It's Not In The Cards
I realized a couple of weeks ago, sometime after my birthday, that I'm a grown up. How do i know that? This year none of my family gave me cash in a birthday card. It's the first time it's ever happened. I guess as I'm now with my own relationship away from the parents, they didn't think I needed such little things.
My grandparents were usually the givers of such gifts for years and year. I could rack up an easy $100 between the two grandmothers, of course this was after the years where I still got toys and clothes for school. Always a problem with an August birthday, it's all about back-to-school shopping.
When my grandmothers passed a few years ago, the parents kept giving, but that normally wouldn't be more than $25. About the price of most of a tank of gas today, or the price of a Starbucks cup of coffee - yet it can feed an African Village!.
An aside. No one has ever bought me a "donation" as a present. Not that I want anyone to start. I'll be completely greedy and take that iTunes gift certificate over helping the Barton Springs Salamander any day.
So this year's card from my parents was just a card with my mother writing about all the fun medical problems they are going through (Dad - Prostate Cancer, Mom - Breast Cancer and she thinks she might have a colon thing. all new stuff to bring up with the doctor tomorrow for "family history"). It was bizarre.
I would have loved the cash, just as a little money that I didn't have to worry about, or budget, and it would be helpful on the trip, but hey, I'm making my own way now, right?
Other Things:
Chris worked so much over the last couple of weeks that his overtime allowed him to buy a new Xbox 360. He's been playing the Dawn of the Dead game, whatever it's called. Zombies in a Mall? I guess he'll now have something to do while I'm gone for a week. In hi-def, even.
I guess he'll have finished the game by the time I get back, so I have to decide whether to get him another game for his birthday, or re-take the TV from him.
Lastly...
So the biggest surprise in the news today was that they arrested someone for the murder of JonBenet Ramsey. What the hell? They were still working on this case? I was thinking it had gone the way of OJ Simpson looking for the real killers. Apparently they needed something for the next episode of CBS's Cold Case.
I'm firmly of the belief that the parents at least had something to do with it, even if it was just to introduce their daughter to this schoolteacher guy who ran away to Thailand. Thailand? Isn't that where lecherous men have sex with underage kids?
Still, why would a relative stranger come in, kill a kid in the basement, and run off - pretty much unnoticed, and run off to Thailand? Is there a motive? Sadly the media loves this case - more than missing blonde girls in Aruba, so expect to be hearing about this for weeks.
Still, what it says to criminals everywhere is don't mess with our nation's precious, precious prosti-tots and expect to get away with it!
My grandparents were usually the givers of such gifts for years and year. I could rack up an easy $100 between the two grandmothers, of course this was after the years where I still got toys and clothes for school. Always a problem with an August birthday, it's all about back-to-school shopping.
When my grandmothers passed a few years ago, the parents kept giving, but that normally wouldn't be more than $25. About the price of most of a tank of gas today, or the price of a Starbucks cup of coffee - yet it can feed an African Village!.
An aside. No one has ever bought me a "donation" as a present. Not that I want anyone to start. I'll be completely greedy and take that iTunes gift certificate over helping the Barton Springs Salamander any day.
So this year's card from my parents was just a card with my mother writing about all the fun medical problems they are going through (Dad - Prostate Cancer, Mom - Breast Cancer and she thinks she might have a colon thing. all new stuff to bring up with the doctor tomorrow for "family history"). It was bizarre.
I would have loved the cash, just as a little money that I didn't have to worry about, or budget, and it would be helpful on the trip, but hey, I'm making my own way now, right?
Other Things:
Chris worked so much over the last couple of weeks that his overtime allowed him to buy a new Xbox 360. He's been playing the Dawn of the Dead game, whatever it's called. Zombies in a Mall? I guess he'll now have something to do while I'm gone for a week. In hi-def, even.
I guess he'll have finished the game by the time I get back, so I have to decide whether to get him another game for his birthday, or re-take the TV from him.
Lastly...
So the biggest surprise in the news today was that they arrested someone for the murder of JonBenet Ramsey. What the hell? They were still working on this case? I was thinking it had gone the way of OJ Simpson looking for the real killers. Apparently they needed something for the next episode of CBS's Cold Case.
I'm firmly of the belief that the parents at least had something to do with it, even if it was just to introduce their daughter to this schoolteacher guy who ran away to Thailand. Thailand? Isn't that where lecherous men have sex with underage kids?
Still, why would a relative stranger come in, kill a kid in the basement, and run off - pretty much unnoticed, and run off to Thailand? Is there a motive? Sadly the media loves this case - more than missing blonde girls in Aruba, so expect to be hearing about this for weeks.
Still, what it says to criminals everywhere is don't mess with our nation's precious, precious prosti-tots and expect to get away with it!