Holiday Recap...

This was, hands down, the most relaxing Christmas I have had in the past decade. No crazy rushing around, no catastrophes, no worries! Usually, my "Holiday Recap" blog is a multi-volume tome of epic length. This time, there is nothing major to report! No Gnus is good Gnus.

Christmas Eve was sooooo peaceful. I spent the first half of the day at work. It was slow, as expected, so most of us spent the morning chatting, munching on goodies, and waiting for 1pm. After that, I made one or two last-minute runs on the way home. Once there, I was able to spend the evening in the quiet company of my family. We cooked, watched TV, and even our good friend Leigh came over to share the evening with us! She's pretty much family by now. We've known "Auntie Leigh" (as the kids have always called her) since high school and her family's Christmas was a bit jumbled this year, so we we MORE than happy to share the festivities with her.

About 9pm we placed goodies for Santa on the faux fireplace Sonya made out of cardboard boxes (it looks great! VERY clever), and the kids hit the hay. Shortly after, Leigh went home, we finished wrapping the kids' stuff and placed the unwrapped gifts from Santa under the tree. We got to bed about midnight, which beats last year when we were crawling into bed, after a major car accident and a trip to the emergency room, at 4:30am.

Christmas Day
True to our traditiions, we woke up, opened gifts, had breakfast, headed to the Wife's parents' place, opened more gifts, and had dinner. Some of my better gifts were a new 500G portable drive from my dad, Family Guy Vol 6 from the wife and kids, a new set of cookware from the in-laws, and a heated seat cover for my icebox of a car (warm tushie, FTW).

The only event of note was, between gifts and dinner at the in-laws, I was playing with my new hard drive and transferring some files from my overstuffed 160G. The computer stut down and wouldn't boot Windows. Having gone through this before and having been given the quick fix solution by my old friend and computer guru Chris, I reset the SATA driver and all was well - for about 20 minuutes. After that, it crashed and I couldn't get it to power on at all. Just a blinking power button. Ugh. No new toy for now, I guess.

The next day, we headed to my grandfather's for my family's half of the Christmas Spirit. The kids and I got there a bit before Sonya, who was running errands. We did our usual: grab pizza, open gifts (money, mostly, for me), catch up, and - as has been tradition most years - leave in time for me to get to work at the video store.

On Saturday, I take the morning to run some errands. First stop: MicroCenter to FINALLY get myself a decent digital camera. I found a good deal on a Nikon CoolPix in blue. It has everything I need: decent macro setting, SDslot (as opposed to Olympus's bizarre cards), video mode, compact size. I walk out happy with my purchase, even if I don't know when I'll be able to move them to my computer and upload them.

Next stop, the little computer repair shop for a preliminary diagnosis of my ailing computer. They looked at, and the prognosis wasn't good: fried motherboard. That's like terminal Chick Cancer. Not worth repairing, most likely. With a heavy heart I crawl back into my car and call my dad to vent. After all, she got me the computer in the first place, as well as the new hard dive I was so looking forward to and barely got to use. Whenever I'm hit with a Murphy's Law moment (like getting a new computer gadget and having the computer die, for example), she's the first one I dial because she'll help me focus on the irony and humor rather than the tragedy. At the very least I'll get some sympathy and catch up with her a bit. I relayed the symptoms and she confirmed the diagnosis (sigh).

"Well," she says, "you're just going to have to find a deal."

"Yea, but even a deal will take me a while to afford."

"No, you don't understand. Find a deal AND CALLL ME."

(stunned silence)

"Are you sure? That's really not why I called. You just spent a pretty penny on the new hard drive for me already!"

"Of course that's why you called," she said, with a tone of loving patience and good humor.

To be fair, I have a track record of hitting my dad up for occasional bailouts. It's rare, but when I needed my Barbershop Society dues paid so I could go to convention, I called up sheepishly, dropping hints with all the subtlety of the Blitzkrieg. When my brakes needed work last year about this time, I called her. Ironically, that bailout ended in another Murphy's Law moment when 2 weeks later, I got into the aforementioned car crash, totaling my car on Christmas Eve. I hit black ice, which the brakes couldn't have helped with, making it MORE ironic/pitiful.

"Honestly, no it isn't! ....But if you're SURE about this..."

"Go home and do some research."

So after trolling my usual techno-gadget deal sites (MicroCenter.com, NewEgg.com, TigerDirect.com), I find a good deal on a Dell at Overstock.com. I send my dad the link and next thing I know, it's on its way!

Sunday and Monday we just plain 'ol days off. I shouldn't say "plain 'ol" as days off for me are rediculously rare, but regardless, it was nice. I watched Liam make insane progress on his new RipStik.

(I have no idea where he gets his coordination from). We also wentr to my great uncle's Christmas party Monday night, which was nice.

A 5-day Holiday vacation at home. I could get used to this...

Coming Up Next: Auld Lang Syne and such...

Backblogged...yet again.

You may wonder why it took so long for the previous post to show up. I wrote most of that the morning of Christmas Eve and had to head to work. I fully intended to finish that up later that day or the next. On Christmas Day, the motherboard on my laptop fried out (just after getting a new 500GB portable drive, too). so I've been relatively incommunicado since.

Thankfully, my dad came (quite unexpectedly) to the rescue! I have a new Dell laptop, and it seems I may remove the first half of my reference when talking about Fucking Vista. More details to come. For now, off to bring home the proverbial bacon...

Four Christmases?! Amateurs...

Merry Christmas, my loyal followers (all 5 of you)!

So, I heard about this movie "Four Christmases", starring Reese Witherspoon & Vince Vaughn. All I could think was, "JUST four!?"

This year is an oddity for us, as we're cutting out our annual trip down Monroe ways to Ida for my cousin's Christmas Eve bash. It's usually the biggest family gathering of the year for my side of the family, with anywhere from 20 to 30 people in attendance. The only problem is, it's in Ida (a good hour's drive). After totaling my car, nearly killing myself and family, and spending the wee hours of Christmas morning in the ER, we figured maybe this was the year we decide to forgo that piece of the holidays and spend Christmas Eve at home.

Usually, this is how Christmas plays out for my family...

Christmas #1)
Christmas Eve, I'll innevitably be working for at least the first few hours of the day. I'll head home about 3ish and we'll spend an hour or so packing up gifts, fudge, cookies, and kids to head to Ida. We usually get there later than most of the family who had the entire day off, but we have an absolutely WONDERFUL time catching up, eating fabulous food, singing carols, opening gifts from extended family, and enjoying the festive atmosphere my cousin manages to muster up every year.

From there, we'll head home, and (when the weather and mode of transporation cooperate, anyway), shuffle the sleepy younglings into the house to lay cookies, fudge and milk out for Santa (along with a few carrots for Rudolph). Then we'll spend the next couple hours filling stockings, wrapping presents, having a drink, and hit the hay.

Christmas #2)
Christmas morning is at home. The kids wake us up at some sort of reasonable hour, having worn themselves out playing with extended cousins the night before. We'll open gifts, have breakfast, maybe watch a Christmas special, and play with our gifts a bit. Afterwards, we'll start gathering more gifts, kids, and a contribution to the next piece of the Christmas Mele...

Christmas #3)
We'll drive to the in-laws' for The Wife's family Christmas. We'll pile though the door and unload the gifts to the already huge pile under the tree. Before we start tearing into wraping paper, we'll spend an hour or so eating the Ferris Traditional Candy Cane-Shaped Coffee Cake as Mom-In-Law & The Wife do some can't-wait-till-later prep for the dinner with her cousins later in the afternoon.

Finally, we'll start the gift-giving. We do this one gift at a time (which drives me nuts, but the kids seem to be fine with). When all is said and done, the kids spend the afternoon with ther toys and we finish prep for dinner. The Wife's cousins come over about 4 and we socialize before dinner. We'll often play some board game or something, have the Ferris Traditional Christmas Pudding and head home about 10ish.

Christmas #4)
Sometime the next afternoon, we'll head to my grandfather's to have Christmas with my more immediate side of the family: mom, uncle, grandfather, & sister. We usually order pizza, open gifts, and just enjoy each others company.

Christmas #5)
Usually in the evening the day after Christmas (sometimes a day or two later) we'll head to my great uncle's place for ANOTHER gathering with my extended-extended family. We'll see cousins we only bump into here, munch on more great food, and catch up a bit. This one I'm not always so fond of, because the inevitable questions arises, "So how's that degree coming?" I'll cite the usual excuses for being a gnat's hair away from my degree, which is usually met with the typical pitiful look of dismay. Ugh. Regardless, we usually have fun and the kids will get some nice little gift from my great aunt and uncle that they'll enjoy much more than anticipated (or at least show polite enthusiasm toward), and we'll head home about 8 or 9.

We've followed this pattern to some degree of reliability for the past decade or so, with the occasional kink in the plan that we'll usually roll with. Every year we say that next year we'll scale it back and forgo some piece of it. This is the first year we're actually following through with it. I'll miss the gathering in Ida, as it's the one piece of Christmas left from my childhood (and several generations back) that has remained fairly consistent throughout the years. Still it'lll be nice not to have the mad dash out the door and frantic scurrying on Christmas Eve.

This year will be different, but families change, traditions form and evolve, and life goes on. I fully expect a wonderful and relaxing Holiday season.

...especially with 5 days off in a row. Haven't had that in a LOOOOOOONG time!

A Remarkable Example of Greed and Avarice (2008 Edition)...

It's Black Friday, and what does that mean? GREED!

It's a trait I try to avoid, but I'll indulge myself (as if I didn't enough last night) and give my Christmas List for the year.

1) Money to pay off this damnable college bill
I'm at the trailing end of my degree, but 2 things are holding it at bay: money and time. Time is, as of yet, not something that can be saved in a bottle and presented with a pretty bow. The $950 remaining owed to Wayne State, however, can even be paid online! Best not to give me cash for this one, as it will inevitably go to the general "tackle the Mt. Billmore" fund. Make it out to Wayne State University so I won't spend it on other silly things like heat, water, or electricity.

2) Money for Car Repair.
Between the Earth shaking rattle of my exhaust and the arctic temps in the cabin, I'm still very thankful the ol' rust bucket gets from A to B. Still, it'd be nice to do so with some subtlety and without cracking the icicles off my nose before heading inside.
Exhaust repair and heater core installation - $450. Avoiding a deaf Paulsicle - Priceless.

3) Digital Camera.
Nothing top-of-the-line. Just something adequate that takes movies as well. The minimum pixel count available these days is WAY more than I'll likely ever need, and the only bells and or whistles I want are a good close-up/macro setting and video capability.

4) 320GB (or more) portable Hard Drive
My in-laws were kind enough to get me a 160GB last year, but unfortunately, that spawned an uprising in my desire to have every movie known to mankind. After one year, it's already full, and has much more waiting to be backed up from my laptop. The price on these things has dropped ridiculously. Whereas you used to pay about a buck per GB, now you can get them for as low as 30 cents per GB. Help me fill my cinematic addiction to dumb comedies, sci-fi movies, old TV shows, and vintage cartoons.

5) New Batter for my Laptop
The batter in my laptop hasn't been particularly functional for about a year. The laptop works fine on a power cord, but the batter only lasts about 30 seconds off the cord. I have a Compaq Presario C500. I've seen them in the MicroCenter flyer for about $100. It'd just be nice to not have to find an outlet every time.

6) Archos Media Player
I'm not positive about the model number, but they have them at Blockbuster for $99 (no, I don't get a discount on that, unfortunately). It does everything my media player does...and more...with a bigger screen...and Wi-Fi. I love Archos products. They provide 5x the functionality of any other brand and about half the price.
This one isn't a mandatory, as mine still works fine, but it'd sure as hell be nice.

7) New Cookware Set
Our large frying pan of 11 years finally bit the dust last month, and the rest of its clan are showing their age. Sonya wants something "nice", but I'll take anything that is new. Just a good, sturdy, standard set with 2 saucepans, 2 frying pans, and a pot to make veggie chili in.

8) New Queen-sized bed sheets
Our bedroom decor (if you can call it that) is neuvo-clutter, mostly in light blue and tan. We currently have maybe 2 sets that work, and I think both have holes in them somewhere that are due to get bigger when I snag my toe on it in the night. No need for a full bed set with pillow shams, skirt, and comforter. Just the top & bottom sheets and pillow cases. Maybe a new pillow or two, as our cheap synthetic ones have deflated quite a bit over the years.

9) Clear out my 'hold box' at Comics & More
I have been going there for maybe 8 months and my box has seen levels anywhere from empty to "oh my God, step back!". It's somewhere in the middle right now, but I've told the proprieter, Chris, not to let me see it until after Christmas. I may add to it, but not subtract until after the holidays. He also provides gift certificates! (Comics & More, 28059 John R Rd, Madison Heights, MI 48071, (248) 399-3213).
If you ask for my box, he'll likely give you the Club Member discount (but he discounts stuff for me and gives me freebies so often, I wouldn't count on it).
I have several specific issues I'd like that he doesn't have in stock. I'll probably edit this entry later once I've counted and compelled them, so thet can quickly be dispelled (EEH!).

Baby Elephant Gifts (AKA: I know I'll never get these, but they're on my list every year, anyway)

1) Bach 42BO trombone
I've wanted one of these for years, but it's become less practical now that my ensemble requirements at ol' WSU are complete and my performance focus has shifted to barbershop. Still, it'd be freakin' sweet.

2) New Car(s)
For practical day-to-day, a 2008 Subaru Outback in blue. Hatchback, roomy, and good on gas. Subarus are "can't kill 'em" kinda cars that frequently exceed 200k miles. Repairs can be a bit pricey, but are FAR less frequent.
For the "inflate my ego" car, a 2008 BMW Z4 Roadster, Monaco Blue Metalic, Sport Package, convertible with tan roof. Standard rims, because...ya know..."my rims never spin, to the contrary...".

3) New House
Need out of the matchbox in Hazeltucky. Something with 4 bedrooms, full finished basement, garage, decent yard, prefferably in Royal Oak or Madison Heights. Central air would be nice, too.

4) World Peace, Universal Harmony, end to war...all that junk.
I just can't be totally selfish, even for a list like this. Not in my nature.

That's all I can think of for now. For those of you who aren't Bill Gates, geek stuff, gift cards to techno-gadgety stores, comic shops, and other institutions of Dorkitude are always appreciated. Also, if one of you could invent a time machine or a serum to give me Hiro Nagamura's time/space manipulation ability...that's be just super.

Happy Shopping, everyone!!

Haul Out The Holly...

Last week, I caught a coworker of mine humming a few bars of "Sleigh Ride". This ALWAYS starts the Christmas Season for me. It's my favorite holiday song. My fist hearing of the year is usually much earlier. Last year, as I recall, the first real noticeable snow was the first week of October, and the local radios stations followed suit by starting their holiday song rotation VERY early. My first hearing of the song occurred the same day as the snow, via a snippet in a commercial.

Last night, I filled my MP3 player with my Christmas music folder. As I piled the kids in the car this morning, I cranked up the classing Arthur Fiedler/Boston Pops rendition of Sleigh Ride.

With the economy the way it is, jobs scarce, and people shaking in their IRAs, I don't expect this to be the most successful in commercial Christmases. Maybe, just maybe, however, this may help people get back to the spirit of the season again. Peace, love, joy, and family. I love hitting the malls and stores, hearing the seasonal music, the lights and decorations, and all the ricketa-racketa, but it's rarely about buying expensive things, for me. I love getting the perfect gift for someone, but love it even more when it's some inexpensive little thing (or even homemade) that they mentioned months ago and completely forgot about. THAT shows caring, attention, and that even *I* pay attention once in a while.

I'm way behind on taking notes for such things this year. Hopefully, I'll have some brainstorm for the key people I have in mind.

Anyway, I'm just rambling now. Bring on the tinsle and sleigh bells. Let's DO this thing!

Garage Sale Soreness & Feliz Cumpleanos!!

Last weekend we tried to have that garage sale we'd been talking about all year. It didn't really fit our schedule, as we has a lot of other things that needed attention (cleaning up the yard for the Wicked With of the Park, heading to Canada to rescue Sonya's car, etc.). This, however likely being the last weekend with good weather and a flexible schedule, I managed to head to my sister's, grab a bunch of stuff and our old coffee table, mow the lawn, set everything up, and sell...5 items. We made all of $75 for all my efforts and sore muscles, but at least we got rid of a bulky piece of play equipment the kids had outgrown, an old student violin I no longer needed, and a couple DVDs.

Some highlights included selling my violin to a kid in a band who wanted to add a new sound to the band's eclectic trance/folk/rock sound. I let it go for $42 - worth every penny. Go check them out at their MySpace page Wave Eats The Walrus.

I had a nibble at my trombone. I have a Benge 165F I got off eBay a few years back because it was a huge deal and I always wanted an F rotor tenor trombone. It served me well in my college ensembles, but I prefer my Yamaha straight tenor and don't need it anymore. A high-school kid and his dad pulled up and started looking at it. As I was describing it to them, I noticed the Glassmen logo on the kid's jacket. I immediately started talking drum corps, complimenting their show this year, and immediately dropped my asking price by $50. The father took my card and said they'll "mull it over". Haven't heard back from them yet, but when I dropped by Hazel Park High's band rehearsal to say hi to the director - a friend of mine - I saw the kid in the trombone section. He's damn good. After reeling from my Marching Band DTs, I decided I may drop my price a bit more...We'll see.

Anyway, the set-up, tear-down, weed-pulling, lawn-mowing, and crazy nature of the weekend left me more sore than I've been since I started going to the gym regularly for the first time (11 years ago). It was that good, productive kind of sore, but sitting in an office chair all day made getting up to go home a bit tough for a few days. We still have a TON of crap to get rid of, though. Some I'll CraigsList, some I'll eBay, but most will find its way to the Salvation Army.

Yesterday was Courtney's 5th birthday. It was a crazy whirlwind of a party (as if we have any other kind). I came home to find Sonya had taken the kids off to pick up Jeremy, so that left me to tidy up the house a bit and get some water boiling for the tortellini. As Sonya, Jeremy and the kids didn't get home till a little after 7, it left the rest of the party a bit crunched so that we could get the kids to bed at a decent hour. We ate outside till the mosquitoes - no doubt angered at the disruption of their home when I pulled the weeds - began to wreak their vengence upon us. We moved inside for cake and presents. Leigh got courtney a Tinkerbell costume she absolutely adored. Liam got her a Webkins unicorn she went ga-ga for. Sonya picked up a couple books for her, and I - I was still recovering from putting up the new playset in the backyard from a few weeks ago.

She had a great birthday, but it's not over. With my dad visiting from Kansas, we're having a Keiser-Orton birthday gathering on Sunday. Next weekend, we're having the "REAL" party, with decorations and her friends. When Sonya's parents come back from Eurpoe, we'll have yet another party with them. This one day is turning into a downright festival.

Okay, time to get to work again. This weekend's gonna be a bit crazy. If I survive it, and they have internet access at the nuthouse, I'll write more soon.

COME SEE CODA HONOR THIS SATURDAY, 12-3 AT THE APPLEWOOD FALL FESTIVAL!!
Held at Applewood Estates, right next to Mott College in Historic Flint, MI!!

So how was YOUR Christmas, Paul? Part 2

Let’s see – where did we leave off?

Ah yes, Christmas Day.

Christmas Day started off – and remained – relatively normal. Exceedingly so, in fact, given the events of the previous night. About noon, Liam gingerly, but eagerly, enters our room and whispers with glee, “Santa came!!!”

At this point, Sonya and I have managed about 6 hours of relatively decent sleep (Sonya less so, with pain shooting through her chest and back with every toss and turn), so I throw on my robe and head to the living room. As I gather myself, Liam rouses his sister and they both rush to the tree. As usual, the presents from Santa are displayed prominently on top of everything else, unwrapped: glow-in-the-dark Speed Stax for Liam and Christmas Day Barbie for Courtney - just what they asked for. I revel in their faces for a few moments, then explain to them that they shouldn’t open anything else until mom is up and moving. Between the gifts from my family the previous night that were rescued from the car and Santa’s treasures, they have enough to keep busy while I run to the drug store and get Sonya’s prescriptions filled.

When I return with the best Christmas Gift I could have gotten Sonya – drugs – the kids tear into the pile. Usually, Sonya and I will spend a bit on each other and get a few things. With money so tight this year, we skimped on each other to make sure the kids got a good haul. Sonya and the kids did get me the newest volume of Family Guy, however. The kids tore into box after box, exclaiming with utter delight at each new item, be it fun like a toy or practical like new Spider-Man & Dora hats and gloves.

After a few hours, we head to Flint in our only remaining mode of transportation (Sonya’s Prism) for Christmas with her folks. Dinner was supposed to start at about 3, but given the events of the previous night, things were set back a couple of hours. We arrive about 4ish to find Sonya’s father’s cousins already there. Not wanting to waste their time, we hold gift opening off until after dinner, when they have left.

We have a lovely meal of roast beef, a myriad of side dishes, and the Ferris’s traditional Christmas Pudding, and have a wonderful time chatting and just relaxing. After the cousins leave, we open gifts. I got the big item on my “not-necessary-but-greatly-desired” list of a 160GB external hard drive, and spent much of the rest of the evening transferring media from my overstuffed laptop to my new toy while Sonya naps on the couch. We stay a bit later than usual and eventually head home, content that the whole world has NOT gone topsy-turvy and there is some stability left in our lives.

Thursday, I have a dental appointment. I have a mess of cavities and a laundry list of work to be done, but the major problem I need dealt with is a wisdom tooth that had decayed to a hollowed-out cavern. For some reason, Dr. Jay insists on dealing with another cavity first. So I spend a half-hour in the chair while he does his thing.

I must make this clear: I HATE DENTAL APPOINTMENTS! I’m a good patient and can keep my cool, regardless of the discomfort or downright pain I’m in. I’ve always had good dentists and it’s never as bad as I build it up to be, but between the prolonged shot of Novocain, the piercing sound of the drill, and having sensitive teeth to start with, I have to spend a good half hour in the car calming myself down before I even walk into the office. I sat in the chair, closed my eyes, and went to my inner “happy place” while he poked, prodded, and (shudder) drilled. This one was particularly deep, so he wants me to be aware of it, as it may still become infected and may need to be redone at some point. I make an appointment for 2 days later (Saturday, 8am) to get my wisdom teeth extracted.

Friday, I leave work a few hours early to try and get my car towed from the impound lot to a repair shop (at Sonya’s insistence) to see if it’s at all salvageable. This should be simple. Go in, pay the $212 in towing and various other fees (for a totaled car - what a racket), call AAA and have it towed to the shop that was recommended to me, right? WROOOOONG!

I was hoping to do this alone to avoid long discussions about every little detail about the car with Sonya and not have to wrangle antsy kids, but Sonya insisted on coming along and Liam wanted to see the car. After finding the rather hidden offices in a less-than-ideal part of Detroit, I walk in – cash in hand – to bail out my battered and beaten old friend. Of course, the car isn’t THERE, it’s at their OTHER lot, 5 miles away. Sonya’s mom joins us, we get clearance from the main office and head to the storage lot to unload anything of value that may remain in my mobile second home.

Once we see the car and survey the damage in the daylight, we find several things missing – most notably, my trombone. After a litany of profanity that would rival Lenny Bruce, we unload everything else and head back to the lot's office to complain about the missing instrument. Thankfully, after 20 minutes of the guy checking paperwork, he finds it safely tucked in the office. Still, I’m missing a huge box of AA batteries and my MP3 player (which didn’t work particularly well these days, anyway). At this point, I just don’t care. I just want the ordeal over with so I can get to work by 6.

We drive back to the main office. They say if we can get the tattered remains of my poor car off the lot today, they can drop some bullshit $40 listing fee, otherwise, it’ll be that, plus another $15 storage charge. We call AAA, tell them they’ll need all the bullshit insurance and licensing paperwork required to even ENTER their precious lot, and they say a truck will be out in 45 minutes – 15 minutes before they close at 6pm. Just in time, but still making me late for work, so I call to alert my employer to my delay.

I send Sonya with the kids to her mother’s house in Detroit, just a few miles away, rather than have her and the kids stay, restless and bored out of the gords. I sit at the towing office and wait…and wait…and wait. It’s now 5:55pm and the staff is packing up. I call Sonya. She says AAA just called her to say it’ll be another half hour before a truck can get there, missing my window, costing me an extra $55 in fees, the time I missed from work at both jobs, and the past 4 hours of my life. Thankfully, one of the gals at the office (Maxine, bless her heart) opted to stay a bit late to help me out.

The tow truck shows up about 6:40, we get the paperwork all set, and tow my battered “Fortress of Solitude” to the repair shop in Melvindale. By the time it’s all done, it’s 8:30. I call work, who says just to stay home tonight and be ready to work my sales magic the next day.

"No problem," I think, "I'm just having two wisdom teeth extracted at 8am!"

Coming up next: Part 3 - Oral Surgury, Fear of the Dry Socket, More Christmas, Anti-Santas, and a bleak Automotive Prognosis.

He’s Makin' a List (etc.)…

Usually I have an ongoing wish list that I simply update a couple times a year (usually Christmas & birthday). Often replete with CDs, books, and movies, this list has been going on for about 8 years or so with some of the items still on there, others removed after being received, and a few removed due simply to waning interest or lack of further necessity.

Everyone has their “baby elephant”, as my grandmother used to call it, on their list. Some item that is unrealistically expensive, wholly impractical, or just plain silly. For my grandmother, it was a baby elephant. She knew she’d never get one, but asked for it ever year, regardless. For me, it’s been a 1976 Bach Stradivarius 42BO trombone. When I started requesting it in about 7^th grade or so and throughout college, it was fairly practical for concerts, juries, and my music studies. I never got it, being a good $1500+ for one in decent shape, rather difficult to come by, and fitting well into the category of “unrealistically expensive” for my loved ones. Now, as I’m playing less and less, it’d likely just sit in my closet gathering dust anyway, which would be a downright crime for such a fine instrument.

This year, I find myself going over my wish list and noticing something. I just don’t need or want most of the stuff on there much anymore. Oh sure, some of the stuff would be nice to have, but I just don’t have the time to appreciate most of it anymore. So as it happens, I find myself in the odd position of not having much of a fun list this year. Most of the stuff on it is practical in nature or essentially some form of financial bail-out. I’ll give you an example:

Paul’s Christmas List

• Car Repairs (front brakes, EGR valve, transmission flush, tune-up)
• Tuition Money (I still owe nearly a grand to Wayne State and they’re getting mean)
• New cookware set (ours is about 11 years old)
• New glassware set (ours is a mish-mosh of mason jars and odd leftovers)
• New back door (ours leaks like a sieve and the threshold is rotted)
• New tub/shower wrap
• 120G or better external Hard Drive for my laptop (got lots of media to store)

Those are on the top of the list. The rest of the items on my list are kitschy or frivolous items I’d like to have, but are fairly unnecessary…

• Book - Star Trek: Collision Course, by William Shatner
• DVD - Family Guy, Volume 5
• Digital camera with video mode & 1G of memory
• DVD – Kids in the Hall, Seasons 2-5
• DVD – Monty Python & the Holy Grail
• DVD – Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life
• DVD – Scrubs: Seasons 1-4
• DVD – Spiderman II & III
• DVD – Star Trek: Insurrection – Collector’s Edition (wide screen – any video store)
• DVD – Star Trek: Nemesis – Collector’s Edition (wide screen – any video store)
• DVD – Strange Brew
• DVD – Superman Returns
• DVD – The Great Muppet Caper (any video store)
• DVD – The Muppet Movie (any video store)
• DVD – The Weird Al Show

So, if any of you suddenly discover you’re a long-lost relative of Bill Gates, there’s a few ideas for you. Otherwise, a nice card or blog comment will do nicely!

A Holiday Survey...

I almost never post surveys and quizzes as blogs, but for this one, I found myself waxing nostalgic, so I figured it was served better as a blog with cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes.

I'll probably expand on this in the coming weeks as I ponder Christmas, family, traditions, and memories a bit more.

Thanks for posting this in your bulletin, Beth!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?

Depends on who makes it. If it's Jan Stewart's Egg Nog recipe, I'll go for egg nog.
Hmm. I have that recipe somewhere. Time for a shopping trip.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?

The gifts from Santa aren't usually wrapped. Just the ones from friends and family.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?

Colored - definitely

4. Do you hang mistletoe?

On occasion.

5. When do you put your decorations up?

We try to do them the week after Thanksgiving, but usually are too busy, so I'll say the 2nd week of December...
...taking them DOWN, on the other hand, can take MONTHS to complete.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?

Turkey.... MMMmmmm.......
Sonya's Walnut-cheese cutlets are wonderful as well.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child:

Just the same scene repeated every year in my family: Gathering with about 20 of my extended family for Christmas Eve, singing carols, munching, chatting, and having a blast. The next morning, opening gifts and chatting, then followed up with a HUGE breakfast with the best scrambled eggs in the world and some great pastries, sausage, coffee and fresh OJ.

Had to pass on the Christmas Day part the past several years to equitably divide time between both sets of family, but I still love Christmas Eve and we've been making Christmas Day traditions of our own.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?

Age 7, while watching an episode of "The Jeffersons" where George dresses up as Santa. I asked my dad flat out and he told me.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?

Sonya's family has a tradition of opening one (preselected) present on Christmas Eve - pajamas. We've been hit and miss on that one.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?

I have 2 kids, so it's become an amalgamation of various ornaments from throughout the years, ranging from "1st Christmas Together", pacifiers with the kids' birth years on them, old glass balls we decorated with glitter in college, crafts the kids made, Bronner's souvies, and my obligatory resin Tin Soldier Marching Band statuettes.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?

Love the look of it and playing in it, dread shoveling and driving in it.

12. Can you ice skate?

Nope. Weird for someone who's lived in Michigan 85% of their life, I know.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?

A Colecovision. I screwed that one up, though. Opened it before my dad woke up, so he missed the look on my face. He still hasn't forgiven me for that one. Having kids myself, now, I can't say I blame him.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?

Family and traditions, which is tricky as Sonya and I both have traditions we want to hold on to, but sometimes conflict. We've made some good compromises that have lead to a LOT of hurried running around, but it's usually worth the effort.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?

Birdie's (my Great-Grandma Noble) Chocolate/Peanut Butter Fudge.
MMMmmmm....

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Hitting my cousin's place to spend Christmas Eve with my extended family. It's gotten quite a bit more extended and fragmented over the years as the family has expanded a generation or 2. We've all been gathering with the same family for so long, it's hard to imagine Christmas without them!

17. What tops your tree?

Some cheap star that may or my not work. In case of emergency, I have a Borg-like green electric crackle disc I got from Lou one year that has been known to be the understudy. Between that and the Star Trek Phasers I hang on the tree, you can tell "A Big Dork Lives Here".

18. Which do you prefer: giving or receiving gifts?

Oddly enough, being as selfish as I am, I prefer giving. It always frustrates me when my finances are tight around the holidays, because I have moderately grand ideas of the gifts I want to give everyone. I usually have to cut back a lot and give most folks fudge and cookies instead.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song?

Sleigh Ride (orchestral instrumental version), preferably by the Boston Pops under Arthur Fielder.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?

One of my favorite icons of the holidays. Peppermint only, please.

21. What do you want for Christmas?

Unrealistically - a bigger house

Hopefully - a 120G or more 2.5" USB drive for my laptop and/or a digital camcorder/camera ($50 this weekend at Radio Shack, if you're looking!)

Priority - Car Repairs (EGR Valve, Brakes, Transmission service, wheel alignment, etc.) and money to pay off this damnable Wayne State bill that's looming over me like a dark, ominous thundercloud.

Birthday Presents…

I don't usually expect much by way of presents on my birthday. I try not to be greedy. If I get a DVD or two I've wanted for a long time and a 6-pack of some really good beer, I'm pretty happy. I'm more about the though and effort. I appreciate clever gifts that show how well a person knows me or shows how much trouble they went through to make/get it for me, rather than how much they spent (though cost can be a sign of sacrifice, so I appreciate pricey stuff on that level).

From my parents and grandfather, I usually get cash. I appreciate it a lot. It usually bails me out of some hole I dug for myself or helps me to whittle down ye olde tuition bill a bit. They usually can't afford the big stuff I want and they wish they could get me, and don't get the chance to talk with me enough to know the little things I may want. So it's usually a nice check to either get something I've been wanting or get some minor monetary monkey off my back.

This year, however, my darling, loving, considerate and wonderful parents hit the nail square on the head with two presents that synergize to become complete creative AWESOMENESS for me!

From my dad, a new laptop.

From my mom, the newest upgrade to Finale music composition software.

For those of you non-musicians or have not tried composing or arranging, the best way to articulate the compulsion to do so it this: It's like puzzle-solving, but you're making the puzzle yourself as you go, creating your own challenges to overcome, and setting your own difficulty level. In the end you not only have the satisfaction of a completed puzzle and obstacles overcome, you have MUSIC! A work of art. Same with marching drill design.

I have wanted to do some arranging of music (mostly for my barbershop quartet) for ages, but have lacked the time to do so. I'm either at work or there's stuff to do at home and tying myself to the computer in the crowded bedroom makes concentration impractical, if not impossible. Not to mention, since I lost the install disc for my old version of Finale, installing it at work for use on lunch breaks or other calm moments couldn't happen.

These gifts solve everything. The laptop and software give me the freedom to pop open my music anytime I have a spare moment or inspiration, and the ability to compose and arrange wherever I can find the peace and time to think.

I got started the day the Finale disc arrived by starting an arrangement of "Rainbow Connection", a long-time favorite of mine, which a few of you have heard by now (if you'd like an MP3 of it, I'd be more than happy to e-mail it to you for your opinions). I was so excited about these gifts that the ideas started pouring out faster than I could enter them! In the end, I have an absolutely SWEET arrangement that I'm hoping to get my quartet to do in the next month or so. (The quartet situation will be my next blog)

I'm grateful for everything I get, from a simple MySpace comment, to a card, to $1 million! In the end, especially this year, I'm grateful for the gift of loving friends and family…

…but damn, having a laptop is sweet!!

Next: More life updates, and "Coda Honor 1.5?!"

A Dream Realized...

Here I sit. It's almost 9am on a Friday. Usually I'd be here in Caribou Coffee in Royal Oak simply sitting in one of the comfy leather chairs, sipping coffee, and thinking of all the things I should (or at least want to) get done on the computer once I get to work.

...but not today.

Today is my first full day with my own laptop.

I have been wanting to spend my time in the coffee shop doing my own projects for so long. Usually, most of my time in front of a computer is either at work, where I am either scrutinized most of the time for not "working", or at home where there are the distractions of chores, kids, and such that prohibit getting too engrossed for too long on any given computer related project - like blogs. Even when the kids are calm or in bed and the chores are relatively up to date, there's the temptation of TV and such that make it difficult to focus.

I have wanted a laptop for years. Mostly I wanted one to make going to the coffee shop to study and do papers for school a bit easier. Sonya got one a couple years back with money from her AmeriCorps grant (qualified as a school supply) and has always let me use it when I need to, but she's understandably picky about how and what is installed and such. She's never acted perticularly posessive, but no matter how generous she is with letting me borrow it - it's still HER computer. That's mostly my hangup. It's kinda like borrowing a coat to go to the store - ya gotta give it back and you're not gonna sew a new hood or trim onto the thing for the brief time ya got it.

I spent the majority of yesterday installing programs and transferring my media from my MP3 player. My biggest worry with the new Windows Vista was that it wouldn't run my older programs. I heard a LOT of complaints about that. So far, everything seems to have loaded fine. All the programs I plan to use (Photoshop, Pagemil, my audio editor, games and such) seem to be fine. I only hope that when I find my Finale disc that it will be as at home on this thing (fingers crossed).

Mostly, though, I want to start keeping up with my blog and maybe start another journal. I started one for each of my kids when they were born with the intent of giving it to them at graduation to give them some insight on their past. I was hoping to write in it at least once a week, but have gone months at a time - or even years - between entries because it's hard to find the time to think and my handwriting is SO slow and barely legible at times. This will help. I plan to transcribe what I have to digital format and continue from there. I'll keep the hand-written copies to present with the full version. Something old-fashioned and nostalgic about it - plus, I doodle.

I am absolutely GEEKED! I have SUCH plans for this thing! I'm gonna write more, arrange songs for my quartet, write music, develop my drill writing & quartet websites, edit my home movies - Oh the possibilities!

Stay tuned for more frequent ponderings and such.

Prepare to be inundated...

Thus far I have only blogged when I had a rare few moments of peace at work. Soon, you will hopefully be virtually PLAGUED with my endless rants (thus, hopefully, you'll get more of the good stuff, too).

After 2 years of failed attempts to earn, scrimp, save, and beg at holidays and birthdays...

I'M GETTING A LAPTOP!

An early birthday present from my dad. It ain't the top 'o the line multi-thousand dollar media center type I would have bought had I shot into an oil well huntin' fer rabbit, but it's brand new, and thus LOADS better than what I have at work or home! Everything I need! All I have to do is possibly get rid of Vista in favor of XP, depending on if all the programs I use work or not with the new, unproven OS du jour from the evil Gates Empire. At about 4 gigs to load, I hear Vista's bloated, clunky, and doesn't play well with older children (read: older software).

So brace yourselves, kiddies! I'm movin' from the wading pool and swan-divng into the deep end of the bloggosphere (and other technological endevors) next week!

(Overdue) How Christmas Works in MY Family...

It's been over a month since I blogged, so I figure it's about time to ante up some info on my ponderings and goings on. I have a lot to cover, so bare with me here…

I'll start with an explanation of how Christmases work in my family nowadays…

The holidays were rough; both financially and schedule-wise, but not unpleasant. Not too big on the material gain/goody grab for yours truly (see my previous blog entry about my wish list), but fun on the whole and I got to spend some great time with my family – both immediate and extended. Being the only clan on both sides of the family currently with small children that still believe in Santa, everyone wants a piece of us every year. Having both sides of our family relatively close by (that is to say, within an hour's drive) doesn't help, as well as the fact the both Sonya and I have parts of Christmas traditions and gatherings that neither of us want to give up. This leads to us running around the lower quadrant of the state for 3 to 4 days like we're on a frantic road rally for our lives, attempting to please our families, each other, the kids, and ourselves to the best extent possible. Let me give you an example of the usual Christmas insanity we have turned into our traditional holiday mad-dash towards post-holiday exhaustion….

December 23^rd we usually spend grabbing the last of the forgotten gifts and goodie-makings for Christmas Eve. We say every year that we WILL not be doing this ON Christmas Eve, so we usually just barely beat our self-prescribed deadline to give us at least SOMETHING we can point to as accomplished.

Christmas Eve we spend most of the morning baking the last batches of fudge, cookies, and whatnot to contribute to my family's gathering down in Ida (about 50 minutes drive, just outside Monroe), and gather and wrap the last of the gifts for the few younger members of my extended family. Every year we insist this is the LAST year we buy stuff for the older of my cousins, who both are long past the "magic of Christmas" age and delving ever deeper into the "jaded fog of commercialism" stage. Regardless, we get them Blockbuster gift cards and maybe something token to fill it out. Who the hell knows what to get older teens/early twenty-somethings that doesn't require another mortgage of the house, anyway?

From there, about mid-afternoon, we drive out to Ida. The evening is pleasant, and spent eating good old-fashioned comfort food, chatting, catching up, reminiscing about fiascos from Christmases past, singing carols, and listening to the boys play video games in the basement. A good time is had by all. Then come the time (roughly 8 or so) to head home and plant the kids in bed so we can do the Santa bit.

We take off and pray the kids don't fall asleep too long on the ride home, so that getting them up to put out the milk and cookies and get them into bed isn't too much of a hassle. When they've set out fudge and milk for the Big Guy and some carrots for Rudolph and sufficiently hit their sugar-induced coma, we begin wrapping the kids stuff while watching Christmas movies (Usually Christmas Story for sentiment and Christmas Vacation for the tragic similarities – most notably Clark's rant about his boss near the end, which I recite by heart frequently and justifiably at work). We write out a note from Santa to the kids for them to find in the morning by the near-empty plate of cookies. Round about 1 or 2am, we hit the hay.

Christmas Day, we start out with the Rockwell-esque unveiling of the gifts, squeals of joy, and hopefully a decent breakfast of eggs and the traditional candy cane-shaped coffee cake her family has made every year – and coffee. LOTS of coffee! After basking in the glow of the kids faces for a while and watching them play with their loot, we pack up the presents for Sonya's family and drive to her parents' place for Christmas Day, Part Deux.

We arrive at Sonya's folks' place, and after dawdling for what seems an insufferable period to the kids (and often myself as well), we FINALLY get to the tree to pass out gifts there. This usually goes on for quite a while, as there are now 7 of us (Sonya, myself, the kids, her folks, and her brother), and we somehow feel the need to "ooh" and "ahh" at each gift for a few minutes before passing out the next. When the gift-giving is completed, it's off to prep for Christmas dinner.

Usually including Sonya's dad's cousins, Ruth & Neta, Christmas dinner is usually a flurry of cooking, clearing, cleaning, and such, but much time is spent (in between passing out h'ors duvres and setting the table, etc.) simply relaxing, munching, and chatting. The traditional meal of beef, potatoes, veggies, cranberry relish, and usually walnut-cheese cutlets for the vegetarians, is capped off with the Ferris' incredibly rich and filling Christmas Pudding, drenched in a molten buttery, sugary goodness of a sauce. 2 bites is enough to have you fasting till Groundhog Day to drop the extra pounds.

When the feast, subsequent groaning about overindulgence, and chatter are through, we pack up our gifts and hit the road. The kids are usually already in jammies and fall asleep on the drive home. We carry them into the house, drop them in bed, have a nightcap, and collapse on our bed in utter exhaustion. But it ain't over yet…

You'd think when Christmas is over, things calm down, right ? WRONG! Now that we've done the gift exchange with Sonya's family, it's time to do the gift exchange with my more immediate family. So, the day after Christmas we usually head to my grandfather's house in Bloomfield Hills to exchange gifts with him, my mother, and my uncle – usually over pizza. The day after Christmas is also the day my great-uncle and aunt usually have their Christmas family gathering at their place in Birmingham. When the calendar permits, we do my grandfather's in the early afternoon and my great-uncle's in the evening. Not so this year.

The day after Christmas I worked all day and we did my great-uncle's in the evening. It was nice, if a bit awkward. Usually a lot of extended relatives I only see once a year at just this gathering. I'm inevitably sucked into a conversation about how school is going, and have to regale them with my latest excuse and/or reason for not being done yet. This begs the perpetual reply of something akin to, "Aww, that's too bad. Well, keep pluggin' at it!" Ugh, to avoid that topic all together…

There's usually a gaggle of the younger crowd in the den, watching TV and Liam often wanders in there to show off his favorite toy and watch cartoons or whatever "guy stuff" they happen to be watching, while Courtney soaks up the adoration of the older folks and plays with whatever doll she brought. There's good food, once again, and family I have no problems with, but nothing particularly in common with. It's more obligation and habit than a real desire to go.

The next day was work, then to my grandfather's. My uncle was taking my grandfather and his friend to see White Christmas, so we got a late start. We gave some clever gifts that were well received. The kids got some neat toys, Sonya and I got money, and we had pizza – the usual. I was enjoying Christmas, but by this point, I just wanted to sit in front of the TV for half a day and catch my breath.

From there, a certain level of normality begins to take hold, with the slight bump of New Year's Eve. Usually Sonya's parents are happy to take the kids while we go to whatever gathering we've been invited to or just have a quiet evening at home. This year we had planned to drop the kids at their grandparents' in Flint, then head to a friend's house for a party a mere mile from their place.

Due to miscommunication and lallygagging, we didn't get the kids to their grandparents' til about 9. I drove them up myself, as the hour was getting late, our friend Leigh had come by, and the holidays had us completely worn to the bone. So we decided to forego the party in Flint and just spend New Year's at home with a friend. I did manage to stop by and make an appearance, drop a contribution to the party fare that Sonya had made, have couple bites of munchies, and a lovely, if brief, chat with Nyma and Todd. I got to see their perfect little house, as well (I was impressed - just so right for them).

After my stop in Flint, I headed back home and got back about ½ hour before the big moment. Sonya, Leigh, and I opened Champagne (1 good bottle and one ancient bottle we rightfully didn't expect to be consumable), shot off some leftover bottle rockets from the 4^th of July, and spent the next few hours just laughing, drinking, talking and watching movies. It was absolute, relaxing fun.

That, my friends, is how insane I am at Christmastime and why I haven't had much chance to blog. We should just alternate years between our families, I know. It would make things SO much less crazy. But we both love our traditions and don't want to miss anything if we can avoid it. Over the past several years we've both had to sacrifice pieces of it due to work, illness, or other obligations and it's left us a bit disappointed each time. Not to mention the inevitable hints of guilt trips we'd get (or at least feel) from whichever side of the family is spurned on any given year. Trying like hell to get 15-20 people happy and placated in one house has been a tradition on my mom's side for generations – and those are the Christmases I hold most dear in my memories.

…if I only knew the hell my parents and grandparents went through to make them that way.

Coming up (eventually): "Post-holiday stress disorder" or "How to fail miserably in business even though you're trying like hell" or "What's he REALLY been doing the past month?"!

(or some other useless bits of rubbish)

A remarkable example of greed and avarice...

I've had several of my family members ask me for a wish list for Christmas. I have kept an ongoing wish list I edit about twice a year (birthday & Christmas). I sent it along to them, and I figured it would make a decent blog entry so either you could gain further insight into my greedy and materialistic side or if any of you manage to sue someone wealthy, inherit a large sum from a distant relative, or win the lottery, I might get a thing or two.

Here's what i sent out:

Okay, you're all family (or ones I consider family), so no doubt you've been curious or have downright asked me for a Christmas list. Boy, you people are masochists. Okay, but remember (some of) YOU ASKED FOR IT!

Disclaimer: The things itemized in this list are the heartfelt desires, outrageous whims, and just plain daydreams of a greedy mind. They in no way express items I EXPECT to get in any way, as most are expensive, irresponsible, silly, or just plain wrong. With the exception of tuition funds and car repairs (my top priorities, by the way), most are pretty frivolous. This is an ongoing list that I revise from time to time, so other than simply crazy stuff (i.e. my own island, $1 million, and a fleet of Austin Minis), pretty much every thing that pops into my head drops on here eventually.

Here we go!

(Alphabetically)

1. Archos Media Player – 30 gig minimum in any of the following series: AV300, AV 400, AV500, AV700, 504, 604, 402E
2. Book – Congress-The Drum Corps Science-Fiction: The Coming of Congress by Larry & Phyllis Kirk
3. Book – History of Drum & Bugle Corps: Volume 2 (www.drumcorpsworld.com)
4. Book – Janet Chiefari – Introducing the Drum & Bugle Corps
5. Book – Jodeen E. Popp - Competitive Drum Corps (Olympic Printing Inc., call 847-296-3015)
6. Book – Judy Garty – Marching Band Competition
7. Book – Kim Holston – Marching Band Handbook
8. Book – Silent Bob Speaks: The Collected Writings of Kevin Smith by Kevin Smith
9. Book – Star Trek: Best Destiny (hardcover) by Diane Carey
10. Book – Star Trek: Captain's Glory by William Shatner
11. Book – Star Trek: The Eugenics Wars Volume 3 (hardcover) by Greg Cox
12. Book – Star Trek: The Return (hardcover) by William Shatner
13. Book – The Complete Marching Band Resource Manual by Wayne Bailey
14. Buddy Christ Dashboard Statue (www.jayandsilentbob.com)
15. Car Repair – New Brakes
16. Car Repair – New EGR Valve
17. Car Repair – Tune-up
18. CD – William Shatner & Leonard Nimoy - Spaced Out!
19. CD – 'Weird Al' Yankovic - Straight Outa Lynwood
20. Cologne – Eddie Bauer EB21
21. Cologne – Ralph Lauren Polo
22. DCI Calendar (www.dci.org )
23. DVD – An Evening with Kevin Smith II: Evening Harder
24. DVD – Animaniacs
25. DVD – Clerks II
26. DVD – Clerks: 10th Anniversary Edition (any video store)
27. DVD – Clue
28. DVD – DCI Legacy Collection – full boxed set or any individual DVDs except 1992 (www.dci.org)
29. DVD – Dodgeball
30. DVD – Family Guy, Volume 4 (get the special edition at Target – it has extras)
31. DVD – Ferris Bueler's Day Off
32. DVD – Greatest American Hero (Full Series Deluxe Box Set)
33. DVD – Hong Kong Phooey
34. DVD – Indiana Jones Trilogy Box Set (any video store)
35. DVD – Kids in the Hall, Seasons 2-5
36. DVD – Little Shop of Horrors (1998 with Rick Moranis and Ellen Green)
37. DVD – Monty Python & the Holy Grail
38. DVD – Monty Python's the Life of Brian
39. DVD – Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
40. DVD – Muppet Treasure Island (any video store)
41. DVD – Scrubs: Seasons 1-3
42. DVD – Spiderman II
43. DVD – Star Trek: Insurrection – Collector's Edition (wide screen – any video store)
44. DVD – Star Trek: Nemesis – Collector's Edition (wide screen – any video store)
45. DVD – Strange Brew
46. DVD – Superman Returns
47. DVD – The Big Lebowski
48. DVD – The Complete Monty Python (series box set)
49. DVD – The Garbage Pail Kids Movie
50. DVD – The Great Muppet Caper (any video store)
51. DVD – The Muppet Movie (any video store)
52. DVD – The Muppets Take Manhattan (any video store)
53. DVD – The Simpsons, Seasons 2-8
54. DVD – The Weird Al Show
55. Costume – Silent Bob Trenchcoat (Have Val make it)
56. Costume – Star Trek Burgundy Uniform Jacket (Have Val make it)
57. Folding Keyboard Stand
58. Gameboy Advance games - Super Mario Advance 2, 3 & 4 (any video games store)
59. Keyboard Sustain Pedal
60. Laptop computer with 1.6 gig (or better) processor, DVD/CD-RW, & as much RAM as possible
61. Royal Crown Revue Bowling Shirt (XXL, www.rcr.com)
62. Star Trek Comm Badge - http://www.startrekexp.com
63. Star Trek Hockey Jersey, Starfleet or Klingon (XXL)
64. Star Trek Rank Pips (4) - http://www.startrekexp.com
65. Star Trek Uniform Jacket (XL) - http://www.startrekexp.com
66. Trombone - Bach Stradivarius 42BO w/'F' attachment or Conn 88H w/'F' attachment
67. Tuition Funds (I currently have a $1,400 bill) made out to Wayne State University – Highest Priority!
68. Yamano Hand Roll Piano (www.audiocubes.com)