Christmas and what I'm into right now

Christmas has come and gone again, and I had a pretty good holiday.  I really hope that it is always a time of year that I look forward to and enjoy, instead of dread and fight through.  This year, I went down to Florida with Lana, and we got to hang out with both of our families. Christmas is a great time of the year, but I personally have a hard  time separating the commercial, consumerist, secular part of the holiday with the religious part.  And part of the reason it's hard for me is because giving gifts, watching Elf (which came out five years ago!), and decorating a tree are really great traditions.

Next year, I think I'd like to try and celebrate Epiphany, or Three Kings' Day.  These holidays focus on Jesus's birth, and do so in a more meaningful way.  And that way I can celebrate twice, and have a fun and meaningful holiday.  What do you think?

Among the cool things I got were some smart wool socks, Rabbit Angstrom, St Bernardus Christmas pack, and a sandwich maker.  Although I will enjoy most of my new toys, I am realizing more and more that my Christmas spending could be put to much better use.  In the future, I hope that my gifts given and received will be mostly charitable donations.

Some things I'm into right now:  I'm reading People's History of the US and A Prayer for Owen Meany.  I like the Pittsburgh Penguins but they're playing mediocre hockey.  I start a new job in a week.  I going to do the Philadelphia Triathlon.  I want to learn French, and Gran Torino was terrible film.  Discuss any and all of these with me.  See you soon.

I keep attempting to have a blog...

I remember one time when my friend Joshua said that too many blogs turn more into blah blah blah-gs.  For me, it's hard to find enough stuff to write about that keeps me and whoever may be reading equally engaged.  I'm going to give another go at it, in a form with little organization.  I want to still (try again to) write about new foods, restaurants, and beers that I try.  Maybe about some travel I have on the horizon.  And about whatever else is going on in my life. 

So to start that off, yesterday I finally received my job offer from Temple.  This is for a job that I was "supposed" to start on December 1st, and now I will be officially starting on January 5th.  Th extra month that I had off was really great.  People kept asking me what I was doing.  I finished the last Harry Potter book(LINK).  A few other books too.  I've been working on my French with Rosetta Stone, and the more challenging, and rewarding, Pimsuler(LINK).  I've watched a bunch of movies, had a lot of time to enjoy my wonderful girlfriend's cooking, and played a little too much NHL 2005 on the Gamecube.  During this time, I've really been the recipient of generosity from a lot of my close friends, and its a testament to how great these people are.

Some deats (my favorite slang for details) for my new job.  Eleven paid holidays, two weeks vacation, and ten sick days, give me a total of 31 paid days off.  And that's not even really the best part.  On Friday afternoon, I was offered the job.  Everything was being done over the phone.  They offered me a salary, and I asked for more, hoping that we could just settle on an amount in the middle.  So I asked for more, which meant the HR person I was talking to had to call the dean.  Because it was Friday afternoon and very close to the holiday, I knew that this might be difficult.  Further, I had to accept the job on Friday, because I needed to schedule a drug test and physical before I flew out of Philly on Monday morning, at 11:30.  I was getting anxious, and decided to call back and accept the initial offer.  This disicon was solidified by the fact that I called my old boss who told me there was almost no chance of me getting more than they offered.  I decided to accept the first offer on the phone with my mom, and about 15 seconds after I decided, they called on the other line and told me that I would have the full amount I asked for.  It was great!  All of my phone calls took place at the mall, while Lana was shopping for a dress.  The only shopping I did was to pick up Pan's Labyrinth, for $3.99.  Nice.