I’ll tell you what feels even crazier than waking up at 4:15am every work day… getting into the office at 6:15am!! Wow. Talk about no traffic and fast public transit!
Anyhow… hello! Seems like I’ve been gone for ages and yet… and yet.. in the “real” world it feels like just a blink. A blink! A week’s + vacation done with already! Eeek! I’d just like to be back at home and in bed for a little while longer…
Xmas was really nice! One bizarre thing about having reconstituted families is that Xmas drags on for over a week what with all the different family to meet with. That means presents almost every day or so! Even now we’re still not done as we’re going to my sister’s for NYE supper (thus seeing my sister and brother for the first time this holiday season – meaning the kids get more gifts) and then we’re heading to my in-laws to ring in the New Year (which means a few more gifts). This after seeing my parents yesterday (thus more gifts) after having had the normal Xmas day gifts up north.
I must have been a good boy this year because I sure got all the chocolates I wanted for Xmas!! 🙂 A box of BACI, a box of Lindt, a container of Bailey’s Chocolates… even got a bottle of Bailey’s and a tin of Canadian Icewine Tea! Along with the regular stocking stuffers, I got a nice and warm/ comfortable hoodie and the Star Wars Lego Gamecube game 😉
This year marked the 10th Christmas Chantale and I spent together. Of course, this means I went a little overboard… First off, I hooked us up with a Blackberry Family Plan. After that horrible day stuck in snow without means of communication, I decided to get us both a cell phone instead of sharing one. Looking at prices, the BB wasn’t that much more expensive and allowed us a few extra goodies (like emails, of course, but also agendas, calendars, and notes. Heck, I can even do voice recordings for putting down ideas!). Then, to top it off, I got Chantale a 32gig iTouch… with a personalized engraving on the back 🙂 To wrap it up, I also surprised her with the entire run of the Star Trek Next Generation “A Time To…” series (Dayton, that expenditure was all your fault! 😉 )
As she sat in the glee of it all, Chantale looked up at me with a huge smile and said, “Wow. I think after 10 years you really do know me! Techie Gadgets and Star Trek! What more could I want for Xmas?!” 🙂
LOL! For me, the best part is that this stuff was all paid for (having been saving up for a while now). Feels much better to “give” when you know you’re not going to “get it” later in your credit card bill… 🙂
I don’t know how many (if any) pictures I’ve got of the holidays so far, but if I find some nice ones I’ll put them up later in the week. Yesterday was a crazy enough day running around trying to get someone to come take a look at the siding of our house that was ripped off during those insane windstorms of Sunday night. At least it didn’t look as bad in the day as it did the night before. The snow and winds have kicked in again this morning so hopefully the contractors will have it taken care of this afternoon.
Funny touch? After numerous phone calls in the morning talking with my insurance agent and trying to get a hold of someone (the original contractors off until Jan 12th, others not open, others rushing from all the claims) I managed to talk to one guy who said he could come see me next week. And then in the afternoon while driving to get my mail, I happen to see a contractor working on a nearby rooftop fixing shingles. I ask if he also does sidings and he came to take a look at my house. So, no long wait worrying about more bad storms coming! …Of course, now I have to dish out money I was not expecting to… but isn’t that how life always seems to be??