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I’m finally getting around to taking down the tree this weekend.  There’s a fake one in my household because I can’t bear to think of chopping down a real one just as holiday decoration.  Sure, they’re grown on tree farms and another will be planted in its place, but do you know how long it will take for that little sapling to grow into a mature tree?  At least seven years!  Considering trees can live hundreds of years, seven makes it an infant.  Babies are being killed people!

I had forgotten about all the candy canes I bought, and all the ones that were given me so now there’s a big pile I don’t know what to do with.  One can only put so many into a mug of hot chocolate.   I think after a few maybe my farts would start smelling minty.  Candy cane makers should really market that.  I’ve see commercials where a guy pops in a minty piece of gum and suddenly everyone around him starts dancing or the Orbit ones that claim to clean a dirty mouth.  Who wouldn’t want candy cane butt?  Your colon will feel fresher and a no one would mind a minty afterthought.

I was in Florida for New Year’s with my boyfriend.  It was wonderfully warm when we landed - almost 70F and humid.  It was already 7pm when we rented a car and drove an hour to our cozy hotel.  We were starving, not having eaten much since the morning but Joaquin looked on the verge of passing out.  There were a couple restaurants right next to the hotel we could have gone to, but it’s never that easy with a picky eater.  Where did we end up?  Wendy’s.  Not that I don’t like Wendy’s - I was just hoping our first dinner there would be at a restaurant we don’t have in Massachusetts.  The place was deserted.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen an empty Wendy’s here in MA but the food was good though.  Over the next few days, we went to a variety of fast food places and bars.  My favorites were the Waffle House, which I learned was natively known as Wa-Ho and they make great waffles, and What-A-Burger, the 24 hour burger joint.  I wish we had those chains up here.

I had forgotten that the restaurants and bars weren’t smoke-free so when we went to the dueling piano bar Howl At The Moon, I was immediately reminded of how much I missed Boston quality bar air.  The stench wasn’t bothering me all that much but still, I was apologizing to my lungs.  I’m that type of person who holds my breath when walking behind a smoker.  The guys behind the pianos were middle-aged men with great voices.  You could request songs, and they’ll do what they can to add a bit of raunchy lyrics.  It was all good until a younger guy stepped in to relieve one of the older men.  He sounded like the singer of Coheed and Cambria.  Mix his voice with the melodious sounds of a grand piano - they just don’t do well together.  After a couple songs he started rocking on the guitar.  He might have sounded better on this but by then I was already over him and hoping the original guy would come back from break.
There was a visit to a so-so strip club afterwards.  I won’t go into details of what happened there.  Let’s just say I’m not against going back but maybe to a better quality one.

Everyone in Florida was really friendly, even the bored liquor store clerk and fast-food cashiers.  I’ve read articles about Bostonians being rude and cranky but having grown up near Boston, I never saw our behavior as being any different than anyone else.  The liquor store clerk showed us how to save money on the booze we were buying instead of watching us walk around the store.  He wished us a good night and a happy new year, rather than grunting ‘You have I.D.?’ and then moving on to the next person.  Florida, you’re my pal.  I’m definitely coming back to visit you soon.

I found this silly dress-up-Angelina-Jolie game. You can mix and match accessories from different outfits including Catwoman, Superwoman, Tomb Raider, Pocahontas, and a few others. I was hoping to have her naked with hooker heels and her tentacle braid from Beowulf but disappointingly this was not an option.

It’s Thanksgiving today.  After today, there will be an explosion of Christmas music on the radio.  I hear a lot of whining about the seemingly endless rounds of Christmas music but I love it to death.  There’s a small family gathering at my house right now, trying to pass time until the food is ready.  We’re going to have some turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy (YES!!), yams, blueberry pie and pumpkin pie whenever my sister gets here.  She, like some others, had to work today.  I’m grateful that I don’t.  I’m also grateful for the paid day off after, the week between Christmas and New Year’s off,  the food I get to eat, the health I’m privileged to have, my loving family, and my friends.  Thanks to the workers of the MBTA, food places, and hospitals for staying open today.  Have a good, safe Thanksgiving to all.  Remember not to run around with the turkey cutter in hand or for the folks down south: try not to burn yourself with that deep fried oil.

I signed up for a Flickr Pro account a few weeks back. As a special treat, new members get 10 free mini Moo cards which you can personalize with your own photos. The cards arrived a few days ago and they are super cute! Not knowing what to do with them, I decided to make magnets.. because you just can’t go wrong with magnets.

As lamp deco

I think for Christmas I’m going to send postcards of my conceited face to family and turn my facial expressions into a stickerbook, then hand them out as gifts. Seriously, who wouldn’t want one?

A few things I’ve learned during my 5 years working as tech support at a well-known university.

1. Walk fast. It’s cold out, really cold - just get to the next building on the list already. But more importantly, walking fast gets you out of a suite quicker. The longer you stay there, the more time the workmates of the customer you went to see will have to think about all the problems they’re having with their computers that they’ve ‘meant to’ call in but never did. But since you’re here, let’s just tell you all about them because you have uber amounts of time right?

2. Don’t push Start on the coffee machine unless the ‘Ready to Brew’ light is on. Otherwise you get a shot of lukewarm dirty water into your cup and a wasted packet of coffee. It’s your lucky morning if it’s window cleaning day. While you’re waiting for the water to brew, watch the windows washers. They provide ample entertainment with their rope-swinging and squeegee-ing while you’re still in that pre-caffeine morning daze.

3. Don’t ever give a customer your cell phone number unless you make them swear, on punishment of deleting all fonts from their computer except for Wing Dings, not to give it out to anyone else, and not to call you on weekends or nights. That’s what the on-call techs are paid for.

4. Don’t linger in the kitchen too long. Unless you want to be swarmed with questions. See #1.

5. Don’t leave a wipe disk in a computer you don’t mean to wipe. It’s bad news. Really.

6. Your closet of an office is not a place of solace, especially with no blinds and no means of ventilation once the door is shut. The one-person bathroom, however, works perfectly. Except when someone’s made a doody in it recently. Escape and find another bathroom.

7. Don’t ever nod off in the office. Almost always someone will show up at your door, wondering why you’re not responding to them. Then you’ll have to wake up TO THEIR FACES. Oh horror of horrors!

8. The helpdesk/call center is only good for telling you that a person called in, with a computer issue. That’s right - what tech doesn’t love a help request all-inclusively entitled “computer problem”.

Last night I dreamed that I had started a new job working as tech support for another place. Except that I hadn’t told my previous employer that I was leaving so I was running back and forth working both jobs and getting stressed out. Work haunts my dreams. Is there such a thing as a voodoo doll of your job?

I bought these socks from Hootenanny today after eyeing them for a solid 2 minutes. The best part is that they even have fins!

This past Sunday my family held an early birthday celebration for my grandmother and I. It felt nice getting together with family because I hardly get to hang out with them anymore. My sister, the pastry chef, made us both cakes. My grandmother’s was a tasty gold cake, with vanilla frosting and coconut shavings. The best part was the homemade whipped cream used to hold the 3 cake layers together. Simple and classic.

My cake on the other hand was a behemoth; a razzle-dazzle spectacular for the eyes. It was cupcakes and mini-cakes, with home-made and hand pumped frosting. My sister called it the candy land cake because of all the different colors and yes, the candy.

Behold!

For presents I got the first 2 seasons of Futurama, a hoodie and t-shirt, Super Shiny Bender, two Nintendo DS games, McDonald’s gift certs, and some really lovely handcrafted jewelry made by my cousin Vina. The bracelet was worn to work and it already received a compliment.

She has other hand made goodies to show

I’m just not going to think about getting older. Because I don’t feel older. Just lazier. And gassy.