My first ever video I produced exclusively for my blog with the limited software that I have. Still working out some kinks and bugs… like volume. I’d rather have you go deaf than struggle to hear what I’m saying, ya know?
Anyway, hopefully more of these are to come. Happy holidays and leave me comments about this!
As promised, today’s friPod post is Christmas-themed. And once again, we’re taking a classic from my past. I grew up with this old California Raisin Christmas tape (that is as good as lost now) and sadly hasn’t been converted to CD (not one that I can find anyway). But their versions of some well known holiday songs are my favorite. And my one of my favorite of those favorites is John Lennon’s classic “Happy Christmas (War is Over).”
The cover version I have is difficult to find and I had my doubts YouTube would have it, but alas, here it is…
Like cover songs usually do, it preserves the same theme and meaning behind the song, promoting peace over war. And anyone that knows Lennon knows that a synonym of his name is “peace.” This song was written as a protest the Vietnam War going on at the time and has since become a holiday standard, being covered by various people and bands for the last few decades. I certainly haven’t heard them all, but so far, the Raisins are still my favorite. The reason why is due to that old school sound they have, that’s my guess anyway. But it’s also a classic for me. You always go back to what you know and love the best, and this was my first taste of this song.
So let’s remember to treat everyone with love and peace, not just during the holiday season, but everyday. It’s easier said than done, but with every one person you show respect to, that one difference you’ve made to make this world a better place. We’ve all got red blood and that makes us all equal, so a) let’s keep it in our body and b) let’s only hate those with green blood… they can’t be trusted. In short, no matter what you celebrate, let’s all agree: Peace on earth, and goodwill towards men.
For the record, the other song the Raisins did that I love is “Silent Night.”
With that, I wish everyone a safe and happy holiday. I’m working on a special holiday post for tomorrow, so be sure to come back to check that out as well as a few other things I’ll be posting throughout the week including my Top Albums or Heavy Rotations of 2010.
It’s that time again–where we gather with our loved ones to share in something a good chunk of America participates in every year, sorta around the same time, same day, possibly the same place.
No, not Thanksgiving dinner. Black African American Friday!
I’ve had experience on both sides of the counter and I’m not sure which I enjoy more. Being an employee, I pretty much just sat back and watched as people went crazy. There was little I could do, to be honest. Other than marvel at the clawing and the gimme gimme gimme of the moment as the clock struck 4:58am. Yeah, we were supposed to wait until 5 on the dot, but you tell that to a bunch of very tired or high strung ladies who had been waiting since 11pm to get whatever it is they’ve been waiting for since the beginning of the week.
Oh, by the way, this took place in a 24 hr store, my beloved The Mart.
This is not The Mart, nor was I waiting outside.
Last year was the first time I hung out as a customer, waiting for a prized laptop gift for my mother. I had to wait in a very long line, which was whittled down to 50 people, since there was only 50 laptops. I was #48. There was tension, to say the least. It didn’t really start until closer to 4am, and definitely by 5am. If the 50 people in line were guaranteed the 50 laptops, why so much stress? As the line started advancing, we kept seeing people ahead of us that we hadn’t seen before. We were afraid people were snuck into the line. That’s right, we were suspicious of snuckers. But in actuality, people were dropping off items to the people in the line so they could make the purchase all at once… which was why I didn’t leave The Mart until close to 6am, which is why we were panicking at the end of the line thinking people were buying more than one laptop.
"Get her!" I'm kidding, this isn't a picture of a fight. Hilarious if it was though.
But let me rephrase myself: I wasn’t panicking. In fact, my fellow shoppers were asking me how I remained so calm. My friends can tell you I’m a very passive and patient person. I mean, c’mon… I stayed on hold for about 10 minutes once.
And getting bent out of shape wasn’t in my plans, and it wasn’t necessary to do so anyway. Sure I was getting annoyed by the end, but that’s because I was getting sleepy. I can’t remember what time I arrived, my guess is about 2am. But I didn’t get home until 7am and I had very little sleep between Thanksgiving foods and getting up around midnight. So my crankiness was due to sleepiness, not waiting in a line for a few hours.
How did I pass my time? Just observing others, joining in with the chatter of what’s going on in the store… and also tweeting.
This year I plan on doing the same. I’ll have company with me so I won’t be completely bored. But I’ll still be tweeting how much fun I’m having waiting in line.
What’s the appeal of the craziness of being out at the butt dimples of dawn? the sales of course! Yes, it’s totally worth it. Most laptops average about $400, $500… but $200? Yes please. I can give up a few hours.
You can actually buy this shirt.
But this is not for everyone. If you’re going to go in for the long haul, be sure to do the following:
If I think of more fun, I’ll be sure to post a part 2 (which I did). If not, follow me on Twitter.
I can’t help but think there are those out there that despise the Valentine’s Day because they are single, for whatever reason. And of course, some don’t care regardless of their status. Others try not to, but with commercials, TV specials, print ads and pink heart shaped sprinkles on your donuts, it’s hard to ignore it and you begin to get disgusted with the idea. Not to mention if you have friends that are coupled up and you know you have very few, if any, of them left to hang out with that day or night because you know what they’ll be doing later. And that’s what it also comes down to for some singletons… no Valentine’s Night. Even if sex isn’t involved, they just want to feel loved and appreciated a little bit.
Click the picture for more eCards like this.
Enter, the Anti-Valentine’s Day. This is also known as Singles Awareness (or Appreciation (maybe for those who want to embrace being single)) Day, aka SAD. It’s not really awareness for the general public, nor does it really seem like something beneficial. That stigma of being single during this holiday is somewhat magnified and in one’s mind might make them feel singled out even more. This day is sometimes celebrated the day before, on or after Valentine’s Day… sometimes all three. Rather than sulk alone in your bedroom, the idea is to go hang out with other singles and either collectively agree how evil the holiday is, or just enjoy each other’s company.
Earlier I said that holiday might not seem beneficial, but perhaps by being out with other singles, you may run into another single and soon after become a couple. So in retrospect, Singles Awareness Day will make other singles aware of your singleness, or perhaps that you want to end your singleness. There’s some food for thought to optimistic hopefuls.
Jajangmyeon
Speaking of food, in South Korea, single people who do not get gifts on Valentine’s Day (or White Day, a month later, March 14th) get to eat black noodles, called jajangmyeon, with other singles to celebrate their singleness. It’s called Black Day and takes place April 14th. To be honest, this sounds rather depressing and I’d rather stick with Singles Awareness Day.
And that’s also key for the singletons out there: don’t get caught up in the blues. And, although this is posted way before the fact, if you find yourself not having plans or know that you won’t have anyone to hang out with, make some new friends. Do something to ensure you won’t be alone and miserable. Plan to have fun. Sure it might not be the fun you want, but you also won’t be sitting alone, in the dark, in the corner, writing sad poetry and listening to sad people sing about sad things. Life is too short for that and you never know what can happen next if you don’t put yourself out there. Trust me, I’m practicing what I preach. Things won’t always remain the same.
But, once the day is over, everyone is pretty much on equal ground again for the next 364 days. The pink décor is put away. Special chocolates disappear within the week. And the stores now have a green theme for the next big holiday.
Again, I’m doing the best I can on a personal level to not be as bitter and cynical as I feel I should be. But I am a romantic and it’s difficult to say something like “I hate Valentine’s Day” when it practically goes against what a romantic truly feels. And I’m pretty sure I’m likely to spoil some lucky lady with gifts, poetry and genuine romance when I have the opportunity. What can I say, I have gift anxiety. The point is, it wouldn’t be a once a year kind of a thing, but perhaps a little extra on the special days. And you best believe that I will be watching romantic classics such as Casablanca to Love, Actually to The Notebook despite the holiday or my relationship status because that’s the kind of person I am. Yet those movies tend to fit the atmosphere that much better, I’m just saying.
So however you spend this February 14th, may you be safe and have fun. I’m going to try to get a high bowling average with some new friends.
I was going to post something last night on Christmas Eve Eve, but I guess Christmas Eve isn’t that bad either.
Anyway, I just want to wish all Indoobians, friends, family, strangers and strange-looking people alike a Merry Christmas. For those that don’t celebrate Christmas… I can’t help you. I jest! I jest! I’ll just say the traditional Happy Holidays and Season’s Greetings. The list of “other holidays” steadily gets longer every year, so I will refrain from saying any of them except for the one I celebrate. Deal?
And for those who are just begging to know what kept me from posting last night… it’s a long story that I’ll shorten by saying the ice/snow melting from my room is causing the window in my room to leak. Badly. I’ve already soaked up 10 man-sized beach towels–and that’s only from the water I caught. It doesn’t help that it won’t stop raining until tonight… so… yeah…
I’d also like a new CD drive… I think I broke mine playing with iTunes… I can fix other people’s computers, but mine? Totally clueless. I’m going to try again sometime in a few days.
I even managed to clean my room and do ALL my laundry. When I mean all, I mean I was down to the new underwear I hadn’t broken into yet, and possibly #65 pair ‘o socks. Hey, it’s my goal to have 365 pairs of socks some day. So at least that will be it’s own laundry day. Sock Day! Yes!
But all of this has kept me from staying on the good track I was on. I was up to 23 pages on “The Writing Retreat” and had stopped to sleep, but then if it wasn’t one thing, it was another. The CD burner, the window, visiting with family, Christmas… So much to do, so little time.
I jest of course, I didn’t plan to do much of anything on Christmas Day other than familizising (yeah, try pronouncing that one!) and that’s always fun for us. Between the gift giving, the food and the general good times, it’s what I love about the holidays. Then again, I just love my family and cherish anytime I get to spend with them. I guess that goes for my dearest friends too… but I don’t like sounding sentimental here… so with that I say bah humbug.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays y’all!
Let’s not forget the reason why most people have Friday off. THANKSGIVING! Which is like a big pre-Christmas gathering and meal. It’s an official Christmas Season Eve feast. Of course the stores have already started on November 1st, wanting you to get your plastic tree now! You don’t want to be the last one and get stuck with a Charlie Brown tree. Actually, I don’t think I’d mind it. I’d give it a good home. Then me and some people would gather around it and make it look awesome, then sing up to the sky “Hark! The Herald Angel Sing.” (For more fun interesting trees like on the left, check out World’s Most Unusual Trees.)
There’s no sense in watching those Christmas specials on TV when you have them on DVD already. I’m just saying. I must comment on the brilliance of Stephen Colbert’s Christmas Spectacular I watched this weekend. Totally a must if you are a fan of his show and his brand of humor.
It still makes me ask the question, which I still never get a response to, why aren’t their Thanksgiving carols? I wrote an article about this for a school paper, and instead of getting answers I gained a following who echoed my question and agreed that Christmas and Halloween overshadow the holiday, as well as the general Autumn or harvest themes absorbing the feasting of turkeys and thanksgivinginess. Even these years later, I’ve succumbed to society’s treatment of the Day to Give Thanks, and consider going to the Mart just to watch madness live and unadulterated. On second though, I’ll stay home and sleep and stick to online or middle-of-the-day during the middle-of-the-week shopping when stores are less full. Not that I have much shopping to do, I did a lot of it during the year. I’m good like that, yes yes y’all!
There are pictures and links to new poems on the way, I’m just waiting for a package so I can group that post altogether so we can all see the newness together. Deal?
So I’ve been having the hardest time writing this particular post, because as most Indoobians know, I go into great detail, painting wordy pictures just to get to a point. And each time I begin writing this one, I go from talking about a lost article/essay I wrote for a high school newspaper, to childhood memories and epiphanies after watching a favorite Christmas-themed film from my youth, to how I’ve learned to cherish and appreciate my dearest loved ones and the material things I’ve been blessed with over the years. All and all, the post got seriously mushy and sentimental. Like a movie found on the Hallmark channel. And that is a stone’s throw away from Lifetime! [Shudders.] Granted, having some sensitive material isn’t harmful and shows that I do have a caring heart from time to time, but I want this blog to put smiles on the faces containing eyes that are reading. So all that stuff isn’t bad… I just don’t feel like writing that today. Plus I have a reputation to uphold being a lovable sarcastic smart mouthed jerk.
So I’ll save my count-your-blessings and APPRECIATE speech for another day (because there are some people who really need to look at their life so far and realize they have nothing to complain about). Instead, I’m going to talk a little bit about charity.
With the festive holidays fast approaching, I don’t want people to forget about the less fortunate. I went to the mall, as I usually do every few weeks, just to wander around and my friend noticed what she called “the baby tree.” It’s got wishes from children (actually children and adults) who are in hospitals, shelters, or being sponsored by foundations or something. These are hanging from the tree like ornaments, and the wishes are what that child wants.
My friend does this kind act every year, picking a boy and girl. I immediately decided to pick one too, so I looked for a wish that wouldn’t make me broke… like a PS3 game, and wasn’t too general… like “educational toy.” I picked an 8-year old boy who wanted a book of all the maps of the world. Simple, specific and convenient. The tree was set up a few feet outside of Borders! So my crew and I went in search for a book, and found one in the kids’ section with the help of a tall salesperson who looked like he goes surfing in the summer. Buying the book was a good feeling. Similar to warm and fuzzies. Fortunately it wasn’t mold I had eaten this time. After the purchase, I dropped it off at the information desk like instructed on the little card I detached from the tree along with the original wish. The lady there seemed frustrated before I got there about something, but apparently by me giving this gift, it cheered her up tremendously, like I got the book for her or something. Silly lady. It’s for the kiddies!
I keep saying this, but I really need to start bringing my camera with me and taking pictures to document these random adventures specifically for Indoobian purposes. Plus this would prove I leave the house and I do have friends.
So to conclude what I attempted to not be a long post: don’t be afraid to do a random act of kindness, even when money is involved, and especially around this time of the year. Pay it forward, anyone? More on charity another day. In complete unrelated news, I’ll debut a fresh new poem later this week. Maybe poems… maybe.
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