• Dried ranch dressing requires a chisel to remove.
• Bananas have a short lifespan.
• Jules is a much better "Boggler" than me.
• There's nothing worse than wondering if you screwed something up at work... even if you really didn't.
• Buying your significant other exercise equipment is a perfect excuse to watch them use it while you lounge around.
• If you want to see Jules make a retarded face, all you have to do is tell her she's pretty.
• You know it's going to be a bad day when a datacenter tech says to you over the phone, "Wow... I've never seen so many failure lights on one server.  Even the power button is blinking red.  It looks like a little Christmas tree.  Did you still want me to reboot it?"
• The tier one guys at work will feed me mints when I fix things for them.  They toss them over the cubicle wall like puppy treats.
• Anyone who says "OMG" verbally (as in, spelling out the letters) needs to be bitch slapped.  ...Twice.
• Hot chocolate is an acceptable beverage, regardless of the temperature outside.
• You know you have a close friendship when your buddy sends you a cell phone picture of his turd and asks you to admire the size.
• It's difficult to fit in among a group of 25-30 year-olds guys who carry on excitedly about the Twilight series like a bunch of prepubescent girls.
• I've only heard Jules say, "No, I'm not hungry," one time since I met her.
• If it itches, it will be scratched.  That's how I roll.
• According to Julia's dad, our engagement is "just fine!"
• I'm convinced that the fat, overweight lady in heels above us is going to fall through the ceiling one of these days.
• I've always wondered what it's like to smoke pot.
• I know Jules is really bored when she entertains herself by trying to stick my hoodie strings up my nose.
• Jules is now hungry.  We're gonna go eat.

Well, I survived to see another year.  I'll still probably be writing "2009" on everything, out of habit, for the next three months or so like I always seem to do every year... but 2010 is finally here.

Jules came home from work early last night.  She was supposed to work until 11:30, but the chaos at the hotel ended early last night, so she came back.  We played one of the games I got her for Christmas called "Smart Ass," had some drinks (not enough to even get drunk), and watched the Times Square celebration countdown on TV.  We went to bed shortly after.

Today, I slept in until around 9:30.  I've been messing around with computer stuff all day.  I set up a Linux server and installed some stuff to aid me in studying for my Linux Red Hat certification.  (I won't be taking it anytime soon; we're talking years here.  But I gotta start somewhere.)

We also went to Wal-Mart and got groceries.  Every time I go in there, I remember how much I hate the general public.  It was cool, though, because Jules and I laughed, carried on, and made fun of the ignorant people between ourselves.  We also have food in our apartment now - always a plus.

I took down the Christmas tree, put the stuff away, did dishes, refilled the fish tank.  You could say that today has been a pretty productive day.

Jules got in some exercise on her new elliptical machine and played Burnout on her XBox.  I was sitting in here in the office, listening to her play in the living room.  She carries on, trash-talking the tv as she plays, and it was the funniest thing.  A normally very calm, soft-spoken Julia turns into a raging maniac maniac with an attitude when you put her behind the wheel of a virtual car and tell her to slam into people.  It's great.

We also played more Boggle tonight.  I ended up winning TWICE, and tying with her once.  This never happens.  The last time we played, she beat me nine times in a row.  Granted, she beat me six more times tonight... but I gurantee you that I was more proud of my two victories than she was of her six.

Well, that's about all.  Hope all of you had a good New Year's!

Well, another Christmas has come and gone.  This one really snuck up on me this year.  I wasn't really in the "Christmas Spirit" until the week of Christmas.  Regardless, it was still pretty awesome.

The only downside to Christmas is that I didn't get to spend it with Jules.  Our schedules didn't line up this year, so she went out to her family's house the Monday before and stayed through the week.  I went out to my mom and dad's house after work on Thursday and stayed through the weekend.  I missed her a lot, but I had a good time with my family.

There is never a dull moment at my mom and dad's house.  My dad always has hilarious stories to tell.  My family is also a big fan of board games, so we played quite a few of those.  My dad even got in on the action this time (he normally doesn't), and he ended up winning almost every time.  Imagine that.

One thing I also did a lot of was SLEEP.  My mom and dad have a wood stove in their living room, and we're all convinced that it's one of the best investments they ever made.  My dad's recliner is right next to it.  I'd sit down to do some work on my laptop, and pretty soon the warmth and comfort got to me, and I'd be fast asleep.  This happened more than once.

I got some pretty awesome Christmas gifts as well.  I got a new battery for my laptop, which I've needed for over a year now.  I was pretty excited about that.  I can now unplug my laptop for more than five minutes without it dying on me.  I got a Linux scripting book that I've been wanting as well.  I also got a file cabinet and an industrial-strength paper shredder to replace the lousy one I had.  I was pretty happy.

Over the course of my stay I felt like I gained ten pounds.  (I didn't really - I weighed myself out of curiosity after I got back home.)  But my mom cooks meals for an army... and she's soooooooo good at it.  I ate three big meals every day I was there and lots of snacks in between.  She's an awesome cook!

Sunday afternoon, I headed back here to our place, and Julia and I did our Christmas when she got home from work.  I was so excited.  I tried really hard to get her good stuff this year, and she looked really happy when she opened her presents.  That is one of the best feelings in the world - seeing the person you love happy and excited.

She got me a ton of awesome stuff too.  A new (fancy) shaver to replace the old crappy one I had.  Some VERY warm and soft comfy pants, which I happen to be wearing at the moment.  A new green button-up shirt to wear to work.  Some new boxers.  A new leather jacket, which I absolutely love.  Some gloves for the cold drives to work in the morning.  A stocking crammed full of all kinds of awesome stuff.  And more.  I took a picture of the aftermath of our Christmas, and it looked like a tornado went through our living room, as you can see.  It made me happy.  What made me happiest, though, was getting to see her again.  I missed her terribly over the prior week.

Her family got me a lot of stuff too.  I got a Wal-Mart gift card, and various food items from her parents.  Her brother got me some Nike stuff.  Her sister and brother-in-law got me a Best Buy gift card and a book to "prepare myself as a groom" for our wedding.  It's a humorous book, and has pictures and diagrams and stuff... which is good.

After such a great Christmas, I certainly wasn't ready to go back to work.  I didn't feel very good all day today, which didn't help things.  It was all I could do to keep my eyes open, but I managed.  When I got home, I took a nap for a couple of hours, then I felt a little better.  We ate, then Jules beat me in several games of Boggle.  By "several" I mean nine games in a row.  I didn't win once.  About halfway through, she asked me if I was upset about it.  Surprised, I replied, "No?  It's a game.  Why would I be upset?"  I learned a long time ago that she's much smarter than me.  Why do you think we have such a happy relationship?  I've come to accept the inevitable.

Anyway, I'm gonna get off of here.  I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas as well!

Sure enough, Christmas is Friday, and I'm not ready yet.  Surprise surprise.

Every year I vow to get all of my shopping done early and avoid the madness of the last minute shopping experience.  ...And every year I fail miserably and end up in a rush to get everything bought in time.  This year is no different.  It dawned on me last week that Christmas is this coming Friday.  Prior to that, I really hadn't thought about it.

I had planned on getting all of my shopping done today.  That didn't happen.  My first stop was the West County Mall.  I saw the lines of cars backed up as I approached and realized that, once again, I had made a mistake this year.  I did not want to go in there, but I had plenty of time, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

That optimism lasted about 30 seconds.  I pulled into the parking garage and immediately thought to myself, "F-this!!!"  I don't do well in large crowds of ignorant people.  Put those people in moving vehicles, and lose every ounce of good-naturedness I possess.  Streams of profanity ran through my mind as I watched people cut out in front of the line of cars, fly through the garage without paying any attention to where they were going, and try to go around lines of traffic when there was clearly nowhere to go.  'Tis the season, I suppose.

I did get a kick out of this.  Apparently, someone had the same attitude I had when it came to finding a parking spot.  They, on the other hand, had four-wheel drive, and a lot more balls than me.  If you can't find a parking spot... make your own!  Notice the cop car parked behind them.  As I drove by, the officer was getting out of his car with his ticket book in hand and a large frown on his face.

After leaving the mall, I headed over to Walmart to try my luck there.  I entered the parking lot and promptly pulled into a spot right away, with empty spots on either side of me.  Smiling with satisfaction, I got out and went inside.

My happiness was short-lived, though, as I grabbed a cart with a 'flat tire', clanked my way down the aisles, and bulldozed my way through the crowds of inconsiderate people standing in the middle of the aisles with their heads up their asses.  Grr.  And what is the deal with those fat lazy people who feel the need to ride around in those little motorized carts?  They hover around the store on those little things, with the motorized carts groaning beneath their heft.  Get up, walk around, and get some exercise, and maybe you wouldn't weigh 500 damn pounds. Or at least don't stop in the dead center of the aisle where no one can get around you.

My primary goal was to get stuff for my family.  Not an easy task.  All four of my younger brothers are at the "hard to buy for" age.  They range from mid-teens to early 20s.  I wish there was a strip club down where they live.  I'd just buy em all passes, and they'd be set.

I didn't have a clue what to get my mom and dad either.  My dad just retired this year, and my mom got a job as a cook at a local rehabilitation facility.  They're pretty well-off, so if there's something they want, they usually just go buy it, which makes gift giving frustrating.  On the way home, though, I finally thought of something I can get them, so I'm pretty excited about that.

Anyway, I need to get off of here and wrap some stuff.  Julia's brother is flying in from Oregon this evening, and he's going to be spending the night here with us tonight.  They'll leave for their parents' house tomorrow.

I hope the rest of you folks are more prepared for Christmas than I am!