The Next Dark Age
We're in it Now
Thanksgiving Activities
You know, when you don’t have a house full of people, Thanksgiving can get pretty busy. This was my day:
Woke up at the regular time, dawdled for awhile and headed over to the rescue to lend a hand. Good thing because an order of bird toys had arrived. I spent a couple of hours going back and forth between rooms, cleaning cages, hanging new toys, and salvaging parts from old toys (in case they can be re-used). Karen is my friend because she knew I was out of town when the order was placed, but she picked up some extras of our favorites for me. Bird toys are really expensive, so one should really not miss an opportunity to pick some up wholesale.
At 10:30 or so, I stopped at Starbucks. Businesses that are open on the holiday make me really happy. The strip mall by my house was absolutely packed. It looked like the Jewel, Starbucks, McDonalds, and Einstein Bagels were all open. I placed my order and went over to the pick up counter. The guy asked if I wanted whipped cream on my drinks. I declined and thanked him for asking. Then I said, “In case no one has told you today, I really appreciate that you are working on the holiday.”
He paused. “…Um. No.. No one has said that to me today. Thanks.”
That’s really too bad.
I went home, grabbed the newspaper wih the Black Friday ads and went upstairs to plan some strategy. I found the one for Michael’s, the craft store. Open from 5pm to 9pm tonight and 30% off your entire purchase. Right when every one was eating. And then ready to die from being stuffed.
But wait. There are only two of us. We can eat whenever we want.
I convinced my mother to cook the turkey early. We were still watching the Lions game when we sat down. (Note: Whatever the outcome, that was a good game. I don’t want to hear any more of this debate about booting the Lions from the Thanksgiving program.) And had already placed a Christmas order on Amazon.
Then I took a nap. Ha.
I got to Michael’s a few minutes after five. There were people, but it wasn’t too bad a crowd. I still managed to spend nearly an hour wandering around. I filled a basket with supplies and went to check out. I started hearing the manager shouting orders to people – mostly about how to manage coupons and how much worse it would be tomorrow. I also thanked the lady at the register for working on the holiday. Can I tell you? Her face lit up.
About that time I started hearing mothers yelling at children and was ready to leave.
Anne’s Law: Black Friday is not for amateurs or children. Leave the kids at home tomorrow.
Walking back to my car, I saw that Steak and Shake was open. (Yeah, yeah. Of course Steak and Shake was open.) I drove through and picked up a couple of peppermint chip milk shakes. Again, I told the drive through guy that I appreciated his working on the holiday. Again, it was clear that no one else had said as much to him today.
Moral of the Story:
Seriously, gang. Tomorrow, when the whole world goes insane, please say something nice to the staff. They are having a longer, harder day than you are. And they aren’t being paid enough for it.
I Need a New Computer Game
http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=leartojugg-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B0019017Y8&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifrThat was not a Christmas wish. It was just whining.
I have been buying cheap ($5 cheap) computer games at Half Price Books. Not World of Warcraft-type games, just little things to keep me entertained for a weekend. Or at least distracting me from the West Coast road trips of certain professional sports teams.
Last Saturday, I picked up Sally’s Salon
I am not kidding. Uninstall.
I am going back to Bookworm Adventures.
Black Friday Strategies
The news is filled with articles, tips and deals regarding Black Friday and I particularly enjoyed this “strategy guide” from the Chicago Tribune. My favorite part of the piece was listed under “Buddy up”:
“People are going to use carts as battering rams, but they are going to hit gridlock at a certain point,” he said. “It’s almost like the running of the bulls.”
The runner will offload goods to the driver’s cart. Upon completion, the driver takes the cart to wait in the checkout line, while the runner proceeds to the next store without delay. Of course, there are many versions of the buddy system. More elaborate are hunting packs of six or more that coordinate shopping lists and buy at several locations simultaneously. However, more stores are moving to Black Friday ticketing systems. Those first in line are given tickets and their merchandise is set aside.
“It’s taken a little of the competitiveness out of it,” Brim said.
It seems that on one day of the year, Real Life is less civilized than the Internet.
In Honor of Thanksgiving. Or Something.
Weekend Assignment # 245: Give Thanks
Thanksgiving is upon us, the time of year when we’re asked what we’re thankful for. Let’s take the opportunity to interpret this literally, and actually thank someone! Tell us about someone in your life, past or present, whom you would like to thank for what they did, and why.
Extra Credit: Suggest a Weekend Assignment topic, because I’m running dry! Also: would you prefer that the topics be mostly literary, or is a variety better?
At the risk of making my mother cry, I am going to go with Thanking My Brother. Here is a totally non-comprehensive list of stuff Scott has done that has made my life better, easier or more fun:
- He has three children. So I am not required by either family, guilt or maternal instinct to produce my own. And they are lots of fun.
- He is a techie, of sorts. I will never have to do research for a new television or re-install my own hard drive.
- He calls Dad. It is nice to know the old man is still alive, and God knows I can’t be bothered to pick up the phone.
- He once camped out, overnight, for the opening of a Star Wars movie. I will never top that geekery.
- He has power tools.
- He once went to a Tea Party meeting “just to see what all the fuss was about”.
- He is convinced that his next car is going to be electric.
He is going to build me a new blog template.He said he is going to build me a new blog template, even though:- He never reads my blog, because he thinks blogs are stupid.
- He is not on Facebook, because he thinks Facebook is evil.
I don’t like to publish pictures of my family on my “public” blog, but here is one of Scott from The Alex Collection:
He called it, “Daddy’s Slipper on the Rug”.
I am seriously considering getting that kid a real camera for Christmas. Because that would be fun for me.
Regarding the Extra Credit, you’d think I have a whole bunch, because I do “poll questions” for our the newsletter at work. Here is one that Joy suggested that we haven’t used yet:
Tell us about something you have Googled recently.
Travels With My Aunt
The weird thing is that all four actors play the narrator, Henry, and then they play a bunch of other characters. You get used to it pretty quickly, though. Even Sean Fortunato, who plays the Aunt, manages to go back and forth between the two rather seamlessly. Not much more than a shift in body language, but you can follow it.
The effects were old school and performed right on stage. The sounds of the Orient Express beginning to chug, for example, were created by opening an umbrella at increasingly speedy intervals. Writers’ Theatre always makes that stuff charming.
Henry, a 55-year old retiree, meets his Aunt Augusta at his mother’s funeral. She lives in a world of adventure and sometimes all-out fantasy and poor Henry gets sucked right in. Happily, while Henry is a rather dull guy, he doesn’t pout or whine about the half-truths and other inconveniences that their Travels entail. In the end, Augusta determines not to return to England. And Henry must decide whether to go back to his old comfortable world, or to live in her crazy/thrilling one.
Seriously, I have to go read this.
Hercule Poirot’s Christmas: A Holiday Mystery, by Agatha Christie
http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=leartojugg-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1579127894&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifrBook 43 – 50 Book Challenge
Book 2 – Holiday Challenge
I didn’t know that Agatha Christie had done any holiday novels, so I was really jazzed when I saw this one that feature Hercule Poirot, who I think is a total riot. The premise is extremely basic:
Rich old invalid asks his entire estranged family to gather around him at the old manor house for Christmas. They all show up, he acts like a jerk, makes the phone call to his lawyer to change his will and is murdered on Christmas Eve. Poirot happens to be visiting a law enforcement friend in the next county or something.
The Lee family is mixed with the usual stereotypes, but interestingly enough, I generally liked them all. There is the usual subplot with suspicion of the staff and a question of theft.
The mystery built pretty well. I had guessed one of the twists correctly, but even that was a red herring. The “whodunnit” made sense. The “how it was done” was pretty convoluted. But overall it was a whole lot of fun.
However, the “holiday theme” was extremely weak.
BTT – Borrowing?
Who would you rather borrow from? Your library? Or a Friend?
(Or don’t your friends trust you to return their books?)
And, DO you return books you borrow?
I would rather borrow from the library. I know exactly how long I can use it without making someone angry. Or owe them money. Mostly, I return books I borrow. There are a few exceptions:
- Lusitania, a non-fiction book about the sinking of the ship during (or before?) WWI. I borrowed it from my friend Eric about a dozen years ago and never read it. It became a joke. I do not see it on my TBR bookcase right now and I don’t remember giving it back to him. Perhaps I moved it to the other room with the rest of my books. Perhaps he pilched it back the last time he was here.
- All’s Fair
, the Carville/Matalin book about the 1992 U.S. presidential election. I borrowed it from my friend Jamie and loved it to death. I kept it for so long that he bought himself another copy.
- A book on Nietzsche that I borrowed from a college boyfriend. I just put it in my donation pile for the library.
- An old paperback copy of The Outsiders
. I forget from whom I borrowed it in highschool, but if it was you, you can have it back. I found a hardcover copy.
Hm. I guess this is why I buy my books.
Things I Forgot to Bring to Fargo
- My Passport. No, I am not running for the border. How far is the border, anyway? But I normally use it for airport security because it is easier to grab than my driver’s license.
- A hairbrush. No kidding.
- Pajamas. I remembered my Urlacher jersey for the game tomorrow night, but not a bloody nightshirt. I will be sleeping in the turtleneck that I wear under said jersey.
This trip was looking like an “everything that can go wrong, will”. My meeting materials were not finished when I left the office at lunchtime today. The parking lots at O’Hare were full. By “parking lots”, I mean Daily Parking, Valet Parking and Economy Parking. I had to park at the double remote parking lot that involved taking a bus to the Economy Parking Lot where you pick up the train to the terminal. I didn’t know such a place existed.
On the train, a guy started counting. He got to eleven. Eleven squad cars with their lights on. Then I spotted a fire in the distance. Lots of smoke and on property. Not on a runway, but in that general direction. I still don’t know what that was.
Then I went to my super-secret security line where there is no line. And I couldn’t use it because I did the mobile phone boarding pass and they didn’t have the scanner there. So I went to the next line, where there was a serious queue, and the very nice i.d. checker was going awfully slow because it was her first day. And then I was selected for a pat-down.
I had a vague moment of wonder – whether Someone was trying to tell me not to get on that airplane today.
I ignore those thoughts, which is good because the flight was on time and perfectly pleasant. The hotel shuttle was waiting for me when I got outside in the 27 degree Fargo night. And I was assured in the bar that the Bears game would be on the big screen tomorrow night.
All is right with the world.
Cider Doughnuts and Football
Weekend Assignment # 343: Fall Favorites
Some people like autumn leaves. Others like foods associated with this time of year, particular holidays, sports, weather, or even the run up to Christmas and Hanukkah. What is your favorite thing about Fall? (Note: if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, tell us about Spring instead!)
Extra Credit: What do you like least about this time of year?
This year was kind of a bust, because it was raining, but I look forward to picking apples at the orchard. There is a place on the border between Illinois and Wisconsin that does the pick-your-own thing that I have been doing with my brother and nephew every year. Then at the end, they have the shops with cider, meats and cheeses, and cider doughnuts.
Cider doughnuts are the best. Thankfully, we got there early this year, because that line is no joke.
Also, hope springs eternal and I always look forward to the beginning of football season. And by the time that might start to disappoint, hockey and basketball start. I haven’t been watching television in real time because there are games to watch. (And books to read and movies to catch, but nevermind.)
I realize I am in the minority, but leaves make me crazy. They are everywhere and always more and more and then they get wet and grow mold and I am allergic to mold so my sinuses have been bothering me for two weeks. But what I like least is the shorter days. That lead to the cold, dead winter.
A Christmas Memory, One Christmas, & The Thanksgiving Visitor, by Truman Capote
http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=leartojugg-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0375837892&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifrBook 42 (for the 50 Book Challenge)
Book 1 (for the Holiday Challenge)
I am not sure where I found this lovely Modern Library copy 
“A Christmas Memory” was a reminiscence of the last Christmas season he spent in Alabama before being sent off to military school. He and Miss Sook saved their money all year to buy the ingredients to make fruit cakes for everyone they knew. Then he remembered the actual Christmas morning and gifts exchanged and their little dog. It was lovely.
“One Christmas” told the story of one Christmas that he spent with his father in New Orleans. He barely knew the man and was absolutely terrified. Capote managed to convey the anxious feelings of his childhood self while at the same time illustrating a father that really wanted to connect with his son (if only for a short time).
“A Thanksgiving Visitor” tells the story of Miss Sook inviting the school bully to Thanksgiving dinner. It was priceless.
While I have long been a fan of Truman Capote’s writing, I have not been impressed with the stories of Capote as a person. Admittedly, these impressions were colored by Dominick Dunne, with whom he had something of a flling out. However, these stories from his childhood make me like Capote a bit better. Both because they are charming stories about charming people and because he opened his heart from a troubled childhood to share them.
The Next Dark Age 