Santa II

I had to do the Santa gig again today. I really wasn't in the mood to do this at all, it's been a really shitty two days. BUT, I didn't have a choice, so I did the best I could. Four hours of weaing that get up again... ugh, if I volunteer to do it again next year, someone please smack me upside the head!

Anyway, the kids did brighten up my day a little, and bring my thoughts to a better place. The babies were so adorable.. one was only three months old, another seven months old. Looking into their innocent little eyes, I saw a glipse of hope, and of love that I so badly needed to see.

A person with down syndrom wanted to have his picture taken with santa. He is 26 years old (older than me), and shopping with his Mom and Grandma. At first the Grandma didn't want him to "bother" me, but I motioned for him to come over. He was so excited. I couldn't understand a lot of what he was saying, but his mom would repeat everything he said. He was a big Sabres fan, so I asked him who his favorite players were, and things like that. There were no children around at the time, so I talked with him for a while while his mom shopped near by. He was so loving, and so very polite! He wanted books for christmas. I asked if he wanted his picture taken, and again, he got all excited. He went to sit on my lap, and his mom yelled out "No, you're too big to sit on his lap!" I assured her my lap is plenty-wide, and would have no problem holding him up. He posed for the picture, then gave me the biggest hug I've had in a while. The picture was free, and when we gave it to him, he was jumping up and down all excited. His Mom came over and thanked me, and the Grandma told me I made his Christmas!! My eyes teared up. What an awesome, and humbling experience. I was honored!

Sometimes feelings and emotions can hurt much more than even the deepest flesh wound. There is no advil or tylenol to take to make the pain go away, and no bandage and neosporine to make it heal faster. All there is, is time.

I have to believe right now that things happen for a reason, and that with each ending comes a new beginning.

For now, all I have is time.

I can't wait for my poli-sci exam to be over with! I have been studying my ass off, and will probably still do lousy. It's at 9AM sharp.... All I want is a C+ *crosses fingers*

It's been a long day today. I worked a short 8-12 shift, but I had other things on my mind, and time dragged. Shirley said I looked liked a caged lion pacing back and forth in the lab most of the morning while it was slow. I managed to pick up an extra 5 hours yesterday by going in my day off.. doing the best I can to make a little extra money.

Dad is still on strike, and we are all very worried. He came back from a specialist today, and he will have to have surgery on his shoulder now. Poor guy is falling apart. There is a good chance that my family will lose their medical coverage in January if the strike continues. Needless to say, we are all very scared at this point. Hard to really settle down and enjoy the holidays.. you're always afraid of what's going to happen next.

It will be awesome when school is completely done for the semester. I look forward to actually leaving the house and visiting with friends. Haven't seen Anne or Jason in ages, and miss them both. I have to get my ass in gear and start my Christmas baking too. :-)

End of Semester

This semester is rapidly coming to an end. My last class is Friday, which is also the final exam. I can't wait till Intro to American Politics is OVER. I hate that class!! Was never a fan of politics. I have been studying my ass off for the exam, as I did lousy on the last two. Thank God for the attendance points. When I study the text and lecture notes, I learn the main ideas and concepts.. but on the multiple choice exams he gives, he picks some of the most minuscule fact presented in graphs or examples. Grrr. Anyway.. here's hoping!

I'll miss my American History class. It was a rather laid back environment, and I actually looked forward to the lectures, and enjoyed the reading assignments. I am not a fan of reading, so that's saying something about the material the professor chose. Actually, it's the professor who made the class awesome. He's a young guy from South Carolina, who has a one year position in UB's history department. He's awesome, and I wish they would keep him on. He doesn't have that southern twang going on, but he is so laid back and casual, like he belongs on a porch swing drinking a mint julep. He looks like Toby McGuire too.... mmmmm... he's SO damn cute. Yea, I'll miss seeing Dr. Hart twice a week too. =-P

I'm being forced into a science class for the fall semester, one that has a lab to meet the requirement for the certification program. It might prove to be a tough course, but since it will be my only class next semester, hopefully the extra time I'll have will help me to compensate. I'm not looking forward to it, but provided I get a C in Politics and Science, I'm on my way to the certification program. *crosses fingers*

Let it snow

Here is a picture of what I looked like when my suit was "stuffed" so I looked more like Santa. Men in uniform are hot aren't we??? =-P

It started snowing today.. only in Buffalo could a person mow their lawn one week, and snowblow their drive way the next. It came down rather hard at first, then tapered off. Some areas can see as much as a foot of snow by the morning. YUCK! A light dusting is nice, but let's not over do it.

I have made out my grocery list to start making Christmas cookies soon. I don't make nearly as many kinds as Grandma did, but I make sure the favorites are all there. So far, I plan on making: Dark Hermits (rasin cookies), cut out cookies, peanut butter cookies, oatmeal cookies, peanut butter fudge, chocolate fudge (if I can get my Grandma L's recipe from my Aunt), date and nut bread (Anne's recipe), and I might attempt to make poppie seed loafs. I wish I had a bread machine, I'd love to try and make Panettoni (Italian Christmas fruit cake). This is a lot of work, and about half of what my Grandma D. would make each Christmas.

HO! HO! HO!

I did the Santa thing yesterday, and it was rather fun. The kids were ADORABLE! Some of course were to shy to come over to me, but some would come running to me, and give me a big hug. This one little boy saw me when he came into the store, bolted down the isle, and literally jumped into my arms.. I'm glad I caught him. Once he caught his breath, I asked him what he wanted for Christmas, and he said: "Umm... umm.. umm.. now I forgot." It reminded me of that scene from the movie Christmas Story, where Ralphie gets so excited to be talking with Santa, that he forgets what he wanted. I was tempted to ask the kid How about a nice football?", but I told him to send me a letter when he remembered what he wanted. The cutest thing was this little girl who is four years old.. she was so shy.. but I won her over, and now she thinks she and Santa are best friends. She waved to me on the way out of the store and yelled out "It was nice meeting you!!"

The not so fun part of the whole Santa gig was the costume. The beard was annoying as hell. Santa needs to update his look and go clean shaven.. or maybe a goatee. We kept getting comments from people that Santa was "too skinny". A father even went so far as to say "Instead of milk and cookies, this Santa only seems to like skim milk and rice cakes". Nice for my ego, but bad for the Santa image. So we got a huge roll of this cotton bunting material, and stuffed the jacket part of the costume. -- Brought back memories of when I was that big! LOL I sat down, and couldn't see my knees anymore... and let me tell ya, that shit made the costume like a sauna!!! Ugh.. and I get to wear it this up coming Saturday too.

Yesterday evening I went to my good friend Bobby's for a pasta dinner with our friend Dan. That Dan is a riot, and a great story teller... and he gets better looking each time I see him. Bobby's house is by far my favorite "restaurant" in town. He's an awesome chief. We always have such a great evening together, like a mini holiday in and of themselves. Good times!!!!!!

Ended up going with Mom to a candle light memorial/prayer service (not a mass) held at the cemetery where my Grandparents are, sponsored by Hospice. I had no desire to go, but Mom REALLY wanted to, and there was no one else to go with her, so I went. It was a nice ceremony, and there were a lot of people there, of all age groups. Wasn't my cup of tea, but Mom seemed to feel better.

Finally went to the doctor's office today. Was hoping I would get better without having to go, but no luck. I have tonsillitis, so I was put on a stronger anti-biotic. I went to get the Rx at the pharmacy at work, and almost died when I got the bill. $45 for 7 pills!! There is no generic for it, so Univera didn't cover it. I was so tempted to forget it altogether, but I can't allow this infection to keep going.

Looking forward to being Santa tomorrow for the kids. From 10-2.. it's gonna get mighty warm in that suit! The kids always have a ball with it, and I like interacting with them. I was told by management not to promise the kids anything crazy, like a puppy or anything like that. Wii's and PS3's for everybody!!! =-P