I returned from Virginia in time to work the night of Christmas Eve, but my time there was very pleasant. I went down early enough that my grandmother and I had a few days together before my parents and brother arrived on the 22^nd. My brother liked the peanut butter maker I got him. My mother liked the perfume I had found for her. Even my father, who was saddled with practical gifts this year, seemed to genuinely like the shirts I picked out for him, at least enough that he wore one to the “Eve of the Eve” church service we attended on the night of the 23^rd. But the best gift I bought this year, by far, was the oak toilet seat with a wood duck design carved into the top of it which I found on eBay for my grandmother. She was very pleased. My brother and father installed it right away.

On Sunday morning I had breakfast with a friend in Haddon Heights, New Jersey. We went for a short walk afterward and I found these guys displayed in the Knowlton Associates window:

Photo by Alexander E.

Photo by Alexander E.

They are so very festive.

A couple of weeks ago, I was reading a story on NPR.org about two recent translations of the Bible, including an “illuminated” one that featured a stunning photograph on its cover:

I almost regretted my lack of interest in owning it, because I really did like the cover.

Unrelated, last week I was looking for the first couple of books in a series by Laurell K. Hamilton and I came across this trade paperback of the second book:

This Siemens commercial makes me want to buy a washing machine … and a Danish television. The combination of Wagner’s “Flight of the Valkyries” and topless parachuting women can’t miss really, it could be used to market anything.

In other news, my brother got engaged over the weekend to a woman who sounds really sweet. He did me proud by pulling out all the stops without popping the question in public; my brother is a cool guy. I’m excited about getting a sister-in-law.

When they were first dating, my parents were concerned about their age difference (she is twelve years older than him), but after they met her they really liked her. I do think they wonder why it is that both my brother and I became seriously involved with someone significantly older than us. They tell themselves they raised us to be mature, but the truth is probably something closer to more experience in life equals better in bed.

A week or so ago (so many of my stories start with those words), at the grocery store I saw a pretty bottle of water. It was fairly inexpensive so I bought one with the thought that I could add to my collection of soda bottles qua vases. At 750 ml it is somewhat larger than most of my other soda pop bottles:

The funny part is that tonight when I decided to drink it, the bottle was so pretty I felt like I shouldn’t just pour it into an everyday water glass so instead I’m sitting here drinking the water from the frou frou bottle in a wineglass. This made me think of a couple of things. The first is that even though the only glassware I spent any money on were my wineglasses, I almost never use them. The second is that I’ve never before consumed water from a wineglass anywhere but in a restaurant. I should probably add a third and that is I really can’t tell a difference between this and the water I filter with a Brita pitcher stored in my refrigerator.

This morning marks the end of a frustrating week for me. My employer is attempting to weasel out of compensating me for something less than 50$ by trying to have their cake and eat it too when it comes to determining holiday pay and what qualifies. It is bad enough that I was the only one in my position who wasn’t given two days off for Thanksgiving and so was unable to see my grandmother, who was alone this year. They treat me as if I’m worthless.

Even without relaying all of this to my parents, every time I talk to them they want to know when I’m leaving my current position; but now is probably the worst possible time to be looking for another job and I wouldn’t really even know where to start. My finding a new position and leaving New Jersey is about the only thing my parents do seem to have any interest in when it comes to my life at the moment. Every time I talk to them they seem distracted, and I understand why, but it’s still unsettling. I worry about them, and I kind of wish they had the capacity to care a bit more about me right now. I’m looking forward to seeing them and my brother at Christmas, but I’m afraid it will be tense for reasons outside of our control, not the least of which is my being unable to spend the actual day with them as I will have to return the day before to go to work at a place that fucks me over at every turn.

Speaking of my job, at a Christmas party on Saturday someone who I had met only once before attempting to introduce me to someone else. She failed to recall my named, but added brightly, “At least I remembered you’re a dispatcher.” I replied, “Well, that’s primarily how I define myself.” Sarcasm — the last resort of the socially inept.

In the most recently aired episode of Pushing Daisies, “Comfort Food“, there is a delightful Wonderfalls tie-in. Ned, the Piemaker, and his assistant, Olive Snook, compete in a cook off. One of their competitors is Marianne Marie Beetle the owner of Muffin Buffalo, a character and company featured in this Wonderfalls episode. I’m pretty sure I squealed when the camera first showed the actress who plays Marianne Beetle holding a muffin tin.

This story about two men running a raffle in which the prize was an evening with a prostitute is a good example of the way language can be used to express more than what is actually being said.

The involved parties, Christopher S. Johnson and Rusty Blades, are referred to as “(a)n Ohio State University academic adviser and a real estate agent” respectively while Vanessa Dunn is referred to as, “a prostitute who is also a child sex-abuse caseworker”. The very order in which those two occupations are listed is odd, plus neither of the men are referred to as pimps.