Near Christmas Update

It’s almost Christmas, but it doesn’t really feel like it. We don’t have a tree in my apartment because we won’t be here for Christmas and the cat would probably eat it and die. We do have some colorful icicle lights and a candle that smells like a Christmas tree, but it’s just not the same. Both Elizabeth and I are looking forward to flying up to Maine and spending Christmas with my family. I’ve been assured that both my parents have Christmas trees and there is in fact snow on the ground. This will be slightly different than last year when I went for a bike ride in shorts on January 1st in St. Louis -- Incidentally, that was also the first and only time that I’ve ever been pooped on by a bird. And I wasn’t going slowly so it splattered EVERYWHERE. I’ll spare you the rest, but I brushed my teeth extra hard when I got home.

Elizabeth and I are going to try and make the same new years resolution that just about everyone else in America makes – lose weight and get more (or in my case ‘more than none’) exercise. We went to look at gyms to join today, but the more we look into them, the more of a scam they appear to be. The one we liked so far forces you to give a credit card number even if you pay upfront with cash. They also automatically renew your membership and to cancel you have to give them 3 months notice. Not something I'd really like to get myself into -- at least currently.

Happy Holidays!

Christmas Party

How was your office Christmas party? Mine was 15 days before Christmas, but besides that it was actually pretty nice. I got to rent a tux and such. I haven't dressed up like this really since my junior year of high school which was to my surprise - 7 years ago. I'm well on my way to middle age. Elizabeth and I took loads of pictures of ourselves all dressed up but unfortunately none of them came out the way we wanted them to. We have decided that neither of us is particularly photogenic.

Nevertheless (in case you couldn't tell) this is me in my tuxedo.
Dressed up - yes.
Stunning - no.



The evening was pretty enjoyable. There was an awards ceremony sprinkled amidst the eating. This was pretty smart. They'd hand out some awards and then give you another course of your meal. I felt slightly like a pet being trained not to pee on the carpet (or something). The awards ceremony was pretty tolerable except for the price-is-right announcer and the cheesy "you've won a brand new dinette set" music.

After the dinner Kevin Pollack did a stand up act. In case you didn't know, he was the short guy from The Usual Suspects. This is quite possibly the first and last star I'll ever see. When they were introducing him, they welcomed the star of the Usual Suspects -- KEVIN -- (I totally though SPACY!!) but this one was good too.

All in all, a good experience.