Funny how Christmas, I mean the holiday season, has changed over the years…and I’m not that old…
Politically Correct
It’s strange how less and less people say “Merry Christmas” nowadays. I agree that the politically correct (PC) term “Happy Holidays” is more appropriate. It’s just odd to hear people say alternative phrases to each other. The other day I picked up the greeting “Merry Holiday” which I thought was amusing, yet quite appropriate. I wonder what they say in the UK, since holiday means vacation; then again, I don’t think they have the PC issue there.
Shopping and Gifts
Is it me or does the shopping season getting crazier every year? I must agree that Americans give far too much stress on the gift-giving custom and not enough of family, friends, and plain old rest. Finding the right gift is a pain and people are so picky with what they want. Maybe this is why gift cards are so popular now.
I also like the following idea to help solve this problem: each adult member in large family buys for only one other adult. We do this on my wife’s side of the family and it works real well. We pick from a hat to decide who buys for whom. But the kids get presents from everyone of course.
Personally
Personally, the holidays have sure changed from being a kid, to young adulthood, to father. It used to be waking up early, opening lots of toys, then playing with them the rest of the day. Then in my 20s, it was about coming home from out of town and visiting family and friends and doing my own thing. Now it’s about family, my wife and kids, my brother and his family, my parents, in-laws, etc. Pretty crazy.
I hate SPAM. And it’s worse every time this year–the holiday shopping season. Because of the web development and various projects I do, I maintain several web site addresses. And no matter how hard one tries, he’ll always get spammed. Just overnight I received 75 spam emails, and 98 the night before! Don’t know how many I get during the day because I delete them most times I check my email. This has become a bad habit since there’s spam in my email box every time I check it…
Here are some goofy subject lines from my spam:
- Propelled Dude
- Delacruz
- Ham Insider Information
- Three Steps to the Software You Need at the Prices You Want
- Confirmation link
I really like the following bands, and at least one point, listened to each one a lot. But here are some songs they did that were very disappointing!
- The Cure “Friday I’m in Love”
- David Bowie “Bluejean”
- Nine Inch Nails “The Hand That Feeds”
- Smashing Pumpkins “1979″
- Duran Duran “Wild Boys”
- Tori Amos “Me and a Gun”
- Madonna “Cherish”
In the last year, I came pretty close to moving out of state for a new day job, to Cleveland then Chicago. The first time was last spring for a long-term contract position in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. The contracting company had me all set to go, until they pulled the plug in the last minute because the position suddenly wouldn’t officially be open for a few more weeks. My wife and I had already gone to Cleveland for a weekend to check it out. It’s a pretty cool town, so I’m glad we went anyway.
The second time was more recently as an e-trading company in downtown Chicago telephoned interviewed me, then asked me to come into town to visit. They paid for two hotels nights right in “the loop” which was way cool. Turns out they put the position on hold, which is fine since it would have meant a cost-of-living increase, increase in medical expenses, and moving my family, yikes!
It turns out that I landed a great position in Dearborn, Michigan, which is my hometown. It’s a graphic/web designer position in a department heavy on usability (contract at Ford). Very cool.
The Detroit Pistons NBA basketball team is hot again! After a slow start to the season, they won 8 in a row! They finally lost on the road last night to Charlotte, but the Pistons started 3-5, and now have the 2nd best record in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons’ defense is adjusting to the loss of big-headed Ben Wallace (who shoots a lowly 42% free-throw), but it appears they’re almost there. I like this Nazr Mohammed guy who’s taken his spot. He is a true team player who can play defense and offense.
I have very mixed feelings about Florida playing Ohio State in the NCAA national football championship game in January. I like the Gators, don’t get me wrong. And they had an outstanding season. They did win a very tough SEC conference title and should make it a good game against OSU.
But, there are three reasons why I believe University of Michigan got robbed of a shot at the biggest game of the year:
- U of M’s only loss is to Ohio State, the #1 team, and it was only by 3 points and at Ohio State.
- U of M was ranked number 2 in the last two months of the season, and only went to number 3 because they weren’t scheduled to play any games. Florida was, and they won. Is it Michigan’s fault they didn’t have another game to play to prove themselves? No!
- The real reason why Florida took the #2 rank from Michigan is because many voters didn’t want to see a rematch between OSU and U of M. Is the possibility of a rematch a valid reason to discredit a football team? No! Historically, a team never jumps ahead of another in the polls when the higher ranked team is idle. Michigan got screwed.
Follow me on Twitter!
