The "Not Quite Christmas" Christmas

It seems that the past few years that Christmas just hasn't felt the same as it did growing up. I've come to accept that a good deal of that comes from just not being a kid anymore. That's fine. This year, though, felt even less like Christmas than in recent years past. Part of that was the short amount of time I was in Illinois visiting family, part of it was the low turnout on Christmas day. This year was my Mom's family's turn. Usually that's 40-50 people. This year it was more like 20-25. It felt like nobody was there. I think that I only physically unwrapped one gift had something to do with it as well. Don't get me wrong, I can really use the money I got...especially since I had to get the car fixed, but it's just not quite the same.

Those were the reasons that this year felt particularly un-Christmas-y, but there are more reasons that have been that way for a few years now. These reasons really go hand-in-hand. Reason number the first is that I don't have my own family to spend Christmas with. By which I mean my own wife and, later, kids. When I watch others, it's evident that there's something special to that and I want it for myself. Don't get me wrong. This isn't the annual time that I complain about being single at the holidays (that'll probably hit its crescendo on New Years' Eve anyway). That's not what this is about. That actually, and oddly enough, bothered me less this year than in previous years. Maybe it's because I have some "irons in the fire" as the kids say.

Reason number the second is the lack of Christmas decorations in my house. It used to be that the Christmas decorations came out a month before Christmas, and even when life got in the way, they were there to remind me that it really was Christmas time. Yes, I could put up decorations, or just a tree even, but I informally decided a couple years ago that I didn't want to bother with such things until I had a "significant other" to do the decorating with. It would just make me feel more alone if I put up decorations by myself. I think that's because the whole family helped put them up when I was a kid. It's the kind of thing you do as a group, even if everyone in the group is complaining about it.
I did get my new glasses today though (more on those in a future blog post), so I've got that going for me...which is nice. I could have done without doing my best impression of this guy when I got the glasses though.


Oh well, that's just me being me.

A New Plan

With the end of the year fast approaching, it's not too soon to start thinking about tax season. I've decided that I'll take a new approach this year. Sure, I'll still go the regular route of taking itemized tax deductions. However, I will also add tax seductions to my list. I will romance America in a way that she's never been romanced before, and she'll forget all about my tax burden. I don't want to give away all my secrets, but rest assured that there will be candles, flowers, incense and body oils of all kinds involved. I will take America away to a different time and place where she may imagine herself as a princess riding through a meadow of orchids on the back of unicorn, as that is her wont.

I will remind her how special she is and how much she is loved. The dew of my tenderness will be upon her. Rather than asking for monetary contributions from me, she will lay her treasure out before me. I will partake of only an appropriate amount, as I am a gentleman in every sense of the word. Mutual gratitude will be exchanged afterward. Before parting ways, I will remind America that tax season will come again the following year that she may await it in breathless anticipation. She will appreciate my loving candor. Some people love America. I prefer to make love to America.

Who needs an accountant when you've got such a brilliant plan as the one I've concocted? To America, I'll be seeing you real soon baby.

Pain

And plenty of it. First it was my elbow...almost 3 months ago now. Now it's my knee. Isn't getting old and having your body fall apart great? It's not all bad though. I should be getting the referral to the orthopedist tomorrow...and actually seeing the orthopedist soon. I also found out today that when the orthopedist says I need to get MRIs on my elbow and knee (which I'm guessing he/she will) that my insurance company will cover the cost. So I've got that going for me, which is nice. The nerd part of me, which is an admittedly large part, is also looking forward to what the MRI images will look like. I'm "cool" like that. :) Besides, I'll take significant physical pain over significant emotional pain 10 times out of 10. It heals faster. I'm also finally getting over my cold too, so I'm feeling the best I've felt in a week. Yay me!!

It's super frustrating to have two major hurty body parts right now, but as always, God knows what he's doing. When my elbow started hurting, I had to stop lifting with my arms and focus more on my legs when I was working out. Now that my knee's hurting I can't work out at all. That does free up a good chunk of 2 nights and Saturday morning each week for getting the Studiophile stuff done...and it needs to get done. I'm actually typing this post right now while I'm waiting for some stuff to print so I can get more work done. It gets stressful and it gets tiring, but seeing where we're going with things motivates me, and I'm sure that this will all be more than worth it in the future.

There have been more times than I can count (okay, so I could probably count them if I could remember them all, but I wasn't taking notes at the time) along the way already where I have seen how things have gone and had to step back and say "That's God doing this. Things don't work this way." and I can't help but get excited about where things are going. This, like so many other phases of my life so far, isn't all sunshine, lollipops and puppy dogs along the way, but I just know when I get to the other side of it and look back on how things unfolded I won't have a choice but to praise God. I've rambled enough, and my printouts are almost done, so as the kids say, I'll catch you on the flipside. Okay, so the kids aren't actually saying that, but nobody's probably reading this anyway...

Confused, Would We?

An odd thing happened on my way home from work last night. I was slowing down for the red light at the upcoming intersection when I heard someone honking (well, their car was honking) in the lane to the right of me. I looked over and it was a young blond lady, with brunette passenger in tow, driving a white Acura Integra, or was it an RS-X? Whichever it was, it was the Acura version of a Civic. She was talking on her cell phone and making gestures indicating she liked my car. I didn't recognize her, but I did have my head up my pocket, so maybe I do know this mystery girl. Anyway, it was strange that some random young woman would not only take an interest in cars but go out of her way to let me know she liked mine. That kind of thing never happens to me. I'm not complaining, mind you, it's just an out-of-the-ordinary occurrence.

Goin' South?

So last weekend was Chili Fest and my first ever trip to Nashville, TN. Before going, I really didn't have thoughts one way or the other about Nashville. Now that I've been there, I can honestly say I wouldn't mind moving there (although I might be singing a different tune in the summer), though it likely wouldn't be for a while. The area is more picturesque than Ohio (where isn't?), and I certainly don't have family keeping me here. I mean, I already live 400 miles away from family, what's another 50? The 70 mph speed limits are nice too. :)

I've never thought too much about The South and there would be some adjustment, but I think I like it. For example, one of the local post offices is part of a Mailboxes, Etc. type store. The name of said store is Goin' Postal. Southerners sure know how to court me.


Yeah, it's been a while since my last post, but I've been busier than a scotch tape salesman at a leper colony.

Possibly Awesome News...But Just Possibly

It's certainly no sure thing, but to think that the possibility even exists is weird. Friday night I got news that we may have a business relationship forming that has a real possibility of allowing us to all quit our day jobs much sooner than expected. What gets really ridiculous though is the part where there's the possibility that we wouldn't have to worry about money anymore...ever. That just seems totally unreal. So that's the positive part. The flipside is that we'll be working harder than Japanese beavers to get things up and running. The flipside to that (what kind of three-sided coin is this?) is that the really insane hours would taper off after deployment. All this with never actually going out to try to find work. God is good.

Slapped in the Face by the Long Arm of the Law

Here's a bit of advice. Don't pass somebody in a double-yellow zone when there's a cop behind you when you're going to get groceries. The cop will pull you over and give you a ticket for $110. How do I know this? Well, I did it yesterday morning. It was safe to pass, it just wasn't legal. Why come I don't get to take care of signage and lane markings on roadways? Probably because the "Slow Traffic Keep Right" signs would be 20 feet tall. I really had my head up my pocket.

My Life of IHOP, Art Museums, and Shirtless Gay Men Doing Tae Bo

What a fun holiday weekend...and not just because I didn't have to come into work for 3 days. On Saturday, Darren, Liesel, and I went to Cincinnati to go to IHOP (as is our Labor Day Saturday tradition). Of course the food was delicious. After all, that's why we went.

Afterward, we headed over to the Cincinnati Museum of Art, which has free admission. The museum highlights for me were the orange 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400S (1 of 140 built) that was on display and the exhibit of Saul Steinberg's art. Also, Liesel assuming the "booty position" of an African carving every time she walked past it added to the fun. Before leaving the museum, we went to check out the gift shop where a couple of gay guys were making inane comments about some of the wares to the workers. It was kind of amusing, but didn't think too much of it. As we were in the car leaving, one of those guys came out the front entrance, removed his shirt, and made Tae Bo-style air-punching movements. Very odd, very amusing, very Cincinnati. We finished the evening over at Casa de Kautz, where Chris joined us for Wine and Cheese Party.

On Sunday I finally got to race my car this year. I had forgotten how much fun it was. My body was literally shaking after my first run from all the adrenaline that was running through it. That's a fun feeling.

Monday was pretty relaxing.

The only way the weekend could have been better is if I had a "friend" to go with us on Saturday to make things a foursome. Oh well, that's how life goes.

Help for U.S. Americans Is on the Way!

Finally, something is being done to blunt the scourge of our country.

Yes, you can has a maps!

The Times, They Have A' Changed

So what do you do if you're a school administrator and one of your students demonstrates initiative and school spirit? That's right, you give them a 3-day in-school suspension. The kid who made this video (and the two who helped him execute the plan) was suspended for a harmless prank. Since these suspended kids are local, I may have to track them down and buy them a beer.