Xmas 07 - Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Xmas

So, Xmas was this past Tuesday. For my family, it was held at my folks' place, which is pretty convenient for me, since I live pretty close. We had been congregating down in Williamsburg the last few years, which was nice, but this was pretty good too.

Xmas Eve, an old tradition was re-birthed, and a possible new tradition was begun. In years past, my dad had put together a little game of clues, where everyone got a clue and had to figure out what it meant. Upon discovery of the meaning, they would find a gift at the destination. We did this again this year, and everyone had a good time with it.

We also did something new...a "secret santa" gift exchange. This was an idea by my nieces where everyone had drawn names and had to make something for the person whose names they got. I got my oldest niece, and since she's into music in a big way, I made her a bracelet out of guitar picks. She seemed to enjoy it. My brother-in-law got my name, and helped me re-arrange my apartment (hang shelves, move furniture around, etc.) That was much appreciated, and it looks great now.

My nieces spent Xmas Eve at my place, since the space was needed to set everything up for Xmas morning. We stayed up until roughly 3 am playing some Rock Band. My bro-in-law also stuck around for awhile, and joined in the playing for a bit. I'm usually pretty good with the guitar, but I was having issues with tears in my eyes from laughing so hard from his "singing"...lol. But, it was good times.

Xmas morning comes, and the three of us head over to my parents' house, after a quick stop at McDs to pick up breakfast. On arrival, my nieces were glued to seats in the kitchen while final prep was finished. They got a little impatient, understandably...we actually had the latest start to Xmas that I can remember.

Anyway, once things got under way, everyone seemed to enjoy what they got. I received a pretty nice watch from my folks, as well as a nice brown overcoat. I got a nice Gators fleece jacket from my grandmother, Scrubs season 1 (great show BTW), cash money, and many other great things.

My parents had mentioned, leading up to Xmas, that they were interested in getting themselves a Wii. Perfect gift idea, I thought. It would have been even more perfect had I been able to locate one in a store. Resorting to eBay, I was able to get them one, and they were happy to get it.

See, the bad thing at this point is that I seem to have developed this reputation as a great gift giver...the issue is, I don't really care about spending money, so I like to get people things that I know they will love, and that usually costs somewhat high dollar signs. I will have to work myself out of this habit, especially if I ever have kids of my own...I'll go flat broke.

Anyway, that's the rundown of Xmas 07 - jaxjaggywires style. Hope everyone out there had a good, safe holiday season this year. Until next time...screw Flanders.

P.S. On the diet front, I have now passed 40 pounds lost...hooray for me. OK, that's all I've got for now...

What Am I Playing? - Rockin' Out Style

Wow, it's been awhile since I've posted about my gaming habit. Time to catch up...

Since it came out, my gaming time has been dominated by Rock Band on the 360. I've almost made it all the way through the expert tour on the guitar (expert on RB is definitely easier then expert on any of the Guitar Hero games). I've tried the drums a bit, but find that they will take a little getting used to. I have yet to try the singing, but will likely belt out some vocals once I'm able to get my friends together to play it with me. I feel a little strange singing out loud by myself...what would my neighbors think?

I've also played some Assassin's Creed on the 360, and it was pretty good. I need to get back to it, if I can ever surgically remove the RB disc from the 360 drive.

I'm hoping to get Mass Effect on the 360 for Xmas...I hear it's outstanding, and I'd like to check it out.

I guess there wasn't really that much to catch up on after all RE: gaming. Rock Band and Assassin's Creed...more to come.

Until next time, screw Flanders.

Good news everyone...diet edition

Since the beginning of September, I have been on a mission...a mission of weight loss. Everyone who knows me knows what a fat sack of crap I was. Well, I set out to change that, and since I started on this path, I've now lost close to 40 pounds.

The weight loss is purely diet related, as I have still not been exercising like I should be...that is to come. However, I feel better now (at least physically) then I have in a very long time.

So, at least I have something positive going for me in my life right now...just wanted to share that, so people didn't think I was all gloom and doom these days.

Events of the weekend...

So, this weekend, my company held it's annual Holiday Party at the Udvar Hazy Air & Space Museum by Dulles. I had never attended the event in my many years with the company, but figured I would give it a go this year. I was also able to get a hot date to go with me, which helped the decision...she rocks, even with static cling ;)

I had never been to the museum, and the place is huge. Planes suspended from the ceiling, some fairly odd looking. Of course, the first thing we did as we entered (running the final hundred feet to the front door due to the cold) is scan the scene and see what's happening around the building. They have a pretty good setup...well-stocked bars setup all over the place, and tables of food (pasta, meat, desserts) located close to each other. It was all pretty nice.

As the night moved on, we eventually ran into my friend Jander and his girlfriend when they showed up, so we hung with them for a bit. Also found where my co-workers congregated, so hung around there as well.

After this, we moved over to the tables surrounding the dance floor, as Kelly's feet were starting to complain. Now, the chairs around these tables were some of the weirdest I have ever seen. They were these hydraulic, plastic seat jobs with no friction whatsoever...if you moved at all, you started slipping off.

After people watching for a bit, we decided to take a little tour of the museum. After this, we caught the Imax movie...and flick about helicopters and why they're so cool. It was decent enough (especially for being free). This pretty much wrapped up the party for us, as closing time was 11:30. We didn't get to leave, however, until some embarrassment (at least for me) that I won't go into here...the whole ride home was a conversation that I wasn't prepared to have.

So, it was a nice party. First time I ever saw my best friend in a fancy pants tux, so that was something...his girl looked good too. Of course, the girl I was with looked great...everyone looked top notch. Good times were had by all...

Today, I wake up early to try and take care of some Xmas shopping. I'm off to Best Buy a good hour fifteen before opening, and I pull into the parking lot to a line that extends around the front of the building, along the side past the auto installation area. I decided to avoid that scene after all. So I actually go and get some breakfast for the first time in forever, and head over to my folks place to watch the Jags lose to the Colts...boo.

That pretty much brings me up to date...time for the usual weekend administrative duties.

So, until next time, screw Flanders...