I've updated my Christmukah list a few times since I first posted it. I guess there are more reasonable items on it now. There are other things that I want, but some are things that I would rather just pick out myself, because I have really specific requirements (a new purse, for example). I would also really like to get my engagement ring fixed. A few weeks ago the band got bent (I have no idea how) almost to the point of breaking, so I haven't been wearing it, in case it were to break and get lost. I miss it. It feels weird to only wear my wedding ring. But we don't have the money to get it fixed right now, so it will have to wait.

We went to visit my family for Thanksgiving. It was nice to spend time with them, I just wish it could have been a longer visit. We'll get to stay a bit longer when we go for Christmas, so that will be nice. My sisters wanted to take me to see New Moon, but I still hadn't seen Twilight. So they decided it was imperative that we rent Twilight and then go see New Moon. This resulted in a bit of an adventure, because they were all out of the regular DVD's at Family Video. Linz got a Blue Ray, because we thought it might play on the Playstation, but it didn't (we have a PS2, not a PS3). So then they just decided to buy it at Wal-Mart. Well, there are three different versions available: the super-cheap, the widescreen, and the 2-Disc Special Edition. They were all out of everything but the Special Edition, which was three times as expensive as the super-cheap. But they got it anyway. So I got to see both movies back-to-back. They were better than I expected they would be.

I'm kind of excited, because in the process of updating my Christmukah list, I discovered that two of the books that I've been wanting to read (Inkdeath and Brisingr) are out in paperback, when I didn't think they would be yet. But they are, so now they're on my list. Maybe someone will get them for me... I also found out that Brisingr is no longer the last book in the Inheritance Cycle! There's going to be a fourth book! I like it when a series I love gets extended.

We finally sold our portable dishwasher today. It was good to get that out of storage. We still have a computer desk and desk chair that are up on craigslist. We're hoping to move into a smaller storage space in December, then post a few more items on craigslist. Maybe we'll be able to get out completely by the end of the year... That would be good.

I'll be glad when Kristoffer's semester is over. It will be nice to have him all to myself again, muahaha.

Our Christmas tree is up and decorated, which makes our apartment feel very festive. I really enjoy just sitting in the living room, basking in its glow. It's particularly nice with a mug of hot chocolate.

I was originally thinking I might start baking Christmas cookies today, but the day just got away from me somehow. Oh well. It will wait.

anything left on our Target or Macy’s registries
knee socks
money
spa day
tickets to a show (Broadway, Met, local, whatever)
A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire (The Wicked Years, Book 3) in paperback
Howl’s Moving Castle on DVD
plane tickets to either St. Louis, Charlotte, or Portland, ME
Chipotle gift card
full-size keyboard or electric piano
Anberlin albums Cities, Lost Songs and New Surrender
Guitar Hero for PS2 and guitar controller (used is okay!)
DDR for PS2 and dance pads (used is okay!)
Gregor and the Code of the Claw by Suzanne Collins (The Underland Chronicles, Book 5) in paperback
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke (The Inkheart Trilogy, Book 3) in paperback
Brisingr by Christopher Paolini (The Inheritence Cycle, Book 3) in paperback
new Sting Christmas album If On a Winter's Night


And that’s that.

Since my last entry, I’ve started working at Macy’s part-time. It’s not the greatest, and it’s certainly complicated my life, but I don’t mind the job too much. It certainly keeps me busy. Hence, no xanga entry for a while.

We’ve finally gotten the apartment in order, for the most part. Still a few boxes here and there, but it’s looking pretty good, all things considered. We’ve also been working on getting out of our storage space, and the progress has been good. We should be able to move into a smaller space soon, if nothing else, which will be a big improvement.

I’m looking forward to the coming short work week and the subsequent trip out to my parents’ for Thanksgiving. It will be good to see everyone and get some rest. I’ve been missing my family.

I guess I don’t have anything else interesting to say. Either I’m getting more boring or more forgetful.

*updated 12/3

Apparently miracles can happen.

Speaking of miracles, I had a song about them stuck in my head last night. It's the one from Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, "True Blue Miracle". Don't ask me how it got stuck there. The worst part was, I couldn't even figure out exactly what was stuck in my head for about the first hour. There weren't even words, it was just a half-correct version of the tune combined with that smarmy sound that Gordon gets when he sings. It drove me nuts until I finally figured out what it was. Then I still couldn't remember any of the words. Eventually, after some serious mental aerobics, I remembered the first line:

"I believe in miracles, and I can tell you why."

Then a little while later, the song's punchline hit me:

"And if that isn't a true blue miracle, I don't know what one is."

But I couldn't remember anything else after that. Finally today I broke down and googled the lyrics.

The internet is truly a wealth of knowledge beyond anyone's imagination. I mean, I'm a child of the internet age, and yet even I sometimes forget that no matter what my question is, no matter who I ask, the answer is probably more quickly and readily and exhaustively available online. An illustration:

When I googled the lyrics to "True Blue Miracle", not only did I find them in their entirety, but I also found out that what I had always thought of as "The 1993 Sesame Street Christmas Special" is actually a 1978 low-budget film called "Christmas Eve on Sesame Street". Granted, the only reason I thought it was 1993 is because it's on our family's series of VHS taped Christmas specials from that year. It never occurred to me that it could have been made a different year, because it was on that year's tape, and who questions their childhood logic about such things?

Incidentally, my sisters and I still watch those tapes every year at Christmastime, if at all possible. It's become something of a ridiculous tradition. They're barely watchable now. I mean, they're over 15 years old! But still, Christmas doesn't quite feel like Christmas unless we watch hour after hour of ancient Christmas specials of the grainiest quality.

Anyway. Not only did I find out that the special/film is older than I thought, I also discovered the existence of Muppet Wiki! I was amazed and thrilled. I mean, we're talking about the potential for endless hours of mindless clicking and poring. They have a "Random Muppet Character" feature, which you can just click and click and the fascination just goes on forever with characters like Minik Kus, a Turkish version of Big Bird, and Lenny the Lizard, who's sort of Kermit the Frog's sinister alter-ego.

Sigh. The genius of Jim Henson. Chronicled in exhaustive detail on a wikipage that has more than 19,000 articles. This, my friends, is the magic of the internet.