December.

The month of December is the most hectic month of the year for most folks, myself included. Except work-wise. December is the most boring time of year for my office. There's really not a whole lot to write about because the other divisions and offices aren't really working on anything WORTH writing about. So, we all sit here, usually bored out of our minds, despite the fact that there's actually plenty of filing and other mindless shit to do.

We don't do the other mindless shit because we have no motivation to do so. I've been arriving late for work everyday for the past two weeks because I just don't care. And my boss doesn't care, either. We're all just looking forward to all the holiday parties and food that we have given up on work almost entirely. This mentality will probably continue until about mid-January when we finally realize we need to get our sorry asses in gear once again, for fear of being yelled at or fired.

I am terrified at and disgusted with the thought of all the baking I need to do. I hand out my famous cookies to everyone and their brother-in-law on Christmas, and it's a nightmare making a half dozen batches each of chocolate chip cookies and chocolate peanut butter balls. Truly. I mean, I love to bake. But it admittedly gets out of hand. I don't know why I do it each year, but for some reason, I feel a strange obligation to my loyal cookie fans. Fortunately, this Sunday, I'm taking care of a lot of it at Laurie's house...so hanging out with her will at least make it more enjoyable.

I still have a little more shopping to do, namely for my Dad and for a couple of friends. The friends shouldn't be too hard; I just need to get out there and buy the stuff. My Dad is the most difficult person to shop for, really. He's a middle-aged, retired man, with plenty of money. He buys everything he needs and is a guy so he doesn't need much; the man literally shops at K-Mart for 75% of his clothing. He has NO hobbies. Really. No model airplanes, no building birdhouses, no obsession with computers. Nothing. He sits on his ass and watches TV most of the time, when he's not up north picking out countertops for the new cabin. I'd buy him booze, but he doesn't even drink much!

Because he sits on his ass and watches TV most of the time, a couple of Christmases ago I bought him a DVD box set. My father loves anything war-related, so I bought him the $70 Band of Brothers DVDs. I was so fucking proud of myself--you have no idea. I thought I had found the PERFECT gift.

Two years later, it's still in the cellophane wrapping. I'm bullshit.

So this year, I've so far managed to get him a Ralph Lauren shirt, a Sears gift card, and yet another DVD that he probably won't watch. I still need to figure out something else...maybe a gift certificate to a German restaurant or something. He loves German food.

My Mom's almost as difficult to shop for, but she at least gave me some hints, so fortunately, she's all set.

My Mom is bringing home a kitten this Saturday. It's a 6-month-old lil one she's had her eye on for quite some time now. He's really quite cute, with unusual markings: long black and white fur with a raccoon-like-markings tail. If I get a minute or two of ambition, I'll post some photos of him soon. It'll be nice to have a pet in the house once again, since my last kitty died this past Valentine's Day (Valentine's Day has never been all that happy of a day for me, as I am usually single and quite depressed because of it, but because my beloved Mitty died on that day, I now loathe it even more).

Tomorrow, I'm taking the majority of the day off to go shopping with Monica (again)--this time to the city. It should be nice and the weather is supposed to be warm. Saturday night I'm heading into Boston again to have dinner with my friend and former music teacher, Rosanna. We don't see each other as often as I'd like, so I'm glad ot have the opportunity to hang out with her. We're going to a Tapas Bar on Newbury Street named Tapeo. I've been there a few times before and they have the best Sangria ever, so you can mark my words I won't be drivin' THAT night! :)

OK, all...that's all I have for now! Have a lovely weekend!