You Mean I Have to Get Dressed?

Is it Monday already? I guess I'm lucky to have realized that at some point.

The extended long weekend threw me off completely by Friday. The fact I didn't leave my condo on Saturday or Sunday didn't help either. But here I am on Monday at work, pants on and everything.

So how were your holidays?

I spent Christmas Eve and the first half of Christmas Day at my folks' place. With my youngest brother in Whistler this year (did I mention he was trapped in that gondola accident a couple weeks ago? He's fine, but that was the least fun thing that's happened to him in a while), it was a much more low-key affair than usual. A handful of presents, mostly for the sake of giving presents, and generally hanging around chatting here and there. We did a full turkey dinner around 1pm, because I had plans in the evening. All-in-all, pretty uneventful.

Although I did get a fair bit of online boxing day shopping done. The online sales always start Christmas Eve, so I took advantage. Sometime this week there will be a slew of boxes arriving at my place. A new receiever (Yamaha 6190/VX1800), a Blu-Ray player (Panasonic DMP-BD35), and a slew of Blu-Ray discs and DVDs. I've also got some cables on order, so once everything arrives, it will be time to dismantle my home entertainment unit and rejig everything for pure awesomeness.

Yah, I know the point of going with the Panasonic instead of the PS3 was to avoid the receiver costs. What can I say? I'm a sucker for upgrading my technology. I opted against the PS3 simply because I know I won't use it. I barely play the games I already have on the Wii and PC and DS, and very little on the PS3 interests me anyway. I have a HD streaming device and DVR already, that is portable to boot. Plus, the Panasonic I did get was $120 less than a PS3 alone, nevermind adding on the remote, extra controllers, etc..

Now I should look into wireless bridges.

Anyway, I got home Christmas afternoon and hung out with my best friend. She's sans-family during holidays, so I'm it. We exchanged presents (tons on both sides, I now have a kick-ass vintage bar set), and then go to cooking. Christmas dinner number two was an organic sirloin roast (fantastic!), roast vegetables (great!), mashed potatoes (creamy delicious!), challa (because it's tastes so good!), and sautéed collard greens and garlic (bright and tasty!). The roast was a bit rare (still not sure why, it's possible my thermometer is suddenly a bit off, or I put it in too deep), but the ends were perfect and another 20 min in the oven fixed the rest. So between that and the turkey, I've got leftovers a-plenty for the week. There's a reason I made a herb bread on Saturday night (more on that in another post).

Boxing day was spent indoors. I woke up at 1-something and decided against hitting the crowds at the mall. Instead I hung out with my friend, watched a couple movies (FYI - Get Smart was better than expected and Semi-Pro is Will Ferrell Movie 2008, and I'm fine with that), and almost got the car stuck in the snow. I did get the car stuck behind two other cars that were stuck behind a car stuck in the snow though. I was about to back up down the street when another car came up behind me and honked... like I could do anything. He eventually clued in that he was a complete moron and backed up himself, allowing me to get off that road and head home.

Saturday and Sunday? Never left the condo. I satellited into into the $70 grand and the Sunday Million (both on Stars) on Saturday. The 70g didn't go so hot. The Million was going fine (over $3MM pot, and over 16,000 entrants, not too shabby at all) until the horrible structure caught up to me and a flopped flush draw didn't get there. The World Record tourney (35,000 entrants, wow) went slightly better, with me going out around 3100 for a small $24 profit (top 8750 paid... what ridiculous numbers). Overall, a very laid-back extra-long weekend.

A quick story. I woke up around 3-something on Saturday afternoon. At 4:30 someone knocked at my door. I wasn't expecting anyone, but wandered over and looked through the peephole. Some guy I don't know with a suitcase. He either has the wrong place or is selling something. I either case, I don't feel like answering the door in my pajamas. I wait for him to leave. He keeps knocking. Finally, he turns to go and so do I. I guess he saw the shift in light through the peephole because he turned back around and started knocking again, and calling out "Hello? Hello?". He KEEPS knocking, and tries to open the door! Finally I throw open the door and ask "can I HELP YOU?"

"Oh! Oh shit. I'm sorry. I'm... I'm... xxxC?"

"Other building."

"Damn. Sorry. I'm sorry..."

"Yah, bye."

Door closed.

What the fuck? Nobody answers your incessant knocking and cries and you keep trying? There are three towers in my complex, and it didn't occur to you that you might have guessed wrong? How about asking at the front desk where you're supposed to go instead of randomly guessing? I'm just glad my door was locked.

One final thing. A standard joke in Toronto is to make fun of Buffalo always being on fire. Think the Springfield tire fire... that's what we think of when we think of Buffalo.

Except it's far less funny when it affects someone you know. We all know VinNay. He's fine, but his friend Jeff's place just burnt down. Details are on Vin's site and the site set up to help Jeff out. I know it'd be disasterous if I lost my place, but I'd be devestated if I lost my pets as well. Go take a look, and throw a couple bucks to a complete stranger who needs help. Fuck, to have that happen over the holidays too.