Anna's Slant: December 2005 Archives

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December 31, 2005

Christmas 2005

Cookies with Santa: Pittsburgh, PA

My first Christmas this year took place in Pittsburgh with three of my siblings, their families and a cousin. The weekend was filled with eating, shopping, opening gifts, an uncles v. cousins snowball fight and a much anticipated photo shoot with Santa. (I kept my distance from the jolly fella, there would have been too much explaining to do.) On Sunday night, one of my adorable nieces curled up on my lap and fell asleep, I took advantage of the opportunity to catnap as well, which ended viciously with the flash on my sister's camera going off in my face.

Colorado or Bust

On Christmas Eve eve, I loaded up my little Hyundai for the 19 hour trip to Loveland, CO, and pulled out of town with a stereo system that would make any audiophile cringe. After many gallons of gas, four bottles of Gatorade and an overnight in Kansas, I arrived in Loveland in time for a game of "Sorry" with my 7 year old nieces, just ahead of Santa's sleigh. Christmas Day became a multi-cultural event for me as we spent it with some of their Spanish-speaking friends and relatives in Denver. Two days after Christmas an outing into Denver to tour the Hammond's Candies factory turned into a real adventure as we were involved in a traffic accident on a very busy Interstate. Fortunately, the accident was much less serious than it could have been. Although the other driver was experiencing back pain later that evening, and there were some sore muscles after the fact, none of us were seriously injured.

Wednesday provided perfect opportunity for photo shoots in Loveland's parks, and some of those pictures may appear here soon. (They would be here now, but my cd was held hostage by the machine at the King Sooper until after I left town, and I will have to wait for them to arrive by mail.) Thursday we were finally able to tour the candy factory, and then I headed east, much more aware of my personal bubble space on the Interstate. I think I'm fully recovered from the 2680 miles logged, and let me just add, it was worth every mile.

Posted by Anna at 6:23 PM | Comments (0)

December 30, 2005

I'm NOT in Kansas anymore!!!!

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, I just got back in from my trip to Loveland, CO. After I stop vibrating from the 2,600+ miles I logged, I will have stories to tell.

Posted by Anna at 10:13 PM | Comments (0)

December 22, 2005

IMHO: Let It Go, Let It Go, Let It Go.....

Until now, I've avoided the controversy over "Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays", I just didn't have a dog in that fight. I find the whole discussion more annoying than being greeted with either phrase. To me it is a non-issue, but apparently it has sparked public opinion polls (I passed up that headline for more interesting news) and inspired talk-radio rants (I changed the station). However, I've decided to propose a solution to the problem. This is not a compromise, it is not a win-win solution, there are people who will still choose to take offense. My solution? Get over it.

Taking offense is a personal choice, not something forced by a third party, it's certainly more power than I wish to give up. There are a lot of holidays during the season surrounding Christmas, and any one person may choose to celebrate any, all or none of them. So, use "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays", "Have a nice day" is always in season, don't mind how others greet you, if you happen to be cranky for some reason, there's always "Bah Humbug" to fall back on.

In the words of Maura Stuard, age 8, "Sometimes you just need to take a nap and get over it."

Happy Yule Ya'll!!!!

Posted by Anna at 2:37 AM | Comments (0)

December 21, 2005

Last Minute Gifts

For those of you still Christmas shopping (or who have not started), here is a last minute gift idea for the passive-aggressive on your list. The "Boss Toss" catapult. Instead of wasting valuable energy on problem solving, the recipient of this gift can express their frustration by sending tiny executive effigies sailing up to 15 feet toward a bullseye target. Four executive effigies are included to accomodate group play. Perfect for "Secret Santa" gifts.

Posted by Anna at 1:50 PM | Comments (2)

December 20, 2005

Pre-Christmas Mahem

I've finally stopped vibrating enough to compose a post, after spending something like 20 hours driving over the past weekend. I spent the weekend with family in Pittsburgh having cookies with Santa, bonding with Nieces and Nephews, opening Christmas presents, laughing too hard and eating way too much good food. Now I'm switching gears and preparing for my road trip to Denver to spend the real Christmas with sister Sarah and her family.

Posted by Anna at 10:30 AM | Comments (0)

December 15, 2005

Happy Birthday Mom!!!! (Don't worry, I won't say how old you are!) I love you!

Posted by Anna at 2:02 PM | Comments (0)

December 13, 2005

Brainstorm...

This may be my most brilliant idea ever. A personal customer service number. I could outsource all my @$$ chewings. For just .95 a minute, you could tell some guy in New Dehli who speaks minimal English, and makes $2.44 a day just how badly I screwed up, and the ramifications of my blunder. Or perhaps you'd like to ride my @$$ for something, just call the 1-900 number, and Raghuvaran will be happy to take down your complaint. How's my driving? Next time I cut you off, grab you cell phone.

"Hello, my name is Abhijeet, this call may be monitored for quality purposes. What is it you are calling in regards to?" "You'd like to complain about Anna, very good, and can I have your name please?" "Your name is Mike, may I call you Mike?" "Thank you, very good, my name is Abhijeet, just one minute please." "Ok, I'm sorry for the wait, my name is Abhijeet, and you are Mike, is that correct?" "Ok, very good, thank you, just one minute." "Ok, Mike, thank you for holding, my name is Abhijeet, and you would like to bitch about Anna, right?" "Ok, very good, and what are you ticked off at Anna for?" "Ok, very good, and was this at work or at home?" "Ok, thank you, just one minute please." "Ok, Mike, and just to confirm, You are royally p-o'ed at Anna because she parked a shopping cart in the parking spot you were preparing to pull into in the Kroger parking lot, is that correct?" "Ok, thank you, very good, it will be just a minute." "Ok, Mike, I'm sorry for the wait, my name is Abhijeet, and I will be forwarding your complaint to Anna, she will receive it in four to six weeks. Is there anything else I can help you with today?" "Ok, thank you for calling, my name is Abhijeet, feel free to call back anytime, have a good day."

Posted by Anna at 1:19 PM | Comments (0)

December 8, 2005

Entertainment for Nerds

This is sure to amuse the most bookish among you for at least 7 minutes and 23 seconds. It's called the "Mobius Strip" (or band, or loop), it's named after August Ferdinand M�bius, an astronomer and mathematician but you'd swear it is a magic trick. I first heard about it reading "A Whack on the Side of the Head" by Roger von Oech last weekend, but didn't immediately grasp the concept from his description. A quick Google search turned up two very helpful links, along with more information than I really needed, but came in handy when dazzling my co-workers tonight. You can read those links for yourself here, and here.

Basically, you take a strip of paper (for my first attempt, I cut a gas station receipt in half), tape the two ends together, but before taping them twist one end so the back of it is taped to the back of the other end. What you have now is a loop with only one surface and one edge. You can prove this by taking a marker and drawing a line around it, you will go all the way around and return to your starting point. The fun really starts when you cut the loop into half. Instead of winding up with two loops, you still have one loop, but it's twice as big. Then cut the loop into half again. I'm not going to tell you what happens, you'll have to find out yourself.

The most fun comes in demonstrating it to other people. I didn't realize that until one of the guys leaned back against his chair and said "Now you've got my interest". Of course, they quickly lost interest when I suggested a practical use for it within the shop!

Posted by Anna at 2:39 AM | Comments (0)

December 7, 2005

Holding My Tongue

I started to compose a post about this article from CNN.com last week, but wasn't satisfied with it, so I saved it as a draft and just let it idle in the back of my brain. Today, CNN.com followed up with this story, and I had to revist my previous post.

The first article reports the possibility of New Jersey Governor-elect Jon Corzine appointing a black female to finish out his Senate term, and the article drew my ire for focusing on the candidates race and gender instead of reporting on what made this particular individual well qualified to fill the seat (although there seemed to be a general consensus that she was well-qualified). Here is my original (and previously unpublished) commentary on the article:

This article from CNN.com triggers one of my pet peeves, the reporter has taken a story about the possible appointment of a well qualified candidate to a political seat, and turned it around to an issue of race and gender.

In a nutshell, for those of you who haven't read the link yet, New Jersey Governor-elect Jon Corzine is in a position where he needs to appoint someone to finish out his term. One of the possibilities is Nia Gill, a well-qualified Senator, a 57 year-old attorney, who also happens to be black, and female. Instead of highlighting Senator Gill's experience, which she seems to have plenty of, or her positions on various issues, (both of which we would be reading about had Gill happened to be white, and male) the story focuses on her minority status. There is no talk about what qualifies Gill for the job, just a lot of fluff about the implications of being the second black woman in the U.S. Senate.

But today, in the second article there is no mention of Gill at all, as Corzine chose a different appointee, a male, and no mention of his race is indicated at all, just a glowing report of what makes him so well-qualified for the position. This is one of those times that an "I TOLD YOU SO!!!!" seems so appropriate, but I can't exactly say that, because I didn't actually tell anyone so, just thought about it.

Posted by Anna at 8:33 AM | Comments (0)

December 6, 2005

Hello????

Today's most quotable quote is brought to us by Saddam Hussein. "I will not be in a court without justice..." He was reported to have said as court was adjourning. He also complained about having to wear the same underwear and shirt for a third day. (read CNN.com article here) Somehow, his complaints and temper tantrum pale in comparison to the testimony of those he is charged with torturing. I find myself wondering if a person who denys others fairness and justice has the right to demand fairness and justice from others. Perhaps it is truth he fears.