All I Want For Christmas...

Christmas stuffs: [I hope I don't forget anything.]
--Saw DVD
--Watch [that I need to have resized for my tiny wrists =( )
--3 assorted guitar picks
--Desk lamp
--Tim Horton's coffee/hot cocoa/magma mug
--Rise Against t-shirt
--"Sarcasm helps keep you from telling people what you really think of them" t-shirt, with stuff in the background in lighter lettering like "i hate you" "you are an idiot" "your band sucks" "so ugly" "you stink" "i still hate you" "your band sucks" and my personal favorite, "i want to smack you in the face" =)
--Noise cancelling earphones (Pretty cool, I can have the volume as low as it goes and I can't hear anything else.)
--Deerskin mittens [so warm]
--Framed picture of Melissa
--Wolf calander [everyone likes wolves]
--Loads of chocolate
--$25 Kwik Trip gift card [which I used earlier to purchase Mountain Dew, chips, and chapstick!]
--$10 Burnstad's gift card [I just happened to start working two days before Christmas, convenient...]
--Cellphone-to-computer data cable [recieved as an early gift]
--And finally, as a very early Christmas gift, $150 cash with which to buy Christmas presents for as many people as I could. They would have bought me a 30 gig MP3 player, and I turned them down [forcefully] so I could actually get some cool stuff for other people.

Man, I've changed so much in the past three or four years. I can remember Christmases before where it was all about running downstairs Christmas morning and opening all my stuff and not caring at all about anything that wasn't for me. I guess that sort of comes with the only-child-spoiledness. I realized a couple weeks ago that if I hadn't been lucky enough to have practically moved in with so many friends with siblings, I'd probably be a pretty rotten person right now.

Sorry, I'm sort of randomly carrying on here. Moving on.

I spent about an hour or two earlier checking out Burning Man. It looks like a pretty interesting experience, but I can't decide if I'd want to go or not. It costs about $200 so I probably won't be anytime soon, but it's something to keep in mind for the future. A week of surviving in the desert? The sensible part of me says that's just retarded, and the adventurer thinks it's pretty sweet.

Wait, do I even have an adventurer? [Debatable.]

I have decided that in January, I am going to write a up-to-10,000 word short story, heavily edit it, get opinions, and send it in to Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show.

I've decided that the reason I tend not to tell things I plan to do to people is that if only I know, I don't really have to do it 'cause I'm not really letting anyone down [except myself which is of course unimportant.]

And so I'm posting this here with the hope you will remember my plan, and bug the hell out of me until I have accomplished [or totally surrendered] this goal.

Note that I don't expect [or think I even have a shot at] being accepted. But I want to submit something, and then post my rejection letter proudly on my wall as proof that I'm at least trying.

Nobody can ask for anything more than that, right?

We Get By Just Fine Here On Minimum Wage

"How does Christmas keep managing to sneak up on us? I mean, it's the same day every year. You'd think we'd know by now."
-- Some customer.

So I'm working at Burnstad's again. It's not too horrible. Sure, I'm making minimum wage doing fairly mind-numbing work. But at least I'm getting some kind of income--besides, it's not like I need a whole lot of money--and plus I finally have somthing to do during the days other than sleep and waste my time. So it's not as bad as I thought it would be, although it was kind of difficult making the jump from getting up after noon and not working, to getting up at 8(:30) and working an 8 hour shift on the busiest days of the year. Friday night when I got home, I just sort of staggered around for a while and recovered.

Anyway, there's a point to this story, and it's even topical.

I noticed a trend in some of the people that came in regarding how they felt about Christmas. Some of them had their carts loaded up with stuff, spending over $200 on last-minute stocking stuffers and dinnerstuffs. Those were the ones that talked about all they had left to do, all the stuff they still had to get. They were, generally, as cheery as anyone else in the store (extra points to them for that, considering many of them visibly winced while writing their checks) but they seemed to be lacking something that another group of people had.

This other group is the people that couldn't afford to blow 200 dollars at a grocery store for a holiday. The woman digging through her purse to look for some extra change so someone could have cranberries with their dinner. The woman on social security who didn't have enough money to cover everything, but absolutely refused to let the chocolate be the thing she didn't get because her nephews loved it. These were the people didn't seem to mind all the hassle because they were genuinely looking forward to being together with their family, even that uncle that always causes trouble between the different sides. They didn't flash a fake smile to get out of the store faster. These were the people that honestly appreciated what they had, regardless of what they didn't have.

And regarding the fire in my last post, when I last heard, the baby was doing okay--45% covered by third degree burns, and possible lung damage--but alive. The dog made it out and so did the outdoor cats. The two indoor cats probably weren't so lucky. The family's doing as well as anyone can hope, Brookwood raised over $5000 for them and Goodwill (or Salvation Army, one of those) gave them a voucher for clothing, and at those stores, that can get quite a bit. Next year is going to be really hard on them, but at least they stand a chance.

Here's hoping none of us ever find ourselves in a similar situation.

Merry Christmas, dear blogreaders. Thanks for the past year of support, sarcasm, stories, and the occasional shut up. I'm sorry I didn't get you anything. Maybe I'll just start posting more as a gift. No, you can't return it. Jerk.

Let's Hope It's A Good One Without Any Fear

I was sent this e-mail the other night.

Last night was one of the most horrific nights I've ever witnessed.

My family and I had just gone to bed and were well asleep. The temperatures were already well below zero and it was expected to be one of the coldest nights so far this winter. Sometime between 10:30 and 11:00 pm, we got a phone call. The caller was in hysterics and screamed that their house was on fire and to call the fire department. So we called and then proceeded to put clothes on over our pajamas, not really knowing how bad the fire was or exactly which neighbor's house it was. Only minutes later, the neighbors (the Karpers, for those of you who know them) pulled up into our driveway and flew into our house screaming frantically. For those of you who don't know them, they are one woman (divorced from a very deranged husband), with her 4 kids, one who is only 16 and has a baby (about 1 year old). They burst into our house carrying the baby--who was badly burned, hardly breathing and not making a sound. The other three had blood on them. They also weren't wearing any socks, shoes, coats, hats, or anything except pjs. One of them only had shorts on. Luckily, my Mom is an EMT and we were able to call over the radio for an ambulance. The baby started crying finally (a very good sign). I went outside to try to flag the ambulance to our house. Have you ever known what it was like to feel absolutely helpless? To know that something really awful is happening and there's nothing you can do? That's how I felt when I stood on the road watching their house burn to the ground, just waiting for help to come. I have never witnessed such a fire in my life.

The ambulance finally came and took the baby and her mother. Later, another EMT came and took the rest of the family. Luckily, 2 of their children weren't even at home for the night. The rest of us neighbors stood outside with the fire department, in subzero weather, trying to help in anyway we could. It took almost 4 hours to put out the flames and the house is still smoldering this morning, with nothing left but some of the log walls. There are even icicles on the charred logs from the water they used to put out the fire. There is nothing left in the house but rubble. None of their possessions even survived.

When I stood on the road waiting for the fire department, I saw how lucky they are to all be alive. I have no idea how they got out of the house fast enough. The baby was transported to Madison last night by Med-link. The mother of the housedhold (the baby's grandmother) was treated for cuts she got when she broke the window out to get the baby from the burning house. They all had frostbite from being out in the cold with no shoes. But they are all alive.

This family has absolutely nothing left. They were very poor to begin with, the mother's husband was an alcoholic and they divorced years ago. She barely has a job. They need all the help they can get, which is why I'm begging you to keep them all in your prayers.

One more thing I would like to add: This really shows us the true meaning of Christmas. When your house has burned down and all your possessions are gone up in smoke, it's what you have left that really matters: your family and your faith. It's not about gifts and material things. I saw it last night. Life is the most precious thing God has ever given us.

Merry Christmas and please keep your prayers flowing for them,

LAUREN

You heard her.

Better Than Billboard

My most-listened to albums of 2005...

Less Than Jake: Anthem
Rise Against: Siren Song of the Counter Culture
Relient K: Mmhmm
Day at the Fair: The Rocking Chair Years
Paramore: All We Know is Falling
blink-182: blink-182
Eve 6: Eve 6
Pete Yorn: Musicforthemorningafter

Best Moments of 2005:

Lifest 2005: Talking to strangers, running the Thousand Foot Krutch merch booth (during their concert =( ), getting hit with Christian Lindskog's first thrown water bottle, jamming in the station wagon with Matt, ignoring the 90 degree heat and jumping anyway. Sleeping on the way up. Oops. ^^;

Warped Tour 2005: Flat tire on the freeway, those creepy guys in loincloths, the cool haircut on the singer of the Matches, Paramore rocking out on the tiniest of stages, dashing back and forth between the main stages, the -three seconds of rain- during "High of 75" right when he's singing "will be rainy at best", accidentally bringing Nick's ticket inside with me, missing the All-American rejects 'cause they started so early, getting water any way we could, and oh man, Nick's godparents awesome house on the lake! Paddleboats are way more fun than they should be.

October first: Driving four and half hours in the dark on an unfamiliar road to see Melissa, staring into her eyes again without having to look away, the second first kiss, going to be at 5 in the morning and waking up later to her being there, the look on Martin's face when he realized we had gotten back together and not told him. All-in-all like something out of a cheesy romantic comedy and amazingly, I'm okay with that.

Improv Show: Innuendo, threatened with the loss of an eyebrow, fairy princesses (what are you talking about?), explaining fourty-two, taking suggestions from confused audience members, having an alumni chase me down just to tell me how good the show was, "take that, jesus!", forgetting who is playing what game, setting up and taking down the seating, zip zap zop, what's in the box?, big booty, pass the clap, all the other ridiculous games we played to warm up (karate master, go!). Enough inside jokes to last a lifetime and totally random group of people. I know how you walk now.

Misc. Moments of Varied Importance:
- The million or so nights/mornings at Martin's house
- Discussing the destruction of emo with Angela and Caitlin
- A three hour conversation with Susen in which we both realized we were growing up
- High school graduation!
- Walking down the bike trail in the middle of the night
- Alright, this could go on forever, so I'm not going to keep this up.

We'll call this post, "Best of." I haven't decided whether or not I want to bother with a "Worse of."