[Chefelf]

Christmas Recap

Christmas is over, and what a Christmas it was! It's hard to look under my tree and not feel extremely lucky as I look at all the gifts piled up underneath it. That's right, all my presents are still under the tree. It's a tradition brought to me by my lovely girlfriend fiancé who insists upon it. At first I didn't understand it but after a few years I am a convert to this way of doing things. Yes, our tree is still up on January 3rd and, yes we still have all of our presents underneath it. The tree will come down on Sunday and at that point we will put away all of our fantastic gifts we've received from our wonderful family and friends.

Feeling lucky is great but it also makes me feel guilty. I'm not the richest person in the world but I know I'm extremely fortunate to have an eight-and-a-half-foot tall Christmas tree which has its entire base lined with presents, none of which I actually need. It is fun to give and receive during Christmas but if you took all the money I spent on presents and all the money spent on me, couldn't it do a world more of good for someone truly in need? Perhaps. But if I'm having feelings like this in my tiny one bedroom apartment I wonder how Warren Buffet must feel.

All guilt and shame aside, here's a quick rundown of what I got for Christmas this year.

Off my Christmas wish list I received the following:

Super Mario Galaxy

Norelco Turbo Vacuum Beard and Moustache Trimmer

Topeak JoeBlow Max II Floor Bike Pump

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition) (2007)

Flight of the Conchords - The Complete First Season

Carnival Games

Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree

TomTom ONE 3rd Edition Portable GPS Vehicle Navigator

MIU 12-Inch Walnut-Finish Wood Peppermill with Stainless-Steel Gear

Philips DVP5960 DVD Player with HDMI, 1080i Upscaling, DivX Ultra, USB direct

Energizer e2 Charger for AA & AAA Rechargeable Batteries with Car and Home Adapter & 4 AA Batteries

In addition to all these great gifts I also got these things:

I got two stockings jam-packed with goodies. In the stockings

Christmas Cheese Knives
Next December when I cut cheese, I can do so with a knife that has Christkindel on it. Much more festive.

What Happened Here? New York City Trivia Cards
So I can be embarrassed by how little I know about the city I live in.

Smiley Face Stress Ball
Feeling stressed? Squash a tiny smiley face. I think it would be more effective if it turned into a frowning face after you squashed it. The fact that it still smiles just makes me feel more stressed.

A mess of cashews, mixed nuts, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, candies, cookies, tea, etc.
When I was a kid this would have all lasted about 14 hours in the house. I think I finished my Christmas goodies in September last year. This year it looks like I may last into April of 2009.

Esprit du Sel
I have a reserve of nice quality salts now that, should I for some reason be holed up in my apartment due to emergency, will last me about 36 months.

"I'm the Real Iron Chef" Pin
A pin to boast (read: lie) about how I am apparently better than Iron Chefs Morimoto, Sakai and Chen.

Spice Bags
So I can make sachets of herbs and spices for making soups, stocks, broths, etc.

Mulling Spices
Perhaps to put in my spice bags and then add to a cider of some sort.

Heat Resistant Spoon
So I can stir it up.

Mach 3 Blades
I got a huge package of these! This was a great unexpected present particularly because nothing fills me with quite as much sadness and regret as spending money on razor blades.

A Tiny Measuring Cup
For making tiny cakes.

Socks and Boxer Shorts
Again, something I'm glad that I don't have to spend money on.

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
Can't wait to have this soup for lunch one day. You haven't had soup until you've had soup that's been in a sock.

A mess of USB flash drives
A ton of them. There are at least ten. I can barely hold all of them in one hand. Now I an bring Word documents with me wherever I go!

The Endo Magnet Clip
Contrary to what it sounds like it is not a clip to hold marijuana but rather to hold papers and stick them to a fridge.

Jamie's Italy
A cookbook with stories of Jamie Oliver's cooking and travels through Italy. He's a cook I really respect even if Jen's dad says he's a ponce.

Voice alert Thermometer
I'm not quite sure how it works just yet. I imagine it yells, "Hey, turkey's done!" Or something along those lines.

The United States of Arugula: The Sun Dried, Cold Pressed, Dark Roasted, Extra Virgin Story of the American Food Revolution
A book about America's "food revolution" which has promoted celebrity chefs and exotic ingredients. That stuff really annoys me (particularly celebrity chefs) but it's supposed to be really interesting.

Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany
In keeping with the tradition of having a subtitle so long that it pretty much just serves as a Cliff's Notes version of the book.

A Tambourine!
It's the first item purchased for my new home recording studio. So now I can record tambourine and a capella vocals! Or at least I could if I had a microphone.

Domaine les Bastidettes Huile D'olive
I studied French for five years so I'll translate for you. It reads, "Olive Oil from the Domaine of Little Bastard Girls."

A Coupon to see National Treasure 2!
The sequel to one of my favorite movies ever, National Treasure.

The Karate Kid II: Novelization
Who knew there was a novelization of The Karate Kid II? I only read a snippet of it but it had some weird scene involving a World War II soldier's flashback and a machine gun. I can't wait to read the whole thing! I just need to find 36 uninterrupted minutes to do so!

You Must Be This Tall: The Story of Rocky Point (DVD)
A movie about the local amusement park where I used to live.

A New Hat!
To keep my head warm! It came in useful this morning when it was 15 degrees out.

New Gloves!
To keep my hands warm! (See above).

A New Car!
Well, not really.

[Heccubus]

Am I to assume you received your annual helping of maple sugar candies? Or was this an off year?

I looked at a few Jamie Oliver books with some gift cards but ultimately passed. I received a Gordon Ramsay cookbook myself and figure that's more than enough to keep me occupied kitchen-wise for at least a year. So much in there to learn...

Also, what kind of tambourine? I have this bad boy and I rather love it:
http://img3.musician.../6/9/256069.jpg
I <3 Remo

This post has been edited by Heccubus: 04 January 2008 - 12:57 AM

[Chefelf]

That's it! That's the exact tambourine! I'm loving it too.

Good call! I didn't even realize. No maple sugar candies this year!

BTW: I neglected to mention my awesome new coffee mug that Jens' mom got me. Perhaps I forgot because originally they gave it to me and I packed it in my luggage to fly back to New York. We took great care in packing it, wrapped in multiple layers of clothing and further protecting it inside of a bundt pan. Well, the TSA searched our bags on the return flight and repacked it just loosely amongst the rest of our stuff so that when we got home the mug was in pieces. This annoyed me and Jen's mom was kind enough to get me a second mug!

Just for the record, this is the same TSA that, upon departing New York initially, saw something 'suspicious' in my carry on baggage. When they searched my bag they found that it was . . . wait for it . . . wait for it . . . a BANANA!

[Heccubus]

Just for the record, this is the same TSA that, upon departing New York initially, saw something 'suspicious' in my carry on baggage. When they searched my bag they found that it was . . . wait for it . . . wait for it . . . a BANANA!

They're cracking down on terrorism by stopping potassium in its tracks!

[Chefelf]

They hate us for our fruits high in soluble fiber.

[Otal Nimrodi]

Damn you, and your healthy food! It's a threat to national security!

Myself, I got three new dress shirts and ties, a heavy tweed jacket, "I am America, and so can you", money, Civ IV (again. This is the third Christmas in a row that I've been given Civilization IV. I expect something similar when Spore is finally released), and a really cool leather jacket. But by far my best present was some new Tarot cards. They're Tar-iffic!

This post has been edited by Otal Nimrodi: 04 January 2008 - 02:47 PM

[Heccubus]

a really cool leather jacket

?

[Otal Nimrodi]

Like that, yes.

The car wasn't included, however.

[Despondent]

I got some great stuff. Just wanted to say that I played that very tambourine (if it's a Remo; doesn't have to be. Looks like a decent insturment), on a Christmas Piece at my old church choir gig. Did a big dramatic shake at the end, then a BANG /silence at the cut-off. Took everyone by surprise at rehearsal of course, but who could deny the musicianship?

I actually copied it from a renassasance piece I'd heard on a Wal-Mart tape of Christmas classics. Back to the tambo, I took it on and was determined to get the best effects from it. But the flip side is that it must never be played wrongly. That will be recognized.

[Chyld]

Just kinda finished my Christmas. Most of The Week Itself was spent at my girlfriends place with her folks. It all went wonderfully well. The only things I really wanted were a new coat and some books by Tom Sharpe, and I go those (woolen and double breasted, and hilarious). The rest of the last fortnight had her staying with me and we had fun.

We both got lots of chocolate though. Most of its gone, but I still have a few Heroes, and some Galaxy bar. And some teeny Bounty bars, but I hate coconut, so they don't count.