{"id":4282,"date":"2012-12-24T09:57:12","date_gmt":"2012-12-24T15:57:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zimmerscope.com\/Verbisaurus\/?p=4282"},"modified":"2012-12-24T15:01:06","modified_gmt":"2012-12-24T21:01:06","slug":"its-beginning-to-look-a-lot-like-solstice-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zimmerscope.com\/Verbisaurus\/2012\/12\/its-beginning-to-look-a-lot-like-solstice-2\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Solstice"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thursday, 20 December 2012<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I 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.<\/p>\n

So…same thing this year. Only I couldn’t find a 30% off coupon, just a 25% off coupon. But that worked out fine.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Friday, 21 December 2012<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0Happy Solstice! And…surprise…the world didn’t end.<\/p>\n

(People have been talking about the coming apocalypse today, but it didn’t happen.)<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Here’s an article about all the holidays celebrated on the shortest day of the year<\/a>, regarless of whether they’re celebrated now or six months from now.<\/p>\n

And here’s the latest episode of Atheists Talk<\/em> that I hosted: “Vegans, Vegetarians, and Atheists<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

If you want something a little lighter to watch…check out Isla singing with her cousin a couple of weeks ago…<\/p>\n