Happy New Years and Birthday

Sorry I have been MIA lately but I was sick for a few days and didn't feel like moving from the cocoon I created in my bed.

Luckily though, I was able to make it out for NYE celebrations and so far have had a great 2009. I also want to say Happy 30th Birthday to my sister.

That's really all I got for right now since I am running on fumes today because of a fun movie night. Maybe I'll put together some kind of list of resolutions or goals or something like that. I really want to find some kind of continuity with this blog since I have strayed from my original intention of focusing on my house ... but the description does say anything is fair game.

My Christmas

Is it considered a tangent when you start with it?? Anyways ... here is a package I received in the mail from Hawaii (Click to make it bigger and read the bottom). Thanks Uncle Lance & Aunt Karen, it's hanging on my chimney until I have a complete house:



After the adventures of searching for lunch ... this is how the rest of my day went:

• Watched program on how beer is losing market share in the alcoholic beverage industry and what brewers are doing to combat this with my Mom and sister
• Watched "Prince Caspian (2nd chapter of the Narnia stories), again with Mom and sis
• Aunt and Dad got home; Aunt went to nap, Dad left to let a dog out somewhere
• Started cooking roast (not me), finished Caspian movie
• Dad got back, started "Nightmare Before Christmas" after unsuccessfully finding something interesting to watch on TV
• Opened gifts (we only do stockings and got/gave mostly giftcards so it didn't take long)
• Ate dinner
• Sis' BF showed up
• Started playing Loaded Questions (more below)
• Finished playing Loaded Questions (Dad won)
• Went home (with a stop at Blockbuster)
• Watched Mummy movie (third one, with Jet Li) while hanging laundry and cleaning up
• Passed out

Loaded Questions is an awesome game but I have to warn against playing it with family. The basic idea of the game is that everyone writes down their answer to a question and the person whose turn it is has to attribute each answer to one of the players. There are also reversals where everyone has to write down what they think the person whose turn it is will answer. The game is great when you have a lot of creative people or are aided in creativity through some fluid means (not that I know what that means). "Why the warning," you ask? One of the questions was, "What is the most expensive item you have stolen?" ... my dad was guessing among answers like, "an office stapler" and "a binder." Shit, I am not going to answer that question honestly ... I was in college ... and a teenager growing up in boring ass Columbia ... now, I'm not saying I am (or was) a kleptomaniac at any point, but I won't deny acquiring a keg or 2 through unscrupulous means over the years or maybe some other random things like 5 gallon tubs of ice cream from the school cafeteria or one of those newspaper things on the street corner (OK, that wasn't me ... but when I showed up at DT and Snuggles' apartment ON CAMPUS and was able to get the Sunday paper in their living room ... it was pretty funny) or just something more significant than office supplies. [See, I can go on a tangent at the beginning and end of a post] Just remember, you've been warned about playing with family ... otherwise, it's an awesome game.

Happy Holidays

Since I doubt I will write anything tomorrow, I figure I should say Happy Holidays to everyone out there.

Since it is a half day at work I will be heading to Mahaffey's for 30-cent wings and a couple beers before finishing up my shopping and heading to my Mom's for dinner tonight. I think I want to bring my PS3 and the Dark Knight to her house so I can watch it in all it's high-def (and IMAX) glory on my 57 inch TV with surround sound, both of wich are too big for my house and have essentially been donated to my Mom.

Breakfast in My Pants ... Really

Saturday night I went to a friend's house out in the 'burbs for a small holiday get together. Being that NFL Network sucks and made the Ravens game on Saturday night, I decided to ignore everyone until the end of the game ... or at least until Le'Ron McClain reached his 82nd yard on that last play after introducing the Cowboys' safety to the turf, face first.





After the game was over, I had some fun playing Scene It on the host's Xbox and realized that it was much better than any board game or other DVD game because it came with buzzers and everyone answered with those, instead of yelling out the answer. It was kind of like playing trivia at a bar/restaurant with those keypads. After a little Rockband we decided to do our white elephant gift exchange.

This is where the title comes into play. One girl brought a gift in the most awesome bag ever and I had to have it; no matter what was inside. I didn't care if there was a brick in it (like the gifts I prepared for other exchanges), I was going to have it. Since there were not a lot of people and most didn't seem used to this type of exchange, there was not a lot stealing going on and I ended up with it pretty easily. The contents of the "Santa Pants" included a very awesome smelling bag of coffee, some strawberry pancake mix and some strawberry syrup. I don't remember the brands, but it all seems like high quality stuff.



Everyone else got stuff too ... I am sure they were good gifts, but I was too fixated on my breakfast pants to notice. Someone did get a couple DVDs that sparked a long conversation about movies and ultimately ended with someone putting on Love Actually. I'm not exactly sure how we got to Love Actually, but there were points in the conversation that talked about the multiple interconnected storylines of Crash (with Thandie Newton and Don Cheadle not the creepy movie about people turned on by car crashes) and something about Keira Knightley. Anyways, this movie contains one of my favorite sappy scenes in movies I wouldn't admit to watching ... and yes, I watched the scene multiple times to find a decent version on youtube:

Weekend Review

I don't have any pictures from Friday night, nor do I have the writing ability to accurately describe the events that transpired. I will say this though, the night involved all of the following for some or all of the people in my group:

• Bartender's
• Trivia Pursuit cards
• Teachers
• A vice-principal ralphing outside the bar's window
• Some game involving charades
• Getting carded for ordering water
• Someone giving someone else's number to the bartender
• Defining the term "Cranking a Squeege"

Saturday I went out with Newman looking at houses. He is in the market to buy and I wanted to see a bunch of houses in Canton that weren't mine and I couldn't afford. We looked at a total of 10 houses and he found 2 he really likes, and 1 that would be an awesome investment (short sale) but was too big for what he wanted. After looking at the houses, we grabbed some food at Nacho Mama's (love this place) then parted ways before the holiday party that night.

I got to the party a little early so I could set-up Rockband and help out if necessary. I think this year was more fun for me than last year because more people from work showed up and several from my group of friends. We played some Rockband (I sang and everyone kinda stopped talking for a minute and looked over to see if they needed to call for an ambulance) had some good food and counted the minutes till the gift exchange. I am not going to explain the format, but let's just say there was lots of stealing and plenty of strategery going on. I think I ended up with one of the best gifts because of it. I do, however, feel a little bad for whoever got my gift. I used a gift bag and wrapped a brick (since I have plenty of them lying around) in tissue, then placed two of those mini-cereal boxes on top with more tissue paper. Actually, I loaded it with tissue paper so no one would be able to see the brick. People were stealing it since it was heavy and they thought there was something good in there. There was a Starbucks giftcard, but it was under the cardboard under the brick ... thankfully the person found it before throwing the bag out. For your viewing pleasure:





Sunday was fun (other than the Ravens losing). This was the first game I went to with my dad, and his second game ever. He didn't come to the tailgate, but seemed to have a good time during the game (until the end when he had to break-up a fight while leaving). Not really much to say about the game, I can't be too upset because the Ravens had 3 chances to score a TD and couldn't ... plus, I am pretty confident in the ability of the Steelers to get 6 inches if that touchdown wasn't overturned (if you didn't see (or hear about) the game, none of that will make sense). I didn't drink much throughout the day because I had to bolt right at the end so I could make our volleyball game. We went 1 - 2 and after the game I was pretty pissed ... I hate losing.

Santa's Coming to Town

Saturday began very painfully. I needed lots of water before I could head to my mom's house. From there I curled up in the passenger seat and let her drive to the hostess' house. Everything got better once we got there and we waited as all the families started showing up.

Once everyone was there I went upstairs and changed into the suit, rang some bells and waited till I heard all the parents saying, "what's that, Santa's here." I had no idea what I was doing, but luckily 90% of the kids were 2 or under and didn't know what was happening either. My favorite moments were with Sienna (11 months old), Olivia (17 months old) and my Godson (27 months old). Sienna was great because she just seemed like the happiest kid in the world at the time. She was swinging her arms and smiling and looking around; she really appearred to love being the center of attention (but who doesn't when they are a kid). Olivia on the other hand ... she wanted nothing to do with me. The moment I said I had a gift for her and her mommy started picking her up she began screaming. She was waving her arms around too, but trying to break free from her mom carrying her over to see me. Her mommy sat on my lap holding her for thier pictures, but the whole time Olivia was leaning out trying to be as far away from me as possible. My Godson was funny because he had his blanket and was clutching it for dear life the entire time. He posed for his pictures (below) holding it, held it when he gave me a high five, and held it when he got off my lap and started to walk away. As he was going I said, "Do you want your present?" Before I even finished that question the blanket was on the floor and the gift was in his hands.

Overall it was a good experience. I was happy to make the kids and their parents smile. Wearing the suit though is a different story, it was not comfortable and the beard and wig made me feel like I was in the desert. I must have smelled pretty bad after because the suit was definately not made of light fabric. Also, this is the same suit that was worn by the Santa when I was a kid ... so it is well over 20 years old. Plus, I think the tallest person wearing it was maybe 6' tall and I am over 6'3'' ... I also probably have about 70 lbs. on any of them. Oh well, got to start working on a better act for next year.

Friday Night Shenanigans

Of course it takes me until Wednesday to get around to posting about Friday. I guess this can be considered a good thing since I have been busy with my job and am happy to have a job (but who wouldn't want to employ me?). A really good friend got laid off Friday and that sucks a lot, as did some people I liked but wouldn't really consider a friend.

Friday night's small holiday party was great ... well, at least the parts I remember were. It was at Boozer's house and it has been determined that she can make party food like no one else. She should have a show on the food network. I have a picture of some of it, but let's just say it was great and I won't miss one of her parties ever again.



The night involved lots of beer pong (indoors to prevent hypothermia), WoW comments toward Ish, and me finishing a whole bottle of Captain's Private Stock. The night came to a conclusion shortly after I was discovered passed out on the floor in one of the room's in the basement and everyone decided they wanted to write on me but couldn't since I was being Santa the next day. After I woke up, the volleyball people that were still there posed for a team shot with the hoodies we won from the Baltimore Beach fall league (Do I look as though I consumed an entire bottle of rum? I think so). I was told we went to the bar shortly after this picture and I ordered water (no ice) had some then told them I needed to go. When I woke up Saturday, all my clothes were nicely folded and my keys and money was organized, why can't I do that every night when I go home sober?

Holiday Parties this Weekend

My friend Boozer from my volleyball team is having a holiday party tonight for the team and a bunch of friends. Several of my friends from work are coming with me and this should provide a perfect distraction from the earlier events of the day. I don't know if we are staying at her house the entire time or if we are going to venture out later on, either way it should be a great time.

As I said earlier, tomorrow is my first performance as Santa. I really don't know what to expect and don't know if I will be into it, but it will be nice to see all the excited kids. I also don't know a lot of the kids' names so I feel like I need to put together an index card and tape it to my sleeve like a quarterback does with their plays. I just hope there are some good pictures. Think it's acceptable if I drink before, it will definitely increase my commitment to acting like Santa?

Not necessarily holiday themed, but Sunday will definitely be a party. The Ravens - Redskins game is at 8:15 and I will be tailgating from 3:30ish on. I'll probably get to Fed Hill before that and watch some of the 1 o'clock games at Cross Street Market. Don't expect any posts until Monday at the earliest, but if there are any they will probably be lies and written after quite a bit of drinking.

Fail is the Theme for this Half of the Week

So I completely failed at getting into the office at 4 AM yesterday morning and I blame it on this Internet thing these kids today are using to send messages instantly to one another until 1 AM. I did get in sometime during the 7 AM hour though. Got a lot of what I needed to done but still have some to finish up today and tomorrow before starting on the project I was up all Sunday night working on. Today is a different story all together, I didn't get in until after 10. The only upsetting part about that was our cafeteria closes for breakfast at 9:30 and I love their breakfast foods. Oh, that and the fact my company announced layoffs ... which is awesome and really motivates me to complete all this stuff. Those affected will be told tomorrow (I think).

I also feel obliged to mention the Terps victory over Michigan last night and another year of the ACC winning the ACC - Big Ten challenge. Sorry Corey (btw, do you know a contractor for minor brick work, I haven't been able to get in touch with the guy I used for other stuff). The game wasn't pretty (at least the first half), but the Terps won and I like how aggressively they are going after the ball; the rebound differential was huge. It was also pretty cool because Shawne Merriman was there for a coat drive he sponsors annually (I guess that is a plus side of being out for the season since he would be suiting up for a game against the Raiders tonight otherwise) and Clinton Portis was sitting court side for most of the game. He probably didn't appreciate the mix of cheers and boos from the obviously mixed crowd of Ravens and Redskins fans. I also wonder if there would have been more cheers if the Skins weren't playing the Ravens this weekend, or if he didn't play for the U.

On a completely separate topic, this weekend should be fun ... I'm going to be Santa at a party for the kids in my family's huge group of friends. My godson is part of the group and really the only reason I am doing this ... that and I am the closest to Santa's physique out of the group (even though I don't think the Santa of legend was 6'4''). I'll be sure to get pictures and post them. I am doing a bunch of other fun stuff this weekend and will probably mention that stuff later tonight or sometime tomorrow.

Thanksgiving Eve Festivities

Since I did not have a Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving, I am glad I got to enjoy a great night on Thanksgiving eve. Actually, my only meal I had on actual Thanksgiving consisted of left over Chinese food from the previous Friday, at least it wasn't the Ramen I had planned on eating.



The night began with a lasagna dinner that was brought by several people and was very scrumptious. I brought Jager and Red Bull for desert. After everyone was done eating we played the easiest drinking game ever. You assign everyone a number and roll dice, when your number comes up, you drink. If there aren't enough people then all the unused numbers are social (usually the highest and lowest numbers). After a while we moved to an easier version, odd numbers are for the girls and even numbers are the guys. We had our desert (Jager, Sambuca, or Grape Vodka) and headed to the Pickled Parrot.



I don't have any exciting stories from the bar, but can say that it was a great time.

My Thanksgiving (gotta love family)

OK ... so here is a quick warning ... if you are a member of my family, stop reading now (or don't hold anything I write against me). Everyone else, since I can't express myself very well in my writing ... good luck following along and prepare for a bazillion tangents.

My family had our Thanksgiving 2 Sundays ago since schedules are pretty out of the ordinary and it's difficult to get everyone together. I guess I need to provide an overview of my family structure to be able to explain everything. Let's make use of a bulleted list.

• Mom and Dad split amicably 3 years ago
• 2 older sisters (+2 and +4 years, let's call them Lisa(+2) and Maggie(+4))
• Aunt on Dad's side with 2 dogs lives nearby (Selma)
• Mom's siblings (Bro w/ family, Sis w/ family) live up north (Red Sox nation)
• Grandparents on Dad's side no longer with us
• Grandparents on Mom's side unable to travel (I need to visit them; far north)
• Dad's been dating Betty for over a year
• Mom's been dating Fred for under a year
• Lisa has been dating Milhouse for over a year
• Maggie has been dating Nelson for over a year
• Betty has 3 children, one that is still in school (we'll go with Bamm)
• I don't (or at least apparently shouldn't) date [more on this in a later post]

With that background information you should now have the key to unlocking the following puzzle. That puzzle being my Thanksgiving dinner.

Family gatherings are really a bittersweet experience for me and have been since college. It's rare that everyone gets together and I really love my family so it is always something I look forward to, but at the same time we all have conflicting personalities that seem to get stronger every year. When I say our personalities conflict I don't mean on an individual level, it's just something about all of us together that brings forth the aspects of those personalities that don't blend well. I get along great with all of them when it is just a couple of us (i.e. me, Lisa and Milhouse or me, dad and Betty) but I just can't take all of them together at the same time for very long.

For example, whenever I am getting together with Maggie, I know to tell her about 30 minutes before when I actually expect to see her. She is notoriously late to everything (except work, like ever). This is fine when it's just us or a small group, but when the whole family is waiting to eat and she was supposed to be there over an hour prior, it can get a little aggravating. I can't really think of anything Lisa does that gets on my nerves except that she is really nice and tries too hard to keep everything civil ... if I want to be mad at Maggie, damn it let me express that. As for Selma, I have never really gotten along with her (except when I was really young and we went to lots of hockey games, she was the "cool Aunt") and I don't know why. She just frustrates me beyond belief, and I won't even go into the grudge I hold against her (and my dad to a certain extent) over my dog from college (maybe I will, just not today). My parents are great, they have little quirks that tend to bother me (and I let them know about these), but for the most part we have never really fought about anything significant. Everyone's significant others are also high up on my list, with one slight exception that doesn't really fit in.

Finally, onto the actual day. I love my Thanksgiving because it shows how awesome my family is. We have the dinner at my mom's house and the table is filled with 11 people (10 and the 11th came mid-way through), none of which are married. There are a total 6 different last names among us. The main thing to consider here is that only 5 of these people are my immediate family, everyone else sports a different last name. Everyone contributes some dish (Lisa's green-bean casserole is the best; I brought beer since my stove/oven was still dirty from house work) and we all have a good time. I think this was the first time most of the family met Betty's son Bamm (I met him last year on a trip to Hershey Park with Dad, Betty, Bamm, his friend, and one of my Ex's) and I felt bad since I was supposed to bring Rock Band but completely forgot. I was only there for about 4 hours (had to leave for a volleyball match) but had a great time and am already looking forward to Christmas. Now what to do tomorrow since everyone else has their own Thanksgiving plans (I was invited to be the third wheel at no less than 3 Thanksgivings but figure I can use the day to work on my house and write some of these reports for work)?