Many hands make light work

What will I think of next?
... I can never stop learning. A year ago after I wrapped all my Christmas presents in three hours I immediately came up with the idea of having a wrapping party. Have friends come over and just wrap gifts – my gifts – under the guise of a party.

Well, I will say that I had to do something for people to come over so I made dinner. I’ll tell you, there is nothing like opening up a taco bar in your apartment.

Actually, one of my friends used my idea and brought two gifts to wrap. He, however, didn’t have as many as me.

So it took me and my friends about an hour to wrap everything. Most of the time was spent just trying to figure out the best way to wrap something. It was done in an assembly line fashion with everyone having a job to do.

Couple the 90 minutes it took me to shop this year – new personal record there – and it took two and a half hours. Compare that to the 5 hours it took last year to do everything and it is clear to see this idea, along with smart shopping, was a huge benefit.

This was probably one of the best ideas I’ve ever come up with. If you wrap as many Christmas gifts as I do, you’ll appreciate the help. Plus, it’s always nice to spend time with friends and talk about what is going on.

… So being that I write a blog every two weeks, this will be my last one for 2008. I doubt anything exciting will happen to me between now and the New Year so it’s pretty safe for me to recall what happened this year.

Bear with me.

I made my first New Year’s Resolution and stuck with it all year. I got in better shape. After years of just letting myself go, I made two goals: 1) be able to run without getting winded in a minute and 2) lose weight to get down to 210 pounds. Well I accomplished both. What do I want to do next here? Well maybe I can lose another 10 pounds and get it down to an even 200. I did lose about 20 pounds to get down to 210, so doing half that may not be farfetched. I just need to start eating better. All this running has made wonder if I can run, and I do mean run, a marathon. I may need another year for that.

I left the country for the first time in my life by going to Tokyo in November. A part of me now regrets not finding a major that pays better than working at a newspaper (more on this later) and being able to see the world. I look forward to go somewhere far and different than what I’m used to in the future.

My family is still my family. I can’t ask for a better group of siblings and parents. My father, with the chemotherapy, was able to defeat cancer. I’m blessed that I have them and they are all doing well.

Work is a worry. For the fourth time in my career I’m at a new newspaper. Technically I’m stilling working for the Los Angeles Newspaper Group, but the location is different. Leaving the Press-Telegram offices was incredibly sad being that we were a close knit group. I like where I work, which is a big change from the uncertainty I once had when I stared in Torrance. At the same time I still know that the economy is down and the industry I work in is dying. It gives me something to think about next year.

I still believe that Diana Ross’ mother was right and “You Can’t Hurry Love.” I’ve gotten my feet wet with dating and am still trying to get used to it. It’s been so long that I really am starting over for the most part because I don’t know what to do. I don’t know the rules of dating. I guess I’m going to have to pick them up as I go along.

The most difficult part of this past year was saying goodbye to a remarkable person. My friend James died and it’s still hard to believe that he’s gone. I can still hear and see him laughing. There is so much I want to share with him and that is where I miss him the most. Something will happen or I’ll find a wrestling video online and he is still the first person I think about when I want to share it. I know he is there with me watching what I am watching, laughing alongside me. I know I’m not alone wishing he was still here. You are still a great friend James.

… What about next year? I can hear the two people that regularly read this asking. Well I’ll worry about that. I’ll be writing that in two weeks.

See you next year.

Twenty-three Christmas presents in 16 days

I remember when I was the one receiving instead of giving.

… On one of my days off this week I'll spend approximately three hours shopping for Christmas presents. Last year it took me 2 ½ hours to do all the shopping and I hope it takes about the same.

Now some may say that my time spent shopping seems a bit rushed and that I might not put in as much thought in certain gifts.

Well, 13 of the gifts are for my nieces and nephews who are pretty much going to get what they ask for by my brother and sisters so my gift to them is just a bonus. Usually, I ask in advance all of my siblings what their kids would want. I only get one to reply. So, I have little help in the matter.

As for the other 10 gifts that are for family and friends, I have a pretty good sense. Not only that, but gift cards are always popular with most of the disaffected group I run with.

The longest part isn't the shopping, it's the wrapping. Last year I was able to watch two "Mystery Science Theater 3000" movies – three hours. About 30 minutes of that time was making the "To: From:" cards. I created speak out boxes and placed them on the wrapping paper. A friend of mine asked me recently if that was just a waste since the kids were just going to get the gift and not look or appreciate the effort it took. I told him to not remind me. But I look forward to doing that again.

I'm probably going to have a wrapping party and hopefully some of my friends can help me. If not, it's what I do.

… Of the many things I've learned in life, I know that people are the sum total of their life experiences. No matter how clear you believe an issue is, someone else may not look at it like you do.

Over the past couple of weeks I've been reminded of that. I've clashed with people trying to get my own perceived clear point across while they have done the same to me in reply.

Now, I've never claimed to say that my point of view is the correct one and anything else beyond that is incorrect. It's when there is a common goal with two different end results where we have the problem.

I'm also reminded that you can't change human nature.

I can do anything and everything to try and show my side. In the end it's not enough to change how people think and feel. What they think, what they want and what they are looking for are rooted in who they are.

It's not that I give up trying to get my point across; it's that I see the bigger picture. There is no need to try and swim across a river when you can use the bridge that is just right there.

… Football season ended today for me when the San Francisco 49ers were eliminated from the playoffs as the Arizona Cardinals won the NFC West.

Well, pitcher and catchers report on Valentine's Day. So I'll have one thing to look forward to on that day.