There's nothing like an evening with Mary. And it took me until the 6th episode before I skipped the openning song, too. :) Also watched the special features on disc 4. Probably won't watch more then one or two tonight. Probably two. Finish off disc 1 and it ends with the classic "Snow Must Go On" with everyone stuck in election headquarters all night with no updates. I love that one.

I didn't tell you about my favorite Christmas present. I believe I've mentioned in the past that my brother plays piano quite well. Earlier this month, he had a friend record him, and he gave a CD of him playing to a bunch of people for Christmas. It sounds wonderful. Definitely something with a personal touch I will always treasure.

Also didn't mention seeing My Big Fat Greek Wedding with my family. Definitely a chick flick. :) Don't know if I might have enjoyed it more if not sitting next to my parents, but that probably didn't help either. Enjoyed it, just not the wonderful movie I thought it would be.

Just got back from seeing Treasure Planet. I don't know why everyone was so critical of it, I thought it was wonderful, from the look and feel to the story. Stayed pretty close to the book, or at least the Disney live action. If you get a chance, I'd say go see it.

Called home last night to get the Monday news. And it was all good. Escrow did indeed close on Grpop's place yesterday, so we beat the end of the year deadline. Also, the cardiologist said that Grandma's heart is till fairly strong, so he thinks she can have the knee replacement surgury and be ok. Now, to get the swelling down and get it scheduled.

And, only 5 days late, thought I'd close out the day with last week's Thursday Threesome.

Onesome: Merry: Merry times? Hey, did you have a Merry Christmas? How did things turn out for you and yours after all the work and time you put in preparing for the big day?
As I already shared, Christmas was a mixed bag because of the emotions going on around us. We did have a good day at my uncle and aunts.

Twosome: Christmas: Christmas presents? Did you get what you wanted from Santa? ...or are you headed back to the stores with the rejects on 'Reverse Shopping Day'?

People stayed pretty close to my lists, so I'm happy. :)

Threesome: Everyone! Is everyone back to the normal routine today, like work and homemaking and such. ...or are you still entertaining? ...or maybe just taking a well deserved break from it all?
Well, obviously it wasn't on Thursday, or I would have posted this on time. :) Still a little off. Going back to work on Thursday will put my back on track.

And we're back. Actually, got back safely last night. Traffic was pretty bad coming back, but it still took me only 8 hours. The record has to be the Sunday after Thanksgiving where I spent 12 hours coming back. Which is why I always take the Monday after Thanksgiving off now.

I can definately tell these are stressful times in SR. Mom was flipping out about stuff in the house that wouldn't bother her otherwise. While we had a couple lay back and do little days, it wasn't a relaxing for me trip like last year.

Yet, at the same time, I realize why no one else can figure me out. I can't figure myself out. :) Saturday, I woke up and couldn't wait to leave. Was counting the hours most of the day. When I actually left, I was sad I was going. Explain that to me if you can.

Shaved my head for the New Year when I got home last night. Been blessed with a nice sunny day today, too. I'd forgotten already how wonderful a smooth head feels and how sensative the skin is to sun and breeze. It's truly a wonderful feeling.

Spent most of the day shopping and running errands. Been on a major shopping spree between the mall and the internet. Spent way too much money. But, I did get the oil changed in my car, even if it did take an hour at Wal-Mart. I figured no one would be around since most people have to work, but shows how wrong I can be. And remember how I was complaining about having too much Christmas music? I bought 5 more discs today. The Wow Christmas set (2 discs), Burl Ives best of Christmas, Al Hirt, and City on a Hill. Fortunately, they were all 40 % off. Speaking of which, Susansuth, it's not too late for you to keep your end of our non-bargain. (Not going to let you live that down. Ever. So you might as well buy Johnny Mathis and get it over with.)

Right now, I'm going to head home. One of my purchases today was the Mary Tyler Moore season 1 set, and it's very loudy calling my name.

See, I told you I'd check in at some point this week. Friday still counts, right? :)

Things have been going pretty well here. Tuesday was a little tense due to family politics and Wednesday was hard. We stopped by the cemetary nad left a pointetta on various family members graves. It was actually very nice. Then we went down to my uncle and aunt's for Christmas with extended family. Had a wonderful day with them.

Yesterday was really really wonderful. We got up late. I was the first one up, and I got to read for an hour and a half. Then, when the rest of the family got up, we just sat around and played games. We each won a game of Rummikub, then we played Canasta. Mike and I lost, then Mom and I won.

Unfortunately, Mom and Dad did wind up having to get dressed yesterday. There was yet another problem with selling Grpop's house. They wound up going out to get the taken care of. But everything seems to be back under controll and it looks like they'll have it sold by the New Year.

And I should probably get going. Mom needs the phone again. :) Hope everyone else is having as great a Christmas as I did/am.

Well, it must officially be Christmas. I watched A Charlie Brown Christmas on Friday. Followed by Muppet's Christmas Carol. Both wonderful holiday traditions.

The progressive dinner was a blast last night. Of course, at the last minute, I wound up driving, so I hadn't put any Christmas music in my car that everyone might appreciate. The kids were stuck with Point of Grace, but I enjoyed it. :) And, I got an unwanted gift from the white elephant exchange to bring next year. Plus someone brought the duck I recycled last year back this year, too. I love watching gifts go round and round. Of course, when the majority of the group in only there for two years, it makes it a little harder to keep gifts going and a little less appreciated.

Selfishly, I was very thankful I didn't have a cel phone last night. Marcus's car died on him again (don't think I posted, but it died last weekend, too.) He called for a ride home, but since I wasn't back yet, he called Dave. Dave gave him a ride, which left me time to pack. Looks like his car is toast, so if he and Dave can get the Duron's little red car running, he'll be using that temporarily. Same car they let me borrow after my accident last year.

On the Grandma front, one day she's doing great, the next she's not doing well at all. I really don't know what to expect or what's going on. But then again, the doctor's don't know either.

Sad goodbyes were said to Seth and Kiersten this morning. They leave next Sunday for Kentucky. I hate goodbyes!!!!!!

Think that about covers things here. Which means that I should post this and leave to finish packing and hit the road for my parent's. I'll try to check in once or twice over the next week, but in case I don't,

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am officially off work for the entire year! (Please don't point out it's only a couple more days.) Everyone else is gone. So, what am I still doing here? Why posting this so you can read it, of course. :) Had a very hectic morning trying to get the year end payroll stuff (W-2's, quarterly reports, etc.) done before we left. Of course, this is better then when we had to come in during our Christmas vacation to do them.

I'm leaving Sunday to head up to my parent's for a week. Kinda nice not to be leaving today. I've actually been home and come back (only a mile away, you know) and have laundry in the dryer right now. Anyway, I'm sticking around partly because tomorrow night is the annual jr. high progressive dinner. And I still need to get two Christmas gifts. Worst part? I have no clue what I'll be getting.

Not much else to report, so I'll get to my thoughts on the reality shows. Which I know you've been dieing to read.

Amazing Race - Flo and Zach? O man!!!!!! And how many times did Flo want to quit? I really wish they had. And you know Flo was bad when I don't even want Zach to get a little reward for putting up with her. I tell you, he deserves every penny he won. And I want to go on that slide thingy in Hawaii.

Survivor - Brian's arogance was really getting to me, but he was a much better choice then Clay. Clay was so sexist, the racist stuff doesn't surprise me. He did not deserve to win second. He should have left instead of Ted. Too bad they didn't get it together and get rid of Clay. Poor Jan just lost it at the end mentally. She admits her head wasn't in it by that point. And I loved Helen. Mad as can be, giving Brian a piece of her mind, yet still voting for him. Definitely the right move there.

I'll be back before I leave for home, so I'm not going to wish you a Merry Christmas. :)

Good morning. Being Thursday, it's time for the Thursday Threesome, brought to you by searching people who missed the Back Porch.

Onesome: Google's: Did the net help you find gifts this Christmas? ...not just buying things over the net, but actually finding gifts for people.
Nope. Bought one gift over the internet, but I already had the address. Other then that, I've gone into stores and bought exactly what I set out to buy. No internet involved.

Twosome: Christmas: Got your two front teeth? What is your "wish gift" this Christmas? No, not the one you're hoping to get, but the one you'd love to wish for!
My own house of condo. Definately tired of renting.

Threesome: Cache: Hiding the gifts again? Where are your favorite spots? Shh... Don't tell us the one they haven't found yet! Maybe you'd be better off telling us of "great hiding places from the past"...
All my gifts are sitting in a pile on the floor of the living room. Of course, no one I'm buying gifts for will be visiting my apartment in the next week. :)

And, so Susansuth doesn't feel guilty about stealing this from me, I'll steal two quizes from her.


What Jewel song are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Don't know that song at all. Was hoping to get "You were meant for Me" (love that song) or "Hands."


Which Alanis Morissette song are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

One I know here. Ironically, it wasn't my first choice. But somehow, I don't even think my first choice was an option.

I'm not lieing today, that's for sure. Today has been perfectly sunny with hardly a cloud in the sky. It's also been bitterly cold and windy. Just no pleasing some of us, is there?

Remember how I was complaining that I had too much I was going to try to read before the end of the week? Well, I got the short books I wanted read finished last night, and I'm already a third of the way through Two for the Dough. And I was hoping to be half way done with it before I went home on Sunday. :) And, in related news, I'll be writing my 125th review this year at Amazon once I finish this post.

You think I would have learned. I mean, honestly, anyone else remember all those paniced posts back in July? But have I reconciled the accounts this fiscal year? Of course not. Started in on that today and got as far as the first account. Major problems that will take me the better part of tomorrow to fix. So much for getting things reconciled before I left for Christmas. And for staying out of trouble at work. I've got to start letting my internet life laps some (see previous paragraph and post.) and start actually working during work hours. If nothing else, maybe I can scan this pile of documents I have in stacks around my office and make it look better.

And on that note, I'm going to avoid my advice and spend my last 15 minutes of work polishing that review. Have a great night everyone.

Today's rant is brought to you by closed minded idiots. And I'm not talking about me. You've been warned.

I've seen a couple rants this week about Christmas from Anna and Lisa. I've left comments on their blogs that sum up my feelings, but that's not the can or worms I want to open up today.

We've been having another heated debate over at the Amazon discussion board. One person started a discussion of Al Gore's announcement that he wouldn't be running in two years and asked for speculation. My "friend" mh29255 decided to get involved. Now, he's the guy from that evolution debate several weeks ago who thinks I'm an idiot because I don't believe in evolution. Well, he jumps in and starts making all kinds of inflammatory statements. After several posts about the 2000 election, he posts this:

Bush did well in rural (redneck) areas, Gore did well in urban (intellectual) areas of the nation.

May not seem like much, but when you read it in context, he's calling everyone who voted for Bush stupid. Thanks, buddy. Needed that. But this quote quite a few posts later has to take the cake:

Also, who is more likely to be intolerant of other's people's beliefs or a racist: someone who is college educated or a gun-toting, rural fundamentalist?

That sounds pretty intolerant and stereotypical to me. Yet he (or she) obviously thinks he knows everything and is right about everything. Watching this guy is amazing. And if you try to call him on it, he ignores any points you've made and tells you you're wrong and stupid for believing what you believe. Now, personally, I hold onto my beliefs pretty strongly. And if you disagree with me, you're wrong. :) But I always try to discuss them in a calm manner without insulting the other person.

Frankly, I've been noticing something. Liberals are cutting Bush no slack. He can do nothing right. Conservatives think he's basically doing a good job. Yet, with Clinton, it was the other way around. Seems we're flip flopping all the time, and no one is taking the energy to try to see what these people are really doing. I think that scares me more then anything else.

BTW, on Gore not running again. I turned on C-Span when I was home at lunch yesterday. (It's channel 3 for me). There was some woman calling in in tears because Gore had decided not to run in 2004. All I could think was, "Please. There are plenty of other people waiting to run. Was he really THAT special?"

And, a quick weather report. Partly cloudy all day. The promised second wave of rain never materialized. Considering all the flooding and beginning of mud slides, that's probably a good thing.

Today, I am a liar.

You see, IT'S RAINING OUTSIDE!!!! It's down to a little sprinkle now, but it was pouring at lunch time. Man, I've missed a good winter rain storm. And, rain always makes it feel like Christmas to me. It's been several years since we got a good rainstorm during December down here. Very happy camper.

I was hardly home all weekend. Friday night, I had the career group party. Fun. Saturday, I got up, cut my hair (it's so easy to tackle it yourself when you just buzz it off.), called the fam, then headed over to Magic Mountain. There's a reason that I don't remember them advertising like Disneyland does on Christmas decorations. There wasn't a thing. I heard some Christmas music playing a couple times.... I waited an hour and a half for the new rollercoaster. "X" is something else! They strap you in, then turn your seats around so they control which direction you face. For example, directly at the ground on the first drop. And I'll have to ride it a couple more times to figure out for sure which directions you go when on the track.

Saturday night was Stephen and Natalie's party. That was lots of fun as well. Some people I only see a few times a year, and it was great to catch up with them. Played Cranium. Not too fond of that game, but a good time was had by all.

Sunday, I went over to Kiersten and Seth's after church. We barely got through all the material we wanted to, but I know have a tape of the songs I don't know that are in our new song sheets. Which is a good things since they leave in 13 days. :( They were late leaving for the Christmas program redue in Palmdale, however. Fortunately, I didn't have to go. They dropped the youth group activity afterward, so I stayed behind and watched TV.

I guess I'm the only one who watched that Nancy Drew movie last night. If it hadn't been called Nancy Drew, it would have been great. As it was, it didn't seem to present a story like the books would have, which is what was claimed. Still, it was fun. And, being followed by an incredible Alias certainly didn't hurt my opinion of it at all.

Is it 5 yet????? This day has dragged on forever. Part of it is because some of my co-workers took today off or left at noon. And part of it is that I did nothing today. (Bad Mark!)

And I've done it again. I'm setting too high reading standards for myself. I have two small books I want to get through by mid way next week. With everything else going on, that's doing nothing but adding stress to my life. When your "relaxation" becomes stressful, you need a new life.

I've got two parties this weekend. One is for the career group from Placerita. The other is Donald's sister and bro-in-law's annual party. And Donald will be down for it. Both should be fun.

And I'll probably head over to Six Flags for a couple hours tomorrow. Haven't been all year, and my annual pass is set to expire in 19 days.

We seem to be getting very bad reception on the VCR upstairs. Can't figure out why, but this is a crisis. That's where I record Alias every week!

Speaking of which, I haven't been doing enough to plug the show. It's down in the ratings from last year. Which is funny, since I people who have started watching this season. One of which just borrowed all my season 1 tapes to use while recovering from getting his wisdom teeth out today.

Last night, I had Matt and Jeremiah over for some more Bab 5 fun. Watched Signs and Portents, the title episode for season 1. They loved it, execpt that there seems to be a scratch on my new DVD's in the middle of that episode. Need to figure out how to replace it.

And finally, some reality ramblings.
Amazing Race - No! I've been rooting for Drew and Derek since the start. So sorry to see them go. Definately rooting for Ken and Gerrard since I've enjoyed watching them. They're having fun along the way. And Flo needs to zip her lip NOW! Actually, I'd like to see Flo and Ian team up so I could root Terri and Zach on for putting up with their partners this long.
Survivor - Even though Ted has that cool shaved head, I wasn't sorry to see him go. I'm rooting for Helen and Jan over there. I'd be happy with Brian. Basically, anyone but Clay. Brian sure thinks he's in charge. But when you get too sure of things, you start loosing.

You know, it's been awhile since I earned that random ramblings thing. Definately too care of that today.

And only 25 more minutes until I'm out of here!

This week, the Thursday Threesome is brought you by I Corinthians 13 and The Back Porch.

Onesome- Faith: Are you faithful in keeping your New Year's Resolutions?
Define Faithful. Define Resolutions. :) Seriously, I've usually lost them by the end of January or February. Of course, there was that one year when I worked hard and kept using the weight room here on campus for 10 months.

Twosome- Hope: ...and what are your hopes for the New Year?
That 2003 will be easier then 2002. It almost has to be, doesn't it? That I will finally find some work ethic again. That I will start and keep working out again and see some results.

Threesome- and Charity: Do you support any causes or charities? Any special projects this time of year?
This is going to surprise some of you, but no. I really do need to start supporting my church again with money as well as time.

Life goes on. Did two loads of laundry Monday night after talking to my family. Finished Death of Riley. Last night, Jeff came over and we watched Alias for the last time together. He moves back to Idaho over the weekend. Then I watched 24. Maybe it would have seemed better to me if I hadn't been paying bills while I was watching. But that ending! Talk about exciting! Can't wait to see where they go with that next week, although it won't be as good as it might have been if the preview is any indication.

Don't I live a thrilling life?

Seems I'm a list to two behind. Let's work on changing that, shall we?

Mark's Favorite Christmas movies/specials. (In no order and I don't promise to have 10.)

1) A Charlie Brown Christmas
2) How the Grinch Stole Christmas TV version from the 60's, not the horrid modern film with Jim Carrey. If they hadn't taken a 30 minute story and made it 90 minutes, it would have been great, but as it was, that was the only good part of the film.
3) A Christmas Carol - 1984 version starring George C. Scott
4) The Santa Clause
5) Frosty the Snowman
6) Frosty's Winter Wonderland
7) Muppet's Christmas Carol (And, no, I didn't see the recent movie.)
8) The Toy that Saved Christmas - VeggieTales. Rewatching last night, I discovered just how much I really do love it.

Am I forgetting anything? Don't watch Miracle on 34th Street or Wonderful Life every year, so I don't think they count. Think that's about it. Any surprises in there or not in there?

It's beginning to taste a lot like Christmas!

Had a blast with Jeff on Saturday. Took us forever to play the Stock Market game, but that was because I was jumping up every 6 minutes to fool with the cookies. They kept getting a little burned around the edges, but people seem to still be enjoying them. And he did win. :( We were neck and neck. Honestly could have gone either way. Suddenly, I landed on the wrong square. Try as I might, I ended up bankrupt. Not much I could do at that point. And we hit the hot tub. Felt wonderful. I hadn't used one of those in at least a year.

My cookies weren't the hit of the party. Or the hit of the office today. Which brings me to the reason for my title. Seems I wasn't the only one making stuff over the weekend. We have way more food right now then we can eat, so I'm going to take home some cookies and take them to the party at Donald's sister and bro-in-law's next weekend. Assuming they last that long at home, which they should.

Of course, it's also beginning to LOOK like Christmas around me, too. I moved one of my end tables last night and am using it to display some decorations. Yep, everything is all in one place. I've got the ceramic Christmas tree Grandma made me a few years ago out. And the nativity scene made from Bethlehem olive wood nativity set. And the Charlie Brown Christmas scene that Hallmark put out a couple years back. It's funny. Last year, this stuff didn't get put out, but Donald and I had a small tree. This year, I'm not sure where I'd put a tree, but I have this stuff out. Maybe I'm on the two year plan?

Two of my co-workers have been working hard on decorating the office, doing a little bit more each day. It's looking great. And they hung a wreath on my door, so now I have something in my office and don't look like a Scrooge. Of course, I've been listening to Christmas music the longest, but that's beside the point. :)

The book signing was fun yesterday. Got this kid's mystery. Loved the first in the series and can't wait to read this one. Actually, got another couple books, too. Wouldn't be me if I didn't buy books by other authors not at the signing. :) And met a couple Trixie fans. Told them about Zap's. We'll see if they show up there.

Jeff didn't make it over to watch Alias last night. (I've been lax about hitting you over the head with that show until you all submit and watch it, haven't I?) So he and Jen will come over tomorrow night to watch. Which leaves me free to phone home, do laundry, and finish my book. (40 pages!) Sounds like a great evening to me.

Just barely time (not really) for today's Sunday Op-Ed.

1. Christmas Stories
What do I love to listen to? Many different kinds of Christmas stories, from the Bible, to Gift for Madge and Guy (Adventures in Odyssey version) to A Christmas Carol.

2. Eggnog
What can I not stand the taste of at all?

3. Shopping
What can I spend hours doing for books but as little time as possible on for everything else in the world?

And speaking of which, I must leave for a book signing in Passadena that will start before I can get there. Have a great afternoon.

Nothing is ever easy. Or, good thing I skipped Bible study.

Just after I walked in the door last night, the phone rang. It was Jeff, wanting to come over, hang out, use my oven, watch some TV. Basically, get out of the apartment. I decided, since Jeff leaves in a week to move back to Idaho, that was probably the better idea. Spend a little more time with him. Well, he went to start his pies baking and discovered that the oven wasn't working. We played around with it for a while. Looks like the pilot went out, yet we aren't smelling gas. Don't know what's going on. So, as soon as I post this, I'm going to shower then take my cookie dough over to his place in Master's on/off campus dorms to bake the cookies for tonight.

So, after they leave (Jen came over, too), I start mixing up the cookies. And discover I don't have as much maple syrup as I need. So, it's back over to the store at 10:30 PM to get another bottle. Everything else went fine and licking the beaters tasted just like it should, so they should turn out well.

Got up and played ultimate this morning. Had a small turnout, which I think was a bit more fun. Got to run hard and play lots. Just two teams, so no sitting and waiting. And everyone was having fun and using everyone.

But, for now I should go shower. Playing ultimate hard makes showering a necessity. :)

It can't end like this!!!! Unfortunately, it has.

Turns out, last night was the last time Seth, Kiersten, and I will be leading worship together. Except Kiersten had to stay at work and couldn't come. And then I got nervous and messed up two songs in a row. And so 2 and a half years of ministry together in this capacity ends on a bit of a sour note. Such is life, I guess.

Donald called this afternoon while I was home for lunch. (As you probably guessed if you're already read the most recent comments.) Get this. Not only did he call to interrupt me from watching Do Over at lunch today, he also isn't planning to stay with me the next couple of times he comes down or be home when I was planning to barge in on his apartment after Christmas. The nerve of some people!

Seriously, it was good to hear from him. I'd been thinking about calling him this weekend if I got a chance anyway.

Meanwhile, I need to get to dinner so I can go grocery shopping and hopefully get everything I need for the cookies I need to start making tonight before Bible Study so I can mix them up when I get home so they can refrigerate over night and I can play ultimate in the morning before I bake them in time to take to Seth and Kiersten's cookie party tomorrow night.

Today's Thursday Threesome is brought to you by your local department store and The Back Porch.

Onesome: Free Do you watch the ads for "Buy this and get this trinket free" just so you can get that second gift? ...and then wonder what to do with the first one?
No, but I did have a similar situation this week. Went to the Disney Store to pick up Lilo and Stitch and get the new Disney Treasures collections. They're having a promotion where, if you spend over $50, you get a few stuffed Mickey doll. With three DVD's purchased, I qualified. Now, of course, I have to figure out what to do with it. :) And if I'd been thinking, I believe the little girl behind me would have loved to have taken it off my hands.

Twosome: Gift How the heck figure do you figure out how to buy gifts for family members? You know, the ones with no list who say, "Oh, whatever..."
Take a wild guess. And it really frustrates me that my parents are bad with giving me ideas but expect lots of ideas from me.... Of course, they usually help me with my uncle and others I have problems with. And it's helped greatly that I've hit on the idea of giving books as gifts to the readers on my list.

Threesome: Wrapping Are you a wrapping maven? ..or are are you wrappingly challenged? Who does the gift wrapping around your place anyway?
Well, pretty much my choices are me, me, and me, so I do the wrapping. But it doesn't look as good as it could. I just can't get the paper to lie flat. I do pretty well with curling ribbon. Actually enjoy that part of things.

Last night I went over to Seth and Kiersten's for the next to last time for youth stuff. :( They're beginning to get ready and planning to sell lots of stuff this weekend. Have I mentioned recently I'm going to miss them when they go? Of course, I stayed until after 24 started, so I had to wait until 10 to watch via tape delay. Man, I'm loving this season.

There appears to be a little confusion about the trip I almost took this weekend. Thought I'd talked about it before, but then again, I sometimes wonder how any of you follow my posts. Half the time, I think I post stuff only I understand.

Anyway, the youth groups from church are going on a weekend turnaround missions trip to Tiajana, or however it's spelled. Anyway, the purpose is to build these "houses" for the poor. They really are what we'd call shacks, but the people are so grateful. Anyway, I feel useless since it takes me forever to hammer one nail in straight. Not the best use of me. I'm really glad I'm not going this year.

Tonight, however, I need to get a birthday card for Aunt Martha after work. Anyone else have relatives that you can never find a birthday card for? Maybe it's because I hardly know her. Family politics and all. Then I'm off to the Duron's for a Just for Fun. Hoping to stop by Target before I get home in time for a two hour episode of The Amazing Race. Need to get cookie sheets, etc. so I can bake some cookies for S&K's cookie party on Saturday. Not that I know when I'll bake the cookies....

I also realized I didn't revealed my "mystery" book from last week yesterday. It was Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. That's right, finally read it. And loved it! Laughed the entire way through. Planning on picking up the rest of the books in that "trilogy" soon.

Well, my weekend went downhill from my last post. I'm not going to give all the juicy details, but some things happened that got out of hand. After several hours of tension so think you could cut it with a knife (some of which was spent in a car), Dad called us together and got the three of them started talking. I stayed out of it for the most part since it really didn't concern me. Mainly they were talking about the current situation living at home, which I don't. And, selfishly, I'm thankful for that more then ever. Mike is overcommitted and stressed. And Mom is dealing with the effects of having lost both her parents now as well as loosing most of her relatives in SR and potentally loosing her best friends from SR as well. Listening to them discuss things for two hours wasn't my idea of fun. Things were better Sunday, but still a little strained.

Woke up very stopped up on Sunday, so I definately did have a cold. Think I'm pretty much over it today. I'd better not be sick for Christmas, too!

And, frankly, I'm still wondering how much I should get involved. Because there are several things that came up with Mike that I feel I have a different insight into having been a kid of that age living at home. As in how they aren't perfect either. But that might just make them more upset with me. Need to decide what I'm going to do and how I'm going to approch it.

Traffic was fine coming back yesterday, and I got home in plenty of time to watch what I'd recorded from the week before. And, once again, I've been to the town where they ended The Amazing Race. Beautiful country, and how I picture the area described in the Constable Evans books looking, rightly or wrongly.

And I talked to Dave enough to find out I'm not going to Mexico this weekend. Makes my life easier in some ways (now I have too many things planned). Selfish attitude again, I know. Maybe I need to work on my attitude this next year. :)

Happy Saturday!

Well, Thanksgiving didn't go as planned at all. I was convinced when I got up on Thursday I was getting a cold. After debating for ever, we decided not to go to Sacramento. So, we stayed home and fixed stuff ourselves. It was a good day, but I feel very badly about what happened. Especially since I was feeling better by the end of the day. Either it was just allergies from the bad winds we've been having, or I've been fighting something all week and am just now getting over it. I've been feeling fine today, although I was feeling a little under the weather yesterday.

Yesterday afternoon, the Irwins (good family friends) came over. We had a great time visiting and playing games. Then my uncle and aunt stopped by. They'd dropped Aunt Jewell off, something we were supposed to do if we'd actually gone. They stayed for dinner and we had a great time as well. Glad I got to see them. And a friend of Mike's came by. We played Clue (Mike won both. :( ) Then we played Scattergories. It was about 1 before I got to bed.

Think that's all for now. Have a great rest of your weekend.

Because Mary and Susansuth did it, I will as well before I go. Probably won't be that elaberate right now. Something about being almost noon. Anyway, a list of favorite children's books seem appropriate. Not necessarily in any order:

1) Trixie Belden Series.
If this comes as a surprise to you, you need to pay a little closer attention to the blog. :) Of course, most of my regular readers agree with me on this. (Hi Val and Donald!)

2) The Accidental Detective Series by Sigmund Brouwer
I'm cheating a little here. I didn't discover these until I was in high school, but this is a wonderful series. And, if you ever find the original releases, get those. I'm glad to see them being reprinted, but they're taking some of the fun character stuff out of them, and I love the character stuff.

3) Stuart Little and Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White
I HATED Charlotte's Web, but I loved these two.

4) The Great Brains series by John D. Fitzgerald
A smart kid outsmarting other kids and adults. What's not to like? Which brings me to....

5) Encyclopedia Brown by Donald J. Sobol
If I solved one case before reading the solution in each book, I was thrilled. And this actually sparked my first fan fic. I wrote an immitation EB story that used a clue from a book I'd just read.

6) Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald
I wish overcoming bad habbits was as much fun as it is in these books. My family still laughs about the "Thought you Said" chapter.

7) Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis
Discovered these in third grade and got others in my class reading them. Really need to reread.

8) The books of Beverly Clearly
Didn't start on these until I was in late elementary school, but great fun. Think I may have missed a couple. Guess I should try to re-read them.

9) My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
Great fantasy in a story that kids of all ages can read by themselves. Well, it helps if they can read already, but it's a great first chapter series.

10) Little Pilgrim's Progress by Helen L. Taylor
I was obsessed with all things Pilgrim's Progress for a couple years. Read this book from cover to cover I don't know how many times in a row during that time.

11) My Robot Buddy by Alfred Slote
Another series I became obsessed with. Look out, I've got three of the four and plan on rereading them in 2003. :)

I think I'm leaving some out, but here's the list for now.

I'll try to pop in once or twice over the weekend, but no guarentees. Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Ok, everyone needs to join me and put pressure on Susansuth to keep her end of our non-bargain. That's right. Saturday, when I finally got back into town, I bought Bing Crosby's White Christmas and The soundtrack for A Charlie Brown Christmas. Now, according to the bargain we never officially made, she needs to go and buy this Johnny Mathis CD. Never mind the fact that she already got This Hope's Christmas CD and is enjoying it. Doesn't count at all.

Also, Saturday, I went as saw Santa Clause 2 with Seth K. (not to be confused with Seth and Kiersten.) I enjoyed it, although it's not as good as the original. Just somehow seems to have lost some of the magic. But was certainly better then the similarly themed Nick St. Nick that was on Wonderful World of Disney a couple weeks ago. Now THAT was a waste of two hours.

Last night I got laundry done in spite of the guy who was trying to take over the laundry room. And I finished my "mystery" book. I realized yesterday that I might confuse you with that title. This is the book that I'm not revealing the title of just yet. It might be a mystery, it might not. You just never know.

Right now, I need to write the review of it. Hopefully, it will appear while I'm at my parents. Once it's up at Amazon, I'll reveal what it is. But if there are any guesses, you're more then welcome to express them here. :)

If I don't post the rest of the week, it's probably because I blew away. I'm only half joking. The wind is blowing so strongly out there, it's driving me crazy. Have I mentioned recently how much I hate wind? And that wind was one reason I decided to keep my hair short? After all, the wind doesn't make it look any worse then it already does. :)

My parents wound up being able to get that radio at their Good Guys, so I'm off the hook. Still wish they wouldn't shop there either, but that's not my call. :)

And I'm feeling even better about that guy that attacked Creationist at Amazon. Seems he spent the better part of the weekend attacking a couple of regulars on the board for things they didn't do if you read their messages. Looks like we're dealing with two trolls over there right now. (The other not related to this one at all.) I love the second. Long story, but here's the latest. "You guys mistreated me when I cheated and I almost got in trouble for it. I'm taking my ball and going home." All I'm thinking to myself is "Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

I really enjoyed the signing on Saturday. Spent an hour longer and $15 more then I intended at the store. The exhibit at the Reagan wasn't nearly as good as I was hoping. The main part was nothing but uniforms, which all start to look the same after awhile. What really got me were some of the propoganda posters they had. Asking people to conserve things, start a garden, etc. Made me think. How many of us today would be willing to do things to help our country currently? Little things that would inconvenience us. Unfortunately, we seem to be way beyond that these days. And it might come to that before the war on terror is over.

Last night, I wasn't feeling well at all. Went to bed early. And I still haven't finished my book yet. Yes, the mystery book that I refuse to tell you what it is. I should finish tonight. Hope to, anyway.

Here's an interesting link I found. I don't know how many of you have heard of or seen Michael Moore's new "documentary" Bowling for Columbine, but this isn't the first I've seen about how fictitious it really is.

I kept forgetting to comment on Amazing Race last week. It was so cool to see a part of the world outside the US that I've actually been to. And ending there at Neuschwanstein. I love that place. When we were there, I could have bought a million pictures of that place. Hope they spend a little more time there next week before heading to Switzerland. And maybe it'll be someplace I've been again.

And I think that's all for today. I will talke more about my weekend tomorrow. And watchout, Susansuth. I may be posting something about you, too. :)

(Building suspense, that's me today.)

I really should know better then this. It's happened to me before, yet will happen to me again. It should be right up there with "Never get involved in a land war in Asia" and "Don't go up against a Sicilian when death is on the line." What, you may ask. "Never discuss anything controversial on a public message board."

I pop into a message board on customer reviews at Amazon to see what's going on every so often. In a thread on the review with the most unhelpful votes, someone posted a review on a creation/evolution topic that has 260 negative votes and only around 20-30 helpful. Someone else posted this response:

Pete, thanks for finding such a ridiculously bad review! I just love it when Christian creations attempt to justify their incredulous mythology by attacking theories that developed from simple observation & measurement of the physical world. If it were up to creationists, people would still believe that the universe is geocentric and the quality of life would be no better than it had been during the middle ages.

Well, being me, I just couldn't leave that alone, and posted the following:

Just have to jump in here. (Anyone who knows me surprised? Just checking.)

Galileo was an evolutionist? Didn't realize that since he lived 200 years before Darwin. Newton? Copernicus?

There were just as many great scientists before Darwin came along as after. Furthermore, there is just as much prejudice on both sides of the issue. And both sides are taking measurements of the world and observing it.

I read a book in college while I was taking a philosophy class. The assignment was to research a topic from both sides and present the arguements on both sides in light of the falicies we'd spent the entire semester learning about. I found a book called Scientists Confront Creationism in my school's library. I figured I was all set. However, article after article was full of nothing but logical falicies.

Just some food for thought. We now return you to your regularly scheduled discussion of reviews with lots of unhelpful votes.

Well, it went downhill from there, with the other person pointing out how anti-science the Roman Catholic Church was and how they didn't pardon Galileo until 1992 (as if I didn't know that). He completely missed my point that not everyone agrees that the THEORY of evolution is a fact. Yet he also is going off about how we need to teach many different view points in schools so that students learn tolerance. I didn't actually say it, but I'm thinking to myself, practice what you preach, buddy.

And now, in a completely unrelated rant, my dad called and left a message on my answering machine. They'd like me to see if I can find a small radio for Mom at Good Guys and bring it up for her to try over Thanksgiving.

We had this conversation last weekend. I dispise the Good Guys for the way they treated me at two different stores when I bought a camera from them. It was my last purchase from the Good Guys ever. Kinda like I will never buy a Toyota. Yet my parents, who have left stores for good for the same treatment, want me to go to the Good Guys and get the radio for Mom if they have it. I will probably give in to keep peace in the family, but it really does bug me that they don't have enough respect for me that they actually asked me to do this. I'm hoping I can find it at Circuit City or Best Buy so I don't have to support the Bad Guys.

Ok, ranting for the day over. Must go eat brunch so I can leave for the book signing in time or I can hit the Reagan and be back in time for a good movie showing. Seth K. and I decided to see it anyway.

I got home last night, and basically went right to bed. After spending all week keeping up to date on my TV shows, I have 6 hours from last night to watch. Of course, two of those are Fox News Shows. Have I mentioned recently that I'm addicted to that channel?

The wind's died down the last couple of days. Kinda nice, actually. Weather's extremely warm. I was out at 9 last night with no coat and wasn't cold at all. That's unusual, even for Sunny Southern California.

Yesterday was definately an early Thanksgiving for me. Lunch in the cafe was the annual Thanksgiving "dinner." Went with Ben, which was nice cause I haven't spent any time with him in a long time. Of course, the food wasn't as good as I was hoping for. Especially the stuffing. They had a cornbeard stuffing or an apple/walnut. Couldn't have the second, and the first just wasn't stuffing. O well, I'll get some next week. :)

Then last night, we had our annual "Thanksgiving Feast" with the jr. highers. Here, everyone brings a dish that starts with the same letter as their last name. I brought Bread and Butter. And everyone was shocked when I actually did considering I kept saying I would. Considering the Durons were out of town and we staff were running it, it went very well. Don't know who's speaking in Sunday School. Don't think Dave will be back, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Speaking of which, does anyone else have this happen to them? I have way too many friends who seem to ramble on on tangents and don't get the fact that I'm in a hurry. Wednesday, Dave called just as I was getting back with the guys for Enterprise (which was a great episode, BTW.) He proceeds to ramble on about what the high school is doing, after telling me right off the bat that we aren't doing the same thing. Ok, it doesn't effect me (which I had to know before this to know if I was getting together with Seth and Kiersten or not) so get on with it. I was a little rude, but then again, I was being a rude host as Marcus was having to introduce himself to those he didn't know.

Not sure what I'm doing tomorrow anymore. I thought I'd be seeing Santa Clause 2, but both Josh and Pete have now backed out on me, after I invited the other Seth last night. Maybe I'll try to hit the Reagan on the way back from the book signing. And maybe I'll go by myself. We'll just have to see.

Right now? It's dinner time!

Today's Thursday Threesome is brought to us by family and The Back Porch.

Onesome: Through-What torments (or pleasures) do you have to go through to get to your Thanksgiving Day destination? ...or are you one of those who stays home? ...or perhaps someone who works on this holiday?
I have to survive the 5. For those not familiar with it, this in one of the main highways the connects the northern and southern parts of the state. It's straight and surrounded by nothing but fields on both sides. Not especially pretty or interesting for 5 hours. At least the last part of my drive north is interesting when I skirt the Bay Area. And I should have the newest Adventures in Odyssey collection to keep me busy heading north. That is, assuming Scott remembers to get it to me.

Twosome: Thick-Who are you looking forward to seeing this weekend? ...and is this a special gathering with friends and family from far away or more of a routine get together?
The current plan is to get together with Mom's cousins she grew up with and look through family history stuff. We're actually planning to spend Thursday night in Sacramento. Uncle Burton and Aunt Martie should be there, too. Will be lots of fun since I don't see the cousins and their families too often. And of course, once we're back in Santa Rosa, I'm looking forward to spending some time with Grandma.

Threesome: and Thin-Are you going to thin your wallet or purse down a bit on Friday? ...or is it time to do some decorating? ...or are you just glad it's over?
Will still be in Sacramento that day. Although we never do that much shopping anyway. Probably start working on decorating on Saturday and/or Sunday since I don't have to come home until Monday.

Hey, look at this. Bloggers actually going to let me in today. Now, if only I had something really intellegent to say.

Frankly, I haven't been doing a whole lot outside of work, watching TV and reading. I've been working hard this week, for a change. Finished a project Phil gave me last week. It felt good and was fun. I should try that more often. :)

The weather isn't nearly as pleasant as my little weather guy is making it out to be. Sure, it's in the 70's, but the wind is really blowing. And, just in case you missed it, I hate wind. It's so dry around here it's miserable. Hopefully, the weather people will be wrong and we'll get some rain soon.

After taking about a week to reach the half way point of Evanly Choirs, I finished it in two days. Man, I love that series. Then last night I started a new book that will make many of my friends happy to learn I'm finally reading. And, no, it's nothing by Tolkein. Once was quite enough with him.

Got the Ginny Owens EP Blueprint yesterday at lunch time. It's good. I'm finding myself enjoying her "simpler" versions of these songs.

Grandma left the hospital yesterday, but is still feeling nauseous. Guess she's been saying she doesn't think she'll make it until Thanksgiving. The doctors say there's no particular reason for that. But Grandma tends to be like me. When she's sick, she'll never get better. When she's well, she's doing fine and will live forever. Actually, she was saying this on Saturday. But she was having a much better day on Sunday and was talking about seeing me when I'm home for Thanksgiving.

Speaking of which, can you believe it's next week already? Looking forward to the time off work. And I'm taking Monday off, too. The one year I tried to drive home the Sunday after Thanksgiving, it took me 12 hours instead of the normal 8. So now I take an extra day off and spend it with my family.

BTW, anyone else having problems with site meter? Today is the second week in a row I haven't gotten my traffic report e-mail. Just curious if it's me or them.

Tonight, I get to enjoy my Bab 5 DVDs with the guys after Enterprise. And Jeremiah doesn't have a choice, we're watching them. :)

Just a couple of things I want to post really quickly, then I'll be going home for lunch!

Josh and Bonnie came over last night and we watched X-Men, much to Bonnie's dismay. Afterward, we were sitting around talking, and we started discussing Marcus. Don't remember for sure how the conversation went, but turns out that Marcus has known Josh's family for years and Marcus was at the wedding. Not that I remember him from it, but still! Everyone sing with me now. "It's a small world after all...."

Second, a fellow jr. high staffer announced her engagement today. That makes three people I know getting married next year. After a year of no weddings, I may be headed to three. Funny how things change.

Have a good rest of the weekend.

I do not like green eggs and ham. I don't not like them, Sam I Am.

It must be college view weekend. They were doing wild and crazy stuff in the caf for brunch today. There were about a dozen people wearing Cat in the Hat type hats with different colors, and they had people reading from and trivia about Dr. Seuss and his books. I actually won a prize by giving them his real name, Theodore Geisel. And my prize? Dr. Seuss's ABC's autographed by the Student Life staff. :) Hey, I like the book. I'll take it.

And, as an added bonus, they had regular and green eggs. I just had to try the green eggs. I figured food coloring was the only difference, but I was wrong. They put something else in them as well. A friend suggested bazil. Either way, it didn't improve them at all. So, now I know.

"Bible study" wasn't last night. So many of the group had other things going on, we played the "name game" for a couple hours. Had a blast doing it, but of course I came up with the best names after we'd finished. Steered clear of Trixie and co. and Babylon 5. Stumped people with characters from The Scarlet Letter, however. That kinda surprised me. And couldn't get my teammates to say Sydney Bristow. Guess Placerita Baptist just isn't into Alias the same way Santa Clarita Baptist is. :) Still, the guys won, so all's good.

When I got home last night, I stuck in the last disc from my Bab 5 set and watched all the bonus features on it. Only have one audio commentary left in the set and I'll have seen all the special features already.

Also got an e-mail from Dad last night as I was on my way out the door. Grandma's back in the hospital, this time for nausea. But her breathing is better.... Don't know the latest, but hopefully I'll find out more today.

Only 15 more minutes in this work week! And my Babylon 5 DVD's finally came today, too! Guess what I'll be doing this weekend. If you said going through the bonus features, you'd be correct. :) As well as trying to get several other holiday DVD's watched enough to review at Amazon. This the season for Christmas reviews. Wrote two this week, if they'd ever show up.

Speaking of holidays, I tried Quino's new holiday sandwich last night. Was highly disappointed. Something they did with the spices just tasted aweful to me. Won't be trying it ever again. Think I'll go back to the Honey Bacon Club. :)

Really feel like going to a movie this weekend. Thought I was going to get to see Santa Clause 2, but my friends think next weekend will work better. Of course, for me, this weekend is better. Stupid majority rules! :(

Actually have a nice quiet weekend planned. Nothing major going on, and a parenting seminar at church, so I'm not even thinking about going to the evening service. Hopefully get through what I want to watch and the majority of Evanly Choirs. Yep, already on the third in that series.

Can't think what else I wanted to say, but it was something important. Maybe if I remember, I'll blog tomorrow.

Of course, I wanted to end with my thoughts on reality TV this week.
Amazing Race - Aaron and Adrianne finally left!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Of course, being fickle me, I was feeling a little sorry for them by then. And I'm with everyone else, Terry and Ian can so leave now. I was very disappointed they got the fast forward.
Survivor - So they merge, after the one team is down 5-3. Not going to make the game that much more interesting, now is it? And Ken was the first to go. :( I really liked him and hoped he'd win. Guess he won't now.

And in case I don't make it back, have a great weekend everyone!

Good morning, and welcome to today's Thursday Threesome, brought to you by America Sings and The Back Porch. (If you don't get my reference, check out the link. I'll always associate that song with that attraction. And man do I miss the ride.)

Onesome: Shake- Is there anything that makes you shake in your shoes? Any phobias you'd like to share?
Probably my biggest phobia is hights. If someone is getting threatened with hights on TV even, my hands and feet will break out in a sweat. Not fun at all.

Twosome: Rattle- What's rattling around in your mental trunk that you need to take care of?
Let's see. The mountain of papers sitting in my in box I really should take care of. Moving those last couple of boxes I promised Marcus I'd move. What's going to happen next with Iraq. And what I should review next at Amazon. All equally important things, as you can see.

Threesome: and Roll- When you run up against an unexpected challenge, do you adapt and roll with it or scrap your original plan and go with Plan B?
Ask anyone who knows me. When I first hit a road block, I panic. After much thought, I'll eventually figure out how to work with it, either by going with Plan B or by adapting Plan A. But I'm not a great "on the fly" thinker. Give me time, and I can work with you. Just don't pop changes on me at the last second and expect me to fall in stride.

Today, Random Ramblings is please to present "Encounters with Telemarketers."

So last night, I got home around 6:30. There was a message on my answering machine. Since it's as exciting as getting personal mail or an e-mail message, I hit play.
"Hi. My name is (Forgotten) and I'd like to offer you a really great deal on a cell phone."
Wonderful, just when I had my hopes up it was a friend.

A while later (don't remember the time, but I'd guess around 7) I was upstairs watching some TV from last week. The phone rings, and I answer.
"Hello? Hello?"
"Yes, hello. Is John Baker there?"
"What number are you calling?"
The person on the other end proceeds to give my phone number.
"That's the number you've reached, but there's no one named John here." Yes, leaving out the fact that I'm a Baker. Doesn't help at all, and after all the calls I've gotten recently, I'm getting frustrated.
"Well, would you be interested...."
"No, goodbye." After all, if they can't get my name right, I know I don't want it.

Time moves on the 7:30. I'm doing well at getting through John Doe (great new show) before Buffy starts. The phone rigns a third time with probably my favorite of the three. :)
"Hello? Hello?" (I really need to start hanging up if they don't answer right away.)
"Hello. Is Mr. Raker ah Baker there?"
"What number are you calling?"
Once again, my number is receited to me.
"Where are you calling from?"
"New Jersey." I meant what company, but I wasn't clear enough. Either way, I decide to press ahead.
"Look. I'd appreciate it if you and your co-workers would never call me again."
At this point, the man on the other end gets a little testy. "I don't know where you're from, but I'm calling from America, and here you have to accept phone calls."
I'm shocked beyond words at this point. I certainly missed that law being passed. "Actually, I don't."
"Well, you do own a house."
"No, I don't."
"Own an apartment?"
"I rent an apartment."
"Then you are required to accept phone calls." At this point, he launces into some tirade about how it's good for the economy, business needs it. Guess I didn't realise that if I never answered my phone again, the country as we know it would fall apart.
I was sorely tempted to point out that, actually, I didn't even have to have a phone. I was free to make my own choices because I live in America. In stead I just told him how wrong he was and hung up amazed that there is someone that stupid on the phones. If I'd known what company he was calling from, you better believe I'd post it here and never buy from that company again. At the same time, I found his stupidity rather amusing. I've gotten lots of fun with sharing this story with everyone.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Now, for a few quick things.

1) The weather was much less windy, and in the high 70's today. As much as I love rain, I love weather like this more. Sorry Gabi, but today was a perfect weather day, even if you felt it was way too hot.
2) Grandma was back in the hospital over night. She was having trouble breathing. She's doing better and is out of the hospital, but things aren't looking good for the long term.
3) Kiersten called me today. The seminary mailed the letter today, but they couldn't wait any longer, so they had them fax a copy of the letter. Seth was accepted!!!! Which means they'll be moving in Kentucky. :( But that seems to be where God wants them to be, so I'm happy for them.

Had a good weekend, if a little busy. Donald arrived Friday night. He was in and out, spending most of his time with Heather. I see how I rate. :) I did get a chance to trounce him at the Stock Market Game on Sunday night. (We won't mention that he beat me on the first go around, which makes the ratio 2:1 in his favor.)

Mrs. Irwin, Chirs, and their friend Linsay came through Saturday and Monday looking at the college. Saturday was the hardest to coordinate since they were coming from Santa Rosa that day. Actually spent the rest of the time at BIOLA. But I was able to give them a good tour of campus in spite of the rain.

Speaking of the weather, remember how I was talking about how we hadn't had any of those dry windy days I hate so much? Guess what we've had the last couple of days. My skin itches, my mouth and eyes are dry. I HATE THIS WEATHER!!!!!! I will gladly take rain over this any day of the week.

Sunday night was the This Hope concert at church. I think I enjoy them more every time I hear them. Man, can they harmonize. Concert ran long, which means the SNYF started and ended late, but it all worked out. Frankly, I would have been willing to cancel the SNYF and just hear them sing for another hour.

Then last night, the jr. high group went bowling. (Which was why I had to leave at 5 yesterday.) Had fun, but my scores weren't good at all. Barely breaking 100. Then the last game.... We were almost out of time. Almost all the kids had gone over to the video games, so I decided to see if I could get another game in before out time ran out. I'm bowling as quickly as possible, and get 144! Fortunately, there were still a few witnesses around. Obviously, I need to go bowling more then once a year if I want to maintain a high scoring ability.

No time to say hello goodby, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!!!!

Well, maybe not that late, but I am running behind. I'd prefer to be home by now, so I'm just stopping by to let you know my 15 minutes of fame is down to 14:30. A comment I sent into Instapundit got posted to an already interesting (at least to me) post he'd made. If you're interested, the entire thing is here.

Welcome to the genre edition of The Sunday Op-Ed.

1. Action/Adventure
What am I a picky viewer of? I love certain types of action/adventure (like Spider Man, which I watched again last night.) But I tend to find lots of them are pretty basic and or stupid. The plot must make some sense and I must care something about the characters for it to be a truly good movie.

2. Comedy
What am I watching less of now then I used to? I'm only watching 4 sit-coms this year, and about 12 dramas, with the rest being reality TV. Used to be I'd watch only comedy with the rare drama involved. Of course, in this count I'm including 7th Heaven as a drama, when everyone knows it's really, usually, a comedy.

3. Romance
What is a sub-plot in every genre? I'm to the point that when I start a book, I start looking for the romantic sub-plot, no matter what the book officially is. Not that I ever read a romance novel perse.

So, what exactly have I been up to the last few days? Glad you asked.

Frankly, very little out of the usual. Bible Study went fine on Thursday. And we only had one minor mess-up with the music. My fault, but Kiersten wasn't completely sure what happened, so it was covered just fine.

Speaking of whom, Seth and K were expecting to hear back from the seminary by now. Unfortunately, their letter was mailed out end of this week. Hopefully, they'll know the beginning of next week.

I took my car back to Honda today about the AC. Guess what, it really was the compressor, just like I was told by the auto body place first. And, Honda says it's probably related to the accident. However, they said they'd fix it for me for free as "goodwill." So I don't think I'll complain about the $80 it's taken me to get to this point. They had to order parts, so I'll have to take it back, but at least it appears to be taken care of.

Had Tim cut my hair last night. First haircut in two months. Feels so good. I'm going to miss him and his haircutting services when he leaves for the army in January. Yes, will miss both of them. I just haven't perfected the blend like he does, and this haircut looks sharp. Got a couple compliments on it today.

Donald should be on his way down. We're going to have a late dinner at IHOP with Heather, Pete, and some of Heather's friends. Not sure what the rest of the plans will be. And some of the Irwin clan are stopping by tomorrow for a quick tour of the college.

Well, Sheree's giving me a ride to pick up my car and is ready to go, so I'd better sign off for now. Gabi, enjoy the rain! :)

Seeing as how Mary, Susan, and I seem to be doing things the same these days, thought I'd take the founding father's test they have up on their blog today.

Which Founding Father Are You?

Which works well with something I've been thinking about a lot lately. This this fits me, but I'd have to see the other choices to know for sure. That the first quiz in a long time I've taken that I had a hard time picking answers for. They just didn't seem to fit me.

Ok, Jennie, your turn. Or do you have a little twist on this to offer. :)

And don't believe my little weather guy. It hasn't been updated for two days and it's raining here! Finally! I love rain. In the winter.

Back with more later.

As promised, I'm back for the Thursday Threesome, brought to you my coffee and The Back Porch.

Onesome: Starbucks. Are you a coffee drinker? Yeah? What's your favorite brew? Not? Then what gets you going each day?
I'm not a coffee drinker. In spite of predictions that I'd become addicted in college, it's one vice I never added. Love the smell but can't stand the taste. So what gets me going in the morning? My shower. I spend longer in there then most guys (15 minutes) but letting the hot water roll over me wakes me up. By the time I get out, I'm actually ready to face the day.

Twosome: Christmas. Are you ready? ...or is it still a little early?
I've pulled out a few Christmas CD's and have about half my shopping done. Just kinda fell into it. The day after Thanksgiving, I'll pull out Christmas music and listen to nothing else. And I really need to figure out what I'm doing in the way of decorating this year. The apartment just seemed to get smaller since last year.

Threesome: Blend. Is autumn blending into winter for you? ...or are you already there?
Well, it's cold, dark and sprinkled during the night. We didn't get the Santa Anna's like normal last month, but rain always feels like winter to me. And I kinda missed it last year.

Welcome to the day after the election. While everywhere you turn, you're being treated to commentators’ thoughts on the election, I'm sure mine are the ones you're most concerned about. :) Yes, I'm a conservative, so I'm happy. And you are free to stop reading now. I won't be offended at all.

Florida - Guess the majority of the state wasn't as upset by 2000 as the rest of us were led to believe. I'm surprised (pleasantly) that Jeb held on to his position. By a wide margin, too. I'm sorry that not everyone feels this way, however. (That's for you, Shana and Chris. I'm assuming, based on past conversation.)

New Jersey - The people of that state are blind. I can't believe they fell for the Demo's trick and actually voted the Demo in. That's just wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong!!!! They stole that election, but we'll see if anyone has the guts to call them on it.

Minnesota - They weren't as gullible up there. Repubs won big.

Over all, I feel better about things then I have for a while. Seems like so many of the places I go on-line are hard core liberal. I was beginning to wonder if I was the only one left in the country who saw some of the stupid things Demo's were doing. Obviously, I'm not. Naturally, I'll be watching the Repubs very closely now (Have I mentioned that I've become a Fox News addict in the last month?) to see what they do with what they've been given. I don't think we'll wind up in the mess that many are claiming today, but only time will tell for sure.

I've saved my own state for last. Unlike Gabi, I'm disappointed Davis won again. I voted for Simon for Governor. While I was not impressed with his unproved attack on Davis, I still think he's a better choice then Davis. D's done nothing for our state, in spite of what he claims. I'll say this, if the energy crisis hadn't been two years ago, he would have lost no matter who he was running against!

And I don't have the faith in my fellow state citizens that I hoped to have. The measure to let you register to vote at the poll lost, but by a much closer margin then I'd hoped it would. While it sounds nice in theory, it's extremely dangerous and just asking to be abused. But it was defeated, so I can rest easy.

Back tomorrow morning with the Thursday Threesome. Have a great night and thanks for listening.

So, if I actually want to blog, guess I should figure out something meaningful to say. :)

Talked to my family last night. Someone called the cops on them again over the weekend. Mike answered the door to find two cops standing there. "We've had a report of screaming and thumping coming from your house. Is everything alright?" "Yes." "Can we speak to your wife?" At this point I'm laughing, but Mike invites them in (since they've already come in) and gets Mom and Dad. Eventually, the cops leave. All my family can figure is that it was while Mike and the other college students that were over were playing ping pong, an hour before. Fortunately, there hadn't been serious trouble.

The other time was even better. Mom and Dad were down visiting me. Mike had several of the college students from church over as well as the college pastor. They were sitting up stairs talking when a cop came to the door. He'd gotten a call that they were being too loud. Fortunately, he apologized for coming to the door. Sounded like he was embarrased that he had to do his job in this case. We figure it was a neighbor who didn't want the gathering to get out of hand since M&D weren't home. A little upsetting, but we do get a laugh out of it. After all, if Mike were that kind of person, they wouldn't leave him home alone like that.

Voted at lunch time. I already knew how I was voting, and it took me all of 10 minutes. Then decided to go ahead and order the Babylon 5 season one DVD's from Amazon. Probably would have shipped them by now if I'd ordered them before the release date today, but I was waiting to see if they were the best price. Hopefully, they'll be here soon.

Right now, I'm off to return a VeggieTales DVD to Family Christian Stores. Unopened. Found it much cheaper on line. At a place actually using the suggested retail price and not marking it up. Novel idea. Then it's home to watch the results on Fox before I head over the Seth and Kiersten's. Hopefully, they've found out whether or not they got into the school or not.

Welcome to another week. Like it or not. :)

I didn't spend all day watching movies Saturday. I did head over and play ultimate frisbee in the morning. Had a really good time. Of course, it helps when your team wins all but one of the games you play. :)

Anyway, I decided to head out to Family Christian Stores. Listened to lots of new music trying to decide what to put on my Christmas list. (Still can't believe it hasn't been demanded of me yet.) And I bought the new VeggieTales DVD. So, between that and the shows I'd recorded to watch, I didn't have time for movies.

The Sisters in Crime meeting was interesting, but nothing spectacle. Except that I got to spend money. :) Man, I miss Linda's store.

Went home for lunch, and they'd turned the water off. Of course, I realised this in the midst of washing my hands. :) But I managed to get the soap off by hitting a couple different faucets. Then the water came back on while I was watching Angel. Kinda funny. All of a sudden, I head this noise coming from the pipes.

Called Honda today, and I have another appointment to take my AC in to look at the compresser this time. We'll see what they say. Because of my accident, they still might not replace it under warrenty. Frankly, it'd be nice if they repayed me the almost $80 I've had to spend so far having it looked at, too. But I'm not holding my breath.

And, since I haven't done one of these for a while, think I'll post the results of a quiz.



Not sure I like this. :)

Forgot something rather important. Tomorrow is election day here in the States. BE SURE TO GO AND VOTE!!!!!!!!! I'm not going to tell you how. And I'm sure my readers know how I'll be voting. But either way, be sure to excercise one of our great freedoms here in this country.

I should be on my way to the Sisters in Crime meeting, but I'm going to hit the Sunday Op-Ed first.

1. SNOW
What have I visited, but only been in a storm of twice? Ironically, both have been in Southern CA. You know, up at Big Bear with the jr. high. Newly fallen snow is so beautiful. Especially if you know you won't have to miss a day of work because you can't get out of it. :) (Isn't being a grown up awful?)

2. WIND
What is one reason I cut my hair short? I'm not kidding. I HATE wind with a passion. Especially when it would mess up my hair. Now, that isn't an issue. Although I've been letting my hair grow out again recently.
Speaking of which, I was just thinking the other day we hadn't had the bad Santa Anna winds we usually get in October yet this year. Of course, the winds stronger today then it's been for a while....

3. ICE
What do I seldom have in my drink? Most restaurants fill your glass half full of ice. I prefer just a little to keep it cool, that way you don't need a refill nearly as often.

Posting this, then I'm outta here.

It's Friday!!!!!!! And my weekend plans include watching movies, watching movies, and did I mention watching movies? Sounds wonderful. Actually, I'll probably head over to the Sisters in Crime meeting on Sunday. Then again, I might not.

Last night went much better then I thought it would. We met early for Bible Study. Dinner was included (chili dogs). After a very brief devotional, we made bags for the neighbors of the church, then went out and left them on door steps. Yes, they knew it was from us. I think it went much better then I thought it would. And much better then it could have for sure.

Looks like Susan and I have convenced each other of absolutely nothing when it comes to Christmas music. But it sure what fun. :) At least I enjoyed showing off my lack of arguementative skills when it comes to personal preference.

TV Thoughts:
Amazing Race: How can Adrianne and Aaron come so close and still not loose? Darn it! I know considering the discussion at Val's on Tuesday that I shouldn't say this, but I enjoyed seeing Aaron cry. They were just so full of themselves, it kinda nice to see them humilliated like that. I know, I know, I got my wish when it comes to getting rid of one of the male/female teams. But that team was my favorite of the bunch. Would have much preferred that they stay.
Survivor: This will be very interesting. Still a team game, just living with the enemy. I can't wait to see how this developes. And it means Jan is still in danger. Shii-Ann dug her own grave last night. However, I enjoyed seeing her try to wiggle her way out of it and then accept defeat graciously. Would have liked to see her stay around longer, but that was not to be.
CSI: That was a bad episode. It started out so good, but then the rocker plot was only solved by a confession with no evidense, and the main/magician plot was never fully resolved. Where was the woman who started the whole thing? She's been missing for 6 months but we can't even find her body? Seems like they missed a good plot line to tie in
Without a Trace: Enjoyed it very much. Liked how they ended it, too. One question left, who reported him missing? Even so, much better then CSI.

Off to a Just for Fun. Youth group feeding me second night in a row. :)

Happy Halloween. Time for today's holiday themed Thursday Threesom from The Back Porch.

Onesome: Goblins. Do you do Halloween? ...or is it all too much?
As a kid, I dressed up and went trick or treating. When I hit jr. high, I started attending the youth group parties. Sometimes I'd dress up, sometimes I wouldn't. Just depended on what we were doing that year.

Twosome: Ghouls (and guys). What ghoulish dishes do you serve up at Halloween?
Considering I don't make dishes the rest of the year.... :)

Threesome: Bats. Where are you flying to this evening? Any plans?
We're still having Bible study for the jr. high tonight. Actually including dinner and outreach into the neighborhood this time. And we're starting half an hour early to boot. So I'll be at church most of this evening.

And in completely unrelated news, the covers for the first two Trixie Belden book reprints are on display over here. Just in case you happened to miss our discussions at Zap's and Jix.

The last few days have been interesting here at work. Our heater was broken. And yes, we do need it here in Southern CA during the winter. And the water main to our building broke as well. In spite of all this, we've managed to be productive workers. Well, sorta in my case.

And you know that thing I teased you with on Monday? Didn't wind up happening. Must have gotten some wires crossed.

I forgot to mention that a new season of 24 started last night. Good episode, probably would have liked it better with commercials, ironically. Set some interesting things up for this next year. Just hope they can follow through with them like they did last year. And I see Kiefer is now a producer. Also interests me to see main characters show up in that capacity.

Now, the reason I bet you're actually reading this post. Susan and I are having a friendly debate about Christmas music. And since comments were down most of the day, she posted her thoughts on her blog. I'm now going to respond, showing my impressive maturity and logic that will have her convinced I'm right and she's wrong in a matter of paragraphs. (Don't laugh. I'm just in that kind of mood, ok?)

No, one song you got accidentally doesn't constitute having Johnny Mathis. It's a start (depending on what song it is) but it's not going far enough. As soon as you're done with reading this entry, you will head over to Amazon and order the CD. You know you want to. And you know you're wrong. (Am I good or what?)

As to Charlie Brown, it's not Christmas until you've watched it. (Actually, I need to watch Great Pumpkin here pretty quick, don't I?) I love the special. Just never bought the CD soundtrack. Looked at it a couple times. I think it's on my Amazon wish list....

I, too, enjoy Acappella's music (have their Sweet Fellowship CD at work this week in fact). I just got the America CD at half.com. Hasn't come yet. Anyway, this is NOT that group. This is a group called This Hope. Their concerts (they'll be at my church in a couple weeks in fact.) are usually a mix of acapella and accompanied music. They'd just lost their piano player when they recorded this CD, so it was all acapella. If you like Acappella (the group), you'll probably like the CD. If you're interested, let me know. If they sing at the college the day after the concert at church, I can probably get you a copy of this Christmas Cd really cheaply. At least that was the case last time.

Not that big a fan of black gospel, but that's for the offer.

Now, everyone who agrees with me, go support me at Susan's blog. (And how many of you think we're both right?)

Turning the corner to something more series....

I've been feeling kinda blaw lately. Feeling like I should be doing something different with my life, but not sure what. The missionary speaker at church really convicted me this Sunday, and I've started really praying that God would direct me to where He wants me to be. As I was praying this morning, the words to a song I love came to mind. They're from Rich Mullins' (wish he'd done a Christmas CD) Jesus Record. My favorite song on there is called Hard to Get. If you haven't heard it you should. Basically, he spends the first two verses crying out at God asking if He's even still listening or is in Heaven playing hard to get. Then in the bridge and last verse, he finally realizes that God is still there and in control, even when we don't understand Him. Wonderful song. Anyway, the lyric that came to mind was "I can't see how you're leading me, unless you've lead me here, where I'm lost enough to let myself be lead." That's me. That's so me right now. Now, I just need to open my eyes and see where God would have me go next.

That pesky faith! It's so hard to follow One we can't see.

Last week, I promised to blog about my favorite Christmas CD's, then just gave a link. Since that's not quite fair, thought maybe I should follow through. So here, in no particular order, are my top 10 Christmas CD's.

1) Johnny Mathis - Merry Christmas You'll get very tired of me saying it's because I grew up listening to it, but that's the case with quite a few of these. This is the first example. I've listened to his others Christmas projects, and I just don't enjoy them the way I do this one. But it only takes the first few messures to get me completely under it's spell and in the Christmas spirit. And when I want to pop in a Christmas CD during non-Christmas time (like last week) I often reach for this one.

2) Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song Nobody sings it like he does. And it has a few not as familiar songs on it as well. Just don't be fool, the version with his daughter isn't nearly as good.

3) Amy Grant - A Christmas Album and Home for Christmas No I'm not cheating. If it works for Susansuth, it works for me. :) These are classics, introducing us to Tennessee Christmas; Emmanuel; Love Has Come; Breathe of Heaven; and Emmanuel, God With Us, amoung others. I'll pull these out year round if in the Christmas mood. (And it was someone like me who came up with Christmas in July.)

4) Michael W. Smith - Christmas Completely out of character with what he was doing at the time, the choral/orchestral CD is wonderful. And you have to love "Gloria."

5) Evie - Christmas Memories It's not Christmas until you've heard Come on, Right Those Bells. As sung by Evie, or course. You just can't escape it. I prefer the stuff from her first record over the second on here, and wish they'd included all of the first. But it's still a frequent resident in my CD player during December. A Thousand Candles is also a classic.

6) Sandi Patty - The Gift Goes On Title song's great. Really, the entire CD is. I prefer the version of O Holy Night she does here to her others. And you can't miss Bethlehem Morning.

7) 4 Him - Season of Love Great harmonies and fun arrangements. Especially of White Christmas and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. And Strange Way to Save the World is a personal favorite.

8) This Hope - Acappella Christmas Little known Christian group, the members are grads of Master's music department. I'm not a big fan, but this is fast becoming a December must. Can't get enough of their tight harmonies.

9) Twila Paris - It's the Thought This one is unfortunately out of print. But it's wonderfully Christmasy with some good new songs and little recorded classics.

10) Gary Chapman - This Gift Wonderful orchestration, although a fav is the acappella Hark! And yes, this was the inspiration for my first Christmas GWP over at Zap's.

11) Steven Curtis Chapman - The Music of Christmas Didn't disappoint in the least. Everything he does is good, and his unique look at classic songs and the classic story are wonderful.

12) Point of Grace - A Christmas Story Got to include this one, too. Especially love their arrangement of Holy Night.

O, you actually expected me to hit 10 right on? Don't know me too well, do you. And yes, I listen to lots of Christian music, even around the holidays, why do you ask? :)

Now Susansuth and I are having a discussion. She's never heard Johnny, I've never really listened to Bing (I know, I know) or Vince Guardelli's Charlie Brown Christmas album (and I call myself a Peanuts fan). I told her I'd get those two this year if she'd get Johnny. But she's resisting. Seems she doesn't want to just because everyone else likes it. But, the question is, can you really celebrate Christmas without Johnny? (No, I will not accept the arguement when it comes to Bing.) So, everyone, let's put the pressure on and get her to buy one of MY favorite Christmas CD's. (Yep, still all about me. :) )

WE WON, WE WON, WE WON!!!!!!!!!!!!! (What do you mean you didn't see me on the field over the weekend.) I just have to point out to all you Giants fans out there that they've lost the last two times they made the World Series. First to my A's (which I always support. Considering that I don't support teams anyway.) And I've wanted the Angels to win for years so they'd get some respect. Of course, it'll probably be the same respect the A's get. I can vividly remember being in Santa Rosa in the early 90's and being told how stupid I was to root for the A's over the Giants. Of course, I had to point out that the A's had made three World Series in a row. While they only won one of those, it was the Giants they beat. That shut up my opponents pretty quickly. :)

Found out at the SNYF last night. Major rejoicing all around. Of course, my parents are calling me a traitor since I've been rooting for the Angels. Frankly, I don't really care.

Had a quiet, relaxing weekend. Nice for a change. Played ultimate frisbee at the picnic with the career groups from Placerita and Grace Saturday. Got new pants from Mervyn's during their sale. Did two loads of laundry. Really exciting, blog worthy stuff.

Did agree to make a temporary change that will make Shana very happy. And if she thinks back into the reaches of when she's known me, she'll know what I'm talking about. Yes, I promise to get pictures and get the posted somewhere. (Misty, we really need to get my web site set up. Yes, I know it's my fault.)

Had a major bummer last night, too. Jeff and Jen came over at 10 to watch Alias. Knew I wouldn't be home before then. Anyway, we're on the couch getting ready for a great hour, and we see Syd sitting in a chair with her blue hair. Sure enough, they decided to rerun the season premier. Makes sense opposite the final game of the World Series, but I wished I'd known sooner. This episode is supposed to air next Sunday, so can't wait until then. Some secrets reveiled. Maybe. :)

Met with Dave for lunch today. Good time to catch up with him and talk about the youth. We haven't met like that in a long time. Really should do it again soon.

Think I'll end with the Sunday Op-ed, Late Edition.

1. Niagra Falls

What have I never gone over in a barrel? (And I've never been to Boston in the Fall.) Other answers might be, what did I visit between Gettysberg and Philidelphia? And where did I get a funny mug from my "wife" from? Ok, that last one needs a little work, but you Trixie folks should get it.

2. Hawaii

Who gets a state quarter in 2008? Also, what state would I like most to visit?

3. Grand Canyon

What have I never lept in a single bound? Also, what was a little less spectacle while visiting on vacation after seeing Bryce Canyon in Utah?

Yes, I'm in a funny mood. Must be because I'm done with Monday!

I have lots to cover today, so maybe I should get started.

First, I, too, am rejoicing they've caught the snipper. Glad all my DC friends are now safe. Now, if we could just have as good a resolution to the situation in Russia right now.

I don't think any of the kids turned in their applications for worship team Thursday night - the "deadline." Interesting. Makes me wonder if the only reason we're doing this is for the new youth pastor's son (which I'd suspected all along.) Meanwhile, I think once Seth and Kiersten leave, it's going to be just me trying to lead this thing.

The Angels were embarrising last night. 4-16? Come on guys! I have bragging rights at stake here! (Val, I refuse to surrender!)

Hit a milestone at Amazon this week. My 200th review is now posted!!!! I'll let it sit at 200 for a few days before I submit the two I've already written for books I finished this week.

Couple of comments on my reality shows. I was so disappointed with the outcome of Amazing Race Wednesday night. I am so ready for Arriana and Adrian to leave! And they almost did, too. If only Heather and Eve had gone back and followed instructions. I do find it funny that AA are so intent on getting two teams out, yet keep falling down themselves. And I like the fact that all the teams are within 30 minutes of each other. That will make for a very intense leg Wednesday. Can't wait!

And over on Survivor, I was finally right. Robb (two b's) left! I was surprised he lasted this long, although he had grown on me after the first week. Knew if they didn't win immunity this week, we was toaste. His tribe definately had a 5-3 alliance going. And the preview for next week looks interesting. Like everything else this round, I think they're giving them the option of merging or not. Not merging would be a different twist on things. Guess we'll have to wait a week and see.

I know I promised to blog about my favorite Christmas CD's (we're having cold weather, so I'm certainly in the mood.), but I think I'll save that for another day. Or, you can always go here and see what I wrote about Christmas music at Amazon a couple weeks back.

(Two shameless plugs in one day. Must be some kind of record or something.)

The Thursday Threesome is back! Brought to us by the Olsen Twins (kinda) and The Back Porch.

Onesome: Bubble, bubble - As in bubble bath. What's your favorite way to relax?
Reading or watching tv. I can get completely lost in a good book. And I think you know what a tv addict I already am. :)

Twosome: Toil - What's your least favorite chore, and why?
All of them. :) Ok, probably cleaning the bathrooms. Just too icky! :)

Threesome: and Trouble - What do you get into trouble for around the house?
Being lazy. Although that's mainly with myself. My roommates are usually just as bad if not worse then me. Has something to do with being bachlors, I think.

Sorry, Val, but the Angels seem to be winning the series right now. And last night's game wasn't even close. The Angels are ahead by number of games and number of runs. (Yes, I know I've just jinxed them to loose tonight, but I don't care.)

Actually, it's kinda funny. I should be rooting for a team, but I can't seem to get super enthused about doing so. See, I grew up an hour north of the Giants, now I live an hour north of the Angels. The only pull I've really been having excerted on me is to root for the Giants, but I'm rebeling and rooting for the Angels. Of course, it helps that they are (or were) owned by Disney. :) Must have my priorities straight.

Hank told me that the compressor on my AC is shot. Kinda what I expected to hear. So now I need to call Honda and see what they'll do for me. He did indicate it might be a result of bad work when fixing the condenser after my accident, but we'll just have to see.

Seth and Kiersten showed me some pictures of the seminary they're hoping to go to in the spring. I can see why they liked the campus. It's beautiful. This obviously seems to be the direction their life is going. I'm sorry to see them go, however.

And I must comment on Buffy last night. WOW! Powerful episode wonderfully acted. And they had some great continuity with the reference to killing Angel in season 2 and a scene added to the musical from last season. That was a surprise. The last 10 minutes were incredible. I can't wait to see where they're going to take Anya from here. But I'll have to wait a week since next week is a rerun. What's up with no Halloween episode this year? I believe it's a first.