obligatory new years rant

for the past several years i have been journaling. something that a friend told me was "a good way to get it out and maybe learn something in the process." overall, a good idea. at the time i started writing, i was enraptured by how blessed my life was and, at the same time, how unsettled i was.

fast forward a few years...i outgrew that particular therapy. occasionally i would pick up the book to jot down some "big" happening or to summarize a recent change in my life. the only true consistency i found was that i could do an "end of the year" entry every year and pretty much be done with it.

so, as i sit here thumbing through cade's great journal project - volume #3 i notice that the last entry is indeed december 31, 2003 7:07 pm. now with the surprise expansion of cadeland, i will take a leap and do this year's entry electronically. you may read it here.

as for the true spirit of this annex: you may check this one out to read something a little less..."gooey"

christmas, CADE STYLE!

december 24, 2004. christmas eve

4:30 am EST - woke up to head to the airport for my 6:21 flight to texas

5:15 am - arrived at logan's economy parking lot to find it closed, was re-routed to overflow lot 5 minutes back in the direction i just came from

5:40 am - did i say 5 minutes? arrive at overflow parking. board courtesy shuttle...wait for family of 11 to board behind me. realize for the first time that i might not make my flight

5:50 am - after worthless converstion with american airlines employee in ticket line, offer bribe to sky cap (literally) to check me in ahead of the 30 or so people so i will make my flight

6:12 am - clear security, run to gate

6:32 am - was last person to board, first to fall asleep. plane takes off for dallas

10:03 am CST - 2 hours of sleep. uneventful flight. all is well. land at dallas/ft worth airport with a cat in my lap

10:04 am - return cat to owner next to me. deplane

10:06 am - check monitor for gate info. see that flight to mcallen has been cancelled, as well as all remaining flights to mcallen for the day

(author's note: mcallen airport closed due to ice. that's right, an airport in the southern-most point in the continental u.s. is closed because of ICE. only in cadeland)

10:10 am - receive less than stellar advice from gate agent. leave security to try and rebook flight

10:21 am - realize the very real possibility of spending christmas day alone in a la quinta in dallas, book only flight available: 11:14 to san antonio

10:23 am - begin searching for bags that apparently were offloaded given the lack of an outbound flight. begin wild goose chase to no fewer than three different carousels in search of bags

10:43 am - abandon search for bags figuring they will end up in mcallen eventually. officially bump DFW to top of list of "worst airports in the country"

11:14 am - through security again. flight leaves for san antonio. no cats this time (although later realize owners of cats were on this flight as well)

12:30 am - arrive san antonio. realize haven't eaten since 6 pm yesterday

1:08 pm - secure rental car. take deep breath. drive south

1:15 pm - call american airlines to check on bags

1:45 pm - finally wrap call with baggage rep. double take as call ends. did she just say "happy festivus?" needless to say, bags are no where to be found

4:28 pm - still driving south. channel surf to hear "feliz navidad" for the 17th time on the radio

5:03 pm - arrive mcallen airport via 2003 pontiac grand am, not boeing 737. it's 20 degrees colder here than is was at 4:30 this morning in boston

5:42 pm - after stops at chili's and old navy, arrive at parents house. collapse on couch. cat i used to own completely ignores me

7:35 pm - just called american airlines. bags still no where to be found

merry christmas, i'm going to bed.

it's all so clear to me now

christmas shopping is ri-freakin-diculous!

i have the fortune of belonging to a family that has a rotating cast of people who talk-to/ignore/fight-with/make-nice-with everyone else depending on the year. so i really have only had a core of 3 people to shop for over the years: my mom, my dad, and my grandma. easy right? 3 people. no big deal. then why am i having so much trouble this year? geography? maybe. being choked out of every local mall and store by millions of fellow last-minuters? sure. but it was a conversation i overheard today at barnes and noble that changed my luck.

the way-too-talkative guy in front of me in line and the over-chippy cashier gleefully discussed the advantages of the $50 gift card he was buying.

"i figure this way, they can just get what they want." he said. "it's not like when i was a kid and the thought that went into the gift was what mattered."

click

what a great idea. i mean the guy who is in those best buy commercials promises that everyone will be happy with a gift card. so why not?

i happily picked one up myself. headed on the rounds to home depot, target, walmart, and mcdonald's, and all of the sudden, i was done.

i never dreamed christmas shopping could be so simple AND so thoughtful.

what have i gotten myself into?

so far, i have thoroughly enjoyed my move to the boston area. i love where i live, and the friends i have made. anyone who knows me knows i really only have one thing negative to say about it here. and that is: the drivers. well, i found something that makes me even more irritated: massachusetts drivers in TWO INCHES OF SNOW!

it is certainly one thing to pull out in front of someone who is going 30 mph with little more than a second's notice. it's quite another to force yourself into a different lane when there isn't enough room for you. but please, for the love of ted williams, try to minimize this activity when the roads are icy. i just ran a 30 minute errand that took me a little under 3 hours, and no fewer than 7 vehicular attempts on my life. HAVE SOME FRIGGIN' PATIENCE PEOPLE!

i have driven in snow since i was 15, so none of this "you'll get used to it" malarkey. i shouldn't have to get used to nearly dying every time i need to run to blockbuster. i know what i'm doing out there. i'm sure that most of the folks on the road know what they are doing. so why is it no one appears to know what the hell is going on?

so, thanks to the suicidal-ice drivers and the fact that, today i officially realized that the heater in my car is broken; i get to stay trapped inside my apartment for the next 2 months. thank God for the internet.

it makes me want to resurrect an old friend just to prove a point. the old friend i'm referring to is my white 1983 mitsubishi tredia or "the dawn tredia" as we called it. sure it's long dead. sure, it had the tendency to catch on fire from time to time. sure, its engine was a rube goldberg contraption made up of twine and tin cans. but that thing was physically indestructible. i could easily drive around beverly and surrounding areas just crashing into anyone who thought it would be a good idea to pull out in front of me. that's my kind of "right-of-way." man, that would be awesome. i would have to make one adjustment to the car first. but then i could rule this town in any weather.

a night out with the boys

tonight, i went to my first boston celtics game with my buds art and james. while it was a great time to hang with the guys and quote aqua teen hunger force at near-ridiculous levels, and to see my former kansas classmates paul pierce and raef lafrentz play together again, i am still not sold on the whole "nba experience" thing. not that it wasn't an exciting game (or at least an exciting last 2 minutes.) i'm just not used to the overall lack of enthusiasm at a pro game.

alas, the celtics lost 100-99 to the nuggets and we walked away, more specifically, to dunkin donuts and back in a vain effort to kill the hour or so until the next train to beverly, with some good memories. here are a few. enjoy.

how to make everyone think you're an alcoholic

...in 5 easy steps:

1) take 1 (one) glass liter bottle of jack daniels(TM) brand tennessee whiskey (that was given as a gift by one's employer at the end of a long project, NOT purchased by oneself)

2) carefully pack aforementioned bottle into one's suitcase for safe travel home via airline of your choice

3) add 1 (one) TSA agent at the airport to thoroughly undo packing job, complete with apparent open-bottle olfactory test, half-heartedly "re-seal" bottle and resume piss poor job of repacking

4) shake well, courtesy of local baggage handler

5) arrive home to have all clothing in said suitcase reek of mr. daniels

thank you TSA. our country is safer AND i can now get drunk simply by getting dressed.

i can't believe my luck!

i am in shock.

i just sat down to check my email and realized that i will never have to worry about money again. i received an email from a wonderful lady...well, i'll let you read it:

Hello,
My name is Anthonia Edwards, this may come as a surprise to you but I have decided to donate what I have to you. I was diagnosed for cancer about 4 years ago, immediately after the death of my late
husband, who had left me everything he worked for.
I have been touched by God to donate from what I have inherited from my late husband to you for the good work of God, rather than allow my relatives use my husband's hard earned funds ungodly. Please pray that the good Lord forgive me my sins. I have asked God to forgive me and i believe he has because He is a merciful lord. I will be going in for an operation today.
I decided to WILL/donate the sum of $10,500,000 (ten million five hundred thousand dollars) to you for the good work of the lord, and also to help the motherless and less privilege and also for the assistance of the widows according to (JAMES 1:27).
At the moment I cannot take any telephone calls right now due to the fact that my relatives are around me and my health status. I have adjusted my WILL and my WILL Executor is aware i have changed my will to you and he will arrange the transfer of the funds from my account to yours.
I wish you all the best and may the good Lord bless you abundantly, and please use the funds well and always extend the good work to others. Contact my will executor with this specified email Mr William Baker wllbak8@netscape.net. and tell him that I have WILLED ($10,500,000.00) to you and i have also notified him that I am WILLING this amount to you for a specific and good work. I know I don't know you but I have been directed to do this. Thanks and God bless.
NB: I will appreciate your utmost confidentiality in this matter until the task is accomplished as I don't want anything that will Jeopardize my last wish.
Regards,
Anthonia Edwards

i can't believe that something this fantastic would happen to someone like me. and to think, she doesn't even KNOW me. how incredible. i'm gonna go start spending my money right now, i shouldn't waste any time getting started on this "specific and good work."

right after i buy a new car, of course.

need some bad advice?

check this out. all questions welcome.