Nothing to say, really. My brother and his clan are finally here, and his kids are just a blast. It's cold outside. We had Olive Garden for dinner. The cats are fine. My nose is running. I'm a little ragged out from working, and I have a sore tooth in the back of my mouth. Whaaaaaah.

I have a hard time not making snarky comments while the Hallmark Channel is on. Also, anytime else. As much of an MST3K fan as I am, *I* think I'm every bit as funny as they are, but I don't know that other people appreciate my humor as much as *I* do.

I've been told several times I'm impossible to shop for, and I agree. I've been going over my Christmas list, and I've decided it gets more strange and impossible every year. Toni and I have agreed to exchange our gifts later on, after Christmas, after we've caught up a bit financially. It works out OK because it's all stuff I'd have to pick out personally, like this assortment of holiday cheer.

- a cowboy hat, but I don't know what kind
- a samurai sword I saw in a pawn shop
- cowboy boots I've never tried on
- a Cold Steel Vaquero (that they don't make anymore)
- some MP3's, but I don't know which ones
- M4 accessories (for a gun I don't own, have no practical use for whatsoever & don't know if I'll ever actually own)


Can you see the impossible-ness of this? I sure can. It takes all the mystery and surprise (and - dare I say it; all the Christmasy-ness) out of the entire deal as well, which sucks some (all?) of the fun out of giving me gifts, I've been told. I always figured that the point of giving a gift it to give something (whatever it is) that gives joy to the other person, right? And it seems to me that you have a better chance of giving a gift that you know will be a winner if you know what they're going to like. I always hate guessing, ya know? And while I oftentimes know what might make a great gift way in advance, occasionally sometimes you just don't know what to get, and I think how much simpler it might be if I just had some kind of clue to go on. You can make the argument that if you really know the person you wouldn't have this problem, but then you get people like Me and My Dad who either want nothing or want such a bizarre or randomness that there's just no way you'd have ever come up with that on your own. To this I say - why torment those you love to toil and guess in search of the unknown, and then experience the emotional unknown of wondering "will they like it?" To me, that's just mean.

Does this make me a Scrooge, a realist or an idiot? I can see the argument for all three. Thoughts?

Also, Mr T. is more awesome than ever.

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