December 12, 2001
Dear Everyone:
Ever notice that some people seem to have a twitch of sorts? Like the guy whose knee seems to be always bumping up and down when he’s seated in a chair? Or the person who unconsciously wiggles her feet all the time?
Last week, I seemed to be surrounded by twitchy people. There’s this one person in “Hobby”. I made the mistake of sitting next to him in a conference room one time. Every time his knee started going, the floor under us would vibrate in unison and my California-trained brain would report “Earthquake! 2.5 on the Richter Scale.” Now I know better and never sit near him.
Then, on the plane bound for “Hobby”, the man in the window seat was a left-to-right twitcher. I swear he made the whole plane rock back and forth and wasn’t even aware of it. It was rather like being seated next to a very large electric toothbrush.
Finally, during the workshop in “Hobby”, I made the mistake of picking a workstation next to a gentleman who was built pretty much along the line of, well, Santa Claus. He had a large “belly that shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.” Only he didn’t have to laugh. Every time his knee started bouncing, his, shall we say, girth would set the table top shaking so hard that I thought my monitor was going to topple over.
However, my trip home last Friday was pleasantly devoid of twitchy people. In fact, I had the whole row to myself and could stretch out in relative comfort.
On Saturday, “Jeannie” and I did some Christmas and birthday shopping at Macy’s, where virtually everything was at least 50% off, plus an additional 15% off if you used your Macy’s credit card. I’m pleased to say that almost all of my shopping (and shipping) is completed, except for a few last-minute things that I probably won’t even think of until the 24th.
And, of course, a few little trinkets for myself, such as a new computer. This one is getting on in years (it’s almost four) and I think it’s time I turned it over to “Jeannie” to use for surfing the Net and checking stuff out on eBay. Her work computer doesn’t have enough RAM (Random Access Memory) for the kind of graphics (i.e., pictures) that you tend to find and it keeps freezing on her. Better that should happen with a computer that isn’t loaded with the very expensive software that she uses for work.
I’m also thinking that the bedroom TV could use replacing. Better to give it away while it still works than to wait until you have to pay someone to haul it away for you. But that can wait until next year. God knows I gave away my quota of contributions that you can’t claim without a receipt.
And I won’t have to wait too long. Do you realize that next year is only three weeks away? Seems like only yesterday I was throwing out the Jack-o’-lantern from Halloween. (Wait a minute. Maybe that was yesterday. I really need to do some housecleaning.)
I finally broke down and invested in an artificial Christmas tree this year, primarily because it came with the lights already installed. Not that it’s up, of course. It’s still in the box and I have to figure out where it’s going to go. But at least I won’t have to worry about how to dispose of the “carcass” after the holidays. Just stuff it back in the box and stick it out in the storage shed.
I’m in the office (more or less) next week, and then I’m off for the rest of the year. Packages for “Jeannie”, “Marshall” and Mother (and me) should be sent either to “Jeannie’s” address (she has a deal with her mail delivery person to put packages in an outside cabinet) or to my business address (xxxx Sierra Court, “Livermore”, CA 94568).
Apart from that, Happy Holidays!
Love, as always,
Pete
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