Ginger Babies

Christmas Eve afternoon was spent with my goddaughter and her brothers. They were visiting from St. Louis for a few days, and we all met up for some cheesesteaks.

(myself and Adrienne)

(books for Ethan)

The newest baby, Lucah, was fascinated with my brothers and their facial hair. Just when you thought he had enough of one, he was distracted by another.

(One of these days, Alice! Bang! Zoom!)

And of course it would not be a proper visit without my sister:

Fresh Pots

Thanks to my brothers, this video has taken over my life. Even my father has been walking around yelling, "Fresh Pots!!"

He doesn't know what he's talking about. My cousin heard him and asked me why my dad was talking about pot.

This video is not about pot.

I Want to be Friends with Mindy Kaling

Today I finished  "Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)" by Mindy Kaling* And now I want to be her friend. I might've felt this way after finishing Tina Fey's book, but, let's be honest, Tina Fey intimidates me. 


Yes, a woman who writes fart jokes for a living and flawlessly impersonates female vice presidential candidates intimidates me. I think this is mainly because she's won the Mark Twain Prize, and I forget the punchlines to most jokes.


Anyway, if you enjoy laughing and humorous observations about life, then you will enjoy this book. If you don't enjoy laughing....well, I really don't know what to say to you. 


But be warned: this book made me laugh out loud. On the train. Except that most people on my train now think I have tuberculosis because I tried to disguise my hysterical and publicly inappropriate laughter by coughing.




*Disclaimer: Yes, I know this book came out circa November. But I personally just got it from my library because the wait was freakishly long. I cannot buy books in hardback because that is a luxury that few Emglish majors who put themselves through school can afford. All of my hardback books are actually used.

Happy New Year!

Hank wishes everyone a Happy New Year! Today he's on tv!

Just kidding. Hank really goes for the pun-based humour.

Packing Material

I never have the proper packing material. Some people send me things with those fancy air cushions in between the items (or bubble wrap around everything). But I never have bubble wrap; if I've sent anyone a gift with an air cushion it's only because I received an air cushion filled box from Amazon.com the day before. Instead I mainly use newspaper, tissue paper, or a really small box that won't allow items to shift.


I recently bought some Christmas sweets from Etsy, and the sender clearly had the same shipping tendencies as myself. In lieu of an air cushion was the following crumpled up shopping bag (an idea I'll be using in the future). However, this was a shopping bag that attempted to brighten up one's day by evoking a classic (read: corny) joke:

Original Joke as told to me by one Liz L. in college:
Q: What do you call cheese that isn't yours?
A: Nacho cheese


We're here all week, ladies and gentlemen. Try the veal!

Sadness

One of the BEST people and grandfathers ever. You will be missed a ton.

Kindle vs. An Actual Book

The subject of an e-reader vs. a book made from paper is something I've talked about before. But it's something that presents itself once again due to my friends having them and my constant dilemma of trying to decide which books to take on work trips and vacations. Sometimes this quandary is not too intense, but this is only when I have a stack of New Yorker issues that I need to catch up on. However, this is not always the case.


I am not the only one. This short post on one of my favourite sites touches on a lot of the same reasons why I cannot break down and get one (or ask for one for Christmas/birthdays/graduation).


I recently put this choice in the hands of fate. Except Fate was an elderly lady with a Boston accent. She was walking around the convention hall where I was trying to give away copies of some environmental science journals, and she asked me to take a survey about the convention center. If I took it, I would be automatically entered to win an e-reader. I took the survey with mixed feelings. I didn't really want an e-reader, but I did want to take the survey on her fancy-schmansy iPad. 


Maybe the real question is this: forget the e-reader, do I secretly want an iPad?