Crazy People Around Xmas Time!

So my friend's very innocent holiday wishes to everyone (that covers all religions and even the non-religious) had surely unexpectedly spiral into this discussion between me and her distance cousin.

All I said was "happy holidays" that started the little argument. Totally living up to the (fanatic) Christians' intolerant and hateful stereotype. Her obviously not-so-bright cousin expressed that us atheists taking Xmas off is like a slap on their face. What the hell? It's a public/firm holiday, I sure as hell is not going in to work. Had I have an hourly job, my employer (except for certain retail establishments) would probably deter me from going in so they don't have to pay me overtime. My point is: why is it a slap on their face that we have the day off? It's a PUBLIC holiday. If you really want to argue the separation of church and state, we should remove that as a public holiday, then the believers and non-believers can choose whether to take Christmas off. But would they like that? Noooo, because it's a Christian holiday. (Frankly, I would not want that either. I'm not the grinch who hates Christmas. I have long associated December 25th with pretty lights, trees, festivity, food, and, of course, lots and lots of presents. Funny how I wasn't the one all bitter here.)

The cousin, as it follows most discussion/argument with (fanatic) Christians start to lose grammar, punctuation, (surprisingly the spelling held up) and of course, logic. It turned into personal attack (from him to me) shortly -- calling me a devil-worshipper. Really? That's the worst thing you can come up with? It's really not that offensive as I believe in neither Christ nor devil.

The "discussion" turned into bizarre attack about how I didn't come from my parents (as usual, all logics are gone) and my sarcasm was completely lost and my friend completely embarrassed by the behavior of her cousin, I decided it's not worth my time anymore.

Just to blow off steam here, on my own anonymous blog. :) Shit! Me having Christmas OFF is a slap on their face? What are they? Masochists? I don't feel that their bizarre and simplistic belief is a slap on my face. I do, however, find it revolting by those who insist on shoving their believes down my throat. Yes, you are a believer, good for you, but must you integrate that into every conversation? I don't jump onto my soapbox and announce that I am an agnostic every chance I get.

And, totally ironic, or not so ironic, I tried to explain that being an agnostic, I don't believe the truth of the universe is comprehensible. And that concept was completely incomprehensible to him. Evidently that made me "not come from my parents and grandparents." Really? Do I really want to stoop down to that level and continue with that conversation?

What a suitable subject for Christmas eve. Happy holidays to all and season greetings to the Spaghetti monster folks! ;)

Hobby II

So I was having this conversation with a friend one day, I was rambling on something about blogging, more like thinking out loud, to which she responded,

"No, I was never that bored [to blog]."

In my defense, I said, "But I like to blog, it's like a hobby to me."

"Yeah, right," she snickered.

Oddly enough, I was not annoyed (normally it doesn't take much to annoy me). I just didn't understand her reaction. She acted as though it was ludicrous that some people will enjoy enjoy sitting down and write. Is that so horrible of a hobby? How is knitting, crossing-stitching, or quilting any better? Not to knock quilting, some quilts are beautiful and I have done a few of those myself, but if you really think about it, quilting is to buy perfectly good fabric, some quite pricey ones, cut them up into pieces, then re-stitch them back together. Really! Think about that! So she's a very active person, good at many sports, but is hobby only limited to outdoor activities? How and who can judge that one hobby is better than another? Odd.

4 Phones 3 Major Providers (Darn!)

Between Hubby and I we have 2 person cell phones and 2 work phones.

Personal phones (very basic cell phones): Sprint
My work phone (an iPhone): AT&T
Hubby's work phone (a Blackberry): Verizon

Something just went off, between the 4 phones and different sounds between email, voice calls, and text, I have no idea which it was... :S

If Hubby didn't destroy his cell phone back in August of 2008, he won't still be in contract with Sprint and evidently T-mobile has the cheapest month-to-month, no contract plan.

Here's hope come August 2010. >_<

Hobby for the DINK

So I bought myself a fancy bat a while back (couple weeks). It's a Demarini J2.



Every single one of my friend who doesn't play softball (which is almost all of them) asked in horror after finding out the price of the bat, "Why???"

Um...why not? It's call a hobby, or if your prefer, DINK -- duel income no kids. We just have that kind of expendable income. You should try that too. =P

Conversation with Hubby

I had the following conversation with Hubby concerning my car...

Me: "I am okay with driving my car to the ground before we buy a new one."

Hubby: "Okay, but what does it mean by driving it 'to the ground'?"

Me: "When you leave point A, you are not certain if you will arrive at point B."

You think it's funny, my last two cars are both like that. In fact, more likely than not I would NOT get to point B. That, my dear, is the sign that it's time for a new car.

Dread Lock Santa Hat

Holy cow, they make a dread locks Santa hat. :O



Reminds me of the Chinese saying, "You can buy a woman with beard...." :S

Scott Adams Has Outdid Himself Again

Photo Credit: dilbert.com/Scott Adams

Lottery v Praying

Q: What is the similarity between praying and buying the lottery?

A: Both are putting your fate into the hands something intangible and super natural. [Although, one can calculate the odds of winning the lottery, is that still intangible? However, if there's no "luck" involve and we go strictly by statistics, nobody will ever win lottery in their lifetime.]

Let x=......

Let x = [distance traveled, time it will take to travel the distance, etc.] is a very common expression in algebra. Once upon a time, our algebra instructor gave this example:

Let x = the largest number
and if x = the largest number, then x * x (x square) cannot be bigger than x
therefore x = x * x

and the only number that will fit that equation is 1

therefore, 1 is the largest number.

Which obviously was a wrong conclusion. So what went wrong here, all the logic was sound. Answer: the assumption itself was wrong. You simply cannot make x the "largest number."

Same logic can be applied to many real life situations. If everything is logical every step of the way and your conclusion is still way, way off, consider the possibility that the initial assumption was, simply, wrong.

AppShopper.com � Blog Archive � iGlowStickPro Wins Big from Apple Mistake

AppShopper.com � Blog Archive � iGlowStickPro Wins Big from Apple Mistake

Okay, so this app was mistakenly placed as the #1 selling paid app, but don't people still use their own judgment before they buy an app? I just find it hard to believe so many people bought the iGlowStickPro app. :S

Bomber Santa Hat

Santa hat for next year. :)



Photo Credit: Planetsanta.com

What I Want. What I Really Really Want.

I have been meaning to do this for a while now... to compile a list of what I would like to do at least once in this life time (No, because of my age, I don't think I can quite call this a "bucket list" just yet.)

What I Would Like to At Least Try Once In This Life Time (Not specifically in this order)

1) Help someone deliver a baby (after I got my CPR certification, of course. Still pending a volunteer. Of course I'd feel much better if the situation calls for it... and pray very, very hard that there will be no complication)

2) Drag racing (on a real course, of course, not street racing)

3) Have a book published, preferrably this blog... or something along that line (I have no dignity, self-publishing counts, especially through Amazon)

4) Do a stand up comedy skit at a public place

What I Wanted to Do And Already Accomplished

1) Draw blood (for lab purposes) on a heart-beating person (yes, myself count, heart's still beating last I checked)

2) .... I'm sure there were more, but I forgot after I've crossed them out the list...

The Power of The Internet

Wow, who would have thought. I knew linking to the Santa hat will get me some hits, never did I expect 54 hits within 24 hours. That's more hits than all the days combined since the inception of this blog.

Look! I'm the 4th on the search result on Google if you use the search terms "big bang theory" + "santa hat."



Oh, and I have gotten 4 (that's FOUR) comments from people that I do NOT know. FOUR. I don't think this blog will ever see better days. T.T

Is this the power of the internet? American consumerism? Or women's desire for cute stuff (literally "as seen on TV").

Hubby said this is the "textbook definition of 'going viral'." I think he is just jealous. Bet you his blog will never see a day with 54 hits... IF he even has a blog. hehehe

Santa Hat with Two Pom Poms

After watching today's Big Bang Theory I went on a mission searching for Penny's Santa hat with two pom poms online. It wasn't easy to find, I came across a couple more blogs of women (?) expressing their desires for said hat before I finally found a place that sells it. Okay, there was another one, but I can't find the link again. So to help my fella sisters who are searching for this products, here's the link.

Knit Santa Hat - Costumes For Santa

Evidently the original site I found already sold out of said product. I sure would like to think I have something to do with that. :) Here's another place where you can find this hat! ~ $20!

Berkeleyhat

A reader suggested this place (Price has been lowered to $25 today! That's the Christmas spirit! Good luck all in getting one!):-

Bostoncostume

Adding a picture for you kiddos too. :)

**Many people seem to also be looking for the pattern for this hat. If you know where one can be found, please leave the link in the comment box to help out your fellow knitting enthusiasts. :)

It seems any places I was able to find are sold out of this hat, there's this place that offers to custom knit one for you, but it says to allow 3 days for her to knit, I'm not sure that will make Christmas...

helpmymudder.com

Puckish had found a pattern for us!! Thanks, Puckish!

Pattern for Penny's Hat

The home made one actually looks better than the store bought one. :( The pom poms on the store bought one is not yarn, it's hard inside. :( Ah well, that's not for knowing how to knit. :'(

Housing Hunting v Dating

A while back I compared job hunting to dating. Evidently, there are also lots in common between house hunting and dating:-

(1) First time round, you really have no idea what you are looking for. Heck, you don't even know what to expect.

(2) After a few times (dating, or looking at houses), you start to get an idea of what there are out there and what your own preferences are.

(3) When you are a seasoned seeker, you have a list, you know exactly what sells to you, and what turns you off.

(4) In the end, at least if you are normal, you'll end up with something that is close but not 100% match your list; and sometimes, that little unmatched percentage will turn out to be a pleasant surprise. :)