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This Christmas past.

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by ontheropes 3 views

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Survived it. I always dread the big Christmas meal at the in-laws but now I've satisfied my social obligations to them until Mothers Day. Thank the FSM that's over with. I behaved myself too and didn't allow my wife's brother to drag me into an argument.

On the bright side, we have some new toys. My OH bought a Wii console and some games, one of them being Guitar Hero. I remember someone else posting about Guitar Hero, and getting ragged on about it, but that is one game that kicks my butt. I practice it when no one else is around because I suck so bad at it that I don't want anyone else to see the suckage. Personal issue I guess.

I like everything I got for Christmas, everything we got, to be more precise.

It was good to get past Christmas with as little fuss as possible. No tree, no lights and ornaments, just plenty of food and cookies and close family time. Good stuff.

I also see that no one has started a good off-topic discussion about this past Christmas so I thought I'd take a stab at it as there isn't much else that seems to be happening at the moment.

One thing I know for sure now, I'm not going to try to learn how to play a real guitar until I can get somewhere on Guitar Hero. I'd thought about it but uh-uh. Not going to do it.

Run what you brung. This discussion is about as off-topic as you can get. What'd you get for Christmas that pleases you? What did you get for someone else that pleases them? Did you enjoy a quiet time by yourself or a rowdy time with family/friends? What'd you DO for Christmas? Anything? I'm nosy (bored). I want to know. :0

123 replies

by michael jay

Got a Santana best of cd, and it has this on it, something I had not heard in quite a while, enjoy;

http://www.imeem.com/jukeboxmusic13/music/4GrBVEjH/santana_europa_earths_cry_heavens_smile/

I got a bunch of Hershey bars, dang I just love chocolate, and the Old Farmers Almanac.

We too got Guitar Hero, I have as yet to try it out but the kids and grand kids are loving it.

Got a remote control tarantula for the grand kids and it actually looks a lot like this;
http://www.suddenrx.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/tarantula.jpg
The cats love it, I think that they will kill it for sure.

Also all the regular fair, clothes and such, I pods, card games, stuffed animals, and seeing the smiles on the little ones faces was just heaven.

But beyond all the gifts and such, it was just family fun. The thing that makes Christmas, well Christmas.

It was a good Christmas and I must say I was very glad to be here.

by ontheropes

My daughter is really good at it. She can go 180 notes without missing a note. I get like 10% of the notes right and the band quits playing and the audience riots. :^0

by michael jay

perhaps later tonight, it seems that you are playing like my granddaughter, she be missing a lota notes.. LOL..

Keep it up, you will get better. I will have to let you know how badly, or well I do once I get into it.

by tink!

I got my daughter a Dance Pad with DDR Extreme for the PS2.

Tried it out with her on Christmas Day. I have yet to stay in the green - I'm always in the Danger Zone - even on familiar songs like YMCA. And that's just on the Beginner Level! LOL.

I think I'm shooting for a Guitar Hero for her next year. :D

by michael jay

but it has almost the same play list, but not Stormy.

Which got me to looking because I did not know that Santana did that cover.

What I found broke my heart, Dennis Yost died on the 7th of this month, this year. CRAP

Dang, great song no mater who does it.

by boxfiddler

I had a tolerable Christmas. Watched Ghost Rider and had dinner at my brother's. Swapped gifts.

The grinch is still a grinch, though. No wait, more a b*tch than a grinch.

I'm still baking cookies, and cakes. Gifties still late this year.
Had dinner last night with an old family friend. She and I go way back. We had a fun evening of margaritas and Mexican food.

That's about it for me. Maybe next year the childish thrill will return.

Glad to see yours was nice. I'm waiting for a recording of you playing guitar. ;)

by ontheropes

Haven't really had it since my dad died when I was 8 years old. Christmas is basically just another day for me now that I'm older. What was nice about it this year was being able to spend some time with the immediate family and I include the pupper dogs in that. My extended family consists of the in-laws and I can just as soon do without but at least the roast beast wasn't overcooked this time.

My New Years Eve plans include going to bed somewhere around 2217. :^0

Thunderstorms in the forecast for both you and I. Weird weather.

by boxfiddler

It's supposed to drop into the low 30's tonight. That's quite a degree spread for a day in my neck of the woods.

At least the wind will have knocked a bunch of the dead branches out of the oaks in front. There will be plenty of easy to find kindling tomorrow. :D

by w2ktechman

as nicely as I can say it :D :^0

Ok, more seriously -- what was so wrong that you have been in a bad mood?

Oh yeah, may wanna post under yours, as I am sure this will be edited :0

by boxfiddler

I'm not the grinch/b*tch. OH is.
Dunno - tough year here, I'll be happy to see a new one. If fortune smiles my way, I won't have the blahs for Christmas next year.

And I AIN'T in no bad effing mood, you hear?
:D :D :D

by av .

Christmas is very hectic for me. We see my family on Christmas Eve and Hubby's family on Christmas day. This year we made lasagna for both families. About 20+ people altogether. Everyone loved it.

It was fun playing with my 5 year old niece and seeing my brother and sisters. Its so hard for everyone to get together at the same time. My inlaws are in their 70's, but they're both healthy. They love to tell their stories.

Its so much fun to see everyone, but I could do without picking out gifts for people. Thats the biggest PITA because I never can figure out what to buy.

I'm happy with my gifts. Some real nice loungewear, jewelry and spa-type stuff. The microwave socks look really interesting. They have lavender herbal inserts that are supposed to soothe your aching feet. I can sure use that after this Christmas!

I'd like to try Guitar Hero. It looks like so much fun. Heres something to inspire you Ropes. All you need is a cape. :^0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVUgd8ot6BE

AV

by ontheropes

Tommy, if you're reading this... I miss you dood. :D

Good video. There were a few clinkers in there but not many. Once you buy any new toy it seems like everyone and the granddaughter is into it. I like watching people play it. They stand off to one side of our 60" TV and I can see everything from where I'm at right now. Great fun. I am getting a little tired of Pat Benatar though. I haven't even completed one song yet so I'll probably be even more tired of her before it's all over.

It used to be, in the winter months when my wife and I lived alone, we'd play video games all night long. Sometimes the only light in the house that was on was the light from the 17" CRT. I long for those days, we had such a good time. Time marches on though and all we ever have are the memories. Personally, I think I can stand to have some more good memories to offset the bad ones. That's as much whining as I'm going to do. :0

We've had water trouble, again, but all of us working together have begun to resolve the issues. I won't bore you with the details. I think that I'll remember this Christmas for all of us coming together and working towards a few simple common goals, all without rancor. You could say we even had a good time working together. (Threw that w word in there.)

Right now I'm pretty calm and cozy warm. People I care about are safe. What more can I really ask for? I hope the new year coming up finds us all still safe. I may even pray to my non-existent invisble friend for that very thing.

by av .

Eventually I find some decent gifts, but it doesn't come easy for me. Every now and then, I do find the perfect gift for someone and I love to see their reaction. Still, shopping for Christmas gifts is an ordeal.

AV

by nicknielsen

is my sister-in-law. She's a John Deere freak, so anything yellow and green makes her happy and I don't have to spend a lot. This year's tchotchke:

by ontheropes

You may take to it naturally. It wouldn't surprise me that your granddaughter is better than me. I'm bad and the gang here is talking about getting the whole rock band kit including a drum set and who knows what all. Oh boy! I'd better be good at something. :0

by michael jay

I may not yet be a guitar hero but, I am not a Navin Johnson.

It seems to be all about rhythm, just follow that and you are fine.

Going to take a lot of practice to get really good but I like it.

A really cool game.

by ontheropes

I didn't know it but the first game they bought was GH3. Yesterday someone bought the original GH. Sitting here practicing my fret moves I think I might actually be able to get thru a few of those songs, in easy mode.

by w2ktechman

not too bad. I was looking at LCD tv's, and thinking maybe next year. Then Costco had a package deal for 2, a 42 and 32. I couldnt resist. I ordered them Saturday, and they got here Christmas Eve (afternoon). Plenty of time to set them up :D
Yes, the 42 is for TV/DVD and the 32 is for the video games (replacing a 23). Oh the difference from both replacements :D

I was expecting 6 more guests than showed up. 3 didnt show up cause of bad weather and decided not to drive to Ca.. Doing Christmas in Springtime for them.
1 didnt show cause he was back east.
2 didnt show and didnt call/email/nothing.

I found out about 4 of them AFTER I went shopping for food and cr@p -- lol

out of those that showed up, there was plenty of food. The only decorations I put up was the tree, pre-assembled (mostly). took 10 min to setup with the tree skirt and putting presents around -- whew -- more video game time :D

my big present was an iPod nano 16GB :D
this will surely replace the 1gb pos mp3 player that I am currently using (little bass), and it does video :D

Ok, now I gotta buy more cr@p to fill it up :( , however I have an itunes gift card as well :)

So, all in all, movies look great on the 42" Philips LCD. the 32" has sound problems, and Philips support told me to take it back (I would think a firmware update should fix it, but oh well). the sound turns to total static periodically (random between 2 min and 2 hours). However if I change the channel and change back, it is fixed for the next random amount of time ?:|

But with the new toys, I was able to stay away from the computer well enough while rebuilding it yesterday. so all in all, everything is pretty good.

remind me next year that my low life bro isnt invited though! Long story but this loser is the kind of person that makes people not like Christmas!

by ontheropes

What is it with brothers? My wife's brother is the biggest PITA I can think of right now and that's saying something. Kept my cool though. Oh well. Glad it's over. Moving on now. We used to go over to his house for New Years Eve but my wife put a stop to that. :^0

Glad you had a cool Yule. I think you deserved one. Of course, maybe I'm just trying to stay on your good side so I can try some of that secret Scummy toffee next year too. ;) :D

by gadgetgirl

Accidentally (true) got a 42" plasma and 22" wall mount LCD TV. Found the first while looking for the second..... Yep, films look great on a 42"-er. Have yet to catch a John Wayne, though..... :D

Pressies were mostly practical, although I did get Quo's 40th Anniversary CD (Nick - pm me if you want a copy! :p ) Despite me telling HOB NOT to get me a replacement hair styler he did, consequently getting the wrong one. I go back to swap it for the right one during the week..... :)

Grandson was chuffed to bits with the camcorder/webcam/still camera combi I got him - saves him nicking any of mine! Got followed around the kitchen while he practiced, including the running commentary..... "... and this is Gran cooking her wonderful ham and egg pie for tea...." !!!

Managed to keep everyone away from Pa's broken shoulder, thankfully, but he was a bit miffed he had to have help opening his pressies. I definitely got him the right thing: a book (WWII on the Home Front) which will keep him settled for weeks! Has replica telegrams, ration books, letters to home etc., and everyone had a look through it before he took it home for "a good read".

Grandson brought over the Wii. Pa now wants one. (Help..... :( )

Not doing anything for New Year. Nope. Not. Staying in, keeping warm, doing nothing. Apart from hoping the next year is better than the last one, that is.....

GG

by road-dog

After the last marriage blew up in my face, I've enjoyed stripping Christmas down to nothing and starting over. The holidays were this ever quickening treadmill where the expectations grew ever more unrealistic and disappointing in the end.

I set foot in in a department store once this season, because my room-mate needed to get herself a new cell phone after the freak coffee accident of '08. That was quite enough for me.

I call this Christmas a success because I was able to avoid it almost in it's entirety.

May the FSM touch you all with his noodley appendage this coming year....

by ontheropes

It was a gift-card for a couple who'll definitely need it. I know how some feel about gift cards but I'm a practical mofo myself.

Christmas is over and not a dime put on a credit card. That's a good feeling. I call that a success.

by jdclyde

boys got clothes, I got some cash.

best gift I got, the ex decided not to pick the boys up on Christmas, so I got to keep them the whole time. We went up to the nursing home to see gram and gramps, and then relaxed around the house.

Of course we can't play on our xbox360 because MicroCrap put out such an inferior product that this is the second time in under a year the @#$#@%$'en piece of crap burnt up with the RROD.

Congrats on not letting the bro-in-law get to you. guess putting up with the rest of us all year has been good practice? :D

by ontheropes

. :^0 Could happen.

Sux about thr RROD. I'd like to have an X-Box too but since you first posted about them I've had second thoughts. The Wii may get everyone thru the Winter anyway. I'd like to get Super Mario Galaxy. I see that's a top rated game. Suggestions are welcome. B-)

by jdclyde

guitar hero lags badly, hindering play.

you are supposed to click the button as the marker passes under the circles at the end, but on the wii you have to almost "lead" it.

I would hope that MS has the over heating issue worked out by now. I do know that they changed the one year warranty to a three year for that issue, so at least they are supporting the issue.

by jdclyde

first, you would have to give people an idea they types of games you enjoy and don't enjoy, to be able to help out.

Might be a good idea for a new discussion.

I am not into the "cutesie" games like the Mario games, just personal preference. I do more the driving and FPS style. Played Gears of War2 yesterday and it was pretty sweet, and had an entertaining storyline. The boys had a friend over and he brought his non-burnt-up 360 over for the day. It was a two player game, and we sat there for hours taking turns working through. No one got bored, even when waiting for a turn. It was more like an interactive space adventure movie. (damn giant worm)

Halo is a hot game, but I like the Call of Duty series more.

Rock Band actually blew the first guitar hero away because it allowed for four people to play the whole band instead of just two guitars. I guess the new GH is adding in the rest of the band.

by dumphrey

and Mario Kart.... I LOVE Mario Kart... I dream about it... I think I may be addicted...

by jdclyde

I think the easy setting is difficult because it doesn't match up to the music, so go up one step to start with. matches better, but still only uses four buttons instead of five.

GH3 has a pretty big selection of music. The first one was more the famous air guitar songs, while gh3 is something for everyone.

by nicknielsen

We exchanged gifts, we went to the SIL's for the afternoon (and watched A Night at the Museum), then came home for dinner.

Got the boys each their own MP3 player so they no longer have to borrow mine or their mother's. Got the "Very Best of Santana" CD and a new pair of slippers from LL Bean. The boys' mother got a gift card for clothes shopping.

Best part of the day? Kicked back in the evening with Macallan in the glass, singing along to Handel on the stereo. "Hallelujah!"

edit: can't splel MP3! :p

by ontheropes

Christmas past or Christmas passed. You're probably right but I'll leave it because I don't care if I'm always correct or look like an idiot. Might get under Neil's skin though. Maybe he'll comment.

Too bad I quit drinking what with everyone talking about Macallan. Sounds like I missed something. I know that I've missed several somethings FROM drinking so I guess it evens out.

by boxfiddler

I liked that one. Actually went to a matinee to see it bigscreen. Got a few giggles out of it.

by tig2

We got to CA late Sunday night and went to see my dad on Monday. We went out to lunch and then to the cemetery to see my mother's grave. It wasn't the best of times but something I knew was coming.

We got a chance to go out to the Shops at Disney on Tuesday. I hadn't seen the new section (outside of the park) and was surprised by all the changes. I got pictures and will ship a few to Soni for TROLOV. Wish we had time to spend the day at Disneyland. I would love to see the changes.

We went to the candlelight service at church on Wednesday. I loved the message our pastor gave and enjoyed seeing our Pastor Emeritus- an old friend. His wife has recently finished chemo and is looking fantastic. It was great to see old friends that I had last seen at Mom's funeral. We went back to the house for my sister's famous tacos and some reminiscing about Mom and growing up.

Christmas was tough. Dad was missing Mom and so were the rest of us. We kept it as simple as we could and focused the holiday on being together as a family. My niece pulled out the picture of Mom that was at her funeral. My Dad decided that it should always be on the wall. It was comforting to see her there with us all.

The pollen in CA seems to play hell with my sinuses. I spent the day after the holiday trying to rip my sinuses out. My sisters and niece and I had planned to go play in the bead store but I just couldn't step up. So we stayed an extra day so that I could have the day with my sisters after the sinus meds started actually working.

Today we all went out to play at the bead store. Two hours and way too much money later, we all had new toys to play with. Then we went to a wonderful restaurant that my parents always enjoyed. We had a great time!

When we got back to the house, I taught my sisters how to do some bead weaving- specifically, needle weaving. By the end of the lesson, they could all do it well.

The hard part was having to say "good-bye". It about ripped my heart out to hug my Dad for the last time. I don't know if i will see him alive again. He's slipping so much. Equally hard was saying good-bye to my oldest sister. She takes on so much since Mom died. We have always been close and I know I will miss her. I already do.

Tomorrow we head for Texas- Amarillo. From there to St Louis to visit my Uncle Frank's grave. Then we head home.

It has been a long day. My heart is heavy. And 4:00 am will come early.

by gadgetgirl

It's all you can do.

You know where I am - and how to get hold of me - if you need me.

Loads of virtual hugs.

GG

by michael jay

you know we all care.

And I care, life is filled with all things, good, happy, sad and bad.

Try hard not to let the sad and bad get to you, and I know that is so not easy. Hold up the good and happy, make sure it overpowers the negatives.

Best to you in the coming year, may 2009 be the best ever.

Michael

by tink!

It's never easy to watch loved ones slip away. My mother managed to stick it through the holidays. The day after New Years is my day of remembrance for her.

I didn't know you did beading (if you've mentioned it before - my bad). Do you have any pics of your work? Do you sell or just gift? If you sell or wish to sell, have you checked out etsy.com?

by tig2

But will. I have way too much of my own work and have been known to gift just to get it out of the house so I can make more.

I'm always looking for new fund raising avenues. This year the SO wants to walk too so we have to raise $4600 just to make minimum.

It's hard for me to know how to feel about Dad. Since we lost Mom, he doesn't want to live. If my sisters weren't there keeping him together, I don't know what would happen. I have a feeling that I will be making this trip again next Christmas. Hopefully, I won't be making it before then. Still, I understand that he doesn't want to be without her.

I will make a point of getting some decent pictures of my work. I've only ever done Christmas boutiques in the past. Might be interesting to consider designs in numbers greater than one.

by boxfiddler

but today my Christmas was rescued! :x

(Just got in from Rich & Charlie's, and of course I HAD to!)

etu

by tig2

Thank you for that.

I must plan to swing by Noobyoobywabba again soon. Good class of people there. And I really like the salad dressing!

by michael jay

I always promise myself that I will pick up gifts thru the year, but I never do. Always end up in December scrambling for good gift ideas.

But once Christmas is done the ordeal is forgotten and all is good. Smiles all around.

by ontheropes

I had no idea how many John Deere items there are until I went to Tractor Supply Co. :0

SIL even has John Deere pajamas that my wife made for him. :D No picture available.

by gsg

It's a very expensive leather purse silly, now get your mind out of the gutter. I've had my eye on this purse for ages, but they are outrageously expensive. One bright side to the lousy economy is that some things that never go on sale, are deeply discounted, so my mom was able to get the purse for 75% off. There's no other way that they could have afforded it. As it is, I made her promise that neither her or Dad would get me anything else because it was still very expensive.

Other than that, I got lots of hugs, lots of family time, and kicked butt at our traditional cut-throat game sessions, except for the one game where I got beat by so many points that I can't bear to think about it.

by jck

Sure...it was nice to spend time with my parents. However, it was also chore after chore.

Then getting home, I had satellite installed at my house. In the process of setting it up, the installer managed to chop a line to one of my rooms. the goofball. plus, i pulled up the chopped line and managed to find a patch in a line...that fell apart. So much for quality work by my cable company. So, I was out digging in my yard and patching my cablemodem feed til after dark on the 27th.

Oh well...maybe one day I'll be happy and have a relaxing Christmas...

by nicknielsen

We were having so many problems with drop-outs and pixellation, it needed to be done. It made some difference, but not much. The feed to the house is still 20-year-old RG-58 and Time-Warner says they won't replace it until it breaks.

Hmmm...

by jdclyde

if "someome" were to bend said cable, or if a tree were to fall, huh?

what happens when a current is run back up the cable? ;\

by jck

call the local phone company and have them come dig and don't tell them about the line.

gotta love utilites for cutting each others' lines :^0

by ontheropes

Right now, since Christmas, through a series of misadventures, I have a 150' trench in my yard for drainage tile. Long, boring story. My SIL dug it out today with a small excavator. I hope they get the tile in and the hole filled in before the bad weather hits.

My wife is running the project so I'm keeping my nose out of it, from now on. The last suggestion I made ended up costing me a trip and another 100' of cloth-covered drain tile. :_|

It's hard to sit here without trying to supervise the whole thing but that's exactly what I'm going to do. Think I'll have a cup of French Roast.

by maecuff

Spent Christmas eve at my sister's house and watched the kids open an obscene amount of presents. They were all very appreciative, so that was nice.

Christmas day? Drank too much while cooking and fell asleep by 7:00. Nice, though.

I got some new boots, sweaters, spa stuff..it's all good. :)

by jellimonsta

Well, our Christmas Eve was a low key evening watching Miracle on 34th Street. On Christmas morning we watched the kids open their presents. My wife and I traded 'coupon books' that we had made for each other, and she had also bought me a bunch of candy. :D
We went to my wife's cousins house for Christmas lunch with her dads extended family about 90 miles from home, and back home Christmas night. I was back at work on Friday and then on Saturday we went to my wife's aunts house for another Christmas lunch with her moms extended family.
Yesterday we had a small group meeting and another turkey and potatoe dinner. Overall, it was a good week, and my neice is staying with us until Wednesday so my daughter has had another six year old to play with since Christmas day. :)

by xnavydk

I spent some time with My grand Mother of 92. I had not seen her in 28 years. She has an uncanny memory, every detail of my trip up there when I was 15. Finally spent some time with my Dad, sang some karaoke the only way I know how, Badly. Set up my sisters Wii, and she always has a case of starbucks mocha Fraps waitin for me. The rest of the time I spent huddled in my bed watching Movies or playin WOW

Aside from the Duece Bigalow Experience(s) (Is that a ride a magic mountian?) all in all a good holiday vacation.

by Tammy.Cavadias

.. it has been offically labeled the day "Your brother spent Christmas in jail and you spent 48 hrs straight trying to get him out" (it's a very long story)

Boxy's Christmas sounds more up my alley - Margarita's and some good mexican food!

December is a month filled with birthdays (my son's, sister's, Mom's, mine, Aunt's, Grandmothers, etc...) and holidays in my family - so we spend more time eatting cake and ice cream than turkey and ham and singing Happy Brithday than Christmas carols.

As for what I got? I've never been big on presents for myself (I tend to use it as the time to justify that much needed item for the house but hate to spend the money - last year I got a washer and dryer, the year before a stove) - my kidsw did get me a very nice soft lambswool blanket to use in my office as I get cold so easy.

As for the kids - the 16yr old got the amp he's been drooling over for the last 6 months and the 15 yr old got a videorecorder to use in his video dabbling. The older two each got a ipod touch. Hubby got the gun he wanted (a ruger) thanks to Capt's tip about the tax break here in SC.

And that pretty sums up my Christmas this year :-) I think next year I'll head to Los Arcos and have a few margaritas.

-Tammy :-)

by boxfiddler

that was the best of it. It's been a remarkably unpleasant few days around here. Let me know when you head to Los Arcos. I'll tag along if you'll have me.

Bah. Humbug. :D

Sorry to hear about your brother.

etu

by Tammy.Cavadias

..and I'd love the company!

Los Arcos has the best Margaritas in town (and they don't skimp on the good stuff). Food is pretty good as well - and cheap.

Hope as we go into this new year that things begun less stressful for you.

-Tammy :-)

by boxfiddler

the best for the New Year, too. :)

Same goes for TR community as a whole.
A very happy, healthy New Year for all!

by boxfiddler

may I have a spot in the corner, next to you? You can tell me stories as we mill about like cattle headed to auction.

by Tammy.Cavadias

... brought us some margaritas too! ::::passes the pitcher to Boxy:::

That should tied us over for the next hour or two

::eyeballs Santees whip:::

-Tammy :-)

by shellbot

Just me and the OH home alone..cooked a full xmas turkey dinner, ate lots of sweets and nice things..

I got lots of nice stuff .. a small Radly handbag, Molton Brown stuff, a SGC tshirt!, and the usual bits, PJ's, bath fizzies, stuffed animal..

So back at work for 2 days, then off again till Monday..sweet!

by jdclyde

I "work" today (tuesday) and Friday.

The nice thing is leaving today and telling everyone I will see them next year.... :D

So far, the day has been uneventful, just how I like it. I think most of the people just don't realize I am at work today as most of the Christmas vacationers take the whole thing as a block, while I like to break my days up. B-)

Here is to hiding! ;\

by shellbot

I'm busy enough as I planned maintenance work on the databases since its a skeleton crew around today an tomorrow.

Its nice being able to get some stuff done without 100 people on my case to do something for them!

So, not working exceptionaly hard, as had all my stuff ready to go for when I got in this morn..

Just a matter of letting it run and checking I didn't make a mess of anything :)

by jellimonsta

I like the "work" statement. Actually, I had a productive day yesterday, but I am not overly ambitious today. I am just browsing through my MARS alerts as they come up and working on change scripts for a distributed layer 3 access switch environment.
At least I only have 1 or 2 meetings today. :p ;\

by nicknielsen

I find myself having to work both Wednesday AND Thursday :_|
.
.
.
in Myrtle Beach! :0

I hate that I'm going to have to go to that New Year's Eve party at my favorite bar out there... B-)

by jdclyde

if ANYONE from the department is gone, the boss uses that as an excuse to cancel our weekly meeting. Ya, we only actually have about one out of every four meetings, and sometimes not even that.

by jck

What's that? :p

I am immune from them for right now, since another section of our division is in a change-oriented mode. I am just sitting here plugging away at writing apps and testing them all by my lonesome.

by jck

boy...wouldn't it be sad if a roofing nail from your roof popped of...and landed in the cable insulation, then someone stepped on the nail and drove it through the coax?

closed circuits on a coax = new cable too lol

by dumphrey

(slow decline from cancer) she made my grandfather promise to remarry, and even picked his new bride ;) And I have to admit, that while I miss my grandmother every day, my step grandmother is an amazing woman (my grandparents have known her since my mom was 3 years old... her husband died a few years before my grandmother), and manged to keep my very co-defendant grandfather going for 10 years now.
Your father is lucky to have such loving kids. You and yours will be in my thoughts this new Years as I pay way to much money for seriously overrated martinis :(

by jck

i have my coffee mug in attendance !!! :^0

(wish I had some Bailey's to put in it!!! :D )

by jdclyde

more fiddich 15 year for me.... :D

They didn't have the teKillya that I wanted, so I went with the scotch instead, for now.... B-)

by ontheropes

I meant to ship it in time for Christmas but with this head of mine it's a wonder it got shipped at all. :D Consider it a New Year's gift.

by ontheropes

We've got some racing game, not sure what it is. My SIL said, "everything's backwards." He had the wheel upside down. :^0

I want to get Super Mario Galaxy. It's supposed to be highly rated, number 2 game of all time according to GameSpot.com, (I think).

by Sonja Thompson

But not sure if all the family drama that came with it made it worthwhile. Hmmm... have to think about that one and get back to ya!

Happy New Year everyone!

by Sonja Thompson

There wasn't near enough alcohol to buzz my way through this vacation though. After you and jck stood me up, it was all downhill. :D

by ontheropes

:D

Next year should be an interesting year here. Trying to get the yard back into shape is going to be a project. I hope they fill in the hole in my yard as well as they dug it. Fingers crossed. I hope it all WORKS!

At the end of February I'll be working on a tan in the Bahamas. Going on a cruise out of SC. Woohoo. My OH is paying for the entire shindig for the two of us so all I have to do is be there. I am going to have to buy some cruiseship worthy clothes though. My closet is pathetic.

I've already started buying sale items. It's a seven day cruise so I have some shopping to do yet. You can bet that my TR polo shirt is going to see Nassau. B-) We're going on three excursions too. Have no idea what two of them are (I could ask I s'pose) but I know I get to ride a Segway on one of them.

I'm pretty sure that along about the end of February I'll be ready for some sunshine. We're not going to fly either. I hate flying. It plays havoc with my sinuses.

All signs point to it being an interesting year for us. I think I should treat myself to that Nikon P-80 I've been thinking about. Hmmmm. Have to ask SWMBO. :^0

by nicknielsen

If you do, you may find yourself the target derogatory words and other useless expression from some of the SC peers. ;)

by nicknielsen

I do have a tree in the front yard. Unfortunately, while the tree spans a good 65 feet, it stops about 10 feet short of the cable. Even more unfortunately, any falling that takes out the cable will also take out the power cabling 15 feet above that and 5 feet closer. :(

There are other options...

The cable [u]was[/u] bounced off the suspension hook at the house the last time we had a really windy thunderstorm. Maybe the next storm will not only blow it loose, but break it.

Or maybe I'll have some roof work done. It would be a shame if a flat of shingles were to slide off the roof and take out the cable. ;\

by nicknielsen

All the cabling except the fiber I'm not given access to is overhead. The only things underground are the water, sewer, and gas lines.

I like the idea, though, but don't know about telco digging around the gas lines. One wrong move and replacing the cable feed would be moot; I'd have to replace the house first. :0 :p

edit: emoticon

by jck

They have a thing called "Sunshine One" (i know cause I wrote software for another county i used to work for) which requires a utility to respond to a request to go to a location and locate their lines/pipes within a certain amount of time.

But I see what you're saying. No want house go boom :^0

by ontheropes

It doesn't look like there will be any time to get together with anyone. Our first day we're driving to NC to see my step-son and spending the night in a motel there. The next morning we're driving over to get on the ship.

I'm not sure what we're doing on the return trip, probably driving straight home, switching drivers as needed.

I asked about our excursions too. We get to ride Segways in Nassau. We go on a tourist submarine in Grand Bahamas and lastly we visit the Kennedy Space Center. I've been there before but no one else has.

Should be a fun trip and I did get the nod to buy the Nikon P-80. Now I just have to talk myself into it. That's the hardest part. :0

by ontheropes

Did you get an extended warranty on your new camera? I think I'd feel more comfortable with one. Where did you buy yours?

I know I could've gotten some excellent bird pictures last year if I'd had a camera with me. My new camera is going to be close at hand everytime I go outside. I'm going to turn into "the camera guy." :^0

by boxfiddler

it was all downhill around here. Shoulda gone with you!

No wait. Almost all downhill. Met up with Tigger and SO this afternoon. Rescued me. :D

by jck

Glenfiddich???????????

I really gotta school you on good Scots whisky...you're really missin out!

Auchentoshen (sp?). Try that if you can get it. Or Glenkinchie. Both about the same grade as Glen* Scots whisky, but i think are both better.

Maybe one day I'll send you a bottle from Scotland when I go there again. I had brought back a bunch of samplers, but they're all gone now :^0

by michael jay

New Years Resolution, get a camera and be the camera guy.

Got mine at the Photo Barn, it is a local shop, and the people are fantastic. Yes there is only one store.http://photobarn.com/

If you have a local pro camera shop that is not part of a chain I would suggest you go there and feel it out, if the people are nice, helpful and not pushy, then that is the place to buy. Yes, I could have gotten the camera cheaper online but then what do I do when I have questions or need help? I have been back and the treatment is just great, they always give me some swag and give free advice, just for the asking.

If on the other hand you just want the camera, then online purchase or just the local chain store would work fine.

I like the fact that I can just drop by and get treated like a friend, get questions answered and such. Guess I just like people.

Any way, the Nikon comes with a one year warranty, which should be fine. I think that extended warranties are a waste of money, the thing will probably work great for quite a few years, if you don't drop it.

I see prices all over for the P-80 from 200-500 bucks. So here is my extended warranty advice, you buy the camera for say 350 bucks, every week for the next year you put 10 bucks in an envelope, at the end of the year you have 520 bucks. More than enough to replace the camera and you get to keep the extended warranty money. The base warranty covers you thru the first year.