Christmas Part 1 – 2 - 3

Wow, am I behind on this old section of the internets.  Well, time to play some quick catch-up I presume.

So, this year, we had 3 Christmases.

1. Christmas Eve at my sister's house
2. "Our Family Christmas" with just the 3 of us on the 28th
3. New Year's Eve at my sister-in-law's new house in the Seattle area.

Christmas #1

My family does "Christmas" on Christmas Eve.  Always have.  That's when the big group party is.  Then Christmas Day is a much lower key thing.  We drove down there on the morning of Christmas Eve and had a good visit with my mom & dad.  We then went over to my sister's house (about 10 miles away) for the party.

We ate, talked, Cora met my brother's wife & son who she had never met before, and exchanged some gifts.  We did the "draw one person's name" thing this year, and it went well.  There was a $25 limit, and I think everybody was happy with it, for the most part.

Then it was game time!

My sister split us into teams of two, and we plaid a number of "Minute to Win It" type games.  They are harder than they look on TV, and we had to ditch some, and alter others, but you can't help but laugh at someone trying to use their facial muscles to move an Oreo from their forehead into their mouth.

Christmas day was low key, but that evening, we went to a local park that puts up a decent Christmas light display for a town on 20,000.

	The park features a cute little iron and wood bridge over the central pond.  I've fished for bluegills off that bridge in my youth.
	Another view of the bridge, reflected in the pond.
	And here is my lovely wife on said bridge.
	OMG!  It's the Claus Ness Monster!
	And then I started playing with the exposure setting on my camera, taking some long exposure photos of a string of lights…
	And a tree full of red lights to make it look on fire…
	Some reindeer moving at warp speed!
	And speaking of warps, I love this little time warp effect running down the tunnel.

Christmas #2

Was a quiet little affair.  In the morning, we opened our stockings.  Then, after a break where I went to work all day (*sigh*), we opened our presents.  I was too busy living in the moment to take any pictures, and am too lazy to steal any of my wife's pictures.  So if you want to read her account, go HERE.

Christmas #3

We flew out to the Pacific Northwest on the 30th.  I took a day off so that we could catch an earlier flight, and that worked out extremely well, as we got out there in time to actually visit with the family when the plane landed, and not just going to sleep.

On New Year's Eve, we went to the house that my SIL's family & my MIL will all be buying together and moving into shortly for a super-combo celebration of Christmas/New Year's/Birthdays.

A good time was had by all.  Because there was cake.

We also visited Callista, her husband, and their dog, Moose, who as you can see, is the "Tennis Ball Terror Terrier of Tulalip".  But otherwise, a cool dog.

Later in the visit, we all went to downtown Seattle to Pike Place Market, where we saw some über creepy ventriloquist dummies.  The guy in the store was twisting and moving their heads so they looked like they were tracking you!  (For those of you with clown phobias, try getting Bozo there out of your noggin tonight as you go to sleep.)
  
And then right up the street, there was another place that puts dolls on display.  They actually had some pretty good signs, I must admit.

But, before we knew it, it was time to head back home.  And I think we got out of there just in time!  The storms came in, the trees came down, and the power went out.  It looks like things are slowly returning to "normal", but the new house that they are buying has been without power for over a week.

I think someone better get a visit for the Auxiliary Generator Faerie before next winter!

Mine! Mine! Mine!

In the winter, there's a strange tradition in Chicago that takes over after a decent snowfall.  It's called "Dibs".

It's basically the idea that if you shovel out your parking spot after a snowfall, you should get the spot when you come back home.  Sounds fair, right?

And then it goes to the extreme.

I get it for a quick run to the store the day after a decent snow.  3 days after a 6" snow?  Put your crappy old kitchen chairs and milk crates back in your garage.  You're embarrassing yourselves, here.

But, I guess if you leave your wife sitting out in the chair, and she's got THAT look on her face waiting for you to get back, well, go for it, big guy.

Do any any other cities have this type of thing?  I'm lucky that I've got a garage spot in my condo (if "lucky" means having a separately deeded parking space with its own mortgage) so that I don't really have to deal with it.

Virtual Sunday Part 2 Cinema

Okay, I know today is really only "Virtual Sunday Part 2" for those of us with the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday off, but since I don't get another holiday until Memorial Day*, I'm going to enjoy it.

Before we head out to see "Beauty and the Beast 3D" in a few minutes, I thought I would share this little number with you:

I was pretty surprised they didn't have a "MySpace" joke or "I didn't see you last night on AIM" or something like that, though.  And why isn't there a shot of him at a football game, wearing a Snuggie, exclaiming how great they are?

Do I have to start making my own videos now?

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* For those of you in the South, that would be the day honoring the Union dead in the War of Northern Aggression.  My old roommate used to work for a national company based in Atlanta, and they did not get that day off as a paid holiday.

Would You Eat…

Sushi from Walgreens?

That's what I said, "Sushi from Walgreens".  Seriously?  Sushi.  Walgreens.

Or drink a smoothie?

Get a makeovers or manicure?

Yesterday, Walgreens opened up a "Flagship Store" in Chicago.

I'll let that sink in for a second.

A fancy, up scale Walgreens flagship store.

Here's a LINK to the story in case you're interested.

The funny thing is, when I saw the signs announcing that a Walgreens was going into that location, I laughed.  When I got my first job in Chicago, I worked about a block and a half down State St. from where this store is going in.  (Today, I work a good 2.5 blocks away.)  And the place was a Walgreens back then.

And it was a shithole.  An absolute shithole.

It was there for about 80 years, then they knocked it down in 2005 and put up a fancy building with a Loehmann's store.  But that closed, and now Walgreens is moving back in.

 
On the map above, I have marked the location with a "W", and you can see by the other pushpins and red dots on the map, they desperately needed a Walgreens in that location. Someone might have to walk 2 whole blocks to get to one.

That's not drugstores.  That's Walgreens.  There are also a handful of CVS's in the Loop, too.

And thankfully none of the others offer sushi (that I'm aware of).

And if they do, I'm still not eating it.

Happy New Year - 2012!

I know I'm jumping the gun a little.

We're going to be celebrating both Christmas (part 3) and New Year's this weekend.  Pictures and stories to follow.

Have a happy and safe one out there, people, and hope you have an awesome 2012!

(Screw you, Mayans! 2012 is gonna rock!)

A Moving Tale of Trust for Christmas*

In 1986, Mkele Mbembe was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University. On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed distressed, so Mbembe approached it very carefully. He got down on one knee and inspected the elephant's foot and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it.

As carefully and as gently as he could, Mbembe worked the wood out with his hunting knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot. The elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments.

Mbembe stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away. Mbembe never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.

Twenty four years later, Mbembe was walking through the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago with his teenaged son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Mbembe and his son Tapu were standing.

The large bull elephant stared at Mbembe, lifted its front foot off the ground, then put it down. The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.

Remembering the encounter in 1986, Mbembe couldn't help wondering if this was the same elephant. Mbembe summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder. The elephant looked at Mbembe as if could see straight into his soul.

The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Mbembe's legs and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly.

Probably wasn't the same elephant.

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* Yes, this is a repeat of from the last three Christmases.  But I have to keep up the tradition.  And Lincoln Park Zoo hasn't had elephants for a few years now.

I hope you are had / are having a very merry Christmas.

Larry & Sarah – Christmas Wrap-Up

Okay, people, I know this is gonna break your hearts, but this is gonna be the last of Larry & Sarah for a while.  But don't worry, people, like Frosty the Snowman, they'll be back again someday.

 

And here's a repeat of their conversation last year.

Have yourself a Merry Christmas.  I not be posting tomorrow, but there will be a little gem going out on Christmas day.

And for those of you wondering, I had a great birthday, surrounded by love, presents, and some tasty Mexican food washed down with a couple of adult beverages.

Larry & Sarah – Christmas Cheer On My Birthday

Hey, another lap completed!

Happy birthday to me.  We are going out for a nice dinner tonight.

Hope THAT doesn't happen tonight!  ;-)

And just remember, one more lap, and the Mayans wave the checkered flag on this race.

Larry & Sarah – A Two-Fer Wednesday

Things have kind of piled up around here, so it's time for me to double up on your dose of everybody's favorite Christmas couple, Larry & Sarah:

It's a question we've always wondered…

And a two-fer in a two-fer!

Hope you are all having a great holiday season.  I'm really enjoying it.  Tomorrow's my birthday.  We're going out for Mexican.

A Real Post – A Good Sunday

Last Sunday, (not this most recent one, but the one before it) was a pretty fun day around here.

The morning started off early.  We drove over to the zoo and found some free parking right outside the gate.  From there, we were going to take the bus into down town, and then back to the zoo later.  I drove over there, so that when we were done with the zoo, we could just come home, and not have to deal with waiting for a bus.

The instant I parked the car, our bus showed up.  Running on a Sunday schedule, we figured it would be a while before another one came along.  "Hurry!  Bus!" I tried shouting to the child in an effort to get her to move toward the bus stop.  But the words must have come out, "Take your time.  Put on you fingerless gloves.  Decide whether or not to bring your water bottle with you.  You have all the time in the world."

Standing at the cold bus stop, we were lucky that the next bus came along in only about 8 minutes, to whisk us down town.  We were heading into the city for two reasons:

1. To show Wednesday the opening ceremony at the Disney Store.
2. To get pictures taken with Santa.

The Disney Store opened at 11:00, so we went into Macy's (henceforth called "Field's" in the rest of this post) first.

 
If you haven't been to Marshall Field's in Chicago at Christmas time, let me tell you, they go all out.  Inside and out is done very nicely and very tastefully.  They always do the animated window displays, and the whole place is decorated very nicely.

Once we got into the store, we headed up to the 8th floor?  Furniture?  No, silly, the 8th floor has a great spot where you can look out over their fancy dining room, The Walnut Room, while people enjoy the holiday tradition of having lunch by the beautiful tree.  (FYI – It's not a walnut tree.)

After scouting out the tree in the Walnut room, we headed down stairs to see how long the line for Santa was going to be.  RE-DIC-U-LOUS, and it was only 10:00!

Sigh.

We prowled around the store a bit more before heading across the street to the Disney Store to get good seats for the opening ceremony.  The entrance to the store is inside a mall type building, so the 3 of us grabbed a bench and waited.

As part of the ceremony, a few "cast members" as the employees are called, ask a young member of the audience to turn a key in an oversized lock, unlocking their imagination, causing the velvet ropes to fall and the store to be declared open.  Well, the cast member hoisting the oversized key above her head didn't imagine that a 5 foot long key would have any trouble going through a 4 foot wide door until "DONG!" and both ends hit their respective sides of the door frame, causing her to rebound slightly back into the store before rotating the key to fit through the opening and on to the ceremony.

Hopefully, the other cast members are still teasing her about it.

Afterwards, we went over to the Christkindlmarket in Daley Plaza.  It's a traditional German style market on the plaza.  We stopped in there to see if the Christmas tree that we have this year was a bad as they were suggesting mocking on the radio.  (Hint: Oh yeah!)  And we had some roasted cashews and while we were looking around, saw a relatively short line for a pictures with Santa.

FREE. PICTURES. WITH. SANTA.

Not the best resolution in the world, but it was a pretty nice Santa setup.

After the picture, we headed over to Field's to eat at their basement restaurant Infileds.  (Note: It ain't called "Inmacys").  After a very nice meal, we bought some fudge with one of the gift cards we've had for a while, did a little shopping on State Street, then hopped the 151 (aka the "Bacardi Bus") back to the zoo.

Wednesday's Biology teacher assigned her class a project where they needed to go to the zoo and observe some of the animals that were outside in the winter.  With all the traveling that we'll be doing soon, we thought we'd better knock off the visit as soon as possible.

We had a blast at the zoo.

We saw my favorites, the seals…
 

And both types of leopards: Snow and regular.

But the real treat.  Correction, the realest treat was hanging out having a great day with my family.  The second realest treat was Zoo Lights.  They light up the zoo, and it's pretty awesome.

As the sun set and it started getting dark, but not dark enough to enjoy the lights, we retreated to the warmth of the car, conveniently parked right outside the front gate.  As we sat there, engine running, the girls changed coats and reviewed the pictures for the project while Christmas music played on the radio.  And the vultures lined up for our parking space.

Free parking over there is somewhat limited, so people were lining up, one after another to see if we were pulling it.  First it was annoying.  Then it got funny.  Then it got annoying again, so we shut down the car and headed back into the zoo for the lights.

Here are some pictures.

 

 

 

No, that's no one we know in silhouette. 

It forever for us to get this penguin picture.  There was a lady who sort of wanted to get her kid's pictures taken by it, but the kid really wasn't interested, so she stood there for like 5 minutes as the line kept growing, oblivious to anything but her darling son, wandering aimlessly around the statue.  Never once barking instructions to him to just stand there and look at mommy like I would have gotten.  No, she was more interested in nurturing his natural curiosity about the world around him while she totally ignored the world around here.  Just as I was getting ready to loose my Christmas cheer, they wandered off and we got this shot.

And we got to see a sleeping gorilla up close and personal and thankfully behind some very think glass.
 

And here's a little video I shot of the light show…

and it stars Dancer & Prancer.

Snow Goons!

Just a little Sunday funny while you try to wrap that final present.

Larry & Sarah – Better Than A Christmas Tree

Well, it's Friday, and Larry and Sarah take the gloves off for this round.

"How are a man/woman better than a Christmas tree?"

Have a good weekend everyone and get those presents wrapped.

Larry & Sarah – Santa Is Coming To Town

Continuing with the outtake from Larry's Interview with Sarah:

Yeah, it's an old joke, and?

Larry & Sarah – Getting Frosty

Once again, the couple that is sweeping the internet: Larry & Sarah.

Yeah, you just saw that.

I HAVE NO SHAME!

Larry & Sarah – Happy Holidays

Hey all, we at Scope-Tech have gotten our hands on some out-takes from a recent Larry King / Sarah Palin Christmas interview.  Over the next two weeks, we'll do our best to bring you there worst.  And who knows, maybe I'll even get around to writing a real post soon, catching you up on all the coming and goings and shenanigans around here.

Hope that all of you are enjoying the wonderful holidays.

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Editor's Note:  And in a effort at full disclosure, I got Larry's rant from the internet.  It's not original.