Holiday recap
The gift exchange on Xmas eve rocked. My gifts went over great (Firefly complete series and "A Christmas Story" Ornament) and went home with the same person. I walked away with Elf and the Simpsons movie on DVD and, by the end of the night, had acquired The 40 Year Old Virgin from my parents who "didn't think that an academy award winning movie such as that would fit in their current movie collection." What also made the night cool was the fact that this was the first Xmas that I wasn't sick with some sort of cold or cough (the curse of working with and around kids). I could actually focus and understand conversations that weren't taking place right in front of me. I started to get a little weirded out when my two cousins (Linsay Lohan's hotter, younger sister and the hot semi-punk, semi-goth girl that works behind the counter at Hot Topic) started talking about breast size. WTF? I was quick to flip the "Right brain off" switch when my 50+ year old aunt joined in on the conversation. The rest of the night was pretty uneventful with almost no drama. The ride to grandma's was short and cool thanks to the new Tom Tom my parents were sporting. They dropped me off then headed away. I quickly set up one of the bedrooms, watched a little TV with my grandma then went to bed.
The next day went great. My parents were the last to show after grandma went and picked up my aunt. Meanwhile, I unwrapped the new flat screen my dad got for grandma and set it up to make sure it worked. I also took the presents that were stored in the back bedroom and put them under the tree in the front room. By the time all that was done, grandma was back with my aunt. We chatted for a bit, then got a call from my parents saying that they were twenty minutes out. Perfect. We visited and chatted, fought over the television, and passed around a quiz from the SF Chronicle. Then breakfast...er brunch was on. After eating, we leisurely moved to opening gifts. I got a lot of warm, casual clothes that I can wear to work. I also got a check and a picture of a Kitchen Aid Artesian Mixer. The only thing that I regret saying I didn't want was Sudoku. I got another electronic version (takes the total up to three) and a book (fourth one I own). I swear, I'm just gonna write a brute force solver and just go through the pages and pages of puzzles I have.
After cooling down from all the excitement and tiring of passing around the different cookbooks, dinner was served. The salad, which I put together, (simple pine nut, nothing fancy) went over great and the other food was excellent as well.
After hanging out for a bit, we headed off to my aunt's place and dropped her off. She mentioned to me that she was still doing research on GPS directional devices and that I might get a late present when I see her next (SQEEE!). When I got home, I fielded some calls from friends, then put my presents away. I hooked up Cerebrate in my room and was disappointed to discover that I couldn't find the unsecured network. Apparently a distance of fifty feet makes a difference. Oh well.
Today I'm making a list of some components I'm gonna price and, perhaps, purchase at Fry's.
Keyboard (not wireless)
USB modem
USB 2.0 card
USB extention cord
The next day went great. My parents were the last to show after grandma went and picked up my aunt. Meanwhile, I unwrapped the new flat screen my dad got for grandma and set it up to make sure it worked. I also took the presents that were stored in the back bedroom and put them under the tree in the front room. By the time all that was done, grandma was back with my aunt. We chatted for a bit, then got a call from my parents saying that they were twenty minutes out. Perfect. We visited and chatted, fought over the television, and passed around a quiz from the SF Chronicle. Then breakfast...er brunch was on. After eating, we leisurely moved to opening gifts. I got a lot of warm, casual clothes that I can wear to work. I also got a check and a picture of a Kitchen Aid Artesian Mixer. The only thing that I regret saying I didn't want was Sudoku. I got another electronic version (takes the total up to three) and a book (fourth one I own). I swear, I'm just gonna write a brute force solver and just go through the pages and pages of puzzles I have.
After cooling down from all the excitement and tiring of passing around the different cookbooks, dinner was served. The salad, which I put together, (simple pine nut, nothing fancy) went over great and the other food was excellent as well.
After hanging out for a bit, we headed off to my aunt's place and dropped her off. She mentioned to me that she was still doing research on GPS directional devices and that I might get a late present when I see her next (SQEEE!). When I got home, I fielded some calls from friends, then put my presents away. I hooked up Cerebrate in my room and was disappointed to discover that I couldn't find the unsecured network. Apparently a distance of fifty feet makes a difference. Oh well.
Today I'm making a list of some components I'm gonna price and, perhaps, purchase at Fry's.
Keyboard (not wireless)
USB modem
USB 2.0 card
USB extention cord