Sample the Web

(Subtitle: Look at all the stuff I got!!!)

We spent the last several days out on Long Island with Kristin’s family. It was fun, but it is nice to be back home.

Christmas Eve, we had a very nice Italian seafood dinner at her Aunt Lisa’s place with shrimp scampi and fresh fried calamari. We exchanged gifts. I received some holiday cash, a Strait-Line Laser Level 120, a Craftsman drill-bit set, and some much-needed new socks. After dinner, we attended a Lutheran Christmas Eve service at Aunt Lisa’s church and I took communion for the first time in about 5 years. The service was nice, although the very effective and animated Pastor pronounced Jesus, Gee ZUSS, which really tends to get on my nerves. It’s like a combination of the G in G.I. Joe and Hercules shouting at Zeus, but forgetting the e in his name. Also, much of the service was occupied with explaining to Kristin the differences between the Lutheran Service, her Catholic service, and my Methodist service. After church, we returned to Aunt Lisa’s for dessert.

Christmas Day, we awoke, had breakfast, and started tearing into the gifts from my family, while waiting for all the Long Island Regulars to arrive. I received some much needed clothing, the original Star Wars Trilogy on DVD (which we watched in the background for most of the day), Grand Theft Auto San Andreas for the PS2, a Black & Decker AutoTape tape measure (which fascinated Misha, my parrot, and scared Mackenzie, Kristin’s parent’s dog), a very nice X-acto Knife / Tool Set, Arrested Development: Season 1 on DVD, two X-Box games from my brother (Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic), and a nice leather bound journal and pen from my cousin, Valerie. I had an additional gift from my brother that was wrapped in one-third Christmas paper and two-thirds Birthday paper. I decided to go ahead and open it, rather than waiting until my birthday, and I am glad I did, as it was a Nintendo DS. I’m looking forward to following the progress of ProjectNitro so I can someday play the DS over the internet. Also, I noticed it has a microphone in it. Somebody needs to develop a VOIP cartridge for the DS. That would be uber-cool.

Kristin received lots of nice stuff from my family, including a large pink winter coat, very 1950s which she loves, from my brother. After opening the gift she turned to her sister and said, “See, Mags, you need to marry Kevin, so that he and Ken and Karen will get you lots of stuff! I have two sets of parents now! YAAAAY!”

Then, when Curt and Kathy returned from picking up Aunt Peg, we began opening the gifts from Kristin’s family. Curt and Marion got me the Shure e3c headphones, which are quite simply amazing and one of my favorite I-would-have-never-splurged-on-these-for-myself gifts of this holiday. Nothing drowns out kids going crazy with their Christmas gifts like these wonderful little headphones. These + iPod = portable audio-listening heaven. I also received some nice sweaters and clothing from her parents and her sister. Uncle D and cousin Kevin got me a really nice Oscar De La Renta sweater. Aunt Kathy gave me some down foot-warmer sock / shoe thingies and some Christmas pudding.

Kristin got me the new Nirvana CD/DVD Box Set, a Rotring mechanical pencil, and a new Incase Maharam Series: Downtown Portfolio laptop bag, which I absolutely love. I’d say it’s probably my favorite present overall from Christmas. I’d been using an Incase Moya case for my 12-inch, but with my multiple gadgets, the dissertation, and the teaching gig, I’ve been carrying extra bags along with my laptop bag while going to work. I didn’t even think of it, but Kristin spotted the need. This Incase bag is, like all their bags, very tough and well-designed, but this one has compartments galore. It has a padded laptop sleeve in the middle which is designed to hold a 14″ / 15″ laptop, so there is plenty of room for my 12-inch alongside some other random peripheral I want to stick there. There is also room for my LaCie hard drive, its power-cord, my Nintendo DS, its power-cord, several games, my iPod, my headphones, random gadgets and adapters which I am reviewing, a stack of papers, a book or two, and several pens and wires. All nicely compartmentalized in a stylish case that refuses to look over-stuffed. Nice!

I got Kristin some earrings from Tiffany’s, a gift certificate to the iTMS so she can put some songs on the pink iPod mini I bought her for her birthday, and Tropico: Mucho Macho Edition for the Mac.

After all the gift-giving the afternoon was filled with family coming over, Christmas dinner preparation, Christmas dinner, and much too much looking at the proofs from our wedding.

Yesterday afternoon, we watched the Lord of the Rings Extended Edition, which we picked up after exchanging two duplicate copies of Aladdin (that’s right; Kristin was given three copies of Aladdin). I also picked up Super Mario DS and Spider-Man 2 DS with some of my Christmas money. We also stopped by Parrots of the World and picked up a new toy and a new perch for Misha, as his Christmas present.

Then yesterday afternoon we packed up and headed home just as the snow began to fall. Arrived home, unpacked, set up Misha with his new perch, and cuddled up on our new leather couch to watch some T.V. before bed. Good Christmas.