Thursday, 20 December 2012
Today my department at work held their annual holiday party. I got to leave work early and I drove over to a nearby restaurant. We held a gift exchange. Or maybe it’s more of a gift grab, since we all picked numbers and then selected gifts based on our number.
I arrived with a gift in much the same fashion as last year. Last year, I checked out Google Images until I found a Barnes and Noble coupon and, finding a 30% off coupon, I went and purchased something. The price limit on the gifts is $15, but with a good discount like that, I selected something that sold for $20, but paid less than $15. They also had free gift wrapping there, too.
So…same thing this year. Only I couldn’t find a 30% off coupon, just a 25% off coupon. But that worked out fine.
I left with a gift card to Best Buy (the gift I selected) and a bottle of fancy-schmancy beer provided by my boss. A really big bottle – like the size of a wine bottle.
Today I actually scored two bottles of beer – having earlier been given a bottle of homemade “Apocalypse Ale” from a co-worker – and two gift cards, having finally received my Amazon.com gift card for winning a writing contest at Hamline back in September.
Friday, 21 December 2012
Happy Solstice! And…surprise…the world didn’t end.
(People have been talking about the coming apocalypse today, but it didn’t happen.)
I think it’s funny that most people go through the day without acknowledging, or maybe even knowing, that it’s the winter solstice, especially since it’s truly the reason for the season. I didn’t hear anyone mention it at work, unless I said something first. I wished a few people “Happy Solstice,” and they gave me that “you’re a weirdo” look. I get that a lot.
It’s better to call it the December Solstice, or Southern Solstice, than to say “Winter Solstice” (like I did, above), since it’s not winter in the southern hemisphere. The southern hemisphere’s Winter Solstice is six months from now.
Here’s an article about all the holidays celebrated on the shortest day of the year, regarless of whether they’re celebrated now or six months from now.
And here’s the latest episode of Atheists Talk that I hosted: “Vegans, Vegetarians, and Atheists.”
If you want something a little lighter to watch…check out Isla singing with her cousin a couple of weeks ago…
Saturday, 22 December 2012
Today is my first of eleven consecutive days of no work.
I bottled some home-brewed beer this morning. I wanted to have it ready in time for Christmas and…well…it won’t be. But I’m still gonna wrap up a few of them and include the min the dice game we play with Jennifer’s family on Christmas Day. I’ll just have to include a note with them that says something like, “Don’t drink or refrigerate until January 10th (or after).”
I’m also slowly making progress on a wood robot. I’ll post about it later this month, if, indeed, I do have it done by Christmas Day…which is the renewed goal I’ve set for myself.
Our holiday festivities today featured my sister and her husband coming over to our house. We walked to a nearby restaurant that we like and then they came back to our house and we swapped gifts. They had gifts for our kids – including shoes for Isla that she immediately put on and wanted to wear even tonight as she was falling asleep – and a helicopter that really flies for Owen. We gave them some gifts for their dogs. And a home-brewed beer. Not for their dogs.