The Anti Claus

To get myself into the holiday spirit I decided to wear black, but with a Santa hat. The Buttermonkey told me I look really good in this outfit. I told the Buttermonkey that I look like a 2 dollar whore, who's having a fire sale. I should have waited till his mouth was full of coffe though.

Holy Cow

Clint wasn't exaggerating! I just feel that the photos don't do justice to the display, and display seems like a pale word for this extravaganza. I haven't seen this many Christmas lights since Playland closed down. Actually, it was fun. There were lots of gawkers and everyone was, well just being nice. Folks made and effort to not get in the way of people taking pictures and we even got to perform a good deed. Clint found a cell phone. He gave it to me, as though it was some sort of venomous snake. He has never owned a cell phone, knows nothing about them and treasures his ignorance on the subject. I figured I would call T-Mobile and see if I could get the phone traced, but as I walked through the door of my apartment, the phone started to ring and the name Mom came up on the caller ID. After a brief conversation, I gave directions to my place and the college student and his phone were reunited. A happy ending for a fun and silly evening.

Xmas tech

Getting new office equipment is always risky. Especially if the boss isn't around. We got a new copier that also functions as a printer and more importantly a scanner! A full color scanner. A full color scanner to be misused by bored support staffers. Anyhow, don' it just say Merry Xmas?

It is probably a good thing that word came from on high that the office is going to close at 1:00 tomorrow. I hate to think what we could have been reduced to by 5:00.

Gettin' in the holiday spirit

I am sooooo... excited! My pal Clint is picking me up after work and we are going out to West Roxbury. Now West Roxbury may not seem like an exciting destination, but we go with a purpose. There is a home owner on V.F.W. Parkway who has managed to enrage all of his neighbors to the point of their trying to get a court order out against him because of the excessive manner in which he has decorated his house. Clint went out once this week already and had to report in, knowing my fascination with over the top tackiness when it comes to any holiday decoration. From what he said this display would make a Mardi Gras float of drag queens look like a coming out party designed by Martha Stewart. I am going to bring a camera and a tripod, so I hope to be posting later this evening. Latest word is that the electric company has had to go out there and upgrade the infrastructure because he is creating to heavy of a load on the existing lines. I'm not kidding.

Sorority House

The next new thing is on it's way in Boston. Gay only condo's. I'm not sure how I feel about this having been exposed to so called inclusive organizations. The ongoing cat fights that would come brimming to the surface will probably be heard all over the city. While I can understand the desire to live among like minded people, I am reminded of a conversation I had with a fellow Vermonter when she was questioned as to why she lived in a very mixed neighborhood instead of a "nicer" area.

"If I wanted to be around people that were just like me, I would have stayed in Vermont."

It'll be an interesting story to follow, and I will be fascinated to see how things shake out. I forsee all sorts of housing discrimination problems dogging this.

Cookies!!

I love my niece. Aside from being funny and smart and witty and just generally a lot of fun to hang out with, she sends me cookies every year at Xmas. I went to the post office yesterday to pick up this years offering. I gained 20 lbs. just opening the box! Inside were, eggnog cookies, candy cane cookies, 2 kinds of fudge, biscotti, macaroons among other lovely fattening treats and just for me nut brittle. I am the only one of the folks that she sends these care packages off to that actually likes the stuff. Actually likes is a bit of an understatement, and this year I get to rot all of my dental work out with cashew brittle. It doesn't get much better.

Every year I am hugely impressed by this expression of generosity. If you've never baked cookies, I have to point out it's not something that you can do in 10 minutes. This takes time. Literally hours. I also should point out the girl is a busy professional and so this is a real sacrifice of time and if you've been to the grocery store recently you will also realize this ain't cheap. The only insight I can offer as to why the niece takes the time and puts the energy into doing this is, that like me she loves food. One of the things I enjoyed about having my daughter live with me when she was in high school was that I had someone to cook for. I think that is a big part of it, at least from my point of view. Food is for sharing, it is a way of communicating. You know, communion. That said, there is a lot to be said for guilty pleasures as well, which more often than not are best enjoyed in privacy. I will probably spend a good share of my time over the next couple of weeks with my nose buried in a book and one hand in a bag of delicious homemade cookies. Hey, I have the rest of the winter to work them off at the gym.