I don't like New Year's Eve

I don't think I ever have. 

There's too much pressure for this night to be more fun than any other night of the year, and its not like Christmas or your birthday where you get presents.  

Ben emailed with a possible New Year's Eve event, which any other night of the year I'd be happy to go to- Little Radio hosting a couple bands (Crystal Antlers being the only one I've seen before, and they're good) at what seems to be a cool venue.  But New Year's Eve means that its going to be crowded and impossible to get cabs.  

I'd rather just go to a party at someone's house where I know at least a few people, have a good time, and then come home.  No pressure to make the night any more special than any other night of the year.  

Honestly, I can't remember the last time I celebrated a New Year's Eve.  Last year I was too deathly ill with the plague to do anything.  I have no memory of anything special any New Year's Eves prior to that.  And in High School I always just used to take a babysitting job (make a FORTUNE) and watch a Marx brothers marathon that one of the channels would always show.  

So, this year, seeing as I'll be relatively healthy and have options for things to do, I probably will go out and celebrate New Year's Eve, just so when people say, "what did you do for new years?" I don't look lame.  But I won't be happy about it.

white elephant

or yankee swap as they call it on the office...

i love  white elephant.  i think its fun.  but i wish all people got in to the spirit and really brought fun or funny or good gifts.  people shouldn't participate if they're going to cop out. 

we had ours at the office today, and i brought those pads you stick on your feet that are supposed to wick the toxins out of your body while you sleep.  amazing things.  of course they don't really do anything, but who's not intrigued by the idea?  

the problem is not everyone really puts any thought or effort in to their gift? what's so fun about opening up a starbucks gift package?  oooh, a coffee cup and some coffee.  3 other people brought that exact same thing.  

anyway, first i had a trio pack of zagat guides, which were stolen from me.  then i had a big bottle of sake, which was stolen from me.  so i've ended up with some "document organizer" that holds your passport, and is on a lanyard! 

i wanted to steal what i brought (really, i'm intrigued by these things and made a special trip to CVS this morning to get them- i want to try them myself) but the person who opened it then left the party and took it upstairs with her, so no one could steal it.  i don't think that should have been allowed. 

the funny part is that my office has a set of wine glasses that have been in the white elephant exchange for 6 years running now.  they're these 80s wine glasses; one blue, one yellow, one green, one pink, etc. and the rule is that if you get them, you have to regift them the next year.  so no one (who's been there a year or longer)  will ever open any of the bigger gifts, because they know they run the risk of getting the wine glasses.  this year, poor L, one of the girls on my team picked up this little gift bag, and started to walk away from the pile to open it, only to realize there was a long ribbon attached to it leading to the box with the wine glasses.  really, it was brilliant packaging.  anyway, i say poor L because this is the second time she's ended up with them.  she's going back to school in a year, so if she's not still working with us at least part-time next christmas, we'll have to invite her to the party just to get the wine glasses back.  or i'll make her give them to me just so we still have them for the party.

anyway, the problem with my document organizer is that its so bad its not even funny to regift.  i'd feel bad taking it to another white elephant party and giving it.  i have one to go to saturday night, and i'm still debating what to get.  its with people who have a much better sense of humor about white elephant.  i'm thinking of going to goodwill and seeing if you can buy old trophies.  leslie has a great one she stole from cha cha a few months ago, for hernando alvarez- 1988 3rd place bowler*.  i want something similar.  

anyway, i have a feeling i'll come home with something much better from that party.  that party if someone were giving a document organizer, it would be a menudo one they found at the salvation army.  (oh my god, i wonder if you can buy old trapper keepers. an old unicorn trapper keeper would be good too.  the limit is $10, so i'm sure i can find something good for $10.)

*title completely made up, i don't feel like opening my door to go look at it because that would let the space heated air out.

sleeping hats

i want to bring back the sleeping hat.  or kerchief or hat or cap or whatever people want to call it.  

living in a house with no heat you realize how cold it can be, and when you're lying in bed freezing, thinking about all the heat escaping out of the top of your head because the covers only come up to your chin, you start to think about wearing hats to sleep.  except they'll fall off unless they have a chin strap.  

this could be easy.  market them as eco-friendly because you can lower your heating bills by preserving your natural body heat.  my co-worker had a great idea to add to it... buy thrift store cashmere sweaters and make them out of those.  that way they're each one of a kind and you can market them as high-end, re-purposed, eco-friendly night hats, and you're in. 

white people would be so in to these.  (i just need a good name.)

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I can't help but think that whomever came up with the idea for this movie was listening to Karl Pilkington's aging backwards idea.

You start out at age 78, and then life only gets better and better for you.  And then "You're not scared of dying because you're now a baby so you don't know what's going on anyway...When its a baby everybody is around it going, 'yeah its gonna die soon.'  But the baby hasn't got a clue, its happy.  Its playing about with its rattle or whatever, it's not scared."

I wish I could find the part where he decides people should have little apple pips in them, because that kind of fits in to this too.  

Oh Joy!!!!

Stimpy is up and running. I'm in the process of ripping stuff in to itunes.  Amazing amazing amazing.  Stimpy has 4 times the storage, so oh my god I can actually put ALL my music in to it.  The computer will be obsolete before I'll have time to use all the storage space.  

Its a beautiful piece of equipment.  its intuitive.  And above all, it works!  No more waiting 20 minutes for a program to open.  No more shutting down in the middle of waiting for something to process.  No more 3 hour downtimes every time I try to upgrade software.  

If things weren't so bad at work right now, I'd say life is pretty damn good.  Life at work will get better, and I'll still have this computer.

Best thing ever!!!!!!!!!!

I got my computer. My Christmas present. Part from my parents. Part
from me.

I've had it for 3 hours and am in love. (this post is from my phone.
I'm still getting everything set up to actually use it.)

It's name is Stimpy. My phone's name is Ren, so it all makes sense.

I hate insurance companies

I have a massive migraine and went to fill my imitrex prescription. Apparently it's too soon (it's been a month) and my insurance won't pay for it unless my dr calls and tells them it's necessary. Great thing to find out at 7PM when you're in pain and your dr's office is closed. So, I've taken pain pills and am not so much in pain right now. But the pills have caffeine so I'm wide awake when sleep is probably one of the best things for me.   I've been lying in bed in the dark for 3 hours waiting for sleep to come, but my mind us just racing.

I didn't even think of just paying for the imitrex myself until 10PM and my pharmacy is a) 17 miles away and b) closed. Had I not been in so much pain earlier and able to think, I would have thought the $300 or whatever totally worth it. I have to get up in 5 hours for a meeting and it's not going to be pretty if pirate eye* is still going on.

* pirate eye- the nickname given at the office to my migraine status, because I keep one eye closed from the pain.

Point B- my phone auto corrects its to it's every time. And since I'm not sure when you use which one, I just go with it. It's one of those grammar things I've been trying to learn for 20 years and everytime I think ive got it, I find out I've got it backwards.   The following is why I don't care that i'm not great with grammar.

Me: I can't believe I can't remember this, but what's the command for when you need to turn off the line around a picture you've inserted into a drawing? I'm blanking.
Co-worker: imageframe
Me: thanks
*silence*
Co-worker: I love that I just answered a question for you. You're usually the person who answers all of my questions. I just got to help you.

We all have our specialties and mine happens to be what I do for a living. I'm not great at autocad, but I'm decent enough that people come to me for help. Put that with the fact that I LOVE teaching and helping people, and that's a good combo. I love love love when people come to me with questions and for advice and help. The time management class I just took told me I'm not supposed to help them, or I'm supposed to tell them their problems have to wait til it's convienent for me to answer. But that's stupid because I like helping.

Point F or whatever I'm on now. I hate that the short version of until is till. Why would you drop 2 letters at the front to then add one at the end? That's why I say til.  I can't wait til (see) the autocorrect in my phone gets used to that particular quirk of mine.

And I'm going to call of quits here. As I said, my mind is racing I haven't even written about half the things I'm thinking about right now, but i'll put this entry's readers out of their misery.

Goodbye favorite red sweater

> I don't think any amount of darning can put you back together again.
> (That hole is about the size of a clemantine, right in the elbow.)
>
> So now during my Christmas shopping I'm in the market for a NEW
> favorite red sweater. The requirements are: red and comfy.
>