7 Things

My friend the mechanic asked me to do this, so I thought I would give it a try. The idea, apparently, is to make a list of 7 random things that people may, or may not, know about me.

I don't know if there are that many things that the 1 or 2 readers of this blog don't already know about me, but, like I said, I'm going to give it a try.

1.) I am completely color-blind. This effects a lot of things you wouldn't think about. The obvious ones, like putting together outfits, and pointing someone out in a crowd ("That guy in the blue shirt" is always met with a blank stare). However, nighttime driving is always and adventure. If I'm driving with Bibi, it's not unusual to hear me interrupt her mid-sentence with, "Red or yellow?" This is always in reference to the flashing stoplight that we are approaching. Another one, one that I don't even think Bibi knows about is our toothbrushes. Mine is a blue one, and Bibi's is pink. I can't tell which one is which without comparing them, which has led to more than a couple close calls.

2.) My appreciation of Frank Sinatra began Thanksgiving my Junior or Senior year in high school. I was watching a PBS special with my Uncle Steve at my Aunt Anne's annual Chilli dinner. It was about Sinatra's Duets CD, which was the first one I ever bought. I know have something like 20 CDs, and three albums. He still swings.

3.) I am anal-retentive beyond any comprehension by the casual observer. My CD's are still (mostly) alphabetized by genre (although since I don't really listen to CD's anymore I don't know how accurate they REALLY are), my records are alphabetized, my DVD's are alphabetized with a separate section for the tv shows, and my clothes are organized in such a way that I put all clothes that have been recently washed behind the clothes that havnen't been worn, so that I don't wear things more frequently. (It doesn't always work out that way, as I have one or two shirts that I almost never wear, and one or two that I love and therefore wear more often.) However, as I was telling Bibi a few days ago, my system on the iPod has gotten much more relaxed. For about two years now it has been my mission to "shuffle" manually all of the songs that I have rated 4 or 5 stars. (That's roughly 4, 596 songs.) Up until last May, I was on track to doing that. (Which meant a ridiculous amount of work and discipline in listening to the iPod; I couldn't necessarily listen to what song came up, if I had listened to a song on the same album, or by the same artist within the previous 9 songs. I know. Anal, no?) Anyway, last May Bibi's computer, the one with iTunes on it, broke down. Things kept on track for a while, but then the lack of "updates" made it so that the iPod kept stalling out on me. I have now been listening to any old artist of song that I want to for about two weeks and it's surprisingly freeing. (Mainly Bob Dylan and the Who, although Townes Van Zant and Jeffrey Foucault were in the mix for a couple of days last week.)

So, I'm getting better.

4. Bibi and I LOVE 7th Heaven. It's on from 5-7 Monday through Friday, and we make it a special point to watch at least one of those episodes. We really get into it. Cheesy as all heck, but darn it, that's good television. (I even tried whisper-talking like they do on the show, but I'm just too loud.)

5.) I am cutting down on coffee. At one time, a couple of years ago, I was up to two pots a day. About a month ago, I realized that the 12 cups a day might NOT be the most healthy choice I could make. So, I have cut down one cup every week, and I am now to around three cups a day. And, I am drinking lots of water while at work, which is awesome. (Coffee intake CAN be related to cold sores, and the one I have right now didn't even fully develop, which is awesome.)

6.) When Tim Russert died last May I took it really hard. Bibi and I watch Meet the Press and This Weekend with George Stephanopolous every weekend, and so Tim Russert dying really was like losing a friend. It was horribly cheesy, but I told Bibi sometime that weekend (he died on a Friday) that we had invited him into our home every week for almost two years, and it was going to be a strange and difficult process. What can I say, we like our political discussions.

7.) My marble project. Three weeks ago I began Grace's marble jar. I counted out the number of Saturdays between then and when Gracie turns 18, (864 of 'em) and placed that many glass stones in a big jar. Each Saturday before I go to bed, I take on out, recognizing that I will never get that Saturday back. It's been a really special reminder that the time I have with my little girl is finite, and that I need to make the best of what I have with her. Yesterday, I told Bibi that I wanted to change the project a little. I am going to be keeping all of those stones, and I'm going to give them to Grace on her 18th birthday, as a present; a reminder of all of those days that we had together for when she goes to college.

All right, that's all. I guess I'm supposed to tag some people, but I honestly don't know who all reads this, or if they have a blog or not. So...uh, if you are reading this, and if you have a blog, leave me a comment saying so, and then go do this too. (It was surprisingly hard and fun.)

All right, Happy Monday everyone!

Tommy

The Magic of Christmas

Yesterday was the Sunday after Thanksgiving. As a long standing personal tradition, it was also the day that marks the beginning of the Christmas season for me: I start listening to nothing but Christmas music, I put up my Christmas tree, and in general start thinking about what I should be doing to get ready for Christmas as far as presents for family and friends.

This is all quite new to my wife, as she was raised Sikh, and Christmas was not a part of her tradition.

This year has been somewhat different than usual. I am almost done with my Christmas shopping, for one thing, and I started listening to some Christmas music about a week or so ago. (It was a huge change for me, believe that...) However, I just wasn't quite feeling up to putting up the tree and the decorations. Until, that is, I woke up yesterday morning, to find a layer of beautiful white snow blanketing the ground. Then, I was pretty much ready to go.

So, after breakfast yesterday morning with the in-laws (which consisted of chocolate, coconut, and pumpkin pie!!) and a quick game of Taboo, Bibi, Grace and I headed back to our house to get started. Grace fell asleep along the way, and so Bibi and I made the multiple trips down to the basement to bring up our tree, ornaments, stockings, lights, and various other necessities. I put on the Christmas Music playlist on random, Bibi warmed up some hot cocoa, and we got out a plate of fudge cookies to munch on. Leo, tired from playing with his girlfriend Molly, fell fast asleep on his bed.

The tree went up quickly, the lights were strung up without difficulty, and the ornaments looked beautiful as the went on, one-by-one. We cleared off a prominent place for my Nativity Scene, and it was around this time that little Gracie awoke from her mid-day slumber. She came out of her room, and immediately wanted to be cuddled by Bibi. However, after a little mama-time, Gracie soon realized that there was something different in our living room. She spent the next four hours or so laughing and giggling and "oohing" and "ahing" at our tree. She was standing on the couch, reaching over the arm pointing to various ornaments, and blowing kisses to the gingerbread men. At one point, Bibi turned to me and said, "You know, they say that that children bring out the Magic of Christmas." And, even though this isn't Grace's first Christmas "technically", it really kind of is.

However, the best part for me was when I was putting our dinner in the oven, and Bibi was carrying Grace around the kitchen, telling her what all I was doing. Grace's attention was drawn to the Nativity Scene, and in particular the baby Jesus. Bibi started describing how Christmas-time is when we celebrate Jesus' soul coming to earth, and how this was a wonderful thing for all of humanity. Grace's reaction to the baby Jesus was priceless. She started cooing, and laughing her sweet little laugh, and all she wanted to do was hold the little baby Jesus figure. Her eyes got really big, and she just kept making this unbelievably magical sounds, as she marveled at the little statue in her hands.

It really is beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

(Sorry, that was cheesy.)

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy