Gong xi fa cai! (...hong bao na lai of course, for those of you in the know.)
Happy Year of the Dog! While Chinese New Year is steeped in tradition, I don't do too many of them. The boys were happy to get their lucky money in red envelopes (who wouldn't be?), and we'll have a nice dinner tonight. (Should have been last night really. My oyster po' boy at the Seattle Yacht Club last night wasn't very traditional.)
According to ChineseAstrology.com, the Dog is loyal, tenacious, and watchful. 2006 should be a good year for international justice and righting of wrongs. I think we could all use some of that.
More from ChineseAstrology.com:
What to avoid in 2006:
- Guilt-trips (would have/ should have/ could have's)
- Pity-parties (I'll just sit here in the dark by myself)
- Pride ("cutting off one's nose to spite the face")
- Hanging on to dead-end anything (from relationships to clutter)
- Excessive worrying
- Panic (and it's ugly sisters -- anxiety and worry)
What to hold on to in 2006:
- A cause or special purpose
- Old friends who have stood the test of time
- Your Principles
- The Family Circle
The Dog year and those under it's influence are protectors of morals and defenders of the weak. Causes, revolutions and human-rights are on the agenda for the Dog year. The watchful Dog keeps us one step ahead of those who would harm us. However, while a single dose of anticipation is healthy, a double dose can be toxic and result in paranoia, expecting problems around every corner and jumping to conclusions throughout 2006.
Parents can expect to pull their offspring out of a scuffle or two this year. In like kind, these same parents may have to exercise herculean self-control at the workplace when the office bully flexes their muscles. Loyalty in relationships becomes more important than ever this year and best results are achieved by taking the high road in any given situation. Best results are acheieved when worry is transformed into advance thinking and planning.
OK, so now you know. Go have a good year and be safe out there.
What an amazing win the Seattle Seahawks had over the Carolina Panthers today! It's hard to believe the Hawks are going to the Super Bowl. Awesome, awesome, awesome...
This parody video is just wrong... and very funny. NSFW (depending on where you work, I suppose.)
I've been tagged by Chris (who was tagged by Lara) to list five weird habits of mine. As Chris explains, there are some rules that apply to said tagging.
The first player of the game starts with the topic,
Last night, a guest of ours told us about a little problem she had at her house. She went into her bathroom one morning and found a rat in the toilet! She scooped him out and set him free. Well, it happened again. This time she called the county, who sent someone over to get it and kill it. Apparently, rats come up through the sewer into toilets frequently enough to keep this guy employed full time. Scary.
His advice, keep flushing until the rat goes away. Scare me.
If that's not enough to spook you, here's video.
Just thought I'd take a moment out of our morning to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. We all got tons of goodies (including a Lensbaby for me!) Michelle and I have been helping undo packaging (when did everyone start using twist ties and clear rubber bands to bind toys to the packages?!), install batteries (and more batteries), and put cardboard boxes into the recycling bin.
Everyone is enjoying their new stuff and hanging out together. Hope you're having fun too.
What did Santa bring you?
I was editing our Christmas card list today (well, really our New Year's card list since we're so late) and had a sad, new experience: I crossed off the name of someone who died this year. I've never had to do that before, and it made me sad.
I blogged about the word craptacular a while back and how it applied to the Christmas lighting displays in my neighborhood. However, now that I see this lighting display, I see the true meaning of craptacular.
Here are the details from the email in which I received the links.
This display was the work of Carson Williams of Mason, Ohio, who spent about three hours sequencing the 88 Light-O-Rama channels that control the 16,000 Christmas lights in his 2004 holiday lighting spectacular. The musical accompaniment is broadcast over a low-power radio station so that it is only audible to visitors tuned in to the correct frequency and doesn't disturb the neighbors.
Check them out:
http://www.bartontech.com/funstuff/jingle.wmv
http://members.cox.net/transam57/lights.wmv
It's very thoughtful of Carson to not disturb his neighbors by having the music play over the low-power radio station. Of course, the flashing lights all night, the cars driving by slowly, and the fluxating power for weeks on end wouldn't be annoying at all.
Simply amazing.
I struggle with self-control. It's true. Mostly, I win the fight to keep my demons at bay, but this weekend I've let them win two nights in a row (as you can see from the almost 3:00am blog post).
Last night, I played Advance Wars 2 Black Hole Rising (a Nintendo Gameboy game) until 3:00am. I had kicked the habit for a long time, but Michael (5) innocently handed me his Gameboy and asked me to finish his game of Advance Wars since he was going to be. (Actually, he gave me my Gameboy back. He dropped his in the toilet accidently a while back. Turns out they're not real waterproof.) Next thing I know, it's 3:00am; I had finally vanquished the evil Black Hole forces on some stupid map. It's actually remarkable how they're able to make such a fun, playable turn-based strategy game on a Gameboy screen. The guys love it, and I guess so do I. Still, I felt dumb being up at 3:00am playing this game, especially since it's not the first time this has happened. I'm staying away from Age of Empires 3 for this very reason (even though I have it installed now. Must. Not. Give. In.
This evening, I watched almost the entire second season of Battlestar Galactica. I swore I'd only watch one or two episodes, but the new BSG is so very good that I got sucked in. Eight episodes (read: eight hours minus commercials) later, I'm a wasted wreck. I loved the original BSG too, but I was in elementary school. The new BSG is way better -- serious and dark with very human characters and slick Cylons. Nonetheless, I feel dumb again for being up so late dong something silly.
It's a good thing that I get no kick from champagne and that mere alcohol doesn't thrill me at all (although the last of my Highland Park this evening was delightful. Easily one of my favorite whiskies.) I'd be a sodden wreck if I had as little self-control in that regard. Anymore, that is.
