How PA Does New Years

Some dude on MSN says that Pennsylvanians will drop anything they can get their hands on for New Years. He wasn't kidding, check it...

Akron- shoe
Bethlehem - marshmallow Peep
Blain - a cow made of wood, dropped from a silo
Bradford - a ball
Carlisle- an Indy car
Cleona- a pretzel
Dillsburg- a pickle
Duncannon- a sled
Elizabethtown- a giant M&M
Falmouth- a stuffed goat
Frogtown - a frog
Gratz- a wildcat
Harrisburg- a strawberry
Hershey- a Hershey Kiss
Hummelstown- a lollipop
Ickesburg- a french fry
Lancaster- a red rose
Lebanon - a large Lebanon bologna stick
Lititz- a Moravian star
Liverpool- a canal boat
Lewistown- a bag of Hartley's potato chips
Manheim - a ball
Mechanicsburg - a wrench
Middletown - a ball
New Bloomfield- a huckleberry
New Oxford- an antique trunk
Newport- a plywood hard hat
Newville- a big spring
Pittsburgh- a ball
Pottsville- a bottle of Yuengling beer
Red Lion- a wooden cigar held by a lion
Richland - a cigar
Seven Valleys - a broasted chicken
Shippensburg - an anchor
Steelton - a steamroller
Strasburg - ping pong balls
Wilkes-Barre- a chunk of coal that turns into a diamond
York - a white rose

Christmas In NYC

There really is no better place to visit during the Christmas season than NYC. With all the decorations and good cheer from the nearly 20 million people living there, you can't help but get the warm and fuzzies.

Of course there is tons to do, but here's a fun guide for the Christmas season:
Holiday Fairs- stands are set up throughout the city that sell holiday gifts and decorations, much in the German tradition. Be sure to check out the fairs in Columbus Circle, Union Square, Bryant Park, and Grand Central Terminal.

Rockefeller Center- it's packed shoulder to shoulder but you can't miss seeing a magnificent tree.

Down the street from Rockefeller are all the department stores with their window displays. I promise they aren't chintzy like in your little old town with mannequins dressed in store clothes with a velvet drop cloth. No, this if full throttle fancy shit. So whimsical, so fantastical, you will totally get why lines form early.

I really love New York during Christmas.

Christmas Shopping Guide for the Impossible: The Doomsdayer

Yes, we've all got crazies in our family, but what do you get them for Christmas? These scrooges would probably be happy with a lump of coal but what about this...a survival kit. There are some great new products out on the market and some tried and true items that you can never have too many of. Here are some things I picked up for my little doomsdayer. Listed are approximate prices for items depending on the brand you choose.

Emergency blanket: less than $5
Magnesium flint: around $7
Flares: 4 pack for $24
Water sterilization UV wand: $80
Blood clotting compress: $20 (probably better for an advanced first aid kit)

Packed together is a great starter kit. Added to the stuff already around the house, like a compass, flashlight, guidebook, and first aid kit can really round out the bunker.

Christmas Shopping Guide for the Impossible: The Dad Who's into His Family

If you know someone (not just dads) that takes pride in their heritage or family, I picked up a great software packet called Family Tree by Ancestry.com. It gives you all the tools to track your family tree and a free trial subscription to Ancestry.com to help in your research. I just thought it was a great idea for a father-in-law who is into his Irish heritage.

Family Tree software: $40, but I saw it on sale for $30 at Target.

Christmas Shopping Guide for the Impossible: The Athlete/ The Gadget Guru

This has probably been on the market for a while but just read about it recently. There's this gadget that you hook your ipod to your sneakers up and data from your run shows up on your ipod.

Nike running shoes supposedly already have a slot in the sole to place the sensor, but you can buy a strap or something if you don't wear Nike shoes. Then when you start running, something like your mileage and time pops up on your ipod screen. That sounds cool. Also Nike hosts a website to keep logs and share with other runners or something.

Nike Ipod Sports Kit $30.

Gun Nut

I don't have a problem with people and their guns anymore. For a while I did. But I've had a change of heart with a caveat. I'm only okay with the right to own guns. I'm not okay with the people. Why can't a person own a gun and just be normal? Why does every gun nut have to sound and act like Yosemite Sam and be intent on housing a full armory in their basement. You're the only ones driving up the price to your guns. Duh.

Blog Catch Up

Sorry I haven't blogged since May. I just plain got lazy and didn't have much to talk about. But I've got a few thoughts on my mind that I will jot down and call it even. Thanks for sticking in there.

Is He Real?

No, seriously. That kid in the phone commercial is Meatloaf's real life son. RIGHT?!?!

Sorry

Yeah, I haven't been around for a while, I know. But things have been a little busy lately. Let me make my case:

Joe and bought a house at the end of November.
We scrambled to do some painting before moving out of the apartment.
We threw our last Christmas party at the apartment.
We moved into the house in the middle of December.
Shopping for Christmas.
Celebrate Christmas.
More painting and the like during time off.
Celebrate New Years.
Back to work, so home improvement relegated to evenings and weekends.
Two week vacation to Vietnam at the end of January.

And that brings us here. Right now. So I'm back in commission and ready to blog about new things.

Logorrhea

You know when people say that girl has "diarrhea of the mouth"? Did you know there's a word for that?

LOGORRHEA
excessive and often incoherent talkativeness or wordiness
logo= word, speech, discourse
rrhea= flow, discharge

Feeling of Accomplishment

Today is the last day of the year. I suppose it's fitting that I finished my 2007 resolution today as well. No catching up or getting behind. I jogged 5 miles today after work, finishing 365 miles for the year.

My strategy was to do 3 or 4 miles every 3 or 4 days. It helped me stay on track and yet gave me days off and some breathing room. There were a few times I got ahead, which was great. And there were times I got behind. But never during the entire year did I ever think to quit this resolution. That's just something I'm really happy about.

I lost around 7 pounds in the process which I'm happy about. I never reached my weight goal, but really that wasn't part of the resolution. More of a hopeful perk.

I don't really know what my 2008 resolution will be. As much as I'd like to do the miles again (or even up the ante), my priorities have changed now that I have a house that needs some attention. I will likely maintain some sort of gym schedule but I probably won't be so strict in keeping with the miles.

My advice for anyone with a health related resolution this coming year is to find motivation and be realistic. It was hard sometimes, I struggled on certain days. But I just backed off the miles and made them up on a better day. I lost weight the first 2 months and then nothing happened for a number of months after that. But my resolution wasn't about weight, so I couldn't make an excuse to quit. I actually got one of those runners' highs to keep me motivated. I also had a gym buddy. That certainly helps. This is the first time I ever actually resolved to do something and actually stuck it through (for an entire year!) to the end. I'm just really proud of that right now.

Home Stretch

Remember when I made the resolution to walk/jog one mile for every day of the year? Well, folks, I stuck with it and I am now officially in the home stretch. December is my last month and I've already done 4 miles today. That's 27 more miles to reach my goal. Yahoo!

My Shitlist (to date)

People I wish would fall of the face of the earth:

-that old hag that I had a stand-off with at the gas station.

-that dick that cut me off TWICE in his stupid ass truck

-the idiot that asked if i was at the courthouse for the naturalization ceremony

-the other idiot that figured i'd be good at volleyball

-another idiot that asked if i ever wanted to go back to my country AFTER finding out that i was born in america

-various dumbasses that have called me a liar to my face

-and Jude Law

-heck, why not Omarosa too

Hectic Holidays

We are less than 2 weeks away from closing on our house. It's surreal, I still can't believe I'm moving out of the apartment and into a house. I have to remember to take all the pictures of the apartment and building that I've always wanted to take in the next 6 weeks.

We have to devise a few lists: a house wish list, a Christmas list, a party guest list, a to do list for moving... aaaahhh, I feel like the list goes on and on.

Anyway, I'm hoping to start the house wish list tonight.

House Beautiful

Joe and I are less than 3 weeks away from settling on a house. It's a stressful time, just waiting around. And I'm awfully sad about moving out of the apartment. It's just what I've always wanted in an apartment. The loft has just been really good to us.

But moving into a house will be an interesting adventure. There'll be more room for the cats to run and jump and room for us to entertain and stuff. The only thing I can do to keep the stress at bay is to think about the dressing room we'll have and the decorating and painting we'll do to really make the house our home.

There are a lot of things we need though. And that makes us really stressed out. All those things we never had but will need with a new house and the money we'll need to acquire those things. It's just a daunting project that we need to tackle one day at a time.

With the holidays upon us, I just can't help but get anxious about everything.

Highlights from Halloween

Foreigner in My Own Country: At the Courthouse

I've decided to start a new regular post named "Foreigner in My Own Country" to keep track of the stupid things people say to me related to my race/ heritage. I'm not going to bother going back in time and recount all the stupid stuff, you can ask Joe if you are interested. I'm going to start with today and see how this goes.

This morning, Joe and I went to the courthouse to apply for passports. At 8 am, there's a large influx of people coming in: early birders trying to get shit done and employees coming in for the daily grind. At the front door, one security guard was taping a sign on the door. Something about the naturalization ceremony being moved/ changed/ canceled/ whatever. Of course, of the crowd of people at the door he stops me and asks whether I was there for the naturalization ceremony.

Now, I know what I look like. But do you honestly think any person that isn't white is there for the naturalization ceremony? Why did he ask me of all people?

Halloween Hall of Fame

I love Halloween. It's so much fun dressing up and partying. Over the past few years, we've been a fixture at Aaron and Alisha's Halloween parties and we are usually front runners for prizes, whatever the categories are.

I can't tell you what we're dressing up as this year. We always keep it a secret until the day of the party. But I'd like to flip back to previous years and recall some great costume ideas. Plus, this gives me a chance to inventory my stuff. Feel free to call me if you need a costume.

French maid- this was back in college when me, Joanne, and Dan were all into Rocky Horror. I have the standard issue dress with apron and hair band. I bought a feather duster well afterwards to complete the outfit.

Catwoman- I bought a shiny black catsuit a few years ago for Catwoman the Julie Newmar years. I've actually worn it twice now. And it's best worn backwards, because the zipper in the back is just corny. Plus I have a cool retro belt, cat ear headband, and cat eye mask.

Oompa Loompa- A really fun and easy costume. I bought a red turtleneck shirt and white painters overalls. Paired with an old pair of mary janes and striped soccer socks. I had to do some creative sewing to really complete the look, big fun buttons and hemming the pant legs up. Green hair spray and orange makeup made this costume hilarious.

Willy Wonka- Joe of course, was Willy Wonka that year too. We made a purple jacket and vest one piece from a pattern. The purple coat is corduroy and the sea green vest attached is satin. We also made a brown top hat from a pattern too. We bought a brown bow tie and a cane to complete the costume. I reckon the jacket/vest piece could double for a Joker costume too.

Witch- I went as the Wicked Witch of the West once, but this costume can so easily be any generic witch. I have a long tiered black skirt and a black turtlneck. Topped with a cape, a hat, a broom, and green makeup and that's it!

Flying Monkey- We made this costume from a pattern to match my witch costume. This is a black/grey fur costume with brown trim. Joe also made black nylon wings to complete the look. This is a super hilarious costume and is sure to win awards.

Napoleon and Pedro- This is super easy to do and it was topical, so people loved it. If you don't already own a Vote for Pedro t-shirt, there's an iron-on decal available on the internet. Get some cheapo reading glasses from a pharmacy in the right shape, some old moon boots from Salvation Army and we had a simple costume. Finding cheap cowboy boots was difficult. So was finding a bolo tie. But I fashioned a bolo tie out of some shoestring and a brooch and found a cheap cowboy shirt and boots at Wal-Mart. A simple short shag wig and a drawn on moustache and that's all it took to become Pedro.

I have some random props: a magic lamp, a pair of handcuffs, an eyepatch, various gold medals, lab coats, a racing suit, a one piece sitting robe that looks a little outer space, various pieces of a school uniform.

Edward Scissorhands- This was a difficult costume to execute and I've seen it done so well on the internet. But we decided to go with the Edward-at-home look. A black turtle neck, a white oxford shirt overtop and some suspenders. Joe fashioned some scissorhands out of foam board attached to cheap black gloves. Don't forget to figure in a way to unzip pants so you can pee. A bunch of punk rock wristbands and belts and there you have it. You really need to concentrate on the makeup too, it can easily get botched up. I recommend watching the movie and printing pictures for reference.

Movie Review: Knocked Up

This movie is like watching a class reunion of Freaks and Geeks. I think almost all the cast members of that show was in the movie. Instead of Katherine Heigl, it could have been Linda Cardellini and it would have been complete.

Anyway, the movie was funny. Not as funny as 40-Year-Old Virgin, but still funny. It had some serious moments and stuff since it's about babies and whatever but I think it's still worth a rent. Like, what do you expect when you get pregnant after a one night stand?

If you get the unrated version, you don't really see any naked boobies. Sorry.

3 eggrolls out of 5.

Random Shite #12

FA Premier League- I started my fantasy team a little late but so far it's going okay. I'm ranked 803,287th so far overall. It's still in the bottom half and I slacked during the last week, but I'm making some good points with Van Persie and Fabregas. We're off this week but I figured I'd give you guys an update.

Okay. Crazy science fiction shit has been happening. My previous post was about crazy amoeba boring holes up to the brains of young boys in the Southwest. Now I saw a video of some dude who had an ear grafted to his arm. No kidding. Look at this...

Talk to the hand

Remember back in March when I told you about Creature Feature? Well, I saw them live in Baltimore this week and they killed it. You really need to listen to them.

Joe and I recently decided on our Halloween costumes. I can't tell you what they are now. But I promise it'll be super cool. I bought a pattern and fabric this week so I've got a sewing project underway in full force. Hint: old-skool TV show characters.

I may be taking a trip to Vietnam in January. Other than the serious mental and psychological issues I'll have going there, I think it'll be an interesting time. Joe said he'd go with me, so at least I'll have a someone to share the experience with. I'll keep you updated on the plans.