an on-screen identification of “Pretty Much an Expert on Most Things 80’s” just below my name)
Now I can’t help but think that this is his sly way of saying that I’m old, but I suppose there is some truth to it (both the statement about my expertise and the implication about my age).
After all, most of my formative years took place during the 80s, and of all of the decades I’ve lived in that’s the one I probably remember best.
My memories of the 70s don’t even really start until sometime around 1976 or so, and as for the 90s, I spent the first half in college trying to cram information, most of which I’ve since forgotten, into my head, and I spent most of the second half in a drunken stupor, so that decade tends to kind of blur together.
Which leaves the 80s.
Unfortunately my “expertise” doesn’t really cover Peter Gabriel as I was never really a fan.
For the first half of the 80s I had no particular musical tastes to speak of, listening to whatever happened to get played on the radio, and by the second half I had become a hardcore metalhead, eschewing anything that carried even a hint of mainstream popularity.
During this stage if I heard popular music I tended to view it as something that was being inflicted upon me.
So no, apart from having seen the groundbreaking videos, my Peter Gabriel experience wasn’t exactly what you’d call extensive.
Speaking of Brian, though, in celebration of the fact that one week before Christmas the temperature actually got up into the 70s, he and Kathleen had a barbecue last night.
Given that it meant free food and not having to feed myself, I naturally accepted their invitation.
If I hadn’t already known that I was at the right place, I might have gotten a hint from the entire crew of firefighters getting off of a fire engine and walking to their door.
Naturally once I was there in the thick of things I transformed into my usual social butterfly self.
That is to say, a “social” butterfly that’s dead and pinned to the wall.
Still, as mentioned, it was free food that I didn’t have to make for myself, and, as always, my anti-social issues are strictly my own, so on that note, I’ll say thanks for inviting me B&K.
Owing to the fact that you never know who’s going to be around when during the holidays, last Thursday I opted to give Brian, Scott, and Simon their gifts at work.
I’d gotten them each a 1 GB flash drive.
Because I can’t wrap a present to save my life – and if anyone could somehow stumble into a situation in which his life would depend on his ability to wrap a gift it would be me – I decided that the best presentation would be the whole tiny gift bag with tissue paper approach.
Let me say that as I stood in that little gift wrap aisle at Super Target looking at the multi-colored frilly offerings, I could not have looked more out of place. I mean, we’re talking Dr. Joel Fleischman in Cicely, Alaska, levels of fish-out-of-water-ness.
Still, the end result of my efforts looked rather festive:
(As an aside, the filename I gave to this image had me Ho-Ho-Ho-ing my ass off. That should be a new IM abbreviation for the season: HHHMAO!)
I gave Kathleen her gift, which was in a larger bag with two kinds of pink tissue paper, which I neglected to take a photo of, yesterday. I got her a desk calendar (featuring The 365 Stupidest Things Ever Said) and some kind of aromatherapy relaxation pillow thingamajob.
On the gift receiving front, so far I’ve received a gift card for Chipotle from Scott and Stacy, which will be put to good use.
Scott will be off in Utah this weekend, so I’m sure that work will go by exceedingly slowly as we make our way to Christmas.
Yesterday the chiropractor asked me the standard question: are you ready for Christmas?
I responded, “Inasmuch as I’ve finished all of my shopping, yes.”
He said that I sounded like an engineer. I added, “Well, if you’re asking, ‘Are you ready for what’s essentially going to be just another Monday?’ again, the answer is yes.”
My lack of Christmas spirit didn’t dissuade him, though, and he went on to ask if I had any plans, which, of course, I don’t. My main plan is to do enough grocery shopping this week so that I can get through Sunday without having to go anywhere and am prepared for nothing being open on Monday.
And that’s about as close as I’m going to get to having any Christmas spirit. God bless us everyone.
(I can just see myself on some show on like CNN or in some documentary with an on-screen identification of “Pretty Much an Expert on Most Things 80’s” just below my name)
Now I can’t help but think that this is his sly way of saying that I’m old, but I suppose there is some truth to it (both the statement about my expertise and the implication about my age).
After all, most of my formative years took place during the 80s, and of all of the decades I’ve lived in that’s the one I probably remember best.
My memories of the 70s don’t even really start until sometime around 1976 or so, and as for the 90s, I spent the first half in college trying to cram information, most of which I’ve since forgotten, into my head, and I spent most of the second half in a drunken stupor, so that decade tends to kind of blur together.
Which leaves the 80s.
Unfortunately my “expertise” doesn’t really cover Peter Gabriel as I was never really a fan.
For the first half of the 80s I had no particular musical tastes to speak of, listening to whatever happened to get played on the radio, and by the second half I had become a hardcore metalhead, eschewing anything that carried even a hint of mainstream popularity.
During this stage if I heard popular music I tended to view it as something that was being inflicted upon me.
So no, apart from having seen the groundbreaking videos, my Peter Gabriel experience wasn’t exactly what you’d call extensive.
Speaking of Brian, though, in celebration of the fact that one week before Christmas the temperature actually got up into the 70s, he and Kathleen had a barbecue last night.
Given that it meant free food and not having to feed myself, I naturally accepted their invitation.
If I hadn’t already known that I was at the right place, I might have gotten a hint from the entire crew of firefighters getting off of a fire engine and walking to their door.
Naturally once I was there in the thick of things I transformed into my usual social butterfly self.
That is to say, a “social” butterfly that’s dead and pinned to the wall.
Still, as mentioned, it was free food that I didn’t have to make for myself, and, as always, my anti-social issues are strictly my own, so on that note, I’ll say thanks for inviting me B&K.
Owing to the fact that you never know who’s going to be around when during the holidays, last Thursday I opted to give Brian, Scott, and Simon their gifts at work.
I’d gotten them each a 1 GB flash drive.
Because I can’t wrap a present to save my life – and if anyone could somehow stumble into a situation in which his life would depend on his ability to wrap a gift it would be me – I decided that the best presentation would be the whole tiny gift bag with tissue paper approach.
Let me say that as I stood in that little gift wrap aisle at Super Target looking at the multi-colored frilly offerings, I could not have looked more out of place. I mean, we’re talking Dr. Joel Fleischman in Cicely, Alaska, levels of fish-out-of-water-ness.
Still, the end result of my efforts looked rather festive:
(As an aside, the filename I gave to this image had me Ho-Ho-Ho-ing my ass off. That should be a new IM abbreviation for the season: HHHMAO!)
I gave Kathleen her gift, which was in a larger bag with two kinds of pink tissue paper, which I neglected to take a photo of, yesterday. I got her a desk calendar (featuring The 365 Stupidest Things Ever Said) and some kind of aromatherapy relaxation pillow thingamajob.
On the gift receiving front, so far I’ve received a gift card for Chipotle from Scott and Stacy, which will be put to good use.
Scott will be off in Utah this weekend, so I’m sure that work will go by exceedingly slowly as we make our way to Christmas.
Yesterday the chiropractor asked me the standard question: are you ready for Christmas?
I responded, “Inasmuch as I’ve finished all of my shopping, yes.”
He said that I sounded like an engineer. I added, “Well, if you’re asking, ‘Are you ready for what’s essentially going to be just another Monday?’ again, the answer is yes.”
My lack of Christmas spirit didn’t dissuade him, though, and he went on to ask if I had any plans, which, of course, I don’t. My main plan is to do enough grocery shopping this week so that I can get through Sunday without having to go anywhere and am prepared for nothing being open on Monday.
And that’s about as close as I’m going to get to having any Christmas spirit. God bless us everyone.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
I'm Sorry To Hear That. Congratulations!
A while ago I got a call from Kathleen informing me that to accommodate her travel plans a little (she’s leaving to visit her dad tomorrow), they accelerated the whole layoff thing in her case, making today her last day.
While she was, in many ways, glad to see the last of the place and get a chance at a fresh start, I knew that there was at least some sadness involved in leaving a company that she’s worked at for so long. Besides, whether it’s for the best or not, nobody really wants to go through being laid off.
So with that in mind I told her, “Well, congratulations and...my deepest sympathies.”
My day was a little less momentous, thankfully.
I did go for my first chiropractor appointment to try to get the whole carpal tunnel thing dealt with.
After examining me, he determined that I have a “structural problem” beyond the mere pinching of a nerve in my wrist, and while the aforementioned wrist problem is the only one I care about (The various other aches and pains I have can easily be ignored; I need to be able to use my hand to do my job and to do those few things that I actually enjoy doing. And no, I’m not talking about that, you perverts, though that is pretty much a given.), but he believes all of the problems are related and as such treating one will mean treating them all.
He seemed like a nice enough guy, and as for some of the claims he made about chiropractic techniques…well, let’s just say that I’m trying to keep an open mind and leave it at that.
While I was there Brian actually came in for some sort of adjustment, apparently, though I only heard him and didn’t actually see him.
The doctor took some X-Rays and wants to look over them to determine the course of treatment, and so I’m going back in on Monday.
We’ll see how it goes.
Once I got home I went online and finished up all of my Christmas shopping.
This year was a little unusual in that I didn’t just give money or gift certificates (though I am doing some of that).
Not that I have a lot of people to buy for anyway. In fact, I actually have one less. *Sigh*
Last year at this time I was neck-deep in dealing with the vagaries of home buying, which meant that some people normally on my list got crossed off. I’m hoping that this year will make up for it.
As for the receiving side of Christmas, I’m sure I won’t get a whole lot. I’m not complaining, just stating the fact. I imagine that the gifts I do get will be very nice, but once again we run into one of the many drawbacks of being a loveless loner: there’s no one who’s investing time and money into buying you the perfect gift(s).
After all, friends and family can only devote so much time and money to buying you something, and whatever they do get you just isn’t going to stack up to what a significant other – at least, a thoughtful significant other – will get you.
Oh well, there’s on point in dwelling on it, I guess…unless it’s for the purposes of filling out an otherwise lackluster blog entry.
So with that being said, I present the Threshold Holiday Gift Wish List, a list of things that I will not be finding stuffed in my stocking or under my tree come Christmas morning, particularly since I have neither stocking nor tree.
First up is pretty much any LCD TV as long as it’s 32” or more. The only real requirements I would have would be that it be capable of at least 1080i and have HDMI and DVI inputs.
A newer, larger graphics tablet. The Wacom Intuos3 6x8 (which I almost bought the other day at Circuit City) would be nice, though I wouldn’t have a problem with one of the larger versions, like the 12x19.
Any one of several or a combination of the various DC Comics Absolute Editions would be very nice to have. In particular I would appreciate Absolute Dark Knight, and, of course, Absolute Watchmen.
A mop to clean up the drool caused by me thinking about Absolute Dark Knight and Absolute Watchmen.
On a related note, Frank Miller’s Sin City Library I.
Another mop for the additional drool.
Justice League and Justice League Unlimited DVDs.
For a different nerdly aspect of my personality, the latest edition of The Chicago Manual of Style. Seriously, I’m enough of a geek that this would actually be an ideal present for me.
And finally I’d need an updated DVD player/home theater to complement the new TV.
I guess that’s pretty much it. Most of my wants tend to cluster around the same kinds of things. Any sort of significant other would, I can only assume, be able to figure out some sort of perfect gift that I’d never see coming and wouldn’t know that I wanted until I’d gotten it, but that’s a moot point, and obviously nothing like that can make it onto the list, since I have no idea what it would be.
Many of these things, if not all, I will no doubt eventually buy for myself, and honestly, the fact that I won’t be unwrapping them come Christmas morn pales into insignificance aside the one gift I want above all others, the one wish that I know can never come true.
More than anything, I want my dad back.
Got that in your fucking bag, Santa?
*Sigh* Sorry about that. I didn’t mean for things to take such a downturn, but being on the subject of wishes I found it impossible to avoid ending up there.
In any case, tomorrow marks the end of the non-stop thrill ride that has been my vacation, and then it’ll be back to the salt mines, or rather, the dark, cold, nerdy dungeon. I will no doubt take a day off here and there, but I probably won’t take any significant time off until my annual trip home in the summer, which will most likely mean that once December rolls around I’ll once again have accrued vacation time that I need to use or lose, and once again I will not go to New Zealand on any damn Hobbit tour, no matter how much the idea amuses Scott.
And just as my vacation is drawing to a close, so too is this unexpectedly maudlin entry.
While she was, in many ways, glad to see the last of the place and get a chance at a fresh start, I knew that there was at least some sadness involved in leaving a company that she’s worked at for so long. Besides, whether it’s for the best or not, nobody really wants to go through being laid off.
So with that in mind I told her, “Well, congratulations and...my deepest sympathies.”
My day was a little less momentous, thankfully.
I did go for my first chiropractor appointment to try to get the whole carpal tunnel thing dealt with.
After examining me, he determined that I have a “structural problem” beyond the mere pinching of a nerve in my wrist, and while the aforementioned wrist problem is the only one I care about (The various other aches and pains I have can easily be ignored; I need to be able to use my hand to do my job and to do those few things that I actually enjoy doing. And no, I’m not talking about that, you perverts, though that is pretty much a given.), but he believes all of the problems are related and as such treating one will mean treating them all.
He seemed like a nice enough guy, and as for some of the claims he made about chiropractic techniques…well, let’s just say that I’m trying to keep an open mind and leave it at that.
While I was there Brian actually came in for some sort of adjustment, apparently, though I only heard him and didn’t actually see him.
The doctor took some X-Rays and wants to look over them to determine the course of treatment, and so I’m going back in on Monday.
We’ll see how it goes.
Once I got home I went online and finished up all of my Christmas shopping.
This year was a little unusual in that I didn’t just give money or gift certificates (though I am doing some of that).
Not that I have a lot of people to buy for anyway. In fact, I actually have one less. *Sigh*
Last year at this time I was neck-deep in dealing with the vagaries of home buying, which meant that some people normally on my list got crossed off. I’m hoping that this year will make up for it.
As for the receiving side of Christmas, I’m sure I won’t get a whole lot. I’m not complaining, just stating the fact. I imagine that the gifts I do get will be very nice, but once again we run into one of the many drawbacks of being a loveless loner: there’s no one who’s investing time and money into buying you the perfect gift(s).
After all, friends and family can only devote so much time and money to buying you something, and whatever they do get you just isn’t going to stack up to what a significant other – at least, a thoughtful significant other – will get you.
Oh well, there’s on point in dwelling on it, I guess…unless it’s for the purposes of filling out an otherwise lackluster blog entry.
So with that being said, I present the Threshold Holiday Gift Wish List, a list of things that I will not be finding stuffed in my stocking or under my tree come Christmas morning, particularly since I have neither stocking nor tree.
First up is pretty much any LCD TV as long as it’s 32” or more. The only real requirements I would have would be that it be capable of at least 1080i and have HDMI and DVI inputs.
A newer, larger graphics tablet. The Wacom Intuos3 6x8 (which I almost bought the other day at Circuit City) would be nice, though I wouldn’t have a problem with one of the larger versions, like the 12x19.
Any one of several or a combination of the various DC Comics Absolute Editions would be very nice to have. In particular I would appreciate Absolute Dark Knight, and, of course, Absolute Watchmen.
A mop to clean up the drool caused by me thinking about Absolute Dark Knight and Absolute Watchmen.
On a related note, Frank Miller’s Sin City Library I.
Another mop for the additional drool.
Justice League and Justice League Unlimited DVDs.
For a different nerdly aspect of my personality, the latest edition of The Chicago Manual of Style. Seriously, I’m enough of a geek that this would actually be an ideal present for me.
And finally I’d need an updated DVD player/home theater to complement the new TV.
I guess that’s pretty much it. Most of my wants tend to cluster around the same kinds of things. Any sort of significant other would, I can only assume, be able to figure out some sort of perfect gift that I’d never see coming and wouldn’t know that I wanted until I’d gotten it, but that’s a moot point, and obviously nothing like that can make it onto the list, since I have no idea what it would be.
Many of these things, if not all, I will no doubt eventually buy for myself, and honestly, the fact that I won’t be unwrapping them come Christmas morn pales into insignificance aside the one gift I want above all others, the one wish that I know can never come true.
More than anything, I want my dad back.
Got that in your fucking bag, Santa?
*Sigh* Sorry about that. I didn’t mean for things to take such a downturn, but being on the subject of wishes I found it impossible to avoid ending up there.
In any case, tomorrow marks the end of the non-stop thrill ride that has been my vacation, and then it’ll be back to the salt mines, or rather, the dark, cold, nerdy dungeon. I will no doubt take a day off here and there, but I probably won’t take any significant time off until my annual trip home in the summer, which will most likely mean that once December rolls around I’ll once again have accrued vacation time that I need to use or lose, and once again I will not go to New Zealand on any damn Hobbit tour, no matter how much the idea amuses Scott.
And just as my vacation is drawing to a close, so too is this unexpectedly maudlin entry.
Friday, December 08, 2006
That Was Weak
So I went to the holiday party for my condo development.
It was pretty weak.
It started at 6:30, so I figured I’d give it a good 45 minutes or so before heading down there.
Once I got there I was afraid that I was going to find that the only people there were the people who showed up for the meeting to plan it.
I was mistaken; I was the only person from the meeting who was there.
There were only a handful of people there and I didn’t recognize any of them. Most of them were couples/families, with the exception of one unattached woman whom I’d guess to be in her fifties wearing a holiday-themed sweater who quite literally launched herself at an unattached bald man in his fifties, interrupting the conversation he was having with a young couple.
Later, a youngish (married) woman came in and the bald man, again, quite literally, launched himself toward her and away from the woman in the holiday sweater.
Given that I’d gone there primarily to eat and wouldn’t have been inclined to try to strike up a conversation with anyone present even if an opening presented itself, I proceeded to do just that. I don’t really know what to say about the food. It was just sort of…there.
Along with the standard meat, cheese and vegetable trays there was a kind of pasta salad that I can’t really describe even after having two helpings – which should in no way indicate that it was good – and a little make your own taco bar that had topping choices that were a bit unconventional (like mushrooms).
I suppose that I could have stuck around after eating to see if anyone interesting and unattached showed up, but what was I supposed to do in the meantime? I’d snagged one of the few available seats and was feeling guilty about forcing others to stand, but at the same time I didn’t want to have to stand around lurking.
So I left.
Kathleen, who just yesterday was pestering me about how I “need” to socialize more will probably be less than pleased with tonight’s performance, but oh well. I mean, honestly, what more could she expect?
I mean, this is the reason that I don’t go out and socialize because it’s always exactly the same. Anywhere I go I find that all of the associations have already been made, the cliques have formed, and there’s no way for me to insert myself even if I wanted to.
Which is the other problem: I don’t want to.
I just don’t see the point of striking up a conversation with random people who aren’t hot single chicks. Oh sure, there’s the theory that expanding my social network will help expand my options, but I don’t buy it. I mean, the friends I have now have been – no offense – utterly useless when it comes to helping me meet “someone.” I don’t foresee anything different happening just because I add a few more names to my list of contacts on my PDA. I’ve never had friends who have provided any assistance in that area (one guy I knew in Tucson did set me up on a blind date, but that went nowhere fast).
And it’s not like I’ve always been this hermit holed up in his cave. There was a time when I had a pretty large circle of friends during which I went out almost every night. Plus I had the advantage of making use of a social lubricant. What did that ever get me other than jail time and over two months in rehab?
So, I guess that my point is “screw socializing.” I don’t enjoy it, I’m not any good at it, and it’s never really done me any good.
End Of An Era Department:
On the continued topic of socializing, though, I picked Kathleen up from work today for lunch. As I was dropping her off back at work afterwards she pointed out that this was most likely the last time we’d ever meet like that for lunch, as her head goes on the layoff chopping block next week.
To all things there is a season…
Prior to picking Kathleen up for lunch I’d been out in the world doing some Christmas shopping. I wasn’t out long before I realized that I could probably get better deals online, and further that I was pretty much Christmas shopping for me.
I very nearly bought a 37” LCD HDTV for myself, though I successfully avoided temptation. And trust me, it was a very strong temptation, especially after discovering last night while innocently paying my bill online that the credit limit on one of my credit cards has been almost doubled.
That’s just such an evil thing for a credit card company to do at this time of year, though hardly surprising considering that credit card companies are evil.
Beyond that, though, I’m kind of rolling in it a little thanks to all of the worked holiday pay from Thanksgiving and the day after.
Still, I’m doing my best to avoid pissing it all away.
We’ll see how long that lasts.
I did end up buying most of the gifts I was going to get after finding a really good 3 for 1 deal that covers, obviously, 3 of the people I was shopping for, though I still need to do some shopping for my family.
When I got up this morning my condo was a balmy 56 degrees thanks to me forgetting to turn the heat on last night because the Duraflame log had kept things surprisingly warm until it burned out completely.
And it really did make things cozy in here, what with the delicate play of shadow and flame on the walls and the wailing, wintry winds that could be heard blowing outside over the crackling of the artificial log made out of petroleum, wax, and wood fiber.
Ah well, it created a convincing illusion despite being artificial.
In any case, I suppose I’ll put an end to this virtual socializing and return to my normal reclusive ways.
It was pretty weak.
It started at 6:30, so I figured I’d give it a good 45 minutes or so before heading down there.
Once I got there I was afraid that I was going to find that the only people there were the people who showed up for the meeting to plan it.
I was mistaken; I was the only person from the meeting who was there.
There were only a handful of people there and I didn’t recognize any of them. Most of them were couples/families, with the exception of one unattached woman whom I’d guess to be in her fifties wearing a holiday-themed sweater who quite literally launched herself at an unattached bald man in his fifties, interrupting the conversation he was having with a young couple.
Later, a youngish (married) woman came in and the bald man, again, quite literally, launched himself toward her and away from the woman in the holiday sweater.
Given that I’d gone there primarily to eat and wouldn’t have been inclined to try to strike up a conversation with anyone present even if an opening presented itself, I proceeded to do just that. I don’t really know what to say about the food. It was just sort of…there.
Along with the standard meat, cheese and vegetable trays there was a kind of pasta salad that I can’t really describe even after having two helpings – which should in no way indicate that it was good – and a little make your own taco bar that had topping choices that were a bit unconventional (like mushrooms).
I suppose that I could have stuck around after eating to see if anyone interesting and unattached showed up, but what was I supposed to do in the meantime? I’d snagged one of the few available seats and was feeling guilty about forcing others to stand, but at the same time I didn’t want to have to stand around lurking.
So I left.
Kathleen, who just yesterday was pestering me about how I “need” to socialize more will probably be less than pleased with tonight’s performance, but oh well. I mean, honestly, what more could she expect?
I mean, this is the reason that I don’t go out and socialize because it’s always exactly the same. Anywhere I go I find that all of the associations have already been made, the cliques have formed, and there’s no way for me to insert myself even if I wanted to.
Which is the other problem: I don’t want to.
I just don’t see the point of striking up a conversation with random people who aren’t hot single chicks. Oh sure, there’s the theory that expanding my social network will help expand my options, but I don’t buy it. I mean, the friends I have now have been – no offense – utterly useless when it comes to helping me meet “someone.” I don’t foresee anything different happening just because I add a few more names to my list of contacts on my PDA. I’ve never had friends who have provided any assistance in that area (one guy I knew in Tucson did set me up on a blind date, but that went nowhere fast).
And it’s not like I’ve always been this hermit holed up in his cave. There was a time when I had a pretty large circle of friends during which I went out almost every night. Plus I had the advantage of making use of a social lubricant. What did that ever get me other than jail time and over two months in rehab?
So, I guess that my point is “screw socializing.” I don’t enjoy it, I’m not any good at it, and it’s never really done me any good.
End Of An Era Department:
On the continued topic of socializing, though, I picked Kathleen up from work today for lunch. As I was dropping her off back at work afterwards she pointed out that this was most likely the last time we’d ever meet like that for lunch, as her head goes on the layoff chopping block next week.
To all things there is a season…
Prior to picking Kathleen up for lunch I’d been out in the world doing some Christmas shopping. I wasn’t out long before I realized that I could probably get better deals online, and further that I was pretty much Christmas shopping for me.
I very nearly bought a 37” LCD HDTV for myself, though I successfully avoided temptation. And trust me, it was a very strong temptation, especially after discovering last night while innocently paying my bill online that the credit limit on one of my credit cards has been almost doubled.
That’s just such an evil thing for a credit card company to do at this time of year, though hardly surprising considering that credit card companies are evil.
Beyond that, though, I’m kind of rolling in it a little thanks to all of the worked holiday pay from Thanksgiving and the day after.
Still, I’m doing my best to avoid pissing it all away.
We’ll see how long that lasts.
I did end up buying most of the gifts I was going to get after finding a really good 3 for 1 deal that covers, obviously, 3 of the people I was shopping for, though I still need to do some shopping for my family.
When I got up this morning my condo was a balmy 56 degrees thanks to me forgetting to turn the heat on last night because the Duraflame log had kept things surprisingly warm until it burned out completely.
And it really did make things cozy in here, what with the delicate play of shadow and flame on the walls and the wailing, wintry winds that could be heard blowing outside over the crackling of the artificial log made out of petroleum, wax, and wood fiber.
Ah well, it created a convincing illusion despite being artificial.
In any case, I suppose I’ll put an end to this virtual socializing and return to my normal reclusive ways.
More Evidence That Astrology Is For Retards
I saw a link to an article that provides a holiday gift-giving guide based on Astrological signs. I think the entry for my sign shows just how useless the Zodiac is for this sort of thing:
Aries (March 21 to April 19)Active Aries is always looking for ways to stay in shape, particularly during the holiday season ... so athletic equipment is usually a good choice. People born under this sign are also fond of the color red, so a cranberry scarf or a scarlet hat could win their favor. If romance is in the air, let Aries know that you put his or her needs first. Buy tickets for two to a sporting event you loathe ... or a CD by an artist you can't stand ... to win big points with your favorite Ram.
Aries (March 21 to April 19)Active Aries is always looking for ways to stay in shape, particularly during the holiday season ... so athletic equipment is usually a good choice. People born under this sign are also fond of the color red, so a cranberry scarf or a scarlet hat could win their favor. If romance is in the air, let Aries know that you put his or her needs first. Buy tickets for two to a sporting event you loathe ... or a CD by an artist you can't stand ... to win big points with your favorite Ram.
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