Day Three Hundred Fifty Five

Dear Readers,
     Christmas is supposed to be a happy and fun spirited holiday. Full of time spent with family and time spent in good spirits. For some reason, whenever I am out shopping for gifts, I see the exact opposite. Tons of people in a rush whom only seem to care about themselves. Don't get me wrong, there are exceptions to every rule and there are joyful shoppers out there. They just don't seem to be shopping wherever I seem to be shopping. It is so bad that it has become a stigma of what to expect when shopping for Christmas in that week leading up to it. There are even movies based on this premise. Is this strictly an American thing, or is it a worldwide problem? If it is a worldwide issue, then at least I don't feel so bad about Americans living up to the bad rap we have gotten about being rude and impatient. You could almost believe it wouldn't be a problem with the forward thinking society we have, but maybe they are so forward thinking that they forget to look to the past to learn from history's mistakes. Our country is full of rude and inconsiderate people. Just drive around on the freeways for a little bit. I just hope I don't become one of those people. I know I can be at times, but as long as it isn't who I am as a persona. It is something to work for, and all the other inconsiderate people will not make it easy on me.
      Isn't it truly amazing how much a topic of conversation can lead you further and further down the rabbit hole. Changing from one topic to the next on a whim. Amazing.

This Day In History: 1920
English born comedian Leslie Downes becomes an American citizen.  He eventually became known as Bob Hope.

Born This Day: 1868
Harvey Firestone - American businessman who founded the Firestone Company

"If you choose the lesser of two evils, always remember that it is still an evil."

-Max Lerner

He he.

Day Three Hundred Fifty Four

Dear Readers,
      Okay, the reason my blog was not done last night as it should have been, was because the dog ate my homework.  No, just kidding.  The power went out.  Seriously, the power went out.  Which meant I had no internet for my computer.  Ergo, no blog uploaded.  We got home from our festival of lights and my dad started talking to Raina.  Asking if we had a flashlight handy, because the power had gone out a couple of times while we were gone.  No sooner did he finish saying that sentence, then the power went out in the house.  It must have been the strong winds we were having last night.  Possibly knocking over a power pole or something.  So, instead of turning on my laptop, I put myself and my nauseated stomach in bed.  Looking to read a chapter of The Hobbit before falling asleep.  The power ended up turning back on, but by the time it did, I was already warm in bed, just about ready to fall asleep.  Otherwise it would have been done last night.  Thankfully, no power outages today. 
      After finally normalizing after about noon, I did some Christmas shopping.  Hoping to beat some of the crowds by going in the middle of the day during the week.  Unfortunately I was not able to find anything for the people I was looking for.  I walked the mall back and forth and couldn't figure out anything.  I picked up a couple of items we had specifically picked out somewhere else, but nothing at the mall for almost two hours.  Usually our first choice for people we don't know what to get, is a gift card.  This year we are anti gift card though.  Tired of the same boring gift every year.  We are forcing ourselves to find something for just about everyone.  If we are getting someone a gift card, it is for a specific reason and it isn't the only thing we are getting them.  It has made it a bit frustrating and sometimes an adventure to find a gift that is right for each person.  Hoping to finish all our shopping by Friday.  Only two days left.  Then we have to wrap everything.  Christmas can be so much work.  Hopefully the faces of the gift receivers when the open them will make it all worth it.  Hopefully.

This Day In History: 1905
The first motorized ambulance service for traffic victims is created in London, England.

Born This Day: 1790
Sir William Parry - English Admiral and arctic explorer.

"The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's there to appreciate it."

-Franklin P. Jones

Seriously!

Day Three Hundred Fifty Three

Dear Readers,
      It was Christmas lights viewing tonight.  I also got myself sick tonight.  We made it a night in the cold, looking at houses that are more expensive than I will ever be able to afford and their fancy light decorations.  Originally, we were supposed to have our guys study tonight.  The one we have been doing on a weekly basis to work on improving our marriages, but people started canceling.  My brother in law, Matt, wasn't going to make it.  Our friend Chas had some of his wife's family in town, so he was out.  Then Brandon told us that he was going back to work after being out sick and wanted to get to bed early to get a good nights sleep.  Since apparently he hasn't been going to bed early all those days off from work.  The funny thing about two of those guys, was that their excuses for not going seemed to be a little wishy washy.  Raina and I stopped over at Matt and Yoli's house to pick up something, and that is when we found out the real reason Matt wasn't going to our guys study.  They were planning on going to see the Christmas lights in Naples, because it was the only night they could go with my niece Kailee.  Granted, it was a good reason, but Matt could have been straight forward and told us in the beginning.  The funny thing was that Yoli had just told us that they were staying home to make Kailee work on her science project and how important it was to get it done.  Then in the next breath tell us about how they wanted to go see the lights.  It was quite comical.  So that is when we decided to switch our plans from going on Wednesday, to going a day early to go with them. 
      The next step in our mad scheme, was to convince the rest of the clan that was supposed to go with us on Wednesday, to now switch to Tuesday.  Chris and Liz had to make some minor adjustments, but they were in.  Brandon had given us a reason that I expected would keep him out of going to see the lights as well.  For some reason it was a good enough reason to not go to the guys study, but then would allow him to go out to Naples.  Even though he would get home about the same time from either one.  So, that meant Brandon and Brooke were in.  Chris and Kelly were not going to make it.  They had already gone.  So, we made it a night of the festival of lights.
      Naples is fantastic to see if you love seeing all kinds of Christmas lights and decorations.  Pretty much the whole neighborhood gets together and decorates in a theme.  This year, a salute to the local Long Beach Olympians.  Olympic rings on all kinds of houses.  All different styles of lights.  Even a Captain Morgan Statue with a Santa hat on.  A couple of Leg Lamps from A Christmas Story.  And a house that decorates in the style of the Griswold's from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.  Tons of lights covering the house.  I think the best part was sitting and watching Christmas movies on a projector in front of a house and sipping on the hot chocolate they were selling outside.  Not a bad idea on such a cold night.  I think we picked the coldest night, not to mention a windy night, of the year.  I am not normally a cold person, but it was cold last night.  Even with my thermals on and warm jacket.  I had a blast.  Even if the In and Out I ate made me sick.  I can't believe it.  I had to suffer through stomach pains and nausea through the night.  It was worth it.  We had a blast.

This Day In History: 1732
Benjamin Franklin began publishing "Poor Richard's Almanac."

Born This Day: 1961
Reggie White - Hall of Fame NFL Defensive End.

"If the human mind was simple enough to understand, we'd be too simple to understand it."

-Emerson Pugh

Festival of lights.

Now that is a beard!

So awesome.

Jewish Christmas.

You can barely see Chris and I "Kevining" in the background.

Got a little of the Captain in you?

One of our dream houses.

Day Three Hundred Fifty Two

Dear Readers,
      Last night we celebrated my sister in law, Yvonne's, birthday. For those of you who don't know her, she is married to Raina's brother, Brent. For Raina, yesterday was a full day. Working at Buffalo Wild Wing's in the morning, heading home to change real quick and head to a birthday party for my bearded brother's daughter's birthday party. It is my co worker Josh. He also rocks an awesome beard. We stopped by there for a couple of hours to hang out, wish a happy birthday, give a gift and eat some cake. Then it was off to San Dimas for dinner for Yvonne. A big family dinner at Cask and Cleaver. It is always entertaining when you get Raina's family together. You also get to catch up on all the current events for everyone. Including our niece Brenna becoming the Head Cheerleading Coach at my alma mater. Hearing about Jeremiah finishing up his first semester at Point Loma. Even McKenna telling us about the fire that just happened at her school on Friday. Yup, a fire. Apparently they had an electrical fire at the school that caused some damage and took out the electricity on the high school campus side. They had to send all the kids home. Including my other niece, Kailee. Nieces and a nephew from both sides of our family going or have gone to my old alma mater. I thought I would be rid of that place by now, but all these family members still going there keeps me with ties to that school. I can't shake that place. Well, at least for another ten years or so. Here I go again getting off subject. I guess I never really had a subject. I was just trying to show how busy my wife was yesterday. She sounded pretty tired last night. Why wouldn't she be after the day she had. Nonstop all day. If it keeps up being this bad for her, I may force her to take some days off pretty soon. At least get a little break every once and a while. Poor thing. I just love her.
      I also happen to have my last class of the semester tonight. Final time. Hopefully my non studying all week was enough studying to help me out. I love finals though. Just go in and take your test. Then walk out when you're done. Awesome. No chance for me to fall asleep in class this week. I'll just have to spen that hour before getting a little cramming in. Only about two hours or so left.

This Day In History: 1903
Near Kitty Hark, North Carolina, American inventors Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first successful flight of a self propelled, heavier than air aircraft.

Born This Day: 1807
John Greenleaf Whittier - American Quaker and antislavery activist and poet.

"I think we have a need to know what we do not need to know."

-William Safire

Ha ha.

Day Three Hundred Fifty One

Dear Readers,
      This year, I got an early Christmas present from work. I had been debating talking about it, because I didn't want to sound like a tool talking about myself in this manner. Then I realized, all I do is talk about myself. It's pretty much the point of this blog. Most people are more apprised to what is going on with me because of this thing. Which has actually had me considering keeping up the blog even after the year is up. Not every day though. It is a lot of work to keep this up on a daily basis. Makes me glad I never decided I wanted to become a journalist or something like that. Back to my point. I have been working at getting myself in better position for a promotion at work for a little over a year and a half. Almost two years actually. The position has been open for that long. They delayed and delayed for one excuse after another to fill that position. Finally they delayed so long that the economy really started hurting the city to the point of them having to freeze the position. So then they couldn't even hire now that they were ready to. It was pretty frustrating for myself and for a couple of other guys I'm sure, because in the meantime you had guys doing the work that this position would be hired for and not getting paid for it. It can be frustrating and a little discouraging. This has gone on for almost two years. They had a way to increase your pay on a daily basis, but there were certain requirements that had to be met each day you get it. Making it difficult to accomplish on your own. It was a matter of getting the boss to have you do a certain job on a daily basis. Pretty much a luck of the draw each day. Unfortunately for me, it has only happened a handful of times in the last nine months or so. Now comes the good part though. Without my knowledge, my boss had put in for me to get Acting Pay in the meantime, until the position can be filled. Apparently he put in for it back in October. I ended up finding out about it because of another position had become available. I didn't go in saying that they needed to give me a raise or I was gone. I went in to see how realistic an opening for the position I wanted would be happening in the relative future. The position that did open would still have been an increase for me, so I was definitely considering it. It wasn't what I particularly wanted to do, but with Raina and I getting ready to buy a house and planning a trip to Paris, every little bit helps. When I had gone in to see my boss about it, that is when they told me the form had been turned in and were waiting on Human Resources for the okay. That was enough for me to drop the idea of applying for that other position. I could get a raise and still do the work that I enjoy, it was a win win for me. It didn't take long after that. They notified me a few days later that it had gone through and now I got my semi promotion. It is a great feeling after almost two years of chasing that carrot. It's more responsibility, but I am looking forward to it. Maybe it will even improve my situation of certain guys I have to work with on a daily basis. Things are going to change for the new year. Only one week of work left and then the Christmas break. Looking forward to all of it.

This Day In History: 1915
German physicist Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity is first published.

Born This Day:  1770
Ludwig Van Beethoven - German composer and pianist.

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

-George Santayana

Huh, makes me want to stop aging.

Day Three Hundred Fifty

Dear Readers,
      What is with the violence lately?  Another shooting at a school?  It is a sad sad thing and my prayers go towards the families affected by it.  Events like this bring to light all the people who are looking for change.  Change in securities, change in how a school is run, change to what is restricted and unrestricted.  I don't want to minimize what has happened, but every time something like this happens, it brings out the people who demand for more and more gun control and more governmental control over all sorts of things.  I am of the mind that more control just means more problems.  Why do people think that making it harder to buy a gun will make it that much better at keeping these kinds of things from happening.  Just look at this scenario.  The guns were registered to the kids mother.  It was a simple matter of grabbing the guns from under his mom's nose.  I am almost of the mind to agree with what the whole state of Texas believes in.  That the more guns owned, the better.  You never hear about these kinds of things happening in Texas.  If it did, then somebody probably would have had a gun on them and put a stop to it before it got too bad.  I don't know for sure if that is how it would have happened, but I would like to think so.  Again, I am not trying to diminish the tragedy that has happened, I am just trying to lay out the facts and prepare for the uproar that follows something like this.  It is on every news channel.  It is all they want to talk about.  It continues too.  Even tonight, in Newport Beach, there was a crazy guy shooting a gun into the night sky of the parking lot at Fashion Island.  What is this world coming too?  At least no one was killed this time.  I implore you to keep  those families in prayer and to not be too hasty on jumping on the bandwagon to increase gun control and give even more power to the government.

This Day In History: 1791
Following ratification by the state of Virginia, the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, become the law of the land.

Born This Day: 1892
J. Paul Getty - American oil magnate who founded Getty Oil and was once the richest man in the world.

"There's so much pollution in the air now that if if weren't for our lungs there'd be no place to put it all."

-Robert Orben

I caught Raina playing video games with the nephews.

Day Three Hundred Forty Nine

Dear Readers,
      The Hobbit!  The Hobbit!  The Hobbit!  It is here and I already saw it.  I didn't see it at midnight, like I had planned, but it is probably good that I didn't.  Considering how tired I have been lately.  Even with the greatness that is anything Tolkien, I could feel myself about to doze off a little bit.  Sure enough, it was right about 10:00PM when it happened.  Thankfully, I snapped out of it long enough to fully enjoy the movie.  It made me want to relive the Lord of the Rings trilogy all over again.  It was awesome.  Not as good as I think it could have been, but I wasn't disappointed with it.  I might be a little blinded with Peter Jackson's work, but I don't care.  I enjoyed it.  Raina said it seemed a little "Disney" to her, but I didn't think it was that bad.  Yes, I think it could have been a little darker, but it hit the major points in the book and didn't take too many liberties.  They added a couple of things, but at least they didn't take anything away from it.  At least not yet.  If you don't want any spoilers of any kind, then stop reading.  It stopped half way through the book.  I know they were going to make another trilogy out of The Hobbit and other stories, but I thought they were going to finish the whole story and the other two movies would be something different.  It is looking like the meat of The Hobbit will be spread among two movies and the third installment being something completely different.  The only complaint I had, was that I was looking forward to seeing how they portrayed Beorn in the movie.  Sadly, that is after the halfway point and I won't find out until the next movie.  Sorry, but you have to have read the book to know what I am talking about.  My other disappointment, was with myself.  I didn't finish the book before going to see the movie, but as it turns out, I was more then half way through.  Which means I read all that was included in the movie, thankfully.  This movie just gives me an excuse to delve back into everything Tolkien.  Perhaps even read some of his books I have yet to read yet.  They aren't all easy reads, but they are worth the effort.  He just has so much detail and background in his books.  He truly did create a different and new world.  Every detail of it.  Languages, customs, lands, maps, histories, songs, rhymes, creatures, and all sorts of other details.  It has made for a wondrous story with tons of interesting details to hold my interest indefinitely.  It will be sad when there are no more stories to put onto the silver screen.  Until then, I can at least look forward to two more movies.  It all boils down to me saying, that you should go see it.  Well worth the trip to the movie theaters. 

This Day In History: 1947
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is founded at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Born This Day: 1896
James H. Doolittle - American aviator who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for leading the first U.S. bombing raid against Japan in World War II.

"When people keep telling you that you can't do a thing, you kind of like to try it."

-Margaret Chase Smith

Merry Christmas everyone.