I’ve decided to keep a log of whether or not it’s sunny.

DAY ONE:
NO SUN

Fun, huh?

Oh, and here’s a picture of Nate’s niece, Kaianna, from Christmas:

Isn’t that title disturbing? It’s especially unfortunate when it’s directed at you. Here’s the beef:
One of the doctors always gets his personal packages delivered to the hospital. It’s annoying, because I have to carry them to our office from the mailroom. He got a box from Cooking.Com yesterday which, although big, was nicer than the jock strap sent a few months ago. I’m thinking it’s from his wife, when my co-worker informs me that the doctor isn’t married, but has a girlfriend. And then another doctor chimes in, “Yeah, she used to be a resident here, it was a big scandal at the time.” I tease my co-worker for not dishing this gossip to me earlier, and she replies, “Yes, what was her name? Jenny Choo? She was asian, she had slanty eyes like you!” I halt in the middle of my mail sorting to stare her down. I was shocked - more so that she thought I actually had slanty eyes than referring to me as that. Haha, honestly, I looked more hispanic, but that’s besides the point.
Later in the afternoon, I was gathering my stuff to go home. There’s a suit jacket that I’ve had here forever - I wore it when I first started, forgot it one day, and it’s been hanging in our closet ever since. Well, I tried it on by mistake a few months ago and was horrified to experience the “fat man in a little coat” syndrome. I thought I accidentally put on another girl’s coat until it dawned on me that it was mine. To make a long story short, I decided to bring it home yesterday. My co-worker is walking out with me and I tell her that I am taking the jacket home and she says “yeah, you should - god knows you’re never going to fit into again.” As in ever. As in I am a big fat fatty.

Around this time of year, I get into a routine of watching my favorite holiday movies. What I’ve found out recently, is the enormous number of people who have not seen what I refer to as “classics,” during the holidays and year around.

Here are my top ‘must-see’ Christmas movies:
1. A Christmas Story
2. Miracle on 34th Street (with Natalie Wood)
3. A Charlie Brown Christmas
4. It’s a Wonderful Life
5. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
6. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (claymation version)
It blows my mind that everyone hasn’t seen these.

And here are some year-round ‘must-see’ movies:
1. Gone with the Wind
2. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
3. Wizard of Oz
4. Citizen Kane
5. Casablanca

And some favorites from my childhood:
1. The Toy (in honor of Richard Pryor)
2. Savannah Smiles
3. Raising Arizona
4. Pollyanna
5. The Parent Trap
6. Trading Places
7. Made in America
8. Back to School
9. Overboard
10. ET
11. Goonies

Ok, I’m going out of control now. The point is, you need to see these movies! So head out to Blockbuster - or turn on the TV, because I know a lot of these are on USA every freaking weekend. Oh, and if you’re thinking “yeah, I think I’ve seen that one before,” then you haven’t. Nobody “thinks” they’ve seen Gone with the Wind. You either remember it or you don’t. If you “think” you’ve seen it, you haven’t.

I was accused of stealing - well, in a sense. The gift shop at the hospital is closing and as part of their clearance, they had their Hallmark cards discounted to 25 cents each. Yes people, a quarter. So I stack up all these cards and grab some other discounted items and get in line. I was chatting with a couple of co-workers when the man rang up my sale, $11.25. I had just been to the ATM and pulled out $60, so I handed him a $20 and turned back to my friends to chat. After about 30 seconds, I look back and the man is staring at the drawer, looking confused. He had a five and three ones in his hands and was muttering “$11.25….” to which I replied, “Yeah, from $20, that’s $8.75.” He says “No, you only gave me $8.”
“No, I gave you a twenty.”
“Ma’am, I just opened the drawer, I haven’t taken anything out, you only gave me $8.”
“Umm, I just went to the ATM, pulled out $60 and have the receipt, and I only have $40 left on me. I gave you a $20.”
“I only have a five and three ones. I haven’t touched the drawer.”
“I just saw you fiddling with the drawer for a whole 30 seconds, you put the 20 in! I didn’t have a five on me, only these 20s, so I couldn’t have given you a five. And why would I hand you eight bucks when I owed you $11.25!!”
(I was a little irritated at this point).
So the man counts his till, tells me that he’s $15 short, knows where $10 is, and that he has no change to give me. I’m flabbergasted. Really, I ask him if there are cameras around because I can “swear to god I gave you a 20.” So he takes my number and tells me that he will count the register again and get back to me. I am utterly embarrased because there are people in line looking at me like I’m crazy. So I go out of the gift shop and my co-workers are so pissed, saying that they wouldn’t have left the store without their money. But seriously, I just felt so awful that he didn’t believe me, I couldn’t defend myself anymore.
It’s a horrible feeling to be telling the truth and have someone else refute it.
BTW, the guy called me the minute I got back to my office to tell me that “there was a problem with the computer” and he would give me my money back. Thanks.

1. I am uncomfortable giving high fives – in fact, sometimes I leave people “hanging.”
2. I love to have my hair played with.
3. My parents thought I was strange because I spent hours reading as a child.
4. I miss playing hide-and-go-seek in the dark.
5. When I was six I was called an Eskimo because I wore a pink coat with faux fur lining.
6. My mom is from Thailand my dad is from Alabama.
7. My brother picked my name, at age three, from Jacqueline, Crystal, and Kristina.
8. My dad picked my middle name, Melody, but I have zero musical talent.
9. Compared to my girl friends, I have an abnormally large face.
10. I didn’t see snow until I was 22.
11. My first plane ride was to Germany when I was 20.
12. I love having a birthday in June.
13. I hate opening presents in front of people.
14. I hate my eyelids.
15. I get motion sickness on swings.
16. My coworker describes me as “a wackjob, psycho bastard.” With love, of course.
17. One of my best friends lives 3000 miles away. The rest are at 450, 1300, and 1500 miles.
18. I give great massages.
19. I’ve never had my hair colored or highlighted.
20. I permed it once, in 4th grade.
21. I took dance classes for six years – at my 5th grade recital I tapped to “Hip to Be Square.”
22. I love the smell of coffee, but detest the taste.
23. I shake my foot while I’m trying to go to sleep – and when I sit on the couch.
24. I spent two summers in Innsbruck, during one of which I almost fell backwards down some escalators because I had TOO MUCH LUGGAGE.
25. I drink a lot of rum and Coke.
26. I can make eggrolls, fried rice, and pot pies.
27. I had my wisdom teeth removed by dental students, who play “hip hop” when I come in for my cleanings.
28. I love watching Little House on the Prairie and Shirley Temple movies.
29. I am a perfectionist when it comes to scrapbooking.
30. I’ve kept every card I’ve received since 3rd grade – my mom keeps trying to throw them out.
31. My cat, Mittens, died on my 25th birthday – she was 18.
32. I actually loved my dorm bed.
33. I once watch all of Sex and the City, Season 4, in one sitting.
34. I want to dance to “Groovy Kind of Love” at my wedding.
35. Phil Collins was the best concert I’ve been to.
36. I was the Fraternity Sweetheart for Sigma Nu.
37. I have put together twenty 1000 piece puzzles in the past three years - one of my earlier works hangs in my parents’ dining room.
38. I didn’t eat mayo until I was 18 - I didn’t eat tomatoes until I was 22
39. Whenever I heard “You Can Do It” by Ice Cube, I have to dance
40. I buy celebrity mags to cut out pics of dresses and accessories that I like.
41. I am jealous of the girls on MTV’s Sweet Sixteeen
42. I will be forever bitter that I can’t act in any period pieces featuring only white people (ie Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, Sense and Sensibility)
43. The one person in the world who can make me laugh in person, regardless - Megan
44 . The one person in the world who can make me laugh over email, regardless - Kevin H.