it is still the ides of december - we are not out of the woods
Elizabeth and I were talking at the grocery about pasta shape preference. Some people feel very strongly about pasta shapes and will go so far as to NOT EAT your pasta if it is not in a preferred shape. I will admit to not having a refined enough palette to discern the difference between Barilla and Waldbaum�s brands but I am pretty sure that the shape of your pasta is meaningless concerning how it tastes.
Elizabeth and I agree that it takes a special kind of bigotry to prefer one shape of pasta so strongly that you disregard the other shapes so completely. This is not like disliking an ethnic group, religious creed, or political opposition but it is still bigotry. It is still an irrational dislike, when none is warranted.
My boss at Part Time Employment is distressed because I am not participating in �Secret Santa.�
I am not participating for my usual list of good, sound reasons. First, it is hard to buy someone something nice for ten dollars or less. Second, my Secret Santa is always my Secret Shyster. I always get picked by the person who ends up not participating, buying terrible gifts, or has a catastrophe that prevents them from participating. There is no return on this investment for me, and let us face the truth: people participate in Secret Santa so someone buys them a gift. It has nothing to do with anything else.
I am sure in offices where people make good money there is an element of frugality to the process. You buy one gift for all of your coworkers and you get one gift from all of your coworkers. However, in the places I work the people spend their ten dollars (or other limit) on some piece of garbage while hoping against hope that the person who has their name is a little more considerate than they were.
I prefer not to play this game. Why gamble with your money? If you are just out to get a present in return, then go out and spend that money on yourself. My friend April and I exchange gifts this way, every year. We get what we really wanted, in our size, and do not have to hassle with the postal service. We are geniuses.
Kipp and I have this gift exchange all year long, we do not sit around for a messiah to encourage us to provide gainful employment to Guatemalan orphans or political prisoners in the People�s Republic of China.
If you would like to participate, I am looking for someone to buy me a new beanie at Abercrombie & Iamsotheirbitch.
In 1978 (the year you were born) |
Jimmy Carter is president of the US US Senate votes to turn over the Panama Canal to Panama on December 31, 1999 Israel and Egypt reach a peace settlement at the Camp David Accords The US and mainland China announce that they will restore full diplomatic relations Members of Jim Jones' People's Temple commit mass suicide in Guyana Pope John Paul II becomes the first non-Italian pope in centuries Ted Bundy is captured in Florida The first computer bulletin board system is created Garfield debuts in newspapers Ashton Kutcher, Kobe Bryant, Usher, Clay Aiken, and Nelly Furtado are born New York Yankees win the World Series Dallas Cowboys win Superbowl XII Montreal Canadiens win the Stanley Cup Saturday Night Fever and Grease are the top grossing films "Night Fever" by the Bee Gees spends the most time at the top of the US charts Diff'rent Strokes and Mork & Mindy premiere |
