Christmas, Eve

T-58 : Bad Wrap

At this time of year I dread wrapping.  I don't enjoy cutting the paper.  I don't enjoy taping.  I don't enjoy folding imprecisely.  I'd love to take all my presents to a place downtown and pay someone per gift to wrap them and hand them back to me.  In fact I bought a couple of presents from Amazon this year and paid the extra to have them wrap for me.  I know I could have probably bought a whole roll of wrapping paper for the same price.  Last night I even wrapped a bunch of presents in Sunday circulars.  Is anybody with me or do I stand alone here?

T-59 : Berry Birdies

Today I saw birds out the window flitting and fleeting.  When I approached to see what was the matter it didn't take long to see that they were voraciously eating some sort of berry from trees that had already dropped everything but.  I remember seeing a similar sight at the in-laws' tree in Montana.  Apparently it happens more than I realized.  In fact, BHG.com even goes so far as to prescribe which types of berry plants will attract birds in your backyard: (http://www.bhg.com/gardening/design/nature-lovers/best-berry-plants-for-birds/).  Any idea why they wait until mid-December?

T-60 : Lonely Roads

I've driven the loneliest road in America.  It's U.S. Route 50 in Nevada.  Maybe we should be alone with our thoughts a little more often.  It's lonelier on a plane.  Losing track of e-connected devices is a shock to my system; but, arguably, a good one.  The guy next to me seemed like he didn't want to talk, though.  In fact, he had an iPad and was watching shows from Fox; must have been downloaded ahead of time.  It's getting harder and harder to unplug.  Find a way.

T-61 : Kinda Strong

Seneca said, "All cruelty springs from weakness."  Some people think that life is cruel.   Elvis counseled us not to be cruel to a hear that's true.  Nick Lowe said that we have to be cruel to be kind.  I think I'll stick with Seneca.  The counter to his thought would likely be, "All kindness springs from strength."  I choose to be strong so that I can be kind.  You?

T-62 : Smug Mormons?

Years ago I had a good friend who confided in me that he thought too many Mormons he knew were smug.  Wikipedia says, "Self-righteousness (also called sanctimoniousness, sententiousness, and holier-than-thou attitudes) is a feeling or display of (usually) smug moral superiority derived from a sense that one's beliefs, actions, or affiliations are of greater virtue than those of the average person."  I think he was mostly correct.  I think we as a people tend to think that, because the Church is true, that all those who aren't members are somehow less than blessed.  We forget that there are many members who aren't living the tenets; let alone with less goodness in their hearts than some of our "external" brothers and sisters.  What it boils down to in my mind is that it doesn't matter if you have more or less holes in your swiss cheese than I do.  There's reasons for both of us to exist.  In the words of Jerry Maguire (or was it Rodney King?), "Can't we all just get along"?

T-63 : Ex Pert

Oscar Wilde said, "Experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes."

Niels Henrik David Bohr said, "An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made, in a narrow field."

When I make mistakes, especially at work, I need to remember to mention the fact that it's part of my long-term plan to become an expert.

The beauty of it is that you can be happy either way.  You're either doing well or learning to do well; thus always growing!  Right?

T-64 : Stupid Sounder

I think this is just dumb:

"A stupid man's report of what a clever man says can never be accurate, because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can understand." ~ Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)

Ha!

T-65 : December Thunder

On the first day of December in the year of our Lord 2012 there was a thunderstorm that produced thunder (hence the name), lightning, and hail!  I don't recall ever having seen such a sight in any Winter month.  I am aging, however, and my memory is fading.  It's hard to believe that it hasn't happened in my 44+ years.

I just returned from a business trip to New York.  While I was there I drove out to Rockaway Beach for a few minutes just to look around at the remnants of what Hurricane Sandy had done to the area.  I didn't have a lot of time before I had to get back to JFK to catch my flight home but I did see many piles of debris in the streets, seemingly awaiting the sanitation trucks.  It probably looked worse earlier.

We went on a family trip down South the year after Hurricane Katrina and saw many more evidences of high water marks and devastation.  Maybe that's because we spent more time there.  Maybe it was a worser storm.  At any rate, I consider myself lucky to live in the relatively-protected area of the Mountain West.

What's the worst/weirdest weather you've seen?