Snow Problem

Over the Christmas holiday Chicago got socked with several inches of snow.

I spotted this creepy rising-from-the-grave Snowmuppet while walking the dog near our place. It was not our dog who decorated the creation.

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Greenlit

We checked out the Lincoln Park Zoo's holiday light display.

While waiting for friends to park, we sat outside on some benches near the entrance and witnessed several people slip on the same patch of barely-visible ice. After a while we started warning people as they approached.

Such vocal precautions must be how people avoided ice-related injuries in the old days before salt was invented.

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Wrap Sheets

The same dining room table that served as a buffet just a week ago is now a gift-wrapping station.

Talking about best and worst Christmas presents, I recalled a particular gift I received several jobs ago from the group of architects for whose projects I provided administrative support. I returned from lunch to find an 8 oz. jar of dipping chocolate unwrapped but with a bow on top and, best of all, the $5.99 price tag still affixed.

I wasn't looking for anything from work colleagues, so the sentiment was considerate ... but the obviously thoughtless gesture was so much worse than getting nothing. Feigning sincere appreciation for the thing might have been the finest acting performance of my career.

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Season's Grazings

Hosted a brunch for the improv group on Sunday and it was a grand time. Mimosas were drained, eggbake was devoured and Secret Santa presents were exchanged.

When it came time to open my gift, I was puzzled to receive an envelope with my initials on it and a computer-burned DVD inside. The giver explained that this was a placeholder gift since the real one was (a) fragile and (b) with his parents on it's way from Ireland.

I immediately knew this meant a bottle of Paddy, a coveted brand of Irish whiskey that isn't marketed in the U.S. An outstanding gift indeed.

Quoth Arnie: "It was funny to watch your face go through the range of expressions at the DVD and then realizing what the real present was."

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Layers Club

Chicago officially welcomed its first blast of winter, but I actually don't mind the frigid temps.

I'm not a huge fan of the cold when I have to be outside walking dogs or waiting for an L train, but a good blast of arctic wind is good for making one feel alive. The energizing potential of Chicago's cold outweighs runny noses and icy toeses.

I definitely prefer extreme cold to extreme heat, but I appreciate that Chicago has such a seasonal swing. Brrrrrrrring it on!

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No Such Thing

Complimentary breakfast courtesy of our office building management company ... I could get used to this.

There's nothing quite like eating two of your three daily meals at the desk.

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No Grow

While the Christmas tree at home is thriving, the mini-version on my desk is non-existent.

Three weeks ago I paid $1.00 for this dopey thing at Target on the promise that a festive spruce branch would grow. Despite frequent waterings and plenty of (fluorescent) light, it refuses to germinate.

Christmas is pretty much ruined.

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Triviality

With two years of Pub Quiz hosting in my resumé, I was asked to run a Trivia Night for advertising clients of Comcast's Sports Networks.

The event went very well. Everyone seemed to have a good time and the winner was decided by a one point margin: in the final themed round that included an NFL team's name in every answer, a team responded "Urban Cowboy" when the correct answer was "Midnight Cowboy" ... a subtle but important distinction.

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Concrete Evidence

This thing appeared like a Moon monolith in front of the drug store next to us.

I'm not convinced it isn't the abandoned capsule of invaders from the distant cement planet Ozinga.

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Real Fir

In all my Christmases I don't recall having the tree up and decorated before December, which makes this year an exception.

Inspired by our previous decorating and looking to maximize our tree dollar, Brooke and I selected a tree and adorned it with the usual accoutrements. This activity offers the rare opportunity to ask questions like "Should the fish go next to the snowflake or near the pickle?".

Afterwards we relaxed with some wine and celebrated another late November ritual, watching the Bears' post-season chances evaporate.

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Thanks Given

Did Thanksgiving with Brooke's family and friends out in the Western suburbs and all was delightful. Started early with a soup course, then broke for some board games and football-watching.

Since Brooke's mom already has a dog, I was nervous about bringing both of ours (Chewbacca, who we adopted in September and Linus, who we've been fostering since late October) but they did fairly well ... except for one incident:

Jim: Guys? I think one of the dogs had an accident on the rug upstairs.
Nan: Uh-oh ... number 1 or number 2?
Jim: Jesus, I have no idea which dog did it.

Soon after the mess was cleaned, we dug into turkey and stuffing. For being a strict vegetarian, Brooke's mom is one hell of a good preparer of meat dishes she'll never get to enjoy.

Dinner was followed by a game of boys vs. girls Trivial Pursuit in which the menfolk barely eked out a victory after taking nearly an hour to roll our way into the elusive center space. I was given an MVP award for the Entertainment category queries for answering a few reeeeeeeally specific movie questions like "In The Usual Suspects, what character was played by Chazz Palminteri?" and "If Vincent reads Modesty Blaise, what's the film?" ... the answers are David Kujan and Pulp Fiction, respectively.

[huffs on fingernails, polishes on jacket lapel]

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Fam Club

I took off work Wednesday to run a few errands in the suburbs and hang with my family since we'll be with Brooke's all day on Thanksgiving. It's nice to be out in the suburbs if just to be reminded that not everywhere (nor everyone) is as dense as our far North Side neighborhood of Edgewater.

Much of the day was spent playing with my high-voltage nephew Jackson, who here demonstrates the art of coloring while wearing an as-seen-on-TV 'Ove' Glove.

The highlight of our playtime involved Lincoln Logs:

Me: [builds small-but-impressive cabin]
Jack: [knocks over afforementioned cabin] "I'm sorry Johnpee I didn't mean to knock over your house."

Repeat.

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We Be Deckin'

This weekend's trip to put some stuff in the storage locker turned into a mission to bring all the holiday gear upstairs, which turned into us setting out Christmas decorations five days before Thanksgiving.

No tree yet, but a variety of holiday-inspired items are now shedding glitter and/or needles onto most of the flat surfaces in our living room and dining room.

Also: 2009 marks the first year I'll ask unironically "Should we use the Christmas dishes?"

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Fall Back

So I've returned to blogging. This time with a slightly more permanent address and, I hope, a better discipline for keeping the thing updated.

The above photo was taken outside a nearby garden and craft store called Gethsemane. They're very knowledgeable when it comes to helping you put together an outdoor flower box in the spring, but starting in November it becomes a Christmastastic boutique packed with expensive ornaments and decorations. I don't mind going a couple times per year but Brooke loves to linger there, picking up every item and requesting my validation that it is, in fact, cute.

Totally cute. Supercute.

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