It's Dai Time

Katie & Scott & Simon & Cecily.

Tag: christmas (Page 2 of 2)

Day 310: and i’m off

December 18, 2009 / / 0 Comments

I don’t have to go to work next week, which will feel a bit odd.
That meant that today was my last day of work until the new year, which means that my Christmas vacation started at around 6 PM today, even though Katie’ll still have to work through Wednesday of next week.

What will I do with myself at home for three days? Play video games until my eyes dry out? Finish crocheting that lion I started years ago? Finally watch season 1 of The Wire? Work on a random web application?

I predict all of those…and more! I wouldn’t be surprised if I even managed to get in some useful work next week, like mowing the lawn or making dinner for the two of us.

I will say that it feels nice to know that I have nothing but relaxation ahead of me for two weeks; I don’t even remember the last time I could say something like that. It’ll be nice to play through some of the games I’ve been storing up, too.

And maybe, just maybe, I can actually break my entire series of the Wire out of its shrink wrap. Also, I’ll probably eat cookies for lunch at least one day next week.

Day 309: christmas movies

December 18, 2009 / / 0 Comments

Katie and I watched a few Christmas movies that we had recorded off of ABC Family tonight as she frosted scores of cookies.

You know what I like about Christmas movies?  No matter what happens, everyone ends up happy.  Even the villains in Christmas movies have a good Christmas.  Everyone comes together at the end and that’s something that you know from the very beginning of the film.

It’s as if we went through life knowing that at the very end, no matter what horrible scraps we got into or who we had made enemies, all of the people who had known us would gather around our deathbed and sing our favorite song together with us while it snowed.

Which I think would be pretty awesome.  That’s why Christmas movies, in spite of (or perhaps because of?) their corny, sappy, unrealistic nature, get a thumbs up from me.

Day 307: presents for me?

December 16, 2009 / / 0 Comments

Around this time of year, I start taking a look at my Amazon wish list and wondering whether I should be adding or removing things from it.

Most of the year, the list is nothing but a way to remind myself of media that I want to consume at some point: an interesting book I’d heard about on NPR or a video game I mean to get around to once the price drops.

But around Christmas time, the list is actually used and read by an audience of more than one.  So, I have to make sure that the things on it are actually gifts I want to receive and, because I’d feel pretty guilty otherwise, that they’re hovering around a reasonable price.  While I have no problem keeping something on my wish list that I would consider buying at a much lower price, I always get nervous when the list goes out to other family members, who could inadvertently buy something that I did want at a price point that I’m uncomfortable with.

This year is a bit different, though.  I feel a bit guilty putting anything on there with a baby on the way.  We already are starting to populate a separate baby registry on Amazon, and it feels a bit greedy to ask for something for ourselves, only to turn around and ask our friends and family to buy some other baby thing a month later for our baby shower.

So, do I just refer people to the baby registry instead of our wish list?  Or is it silly to ask for all of my Christmas presents to actually be presents for someone who hasn’t quite joined the family yet?

Or do I give people the option to buy something for me, knowing full well that we’ll still have lots of baby gear to get in the upcoming few months?

Day 268: christmas in october

November 6, 2009 / / 0 Comments

It’s not just me, right?  This year, the harbingers of Christmas have popped up earlier than usual.

Before Halloween candy was on sale, I was hearing Christmas music being piped through mall speakers.  Before pumpkins disappeared from the front of grocery stores, aisles were being lined with wreaths and ornaments.

I have nothing against you, Christmas, but isn’t it a bit premature?  Isn’t it a bit mean to take all that thunder away from not only Thanksgiving, who’s gotten used to being an opening act for you, but also Halloween?  Where’s your Christmas spirit?

My gut tells me that this has something to do with the recession, that retailers are hoping to somehow get people to think that a end-of-year holiday shop-a-thon should actually start three quarters of the way through the year.  I just hope it doesn’t backfire, where people get so tired of being reminded about Christmas for three months that they don’t buy anything in late December.

That would mean our retail market would fall apart and I wouldn’t get any presents.

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