During these recent holidays the local news was encouraging people who drink not to drive while intoxicated. The talking heads urged us to take advantage of taxicabs, busses, and the local trolley system:
Screw the taxis and the trolleys. My drunk ass would want to be in that train that freakin’ jumps over the trolleys and busses! I mean, just look at that air time! Is Keanu Reeves the conductor? Yeee Hawww!
Whelp, this is it. The final post of 2009 is finally at hand. Where does the time go?
It’s been a long year, and hopefully you’ve had more ups than downs, and more smiles than frowns. I’ll be taking Friday off, so before the clock catches up to me, here’s wishing you and yours a very Happy New Year. Thanks for all of your visits, comments, and viewpoints. I hope to return the favor many times over in 2010!
Now, where did I put that Jack Daniels…
Just a quick note wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas! Here’s a tip o’ the glass to all of you:
I drove over to the local mall during lunch today, and as soon as I hit the parking lot I knew I had made a terrible mistake. As expected the traffic in the parking lot was bad, but that anticipated nightmare was compounded by the ingeniously positioned four-way stop near the entrance that, for whatever reason, people simply can not handle. When encountering such an obstacle it seems as if most people lose their minds and find it impossible to properly negotiate their way through.
Once past the intersection I had to find a parking spot. Thinking I’d be smart, I headed to the usually deserted upper deck of the parking structure, but was disheartened to discover that I wasn’t the only one taking this tact. It was so crowded that even the handi-capable people were parking up here and slowly ambling their way down the steep arterial decline that spills them to heart the mall.
Twenty minutes later I finally succeeded in locating a spot between a BMW with a fraternity sticker on the rear window, and what appeard to be a monster truck jacked up on steroids with mud flaps emblazoned with silhouettes of naked angel & devil women (what’s up with these anyway? Why do I see them all over nowadays?).
What happened next, as far as I can recall, was a blurry haze of frenzied shoppers, aggressive kiosk owners, dirty/greasy smells from the food court, overpriced crap far out of my budget, people standing in the middle of the aisles talking on their cell phones (are you idiots not aware of your surroundings?), hastily thrown together pop-up stores, cat calendars, near-subliminal advertising passively seeping through the overhead speakers, faded holiday decorations recycled from years past hanging in storefront windows, and an aching feeling in my bones that I’m simply being taking for another overhyped holiday joyride ride again.
And it seems, for yet another year, that I’m complaining about this. Pitiful…
Forgive me…I just had to vent. I think I’ll crack open a beer and settle down to a viewing of Inglorious Basterds. That should cheer me up and set me right.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there! I hope you enjoy your vacation away from work, your Thanksgiving feast (no matter how large or small), and the good cheer and company of family and/or friends. I’m going to take a well-deserved step back from the blog to enjoy this much needed downtime. I’ve been looking forward to catching up on some reading and hitting a few running trails. Will see you back here bright and early Monday morning.
In the meantime, if you’re running behind on your turkey cooking duties, might I suggest thermite?
