Stressed because of the holidays? This post is for you!

I don't get unduly stressed this time of year. My family a few years ago started doing a formalized gift exchange, so primarily we're responsible for one person, plus the kids of the family can usually expect something from everyone. This year, my brother Max was my assigned receiver. I thought a long time about what to get him, and realized that the one thing that he always wants is food, so I made a gigantic batch of his favorite cookies (60 alfajores) and gave it to him last week. After all, the other thing he particularly hates is waiting to open a present, a decidedly Peralta characteristic. There have been a couple of years of late where my mother would wrap empty boxes to put under the tree to represent all the gifts we didn't feel like waiting until Christmas to open. But enough about me, I want to give a hand to all those people who need ideas for gifts.

• Threadless, which I have linked to before, is a great place to search for a t-shirt gift. Plus, they're having a $10 sale through tomorrow. Get on it!
• Heifers.org is a site I found a few years ago. Because you know what the great thing about charity as a gift is? You are truly helping someone who needs it. Plus, it's the gift that can't be returned or exchanged, and nobody can complain about it without sounding like a louse, muahahahahaha! This one I love, because you can tell everyone you bought a family a water buffalo for Christmas.
• Charity Navigator follows up on the above, but you can scan through lists of charities and see whether they're spending the money right and make sure the donations aren't just sitting in some lunatic's pocket.
• Payback... well, maybe it's not right for the holiday spirit, but perhaps you know somebody you can't stand who is for some unknown reason on your gift list. Well, maybe a nice dead fish would do wonders. At least it would make you feel good. And they probably would ask you never to give them anything again.
• Lobster Anywhere lets you send live shellfish to someone you actually like. They don't necessarily have to eat it, I guess they could keep it as a pet if they have a nice tank.
• Petfinder, oh, how you make me want to adopt a dog! Planning on getting someone a new friend? Avoid the breeder, check out this site. Scan through tons of listings of local animals in shelter and rescues, and go out and get 'em.
• Thinkgeek, of course. Seriously, who's blog are you reading, anyway? It's a great site filled with unique gifts. They have a caffeine section. You all have at least one person in your life who could appreciate that.
• The Brick Testament actually has a couple of gifts that are actually appropriate for all ages. The rest of the website is filled with graphic scenes of sex and violence from the Bible, illustrated with... Legos.

So, get cracking! Even using the gift of the internet, you have to buy stuff, like, today if you don't want to pay extra for shipping and you want it to arrive before Christmas morning. Or just relax and tell the recipient it will get there when it gets there, which is what I would do.

Random final thought: I, personally, would love to give this to anyone who, as they put it, empathizes with Moses' fury at the inability of people to follow even the simplest of commands. Moses Smash!

Teacher? Why not!

I've been spending some quality time with family in El Paso since Sunday evening. It was an impromptu kind of event, spurred by the introduction of a gorgeous silver Corvette into the Peralta clan, woohoo! One of my brothers flew to Dallas to pick up his new toy, and asked if I wanted to drive back with him to see my nieces and break in the car at the same time. Hell, yeah.

So that in itself was a fun start. Now, this particular brother has 3 daughters, of the ages 4, 5, and 10 - the eldest is my goddaughter. They are a hoot to be with, and more than a match for my energy levels. Add to the equation their surly 14+ year cat Zoe (a boy) and a random 94 lb stray golden retriever that was picked up over the weekend that is approximately 3 years old and has been christened Harley (also a boy) and you've got a recipe for a great break from the ordinary.

In the last few days, I have done the following:

• Walked a dog with my nieces in tow through a nice neighborhood.
• Talked about the business of medicine with my brother.
• Been offered a job if things don't pan out back in Dallas.
• Played with Barbies.
• Kissed booboos better.
• Talked with my sister-in-law and her brother.
• Talked about life in general with my brother.
• Played violin with my niece and her instructor.
• Attended a 5th grade lunch and P.E. session, where my skills were commended by the classmates of my niece and I was deemed "freaking cool".
• Attended preschool (splitting time between 2 different classes) where I did story time, assisted with snacks, gift wrapping and was deemed "really nice".
• Driven my brother's cars (not the Corvette, I can't drive stick).
• Read a book with a cat sleeping on my chest.

Is that all? No. There's more where that came from. On the preschool story, that leads back to the title of this entry. The teachers assumed for the whole day that I was a teacher back in Dallas because of my skill at wrangling children. When I told them what I did for a living, they were shocked. Why? They told me that most women doctors that came to the school were pretty stuffy, and none wore sneakers. Weird.

Well, tomorrow I return home. However, this has been a good reminder of why I need to come out here more often. With luck, the next visit will happen sooner rather than later.

SILENTK

As I was driving to Arlington earlier today to hang out with my parents, I noticed a Mississippi plate ahead of me with a vanity plate.

"SILENTK"

It got me to thinking, what kind of person would choose to parade through life and multiple states declaring an affiliation with this particular phonetic conundrum? An English teacher? A spelling bee champion whose success was directly related to their knowledge of it's existence in some obscure word? Perhaps a band name for a troupe of Icelandic mimes? Who knows.

Answering the prayers of the people

I learned that this song is called "Apache" and is a remix done by the Sugarhill Gang. But more importantly, it inspired a ridiculous dance that I feel needs to be brought back.

Loving the guitar, a one-sided affair

I recently learned that the name of a style of guitar playing that I've heard in the past and wondered at is called air tapping. That's it, I don't know anything else about it. But you know, it's lovely. I found this guy the other day, and I've been listening to it a couple of times a day and just watching how he does this. Wow. This guy accomplishes more in 3 minutes as far as making the world beautiful than I have in 26 years. I get teary eyed watching him. And he's not even the best? Damn, sometimes it's good being human.