The Ghost of Christmas Present

Yesterday was the luncheon for the one library where I work. We had an ornament swap, where each person picked one ornament, either from the Christmas tree or from another person who had already taken one. If your ornament is taken, then you can pick out another one. My ornament was a clear polar bear, which I thought was cool. I gave bethje a similar one. It ended up being the last one picked, though, which I felt kind of bad about. I ended up with a bell-shaped ornament, which Beth says looks girly.

Speaking of Beth and Christmas, we exchanged our gifts last night. Well, actually, she gave me all of my gifts, but I only gave her two of hers, since my Amazon order still hasn't arrived (unless it came today or yesterday, which I doubt, but I haven't had the chance to check, so I guess it's possible). She gave me a Magnetic Fields CD (The Charm of the Highway Strip), the Game Boy remake of the first two Final Fantasy games, a dollar video about tanks from Wal-Mart, a set of toys from the Wal-Mart checkout aisle (which I had actually picked out, but had since forgotten about), and a stuffed cat that she had knitted. I like all of the gifts, but I'm especially impressed with the cat. Beth did some very nice work on it.

Later today, I need to get my oil changed and clean out my car, which aren't exactly things I'm looking forward to. I hate cleaning. Okay, I actually don't mind it when there's a clearly defined place to put something, but that isn't the case with the stuff in my car. In fact, that's one reason why much of it is there in the first place.

This might possibly be my last entry before Christmas. If that's the case, then I wish everyone a merry Christmas, or a happy whatever-you-celebrate.

I guess it wasn't the last one after all

It was raining and really windy this morning, and my umbrella kept turning inside out. I lost an umbrella to the wind back in college, and I'm not anxious to lose another one. Fortunately, this one is still okay. I think it's actually bethje's family's umbrella, so I think it would a good idea to keep it in one piece.

The other day, when Beth and I were shopping, pretty much all the customer service counters we saw were acting primarily as checkout counters. While it's fine that they can do this, it's pretty irritating when you want to ask a question, and you end up having to wait for a bunch of people to buy stuff. Whatever happened to checking out at the regular registers?

Speaking of waiting in the checkout line, am I the only one who likes the Borders-style lines where everyone waits in one line, and then you're called up to a register when it's available? I know Beth doesn't agree with me in this respect, but does anyone else? I mean, I don't think this would work at the grocery store, but I kind of think more businesses should use it. That way, it's more truly first-come-first-served, rather than making you gamble on a line.

I also think I'll mention that it kind of annoys me when people wait behind an exiting car so they can take that person's space. I mean, I can see why people do it, but I think I'd rather just get a space that's farther away than sit around, rushing someone else out and blocking the lane. Maybe I'm the only one, though.

Oh, and my package did arrive either today or yesterday. Too bad it's too late to give Beth her other gifts before Christmas, but at least I can give my brother his gift on time. I'm relieved that I don't have to do any more shopping. (At least, I don't THINK I do.)