Day 28-This year, in detail

This year has been interesting, lol

Discovered new music

-Discovered the band As Lions. They are really good and I am eagerly awaiting the release of their debut album, Selfish Age

Turned my sister on to new music

-I am surprised that she started listening to Iron Maiden. But, of course, she automatically found two favorites in the band, lol. She thinks Bruce Dickinson and Dave Murray are cute, even at their current age, lol!!

My sister thinks Bruce and Dave are still handsome

Got all my shopping and wrapping for the holidays done before the 1st of Dec.
-I always make it a habit of having this done early

Found out my grandmother is going downhill fast
-She was recently diagnosed with dementia and anyone who has had any kind of encounter with this terrible condition knows it only leads down one road-Alzheimer's

Went to a few concerts

-Seen Sebastian Bach in concert. That was awesome. Saw an 80s tribute band called Sixteen Candles, which covers the 80s pop stuff. I would highly recommend checking them out. You'll love them. Also saw an 80s hair metal tribute band called Headbanger's Ball. They play 80s metal stuff. Also check them out. Seen a KISS tribute band called Mr. Speed and an AC/DC tribute band called Highway to Hell. One tribute band I've heard a lot about is BloodStone, a Judas Priest tribute band, along with Revelations: A Tribute to Iron Maiden. It seems like there are all kinds of tribute bands popping up, with another Judas Priest tribute band called Judas Rising and Judas Maiden, who covers both Priest and Maiden

 

Mr. Speed, KISS tribute band. They look just like the real guys; sound like them too!

Went to Mexico again
-This time, instead of heatstroke like the first time, I got bad sunburn. Apparently I didn't know you could go into your luggage before it's brought up to your rooms. Our luggage wasn't brought up; my sister and mom had to go and retrieve the luggage. It was raining and my sister Jessie slipped on the polished concrete and fell, but thankfully she was okay. It was a good vacation, except for the sunburn part. My sister flipped her lid when she saw flamingos, tons of them, just walking around. She is a massive flamingo freak; she loves EVERYTHING related to flamingos

Got two more tattoos
-This year, I got "Let It Be" surrounded by music notes on my left shoulder, above my peace sign daisy tattoo, to keep the 1960s thing going and on my right shoulder, I got a cow munching grass, since cows are my all time favorite animal. I'm a severe nut for cows. I got mostly cow-themed stuff for Christmas, like a cow-spot blanket, a figure of a cow, cow slippers, a cow-spot steering wheel cover for my car.

Christmas!

I know it's a little late for anything Christmas related, but I just wanted to do a post telling about my Christmas holidays. Thankfully, they went good this year. Before the holidays, everything that could go wrong did! My mom lost her job, which had her really bummed out, but then her luck turned around when she was able to get hired on as a temp worker for First Financial Bank, thank God she has a job again. And unfortunately, my sister got into a little trouble with the law. After going out with some friends to a local bar, I'm willing to be you can see where this is going, she had two beers and two shots, big mistake!! She drove home and around 3am, I thought I was dreaming because I heard the phone ring. I thought "who could that be?" but then again, I thought I was dreaming. My stepdad, who was in the living room asleep, answered, only to find out it was the Symmes Township Sheriff. My sister had been arrested for OVI (operating a vehicle under the influence for those who are curious). Man, when it rains, it really pours, doesn't it? My mom seems to think the people she went with, two friends of hers from work named Carrie and Lou, set her up because they knew she had further to drive home than they did and that they were jealous of her getting Employee of the Month twice in a row. Everyone seems to be jealous of her getting that award. She works hard, harder than some people, so I think she's right to deserve such an accomplishment. Thankfully, everything is turning around. The only thing that saved my sister from getting some serious jail time was the breathalyzer was broken. But has specific driving privileges- she can only drive to and from work. Her license has been suspended for 3 months and most likely, I'll be doing the driving to Rock on the Range. It doesn't bother me- I need the practice anyway. Thank God everything has turned around. and I'm really hoping AC/DC agrees to play there, along with Black Sabbath, provided that Tony Iommi is cleared of his cancer. That would be good. I'd rather have him clear of his cancer then play. So all can be good. But, man I really hope they agree to play. That would be mind blowing! Seeing two of my favorite metal bands together in the same weekend? [Mind blown]. And if AC/DC agrees to play there too? Totally epic!!!!!!!!!! That would knock out 3 artists I want to see in concert- all in the same weekend!!!!

And luckily for me, I was able to get all my shopping done months ahead of Christmas. I'm going to start doing that. Start collecting ideas for what people want for the holidays and start it ahead of time so that when it nears the holidays, I just wrap them and be done :D Such a smart idea, lol!!

And as for the new year, I already have a calendar for both work and home. My new calendar for my bedroom is of Kiss. And my work calendar is Black Sabbath. Kinda strange I have Geezer Butler for October. Oh well, he's awesome anyway. And what's even more strange is there is a guy I ride the bus home from work with who could easily pass as a twin of Geezer Butler. He started talking to me out of the blue one day and somehow comprehension kicks in. He must have started talking to me because maybe he seen me reading a book about Tony Iommi or Ozzy Osbourne and maybe figured I was a Sabbath fan? idk. The guy's nice though.

As for Christmas, like every year, we always get cool stuff. Also every year, we only get a few things, but that's good for me- I never want a lot anyway. I'm glad I'm grateful for what little I get :D. Here are some of the things I got:

Rocks: My Life In and Out of Aerosmith: Joe Perry

Dancing with Myself: Billy Idol. One of my aunt Patty's friends seen her buying that and when she told her that it was for her niece, her friend Barb remarked "Isn't he kind of old for her?" she must thought I thought he was cute or something. Thankfully my aunt told her that I liked old rock musicians, that their music was good

Kiss Love Gun car seat cover

Clothes. Thank God. I can always use new clothes
Visa gift card. I get these every year and they usually don't make it long into the new year because I always find something I like
Jewelry. Noting major. Just some earrings and a few necklaces
Ticket stub book. This is for putting tickets to major events in, like a photo album for tickets, i.e. concerts!
Peace sign sheets. Now I can hippie-fy my room, moooohahahahhaahaha!!

Post-Christmas Wishes

Well, Christmas is over for yet another year. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I sure as heck did. The shopping was not the bad part, it was just the wrapping. But in the end, it turned out amazing. I got all kinds of cool stuff, some I wasn't even expecting. Like for starters, I got an iPod Nano!! My mom won it at work and I get it for Christmas instead. I asked her why didn't she just keep it for herself, and she told me that she already had a music device and that I should have it. That figures, I always question something like that, asking someone why didn't they keep it for themselves?

But, all in all, here's some of the stuff I got:

Book. Rolling Stones 50th Anniversary. Has pictures and lets them do all the talking about their being around for 50 years


Very heavy book! Did not ask for this!

iPod Nano. Apple green. Gonna load it up with as much Def Leppard as it will allow!!

CD: The Rolling Stones GRRR!

Clothes

Other: Key chain of Mario Brothers character Yoshi.
-He's so cute. Belt that looks like a seat belt with cartoon character Domo on it

Lotion for my stupid feet that crack and peel all the time

New camera with a plastic bag that says "Catie's new waterproof camera bag".
-Joke from my mom and step dad after I accidentally walked into the pool at our hotel in Mexico with my digital camera in the pocket of my board shorts

Visa Gift card to use on anything

More lotion and things, this one in White Jasmine

New wallet with Yoshi on it

Dear Santa...

I know I'm a little old to be asking Santa for something for Christmas, but maybe he'll bring me something, idk.

Here's my 'Santa List'

Dear Santa

What do I want for Christmas, you may ask? All I want for Christmas is for me and my mom to find jobs. For her, a job that she will like, that will pay good, and also have employees who pull their weight, instead of sitting around daydreaming, texting and shooting the breeze. Because recently, her own boss Nick screwed any chances she could have had at a job. He said that she tends to get a little upset when she is overwhelmed with work. Seriously? Who doesn't get upset when they get overwhelmed? That is not right of him to do that. So please, help her get a good job. What I want is nothing more than to find a job. I was holding some high hopes that this local bank called Fidelity Investments would call me back if they were interested in me as a possible future employee in the mail room at the Taylor Mill location. I was told by one of the HR reps there that a phone interview would be conducted at 3pm. That came and went. No 3pm phone interview yet. So, I'm givin' up hope on that one! Please help me find a job, along with my mom! She needs it just as bad as I do. And really, that's it. That's all I want. I don't want any material possessions, don't need 'em. Just help me and my mom find a job

What I Want for Christmas...

I never want much for Christmas, but there are a couple things I really do want. Here's one of them

Just Dance 4
-I have 2 other games like this, but I just love dancing. I'm pathetic, lol!!

Hmmm, that's it, really. That's all I really want, lol!!

Uggghhhhh, Holidays!!!

You may notice that this post sounds like the holidays are on its way. Well, they are!! And little miss 60s has major shopping to do. I wanna get all this stuff done b4 Christmas. I still have to pick up something for my mom, stepdad and aunt. My sister, well, she's already done, thank you God! I love her dearly, but man, she is a major pain in the neck in terms of shopping!!

Here's what I have yet to get:

Stepdad
-1/8 scale Le Mans racecar models. He prefers Ferrari, at least in car terms, but he says that Audi is good, so is Peugeout or Vauxhall. He wants 2 of them. Me and my sis are buying one

Mom
-Jewelry making equipment

Aunt
-?. Have yet to find out!

Dear Santa...

I know it's a little early to be thinking of the holidays, but it's coming closer and closer quick and quicker every year. So Santa, if you read blogs, here are some things I would not mind having for Christmas. Not all of them, maybe 1 or two. I'm not greedy, thank God. Maybe just one or two of them, please?

Arsenal T-shirt. Either one is fine. I told my mom and stepdad I wanted one, and they just started laughing in a friendly way.

Rolling Stones concert tickets for their new tour. Preferably for their 2012 tour please? I really really really wanna go see them!!

Money to help pay for school would not be bad...

To be skinny and beautiful. I know you're not a miracle worker, just a thought on this

To not feel so stressed out all the time

Hola! I'm Back!

Sorry about not putting a new post on here. I was on Christmas break. Well, how was everyone's holidays? Mine was nice, yet weird. Sorry if Little Miss Jaggerfan did not do posts. I was off school, and had Xmas shopping to do! Thank God it's done! Do you know how hard it is to buy for people? HARD!!!!!


Well, for starters, it was the first Christmas without my dad. As you may have read in previous blogs, you'll know my dad died in September, about a month before his 55th birthday and a couple weeks before my 21st birthday. And also, my stepdad's sister Carol had to undergo back surgery and this friend of hers named Jackie was stealing her pain pills to sell. This Jackie chick I swear to God must be a junkie!!! When me and my family were over at my stepdad's mom's house during the summer swimming, she would always invite herself over and she would wear this God awful swimsuit that did not fit a woman her age. She's at least 48 and she dresses like she is 28, she was wearing this God awful red swimsuit with a bottom that ties on both sides and a skimpy bra top. IDK why, but I think this swimsuit has to be the only one she owns. I can't imagine wearing the same swimsuit over and over again without washing it, yuck!!! Yeah, she was stealing pain medication. You see, Carol is the sister of my stepdad Greg. She recently underwent back surgery and somehow, she got an infection in the incision from her surgery that landed her in the hospital for a few days and when she went home, she was given Vicodin from the way I hear it. Anyway, this Jackie chick was stealin' her meds to sell. Personally, this woman sounds like a junkie.

When it came to Christmas, I got clothes, and lots of them! I also got jeans! Ooh, before I forget, I lost 20 pounds, and dropped a jean size. Went from size 12 to size 10. And you wanna know how I did it? Just by playing Just Dance on Wii. And also yesterday, I bought Just Dance 2, to go along with my Just Dance Summer Party. Yeah, I lost weight dancing like a nut!!!! And as for other gifts, I got a book on Mick Jagger from my aunt, it's called Jagger: Rebel, Rambler, Rock Star, Rogue. It's a biography about him and it says things about him I never knew, like for starters, Mick Jagger is half Australian and half British. He gets the Australian part from his mother, Eva Ensley Mary and the half British part obviously from his dad, Basil Fanshawe Jagger, and that when Mick was younger, his dad would often have him doing exercises and that his dad was a gym teacher and his mom was a teacher from Australia. And that Mick works out like a madman, he lifts weights, runs laps, and does cardio work. Man he must be in top shape, better than me, lol!!! And I can't believe I'm saying this, but I bet it would be sexy to watch him work out, lmao!!!! Yeah, I finished this book in a week. Sorry, but it was a good book, and it had cute pictures of him. Yeah, I'm pathetic!!!!!

I also bought some stuff with some of the money I got for Christmas, like when we went to the Kenwood Mall after Christmas, we all, as in my mom, sister, me and stepdad went in FYE(music store), and he bought an Emerson, Lake, Palmer concert, and me, well, it's obvious who I bought a concert for. I bought the movie Let's Spend the Night Together, which is about the Rolling Stones 1981 North American tour and the concert they did in Arizona, at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. I also bought a CD of Lady Gaga, mainly cuz her music is good and I bought a book which I'm halfway through, and also Just Dance 2 and Just Dance Summer Party. I have been playing with either of those games and I somehow managed to drop at least 10-20 pounds and drop down to a size 10 jeans. Yay! I'm so proud of myself, I managed to lose weight! Although, I was never real heavy in the beginning, I was a lil chunky, not by much, but the main reason I bought the Just Dance games is cuz they looked fun. And when you play them, you're having so much fun you don't realize you're getting exercise.

And also, my mom, me and my sis have finally gotten my dad's estate settled. It has taken a lil over a year to get it all done, but we have done it. On Friday Jan. 6, we 3 went to court to get this taken care of and to get my dad's truck title transferred to my sister so we can get rid of it. We're taking it to Miamitown on Friday to junk it, and the money my sis gets from it is going towards car insurance for her new car! Yeah, she got a new car, and this was way before the holidays. She got a 2004 Kia Spectra, in a pretty silver color. And for Christmas, I bought a windsheild scraper with attached brush for her so she can use it in the snow, which is funny cuz we have not had that much snow at all. It sure was not a white christmas around here during the holidays, and my mom bought her an air freshener that looks like a little black Converse high top sneaker. OMG, she loves Converse, she has at least 2 pairs of black high tops which she has managed to spill at least one thing on, like her first pair have bleach stains on them from her job and the other pair are dirty from wear. But all I know is, she's happy. And also she got her birthday gift early on Sunday. My stepdad bought her a pool cue that's pink with skulls on it, yeah, she's into skulls and crossbones, she's somewhat into the Goth stuff. And as for me, I bought myself a couple charms for my bracelet. One is of a Chinese dragon, a Yin and Yang and also, a small red double decker bus that says London on the side. Sorry 2 b predictable, but come on, how often are you going to find a charm like this?????

On Saturday, we all played pool down in the basement. Yup, at my new house, there's a pool table in the basement and a stereo! YAY! We all played pool, so my sis could make use of her new pool cue and we all played and listened to hard rock, especially my stepdad's new Def Leppard CD, and idk why, but I just now noticed that alot of the stuff my stepdad likes is British. Like Premier League soccer: British, alot of the music he listens to: BRITISH!!!! Like David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Def Leppard, Bad Company, YES, Pink Floyd, The Who, Deep Purple, you name it. And also he likes the occasional American rock, like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Cheap Trick, etc. And as for TV, omg, British TV is something he likes, such as Top Gear, My Family, Mr. Bean, Black Adder, Fawlty Towers, etc.

Dear Santa.....

It's that time of year again, Christmas. Time for kids to start begging like homeless people at Christmas time, time for them to start begging for useless garbage they don't need, time for adults to start begging for pricey cars and diamonds and other assorted useless junk they don't need. What some of these greedy-ass kids really deerve is not gifts, but a slap upside the head. They need to be thankful for what they have in the first place. Because there are some kids out there whose parents are enlisted servicemen and women who will not get to see their parents except maybe via video chat. So quite frankly, the greedy kids need to sit down, pray that they hve loving families. And in the words of Confucius himself: "Happiness consists not in having what you want, but in wanting what you have".

Also, for the first time in my entire life, it will be the first Christmas without my dad. And it seems like the last few weeks before he died, it almost seemed like he wanted to pass on. I really hope that it wans't something that me and my sis did to make him want to go, when my mom told that's what she thought, I thought to myself that maybe it was something me or my sis did. And for some reason, he was really depressed about money and stuff, but I told him that when I got a job I would help out, and it looks like my chance of helping him out has long since expired. But when Christmas Eve comes, I'm gonna look up and say "Merry Christmas, Dad". It seems like when something traumatic like this occurs, strange things happen. Like ever since he died, I haven't really been eating well, because of all the stress and now suddenly I'm almost 30 pounds lighter. IDK how I'm doing this, but that's what has been happening. I really hope that me and my sis didn't do anything to make my dad wanna die. Because it's really going to be hard for us, especially around the holidays.

So, if Santa reads blogs, Santa, I really don't know what I want, but if you can manage something small, here it is, my little wish list.

Dear Santa....
-I really don't know what I want. All I really want is a job. I mean, I want someone to call and say "Would you like to come in for an interview?" That would make me happy

-Also, God grant me the strength not to kill myself.

-And maybe a CD o Katy Perry or Lady Gaga, either one is fine, I'm not picky

-And maybe a movie, Let's Spend the Night Together or Shine a Light would be cool, either one, I'll let you choose. I'm kind of a fan of The Stones, and that would be cool

-And the most huge thing of all I want is.....A JOB! I want someone to call and say something about an interview. Because whenever I go out with someone and I see them spend money, I start getting a little depressed that I can't do that. I have money right now, but I can't spend it. It's reserved for Christmas shopping because I believe in the cardinal rule that it is better to give than to receive. I'm not like halfof these greedy-ass morons out there who want cars, diamonds, expensive music/game systems and other useless junk. My parents did not raise me and my sis that way. They raised us to be grateful for what we had in the first place.

-And I just want to be beautiful. I want to be skinny with a perfect body, perfect teeth, perfect everything. Every time I look in the mirror, all I see is a girl with messed up teeth, a somewhat chunky body and pale, fair skin. I want people to say I'm beautiful because I really am and not to say it just to make me feel better.

So Santa, I'm not greedy, but if you could get me any 2 of these things, thanks!!!!

Christmas Around the World

Christmas Around the World

I know one thing is for sure- Christmas sure isn't the Christmas I remember as a kid. When I was younger, I used to be able to not sleep on Christmas Eve, wondering what 'Santa' brought for me because I was good. And when I got up, I would run like a marathon runner into the living room sitting there until my parents woke up and we would all open gifts together and after that, we'd have some breakfast. Well, in past years, that kind of stuff has been altered. With the divorce of my parents, that forced us to basically go to my aunt's house and then on Christmas Day, go to my mom's and come home and go to my aunt Mary's house up the street, where she would give us stuff better suited for an older woman, not a kid. I'm serious on this one, she gave me this gaudy watch that an older lady would wear. I hated having to leave my mom's house and go to my stupid aunt Mary's house. Don't get me wrong, I loved her, but I don't think she was fully aware we were kids, not old ladies.

And another thing that has me ticked about Christmas is the TV keeps showing commercials with people getting expensive cars, and diamonds and all things pricey. That's not what Christmas is all about. I hate these stupid, greedy-ass kids, pardon my French, sorry. It's just I'm not even a parent and even I hate Christmas anymore. It's gotten away from the true meaning. And for those out there too thick to see it, it's about the birth of Christ, it's in the name for God's sake!! Are people really that mental to where they can't see that? Well, I guess they are. They're more occupied with standing for long hours in long lines for useless garbage for their greedy-ass kids. These kids that beg for useless garbage on Christmas like homeless people at Christmastime, what they need is a good slap upside the head. They need to be f---ing thankful that they can get gifts or that they have a loving family to begin with. Some kids don't have that, some kids are not in the richest areas and they can't live in houses, but instead foster care, or they're so poor they don't get gifts, so they may not know what Christmas gifts are. I'm so sick and so tired of seeing commercial after commercial showing women getting pricey diamonds, people getting Lexuses, Caddys, Lincolns, etc, expensive game systems, expensive music systems, anything expensive in general. Last time I checked, I'm not rich, and I'm also not spoiled. I get happy if I get a CD or a piece of clothing, so you can tell I'm not spoiled. Sorry, I just needed to vent. I'm so sick and so damn tired of seeing these kids out there who have the world at their feet and yet still they want more. Why do they worry? When they get old and die they can't take it with them anyway. Besides, last time I checked, Greed is one of the 7 Deadly Sins.

You ever wonder how they celebrate the holidays in other countries? Well, here's how.

Yugoslavia
-The kids celebrate the 2nd Sunday before Christmas as Mother's Day. They creep in and tie her feet to a chair and shout Mother's Day, Mother's Day, what will you pay to get away? She then gives them presents. They play the same trick on the father a week later. This is kind of barbaric!
-They also have a Christmas cake called a chestnitsa, contains gold or silver coin and is said that whoever gets it can expect lots of good luck

Wales
-Great lovers of music and every year at Christmas, carol singing is the most enjoyed activity.
-Spent with lots of people gathering in the public square for announcement of whom during the year has won the prize for submitting the best music for a new carol, and the formal pronouncement of it as the carol of the year.
-Alot of their traditions and customs have been derived from England, such as Christmas stockings, holly, mistletoe, pudding, carols, oranges, crackers and lots of snow.

Vietnam
-Christmas is one of the 4 most important festivals of the Vietnamese New Year. They are the birthday of Buddha, the New Year, and mid autumn festival.
-They attend mass at midnight. Dinner consists of chicken up, and richer people eat turkey and Christmas pudding.
-The European cousin of Santa leaves presents in the shoes of good children.

Venezuela
-On Dec. 16, families bring out their pesebres, which is a specially designed and thought out depiction of the nativity scene.
-Firecrackers explode and bells ring out to call worshippers from bed in the predawn hours. The last of the masses take place on Nochebuena de Navidad. Famillies attend a mass on this night and return home to a huge and fancy dinner.
-On Uan. 6, the children awake to discover the straw they had left beside their bed the night before is gone and in it's place are gifts the kids know the Magi and their camels brought. And if they go to the bathroom and look in the mirror, they might see a black smudge on their cheek and that's how they know that Balthazar, King of the Ethiopians, kissed them while they slept.

US
-In 1863, he was given the name Santa Claus, and bore the red suit, pipe, and reindeer.
-In Alaska, a star on a pole is taken from door to door, followed by Herrod's men, who try to capture the star. Boys and girls with lanterns on poles carry a large figure of a star from door to door.
-In Boston, carols are singing everywhere.
-New Orleans: a huge ox is paraded around the streets decorated with holly and ribbons on it's horns
-Arizona: the Mexican ritual Las Posadas is kept up. This is a ritual procession and play representing the search of Mary and Joseph for a room at the inn.
-Hawaii: Christmas starts with the coming of the Christmas Tree Ship, which is a ship bringing a great load of Christmas fare. It's also believed Santa comes by boat
-California: Santa comes in on a surfboard
-America celebrates with the exchange of gifts, greetings, dinner together with family and friends.
-Houses are decorated with holly, garland, trees heavily decorated, mistletoe, candy canes

Switzerland
-A tinkling of silver bells heralds the arrival of Christkindli- a white clad angel with a face held in place by a jeweled crown. The tree candles are lit as she enters each house and hands out gifts from her basket by her child helpers.
-The week before Christmas, kids dress up and visit homes with small gifts.

Sweden
-Begins with the Saint Lucia ceremony. Before dawn on the morning of Dec. 13, the youngest daughter from each family puts on a white robe and red sash. She wears a crown of evergreens with tall lighted candles attached. She wakes her parents and serves them coffee and Lucia buns.

Russia
-Is replaced by Festival of Winter.
-Special prayers are said and people fast, sometimes for 39 days. Christmas Eve is when the first evening star appears in the sky. Then begins a 12 course supper in honor of each of the 12 Apostles. Hay is spread on the floor and people make chicken noises to help their chickens to lay eggs
-Babushka is a traditional Christmas figure who gives out gifts to kids. Her name means grandmother and it is known that she declined going with the Wise Men to see Jesus because of the cold weather.

Scotland
-They have their celebrations on New Year's day called Hogmanay.
People make big bonfires and dance around them to playing bagpipes. Bannock cakes are made of oatmeal and eaten at Christmas.

Mexico
-They celebrate La Posada, which reenacts the search for a room at the inn that Mary and Joseph endured.
-The flower of the season is pointsettia. It's believed a young boy walking to church to see the nativity showing the birth of Christ put a pointsettia near the manger
-They get gifts, on Christmas Day they are blindfolded and try to break open a pinata. At midnight they sing lullabies to Jesus

Japan
-Only 1% of Japanese people believe in Christ. The dominant religion here is Shintoism.
-They have a Buddhist monk named Hotei-osho who acts like Santa. Kids act like he is nearby because he's said to have eyes in the back of his head and he brings gifts to each house

England
-The gift giver is called Father Christmas
-Wears a long red/green robe and leaves gifts in stockings, but are not opened until the following afternoon
-Kids usually leave a stocking or pillow case at the end of their bed to be filled with presents
-The traditional dinner consists of turkey and veg. For dessert, it's Christmas pudding, mince pies, pastry cases filled with chopped dry fruit
-England is where alot of the traditions here in the US stem from

Australia
-A traditional meal consists of turkey dinner, for dessert, a flaming Christmas pudding.
-They even have their Christmas dinner on a local beach, mostly Bondi Beach in Sydney. And as for shopping for gifts, they do it in T-shirts and shorts
-They also believe Santa comes in on a surfboard

How Merry Christmas is said in diff. countries

Christmas Shopping

You know how every year when the holidays roll around, you always have this little 'list' of things you have to get or just want to get for others? Well, I recently got some money from selling some schoolbooks. Here's what I sort of want to get everyone:

Greg(My step dad)
-CD of Def Leppard's greatest hits
-A new pair of slippers, size 9 1/2-10
-1st season of Mike and Molly

Brenda(My mom)
-A new wallet
-A sock monkey. My sister has her hooked on these things
-A charm for her bracelet

Jessie(My sis)
-A charm for her bracelet, anything ice cream related, rock and roll related or tropical
-New York Yankee Monopoly. She loves the game Monopoly, and the New York Yankees are her fave team. Combine the best of both worlds
-New CD of Nickelback

So as you can see, I've got quite a load on me. But I know where to go to get it cheap, when to go to avoid stupid people crowding like nuts. But I just want this Christmas to be good.

Christmas!!

When I was younger, I used to just absolutely adore Christmas. Mainly because of the magic of Santa Claus coming down the chimney or in my old house, probably through the front door, not about the gifts, being with family, etc. But I have a feeling this Christmas will be quite different, considering my dad won't be here, to make it special. Over the past few years, I've been getting less into the Christmas or holiday mood, not because of the loss of my dad, but because of the sheer greed. It seems that every year, people get greedier. What they need to realize is that Christmas is not about how much you spend, how much the gifts are worth, how much you can get, diamonds, pricey Cadillacs, pricey cars in general, expensive game systems, expensive laptop computers, or any of that expensive garbage. It's about showing your loved ones you care about them, spending time with them and being together and if you went to Sunday school when you were younger, you'll also realize that Christmas is about the birth of Christ. For crying out loud, it's even in the name for those who don't pick up on it. That's what my dad always said, it's in the name, what Christmas is about, the birth of Christ.  I just hope it gets easier as time goes on. I know there will be times when it fully hits me that my dad is gone and other times not so much. But I figure my dad will be spending Christmas with God and Jesus this year, along with my grandparents. And if he is looking down, I'll be looking up, saying "Merry Christmas Dad"

Christmas Trees

 

Decorations

Pictures

Christmas Cookies

Nativity Scenes

Scottish Terrier nativity scene

Cards

Facebook for Hire!

Yeah, the title should attract attention. While I was in class on Tuesday looking at different social networking sites, the teacher for the class informed us that some employers hire people based on what is on their Facebook account. Personally, this is ridiculous, no employer should hire someone based on what is on their Facebook account. What an employer should hire someone because of is how they work with others, their qualifications or something else, not a Facebook account. I mean, I have an account and if an employer were to look at mine, they'd see that I'm a music lover, because most of the stuff on my Facebook page have to do with music, like announcements for Rihanna going on tour, U2 going on tour, Paul McCartney going on tour, the Beatles releasing an album, etc. I personally think it's stupid that some employers would hire you because of what is on a social networking site that you use. Because when we looked at Facebook accounts, I'm pretty sure everyone in the world has seen mine and they pretty much know that I'm a  music lover because of all the music tour announcements, album releases, etc. But I just think it's stupid that some people would do that, it's almost an invasion of privacy, I mean, on Facebook, you can say just about anything and that some people who hire would look at one's account and see something like someone talking about partying or something, that might make the person hiring a little hesitant to hire.

What I think an employer SHOULD look at is what that person can bring to the table, their skills, if they can work well with others, their qualifications, what they can do, their interests or something, my dad has a friend who is a Graphic Designer and he told me he thought that it was ridiculous that some people hire based on what one has on a social networking site. He said that most should hire because of skills/qualifications. And if Denise reads this, I'm totally with her on the whole Facebook issue, no employer should hire a person based on what is on a social site like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc.

Personally, If I'm going to look for a job, I'm just going to keep the same Facebook account that I currently have, if you ever see mine, there is never usually anything dirty on it, most of the stuff on my wall is stuff pertaining to the Breast Cancer Foundation, I'm a strong believer in there being a cure for breast cancer, it runs in my family, happy joy!, Shriner's Hospital is on my wall, I believe in kids getting miracles, a-lot of the stuff on my wall is charity and good stuff and music tour dates, music album releases, musician announcements, etc and just friends talking, but unfortunately, most of the friends I have on there like to talk dirty and I usually tell them I don't talk like that and they just keep on doing it!

Just thought I'd make my text green because of the rapidly approaching Christmas holidays. And thank the Good Lord I have my Christmas shopping done. I swear, I never knew shopping for family would be so hard, I have my sister taken care of, I bought her a blanket of this cartoon character she likes, called Invader Zim, and a book about this athlete she likes, Apolo Ohno, I bought my dad a movie,The Expendables, he loves all those exploding action movies, I bought my mom a book about the topic of Organized Crime, she finds in interesting, I bought my step-father a set of model race cars, he's a major fan of all those car races, like the Le Mans, Indy 500, etc. So hopefully, they love their gifts, I care about family and just wanted to give them something they like.

Holidays

Ah, Christmas is right around the corner, does it seem like the holidays get here quicker and quicker every year? It certainly seems that way for me. And this year, I have money to go shopping and I have some Muy grande shopping to do. For my dad, I want to get him this old sci-fi B-movie from the 1950s, it's about this town in California that gets overrun by giant ants, it's called Them!. He loves that kind of stuff. For my sister, I want to get her this CD of this country band called Sugarland. Hopefully she likes it. For my mom, I want to get her this book she said she wanted, it's on the mob. She loves learning anything about organized crime. For my step-dad, I want to get him this set of cars, he collects car models and I seen one in Eastgate mall that he'll love.

 

But what I mainly tire of is seeing/hearing the commercials about these people buying people expensive Caddies as gifts, expensive game systems, expensive iPods, you name it. The greed has totally and completely ruined Christmas, last time I checked, Christmas was about the birth of Christ for God's sake. It's not about the gifts, it's not about how much you can spend, how much the gifts are worth, how many gifts you get, it's about spending time with the ones you love, it's about the birth of Christ, spend time with your family, don't care about the greed of Christmas bargain sales. I see commercials showing people buying their kids these expensive game systems, like PS3, Wii, XBox 360, you name it, expensive music systems, like iPod Nanos, iPod Shuffles, iPhone, etc. Wake up people! Christmas is not about the greed, it's about spending time with your family, it's about the birth of Christ, for crying out loud! In my family, we don't worry about the worth of the gifts, we spend time together by putting up the tree, decorations, etc. But in past years, it's getting to the point where we actually have to decide to do it, because it'll go down again in a few days anyway. Why can't it just be like the old days where Christmas was exciting? Where it wasn't about the greed, where you couldn't sleep the night before because you wondered what Santa brought you? Where's those days? 'Cuz they sure aren't here.

And the day after Thanksgiving, watch going out. That is the most dreaded day of all, that's when people go out and turn into complete kamikazes on the road, they're all in such a rush to get stupid stuff. My dad made the mistake of going out last year on Black Friday, I think that's what they call it, to get a gift for my sister. I also had something to pick up. I told him that I'd be in the entertainment section of the Alexandria Meijer's to pick something up and I had to push and shove my way through because people were crowding the aisles, all I had to get was an old 1950s sci-fi movie called The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. I got it and got out. By the time I got back to the video game dept. where they were, they had just gotten into the aisle. My dad was planning to get my sis The Sims 2 Pets, where you can create a Sim and a pet for them. Boy, we were glad to get out of that store, we got donuts at Dunkin donuts that morning and did it taste good! We got first dibs on donuts before anyone, even before the Alexandria Police we seen pulling into the lot in their massive SUV. Suckers!

And here's a music video, it's of the song Try Again by Aaliyah.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEF_-IcnQC4

Christmas/Weekends

Ah yes, it's that time of year again, time again for the greed of the holidays to make its presence known. Have you ever noticed that only a few years ago, you never seen as many Christmas commercials, but nowadays, you see more Christmas commercials than ever. You see these people buying undeserving people expensive Caddies, expensive jewelry, that's not what Christmas is all about. It's about the birth of Jesus Christ for God's sake. It's right there in the name. In my house, we remember the TRUE meaning of Christmas. In my house, it isn't about the greed or whatever associated with what everyone considers Christmas now. And also a few years ago, you never seen commercials for Christmas until about November, now you're seeing them in September. But with some people they like to get Christmas shopping done early. My mom, my step-dad Greg's sisters Jeanne and Carol are 3 people who I know do their shopping early every year to get it done. They say it's a pain. But I've kind of strayed away from liking Christmas anymore. I used to love it, I used to be able to not sleep on Christmas Eve, wondering what Santa brought me, that's when Christmas was magical.

Nowadays, when it's morning, I usually walk right past what 'Santa' brought me, it just doesn't feel the same as back then. Is that what growing up does to you? Makes you forget that Christmas is a time for magic and miracles? I guess I've forgotten that magic when I keep seeing those stupid commercials advertising more greed and people getting what they don't deserve more than anything. What people need to do is realize the true meaning of Christmas-- the birth of Christ for God's sake, it's right there in the name for cryin' out loud! I do a little Christmas shopping every year and this year, I've got some money I've scrounged up for the past 2 years to do some serious shopping. I have a lot to buy-- for my dad I have to get him this old movie he wants, called Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, it's one of those old 1950s sci-fi B-movies, for my sister I'm getting her a blanket that has her favorite show on it, Invader Zim, she's a sucker for all that stuff from Hot Topic, for my mom, I'm getting her this book about the mob, she loves reading books about the mob, for my step-dad I'm getting him a picture, a hand drawn one of Tahiti at sunset. And I know where I can get it, at this place called In-Light Studio in the Eastgate Mall. You should really see this place, it's awesome, they have a picture of virtually anyone. So you can say I'm up to my eyes in shopping for the holidays.


My weekend was pretty cool though. Last night, I got to see that new Karate Kid movie with Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan. It was totally awesome, way better than the old 1980's one, but that one is good too, my dad kept talking during the movie though, and there was this little kid who kept bullying Jaden Smith's character Dre Parker, and my dad kept saying that the little Oriental kid who was bullying him should get smacked so hard his eyes become straight. I told him this wasn't right. You see, my dad sometimes jokes about racial stuff like this, and sometimes it's hard to tell if he's joking. If he is, I tell him that it's not right to make racial/ethnic cracks about people. But I watched the movie last night and it was awesome! I love movies like that.


And what's stupid? I bought 2 movies with some birthday money, and I haven't even watched them yet. I bought Bulletproof Monk and Unleashed, one has Chow Yun-fat in it and the other has Jet Li in it, I haven't even watched them yet, but this Friday, if I'm not doing anything particularly interesting, I'm watching them.


And here's a video that's really cool, and I think perfect for any hard worker, it's the song Nothin But a Good Time by Poison, here's the link to the video.
http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/--2162500
If you see my stupid email adress thing, sorry. It's off my video playlist thing on Yahoo. But the song is really cool, I guarantee it.