Wow it's been a while since I updated. Since the last entry was in response to Hibachi last Friday, let's begin with Will's party. This party had a lot of changes: this was the first year with Riza, there were two engagements since last year, and Will has the extra "living room" which is kind of ironic because nobody retreated upstairs this year. I think as far as Yules go, this is going to be remembered as the "Year of the Cookies" as approximately half the partygoers brought some, which is certainly an upgrade from the "Year of the Chips".

Christmas Eve was pleasant. After working half a day at ETS I went to see my grandfather and the rest of my family, which mostly means playing with Luke. It was a really nice time actually, and I think he particularly enjoyed the Nerf Longshot I got him, which considering the sheer amount of gifts he gets is really saying something. In fact, like it's been in past years, I actually prefer being around him in a lower key setting like my grandfather's on Christmas Eve to being amongst the glut of people and toys like Christmas day. Also, as much as I love the kid, I'm worried about the kind of person Luke's surroundings are shaping him to be. It's not so much his sisters as their friends who view him as something cute to bring along which results in him being in situations he really shouldn't be in at that age and it's starting to rub off. The latest episode involved him convincing his grandparents to buy him an M-Rated game with the help of a scumbag retailer (and another who sounded less knowledgeable but more decent) and then opened it before his mother could look at it so they couldn't return it.

Christmas morning I had three presents under the tree. The first was brown socks, as I was down to only one pair. The second was an organizer/container to hold my essentials such as my iPhone, wallet, and keys when I'm at home not using these things or holding them in my pockets. The last box looked like a clothing box, maybe a work shirt or something of the sort in keeping with our theme of "You don't derive pleasure from being alive; you have a job!", but actually contained... Wii Fit. That was a nice surprise. I'm still learning the ins and outs of Wii Fit, but if you've played any Nintendo game with a developmental element such as BrainAge or Wii Sports, much of it will look familiar. One thing I need to improve apparently is my balance, which is one of the game's primary focuses.

One last thing I need to touch on are red sweaters. Earlier in this decade when Queer Eye for the Straight Guy was all the rage, I recall fashion expert Carson and his ilk teaching the public that there are better alternatives to the Ugly Christmas Sweater. Typically, this involves rich colors and luxurious fabrics, and the ultimate example of a red sweater. Now whenever I got to a Christmas party, all the women over thirty are wearing the same red sweater.

This past weekend was the best weekend I've had since graduation. Friday night I went to Hibachi, and naturally it was a great time. The only thing is that the it's hard to talk to people because the table is so linear. Saturday night was Will's Yule party. I think this means I've failed as a normal American, but I have to say that the novelty of alcoholism is completely lost on me. Also, I'm beginning to realize that some of those people are strange to the point they starting bugging me. If you can read this, you are not one of them. Sunday I finished the absolute last of my Christmas shopping. Got some Christmas balloons and Ratatouille on DVD for my mother. That was also the first present of the season I wrapped myself. Christmas Eve was the party at Matt's. Had my first drink of the season there. Spent the big day at my Uncle Kenny's where I watched Luke play his new X-Box 360. In case you're wondering what a kid can play for the 360, the answer is driving games and Marvel Ultimate Alliance, both of which he will go in circles accomplishing nothing over... and over... and over.

Of course, what would any Christmas post be without everyone's favorite tribute to materialism, the gift list. So now, in no particular order, I received...
* Two drawings from Luke
* UR MR GAY
* I am America (And So Can You!)
* An iPhone that I'm already hopelessly addicted to
* Two Samurai books
* A miniature Zen garden
* Curse of the Golden Flower
* Dance Dance Revolution Supernova 2
* Lots of stuff from The Office for my cubicle at work.
* A Late Show with David Letterman t-shirt
* A Wolverine t-shirt
* The animated Iron Man DVD
* A cup with breasts
* Candy

Random note: saw both of the girls who made me super depressed at one point or another in my life and didn't feel a thing. Avoidance FTW. Go me.

We gave in this year and got a pre-lit Christmas tree. The only thing is that we had to get one with white lights as opposed to color, but it does enhance the ornaments. We've got about half our ornaments and it looks pretty nice so far.

So if you're part of any Facebook events with me lately, you might be wondering who the heck Ted McGinley is and why I keep posting pictures of him. Ted is the patron saint of Jumping the Shark. Jumping the shark is the defining moment when an established show changes in a significant manner in an attempt to stay fresh that ironically is seen as its peak and from then on it's all downhill. The reason this random, show-killing actor came to mind this weekend was because we saw him in a Christmas movie. Christmas movies are a funny thing. They're like the opposite of indie movies, and I think actors do them when they've received to much street cred and respect for their own good. One such film also brought me the image of Peter Falk in drag.

Rounding out my bow collection in Monster Hunter by upgrading my elemental ones. Hello, Abominable Bow, Blue Kut-Ku Stave, Hunter's Power Bow III, and Sonic Bow III.

I went digging around in our CD collection and found the song that officially starts the holiday season in our household: We Need a Little Christmas by The Muppets. I also added the following songs to my laptop: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Bare Naked Ladies, River by Robert Downey, Jr., and This Christmas by Ruben Studdard. I still need Santa Claus is Comin' To Town by the Jackson 5.

Speaking of Holiday Traditions, WINTER WHITE CHOCOLATE IS BACK! For those who don't know, Winter White Chocolate is the best flavor Baskin Robbins makes, period. It's white chocolate ice cream with maraschino cherries and a "fudge ribbon". I think there's a little bit of raspberry syrup in there too. Even Harry Osborne would say it's "So Good!"

These new Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End commercials have been bugging me. They open with the line "The biggest trilogy of the decade is here!". Yeah Disney, Lord of the Rings has been out on DVD for a while.

Another year another holiday season. I think this one is forever going to go down as "the one when Chris got oral surgery". Still, the recovery has been going smoothly lately. The swelling has reduced dramatically since Christmas Eve and today but it's not quite back to normal yet. Similarly, my jaw doesn't hurt in a resting position but I can't comfortably open it all the way. Fortunatley, the stitching that was bugging me the most came out today, but this is normal. One day this week I have to see the dentist again. The upside is that I've managed to lose weight by not eating. Still my freaking neck isn't changing... I think if I ever got plastic surgery that's the one thing I would fix.

So yeah, about that Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve at my grandfather's and Christmas Day at my Uncle's. As usual, Luke had 99% of my attention.

• Nintendo Wii


• Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess


• Marvel Ultimate Alliance


• A New Breed of Super Heroes Hallmark Ornament


• Animaniacs: Season 1 on DVD


• Three shirts


• Snowbabies: Sesame Street Rubber Duckie


• Graduate Snowman Ornament


• Before You Leap: A Frog's Eye View of Life's Greatest Lessons


• Another Sudoku book.


• X-Men Encyclopedia (which ironically has a very obscure character filled cover like Captain Britain, X-23, and Northstar only for the most obscure character inside to be Madrox)

I also got a leather Kenneth Cole briefcase/bag for my laptop from my grandfather. I always get kind of sappy with the professional gifts.

Happy Christmakah.

And because the holidays aren't complete without some YTMND love.

If you haven't seen or heard much of me lately, it's because I bought myself an early Christmas present, a game called Monster Hunter. Wow, this is really my kind of game. There's so many little little details, like cooking, fishing, catching bugs for fishing, mining, etc. that only people like me want to do, elements of stealth, a variety of tools to make slaying seemingly impossible beasts easier, and swords so big your character actually has to swing it like it's bigger than the wielder. Now if only I could get some real pants in-game without sacrificing the protection of my bone greaves. Fortunately, I'm mining like there's no tomorrow and hoping that my iron age equals pants age.

Matt, you are buying this, and you and I are ruining the days of evil raptors, dragons, and Puumbas everywhere once we get to school! >=D

In the meantime, Merry Christmas everybody! I've been out two days in a row and I have three more to go. Then some time of laziness (and visiting) followed by working at the school some more.

For the second year in a row, the Christmas video was a huge hit. Plus, I got to do some editing (even if we didn't make use of most of it... long story) so it was good to see the Interactive Multimedia put to use. I'm supposed to do the morning news as Grover (my voiceover with a talking puppet) for the first day back. I'm thinking about doing the voiceover in advance and then recording myself moving the mouth and moving the head as I please, melding the voice file with the rather silent video, and producing it from there.

This has been a somewhat unusual holiday season. I swear they start earlier and earlier each year, which is good, but by the end the holiday season is so long that the big days feel like any other day. Around me, it's been a pretty bare Christmas. I'm shocked at how many people who normally put up lights didn't this year.

On Christmas Eve Eve I went to Will's for a 'Yule' party. It was nice and all, they even played DDR, but there was something that didn't feel right about Will's friends. For starters, it was like two different parties were going on at once and had no interest in meeting one another. Also, Will's group is a little too official, going so far as to have a name and initiating one another, but I heard two guys talking about how it started as a joke that somebody aside from the 'founders' took it rather seriously.

This doesn't look like a very big Christmas for presents. There's a few boxes here for each of us, but I already know I got my two big gifts: Macromedia Flash and Dreamweaver for school and the new cell phone.

Speaking of cell phones, color screens and singing ringtones my ass. I still prefer the old cell phone. Sure it didn't fold and was harder to carry, but if I wanted to download things onto it, I wasn't expected to pay six bucks a month just to have the privelige to download in addition to the actual cost of the items. Plus, I could actually make a call indoors.

Hope everybody has a safe and happy holiday. I helped my mom make a great Christmas tape at her place of work. I wish I could do the same for you guys.