Christmas: the new Labor Day, Halloween, Veteran's Day, and Thanksgiving

Raise your hand if you love Christmas. Now, put it down because chances are you're alone and no one else can see you anyway.

Both from a Christian and a secular sense, I agree that Christmas is fantastic. It's the birth of Jesus, it's a time of family and togetherness, it brings out the pure joy in children, and let's be honest, it's magical.

All that aside, I think that just like Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 states, "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven ..." Applying this to Christmas, there is a time to celebrate it and a time to just be patient.

I was driving down Gateway Drive in about October and passed one of the highlights of GF, Ideal Inn. What made me do a double take was the significant inflatable Christmas scene erected in the parking lot. A couple things about that made me pause ... 1) I didn't realize people at the Ideal Inn were thinking about the birth of Jesus, but 2) it was OCTOBER.

I know the retail shops have all started putting out the garland and red ornaments as soon as the kiddos go back to school. Even though I don't like it, I can justify it because they need to turn profits.

Where I've recently been disappointed by an exceedingly early expression of Christmas cheer:
- The all-Christmas all-the-time music began on the radio right after Halloween
- The town Christmas decorations are already up and it's not Thanksgiving yet - I understand putting them up while it's still nice out, but it's not necessary to turn them on.
- I read on Facebook that some people have already had their trees up for about a week ... I hope they're not real firs.
- Boy Scouts are already selling wreaths ... won't they die before Dec 25?
- Commercials featuring Santa are on TV (but this is ok bc I love those, especially the Coke ones ..."Did ya see it?" ... "Uh huh.")

Like I said, Christmas is magical. But, doesn't it not only take away from the magic of Christmas as well as the focus on thankfulness during Thanksgiving, and the fun and fright of Halloween by starting the party a little too early? It's like if you live at the lake or by the mountains, you don't see them every day with the same awe and wonder that you do when you visit those spots on vacation.

I think too much of any good thing ruins it a little bit. So, here's to Halloween, here's to Thanksgiving, here's to the celebrations of Labor Day and Veteran's Day, and most of all, here's to Christmas and celebrating it for the magic that it is ... but not overdosing on it.

Got Grunt?

One thing I absolutley love about watching is sports is the grunters. I'm not talking about the fans, I'm talking about the athletes. You know what I mean. Those people who, with every forceful step, swing, jump, lunge, or throw let out an animalistic yelp from deep within.

Just the thought of it reminds me of greats like Venus Williams, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Maria Sharapova ... wait a minute. These are all tennis players.

Realizing this, I Googled to see which other athletes grunt, assuming I'd find a humor-filled link or two across the gamut of sports.

But, Apparently tennis is where the grunting is at! Here is a quick list of sites dedicated not just to grunting but grunting in tennis:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105850688

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/06/21/wha_unhhh_a_defense_of_the_tennis_grunt/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grunting_(tennis) (why wouldn't there be a Wikipedia site for this?)

http://deadspin.com/110521/the-primal-grunts-of-maria-sharapova-and-her-fans

http://www.arrod.co.uk/archive/blog_20030630_GruntingInTennis.php

http://gotgrunt.com/GotGrunt/Welcome.html

The ultimate site, though, discusses how the sport of tennis may BAN grunting. What?? http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/postedsports/archive/2009/06/15/itf-to-crack-down-on-gruting.aspx

http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/messages/chrono/15594434

Even though some resources site that grunting does not add force to an action, I think these tennis players are onto something. I think that I will add grunting to my day. Not while I'm working out or cleaning or doing home improvements. More like when I hit "send" on an email, or answer the phone, or select the paper tray on the copy machine, staple things, or use the water cooler.

I would be so cool.

We're going to miss you

I'll start out by saying that I'm not much for pats on the back. That said, very rarely being validated for a job well done, or appreciated for going above and beyond can change how one thinks about praise. Some people might react to it by demanding praise and feeling bitter. Others (read: me) convince themselves they never needed it anyway so it doesn't matter that they don't get it, ie. defense mechanism.

Regardless of reaction, lack of feedback, except the negative variety, can make a person question if they're on the right track, adding value where they work/volunteer, and refining themselves into an expert. Exasperated, confused and generally worn out, one decides to move on.

Irony of ironies, this is when the people who had nothing good to say to you before now gush about how great you are.

There are two ways to look at this:
1. You really do suck and people are just so happy you're going, they are happily, merrily celebrating your exit.
2. People take others for granted. Sort of like how a teenage girl treats her mom. Pick, pick, pick and gripe, gripe, gripe, but when the going gets tough and one loses something really important, people get very emotional about the departure.

I'm choosing to look at some of my recent shifts as examples of #2. I say this, because a) I know I'm good at what I do, and b) I'm presently experiencing the emotional overtures.

They have included: emails of sadness, recommendations, shocked faces, many best wishes, and to top it all off ... tears. No joke.

Don't get me wrong, it's all appreciated and very touching. Most definitely. I've given everything I can to my chosen path, morning, noon and night; I'm more than touched. However, I wonder how many people get off the roller coaster long enough to realize that if they merely didn't take their peers for granted and instead treated them with dignity, perhaps the regretful, mournful loss wouldn't even enter the picture.

So, lessons learned; what am I taking away from this? I'm going to own my life and what makes me tick. I'm going to follow my passion. I'm also not going to give more than what's expected in order to try and gain respect. I will always work hard, I will just be smarter about it. Because, if you give, give, give, instead of becoming relied upon as a credible, trusted professional, you'll just get relied on as a doormat.

I hate the term "look out for No. 1" but ... apparently it's true.

The few, the proud, my favorites

Black
Dresses
Scarves
Silver jewelry
Brown leather boots
Nehru jackets
Bangel bracelets
Ruffles
Solid colors
3" or higher heels
Natural make-up

These are a few of my least favorite things

Leggings as pants

Sweatpants with elastic at the ankles

UGG boots

Sweatpants with UGG boots

Belly shirts

Low rise pants

Purses that can double as luggage

Thick eye liner

Platform shoes

Sequined & lace cotton tank tops

Striped hair

Ed Hardy t-shirts

Hockey jerseys as dresses

Everything boasting fringe

Pleats

Chunky-heeled shoes

Really tan skin

Bump-its

Jeans without back pockets

Neon

Crocs

Denim button ups

Shirts sporting horses, deer, ducks, kittens, or dogs

Skorts

Green eye shadow

Shirts with key holes at the chest

Polyester

Bleached hair

Panty lines

Pleather

Bell sleeves

Flanel shirts

Mall bangs in 2009

John Cusak saved the world

Interesting choice, don't you think?

2012 was the box office favorite this weekend and I was pleasantly surprised I liked it. Action movies are great but I didn't know much about this one (have been living under a rock, i know).

While I believe we counted 7 close-call escapes, all classics involving explosions, toppling buildings, and death-defying avionics from a complete novice, there was really only one part of the whole movie that was completely unbelievable ... aside from the plot line I guess ... and that was when the Russian's trophy girlfriend sneaks on the boat and whistles to her lap dog who is surrounded by thousands of panicking people. The dog, of course, hears her and scampers across the cable wiring between the boat and the dock just in time for both girlfriend and puppy to sneak into a hole in the ship. She, as any pin-up girl turned action hero would, gives her ex-boyfriend standing in the crowd the middle finger.

I won't spoil anything for those who haven't seen it yet, so I will leave you with these parting thoughts. A few of the good guys die and not always in a merciful quick death like crashing in a plane or exploding in a volcano. And one death is even a bit surprising.

All in all though, two thumbs up. It will be a great Sunday afternoon flick for TNT or FX in the future.

What's an antonym for dynamic?

I overheard a conversation last night debating the virtues of Grand Forks and Fargo. The female took the pro GF stance, explaining that Fargo had to pick up the pace in the last 10 years in to keep its business - apparently everyone was heading north en masse to dine at Sander's (keep in mind when she says "everyone," Fargo has about 100,000 people and capacity at Sander's is roughly 75).

Together they named the new and hip restaurants in Fargo like ... Cork & Cleaver and Monty's. No disrespect but neither are new and it's more than a stretch to entertain C&C as hip.

The gentleman chatter noted Fargo's downtown was very dynamic (his word) and Grand Forks had struggled to recover post-Flood.

Then came her banner moment, naming the single characteristic of GF that has elevated it above its southern peer. Was she pinning her debate on REA and men's hockey? Miss Britney live and in concert? The Toasted Frog? Wait for it ...

The Greenway.

A lovely stretch of land along the Red with a bike path and several other outdoor amenities; I, too, love the Greenway. I ran a half-marathon on it this summer. But, the Greenway is the pinnacle of success for our city? It's the singular asset that lifts it above Fargo?

Please. Expand your horizons beyond Wahpeton and reconsider that statement.

So here's an alternative. Instead of trying to compete against Fargo, why not invest in just being better? Period. Comparing the two cities is pointless and frankly, ND doesn't need two Fargos or two Grand Forks's. Having two very different and unique cities would serve us much better. Think of our neighbor to the east. In MN, Duluth, Minneapolis and Rochester all serve their own purposes, eliminating any need to compete with the other and offering Minnesota more variety.

But, back to my conversationalists. The bone I had to pick with it all had less to do with the topic and more with the viewpoint from which it was approached. It was limited. Limited in every sense of the word. Neither city, nor the state, has much chance at diversifying and expanding until the scales fall from the eyes of many who live in it.