- What was your biggest accomplishment this year? – I wrote 50,000 words (or so) in less than 30 days. Some of the words even go well together. I cannot describe how proud I am to be a NaNoWriMo 2002 Winner.
- What was your biggest disappointment? – I have to pick one? Let’s see… not going to SakuraCon or OryCon? Not getting a big enough raise to cover the increased insurance deductions? Not completing any more music videos? All of those are big disappointments. How about: Not seeing my friends more often.
- Will you be making any New Year’s resolutions? – I’m a strange guy. I only make promises I intend to keep.
- Where will you be at midnight? Do you wish you could be somewhere else? – I’ll be at home, very likely, while Wendi does a New Year’s party. Hey, it helps pay the bills. As for being somewhere else… I haven’t been invited anywhere, so there’s no disappointment at having to turn the invitation down, is there?
- Aside from (possibly) staying up late, do you have any other New Year’s traditions? – Not really. I don’t come from a family of traditions.
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New Year, New Friday Five
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Interviewed? Me?
Laurence Simon, the chap who runs the Amish Tech Support Dead Pool, put out an open call for contestants to be interviewed. Because I simply cannot pass up a chance to stick my foot in my mouth, I volunteered. Go forth and witness my cleverness, or lack thereof.
ATSDP Interview -
Holiday Wrap-Up
I’m back from my unannounced, self-imposed journalling vacation. I’m back to provide the kind of non-stop information you’ve become accustomed to; I will once again answer the questions my readers most want answered.
The question on everyone’s mind is probably, “What will the next terrorist attack be?” or perhaps instead “When will the war with Iraq begin?” Unfortunately the question I’m here to answer is, “How was Karel’s winter gift-giving holiday?”
Try to contain your disappointment.
Christmas in Portland. How can I describe it? It’s the same every year, really. Grey skies, wet roads, frenzied shoppers. Luckily for the Kerezmans, we didn’t deal with any of it. We stayed inside all day yesterday. Presents were opened, sweets were ingested, music played and colored lights flickered.
Alex spent a token half-hour playing with the coolest of his presents, the K’Nex building set. Erica spent a token half-hour pretending to work on her puzzle while really drooling over Alex’s K’Nex set. Eventually the kids were allowed onto the computers for an afternoon (and evening) of pure gaming bliss.
Daddy aided this bliss by spending the entire afternoon (and evening) downloading extra gaming goodies. Mommy was a bit upset with Daddy for cutting into her TSO time. Ah well.
Speaking of Mommies and Daddies, I got phone calls from each of mine yesterday. Mom called first, partly to wish us all a happy holiday but mostly to announce that she and her hubby are moving back to Alaska. Yep, the busy metropolis that is Riddle, OR is just too much for her to take. Based on this information, our plan is to drive down on Monday so she’ll get one last chance to see her son and grandchildren. (Let’s face it. Once she’s back in Alaska, neither my children or I will ever see her again.)
I could point out that in the many months since Mom moved to Oregon from Alaska there’s been all kinds of time during which a family gathering could have been arranged. But that would then necessitate an explanation of why my mother dislikes cities and specifically loathes Portland. I’d also be tempted to hazard some guesses as to her real motivations for moving to Oregon, for avoiding her family while in Oregon, and for moving back to Alaska again. I’m a good, dutiful son, so I won’t do any of that. See what a good boy I am?
Later in the evening, Dad called. In addition to the obligatory holiday wishes, he also wants me to build him a computer so he can surf the Internet. Well, this will at least offset what we owe him for those Columbia Sportswear coats he helped us buy. And who knows, maybe he’ll visit this page from time to time. All in a good cause, right?
Yep, this is my extended family. We only call one another on holidays and when we want something. For a treatise on the ills of the other side of our little family, read Wendi’s latest rant.
Is it any wonder that my friends, few as they are, are so vitally precious to me?
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Annual Blogger Snowball Fight
Via the fun-loving, snow-balling Annessa:
Join the Great Blogger Snowball War of 2002! (Calvin and Hobbes imagery recommended, but not required.)
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Tales of a wasted Saturday.
My glorious employers, in what’s supposed to pass for Christmas spirit, gave me again what they’ve given me every year for just about every year since I took on a full time position: $50 of Fred Meyer gift certificates.
Since Santa won’t be putting on a command performance in our house this year due to the money troubles I mentioned a few weeks ago, I decided to use my bounty to get something the kids could appreciate. That’s right, my hard-won bonus went into a pair of USB gamepads.
The kids play a lot of console-style games on the computers, okay?
It took almost three hours to visit enough Fred Meyer stores in the area to accumulate two gamepads that didn’t completely suck. (Microsoft’s Sidewinder ‘pads are awful, both models. Four buttons, only one D-pad and no triggers? Bite me.) I really, really wish Freddy’s carried Logitech hardware, but such is life. (The Wingman RumblePad we’ve had for a while? It’s the standard by which all other gamepads I buy will be judged for a long, long time.) We ended up with a pair of mismatched Saiteks, cheesy and cheaply-made ‘pads that fulfilled the requirements of having at least one analog stick, triggers, a D-pad and a relatively low price tag. We’ll see how the P750 and P880 stand the test of time.
Oh yeah, I also picked up the Might And Magic Platinum Collection. Four games for the price of one. No, really. Might and Magic IX was stickered at $29.99 at one end of the shelf, while the Collection was also stickered at that price but sat at the other end of the shelf. Whatever. Mind you, now that I have game IX I’m reading all kinds of bad reviews of it online. That’s okay. I have VI and VII, both of which are well worth playing.
The moral of this story? There isn’t one, except that shopping sucks. And possibly that buying computer games and accessories is a stupid waste of my Christmas bonus. The kids sure love the gamepads, though, and dammit (!) that’s gotta count for something.
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On holidays and family
Before I start I’d like to point out that two of the last three “Thoughts” entries are in consecutive Septembers. Gee, I don’t do a lot of thinking, do I? And I think I’ll apologize right here to any family members who find themselves offended by what I say here. Anyway, let’s get on with this.
Those few of you who are close to me may have noticed that I’m not the world’s biggest cheerleader for The Holiday Season ™. My lack of enthusiasm can be chalked up to my philosophical beliefs as well as my upbringing.
I get some amusement out of all the vitriol from Christians about how Christmas has become so commercialized. I can laugh because I’m tired not only of the rampant moneygrubbing but also the blatant religious imagery. That’s right, I’m equally offended by “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” and “O Little Town Of Bethlehem.” That’ll be my favorite part of December 26th, not having to listen to holiday carols. Bleah. I heard that abomination of a carol that Michael Bolton (himself an abomination) perpetrated upon the listening public. Right after that I was forced to listen to “Jingle Bells” as rendered (in more than one sense of the word) by synthesized barking dogs. Grr. Hulk smash.
Oh, here’s a note to store owners (as if they care what I think): If your Christmas decorations go up on or before Thanksgiving, I will most assuredly say bad things about your establishment to anyone I converse with. Putting them up before Halloween will put you on my “avoid shopping here at all costs” list.
Do you want to know what Christmas means to me? It means enforced gatherings of what we all sarcastically refer to as The Family. Hi Grandma, Hi Aunts, Hi Cousins. Hi Dad, or Mom, or Sis, but never any two or all three of you at once. Yes, let us do make tense and lifeless smalltalk until we can escape. Oh yes, we really are one happy family. And let’s do it again next year, okay? You bet your sweet bippy.
Let’s face it. The Kerezmans and Kelseys and, ah, various other last names used on account of marriage (and divorce and marriage and divorce) aren’t exactly a chummy, casually friendly family. We don’t call one another up for idle chit-chat. We don’t go out and do stuff together. Family gatherings are almost always of the “someone stops by for an hour’s visit at the end of which they’re glad to escape” variety. We’re not bad people, mind you. We’re merely a band of socially awkward iconoclasts. Makes for riveting drama, I assure you.
I’ll grant you that I’m much, much, much better about this time of year now that I have my own small family. Wendi is determined to turn me into a Christmas-loving kinda guy. I think she’s out of luck, though. I will (at best) tolerate the so-called holidays. There’s too much psychic baggage and too much disgust at all of the greedy foolishness for me to become some sort of bright-eyed happy-go-lucky sort at this stage in the game.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go watch The Muppet Christmas Carol. What a damned fine, clever, adorable movie.
No, I’m serious. It’s one of the best of the Muppet movies. I’m not a complete Scrooge, you know.
Statler: It was stupid!
Waldorf: It was pointless!
Statler: It was…short.
(They look at each other for a moment.)
Statler & Waldorf: We loved it!Scrooge: You seem a little absentminded, spirit.
Spirit of Christmas Present: No, I’m a large absentminded spirit!