Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Random pre-Xmas tidbits.

I have no idea what is happening to me. I am the most disorganized person I know. I probably couldn't produce a copy of my 2005 tax forms if you asked me.

Why I am I telling you this?

I was searching through my junk e-mail account for our flight information for Christmas. I knew we were flying on Southwest and leaving Thursday night, but I didn't know the specifics. So I searched for the confirmation e-mail. I checked my credit card at the convenient website provided by the issuing bank and saw I was charged for the tickets on November 10. However, there was no confirmation e-mail from Southwest in my inbox on or around November 10.

Then for some reason I checked my file cabinet at home. Under "F" there was a folder labeled "Flights." It contained print-outs of all necessary flight reservation information and confirmation numbers. I have no idea what possessed me create a hard file of this, seeing as the only other thing in my file cabinet is a receipt for a donut filed under "D." You never know when you might need to prove you bought a donut.

For three seconds on November 10th I decided I was going to be some kind of responsible adult or something. Inexplicable. That's my new favorite word: inexplicable.



Last night the Suns beat the Sonics by 28 points. Steve Nash had 8 assists and 5 points. For some reason I was incredibly thrilled by this blowout win combined with a crappy game by Nash.






I went to Target last night to do some Christmas shopping. I was going to get my cousin a Target gift card because I have no creativity. On my Mom's side, there are nine cousins and each Christmas each of us are assigned one cousin to buy a present for.

I think I have defaulted on three of the past six Christmases. Of the three cousins I have actually remembered to send a present to, two got Target gift cards. The third cousin got a little Swiss army knife (purchased at Target).

Why a little Swiss army knife you might ask?

Because I remember him losing an identical pocket knife in 1988 when my family was visiting his family (our moms = sisters). He had just received the pocket knife for Christmas. He and I were sitting in the front seat of our uncle's truck and he dropped the knife down the vent in the truck's dash, never to be seen again. Good times.

Anyway, I'm at Target. I've got my $30 gift card for the cousin, and the "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" DVD that my sister wanted.

"There's got to be something else I need here," I thought. I couldn't think of anything, so I left. Then later at home I thought: "Clif bars. We're out of Clif bars."

Damn Target tunnel vision. And yes, the Bricks do burn through 30 Clif bars in two weeks.



The only thing my sister could think of when I asked her what she wanted for Christmas was a "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" DVD.



"That's all I want. I'm too busy to want anything."

I guess when you're a lawyer working 80 hours a week and you own a one-year-old child, the only thing you want that might bring joy to your life is a copy of a 1987 comedy starring John Candy and Steve Martin.

So that's what she's getting. That and a $50 gift card for gas. That's all I could think of. Everyone needs a little 87 octane, right?

Extensive research went into the purchase of this gas gift card. I mapped her residence to her job, and pinpointed gas stations in the vicinity that might be along the way. I saw that the law office where she works is flanked by two Shell stations: one at the freeway exit just south, and another at the freeway exit just north.

Furthur research showed that Shell gift cards are sold at Walgreens. After Target, I was off to Walgreens. Unfortunately, unlike Target gift cards, Shell gift cards are not available in Christmas themes.

I hope my sister doesn't have any gasoline-brand loyalty that doesn't include Shell.





Why is it acceptable to give gift cards but not cash? It's like: "I was too lazy to think of a real gift, so here is this money that you can only use at one store. Merry holidays."

That's totally fine, but if I were to hand my sister a $50 bill and say: "Here, spend this on gas," that would not be socially acceptable.

I would much prefer cash to a gift card.

Did you know that corporations love gift cards because nearly 50% sold are never redeemed? Did you know that accounting departments of corporations hate gift cards because they create bookkeeping nightmares where the money received can't be counted as revenue or reported as sales until the gift card is redeemed?

Stupid gift cards.



That's all. The Bricks are leaving for Phoenix tomorrow.

Merry Holidays.

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