It’s just so cool!

The ability to play 6 CDs from a machine that fits in the palm of my hand – now that is just cool!! I bought an MP3 player this week and it arrived on Friday. (I’m very impressed with the order fulfillment speed of Future Shop btw) So today I spent some time filling it with tunes. I was originally looking for just a small radio to throw in my bag to be used on my walk home but my search quickly expanded to the land of the MP3 player. There are sooooooo many out there, so I did some research and found the Sandisk Sansa m230 MP3 Player. It had a radio which was a requirement for me and with a great deal at Future Shop it was under $100 which was also a requirement. I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy the whole playlist maintenance aspect so I didn’t want to make a huge investment in something I might not like. However, based on what I have seen so far I think I will be quite a fan of my new gadget. Wheee – I love new toys!!

[tags]Sandisk, Sansa, MP3[/tags]

Some people were just meant to be parents

My friend Sean and his wife Tracy are expecting their first child in March. I was so excited for them when Sean told me the news months ago over lunch. He was just so happy as he was telling me that I couldn’t help but be overjoyed. And he has been getting more and more excited as the wee one’s birthday draws closer. Tracy has been keeping an online journal of her experiences and I really enjoy reading her posts. Today for the first time, Sean added a post written from his perspective. As I was reading it, I was again moved by how much they are both looking forward to this baby. This child will be absolutely blessed to have the kind of parents that I know Tracy and Sean will be. I know first-hand what bad parents can do to a child and it makes me smile to know that this baby will be so loved. I am so incredible happy for all 3 of them!

Click here to read about Sean and Tracy’s road to parenthood.

Oops – I got sidetracked

I had fully intended to write a post about a book I am reading but I got sidetracked finding an appropriate new banner for my site. I went around my house taking photos of things that I thought would work but I wasn’t really that successful. The one that is there now is not exactly what I was looking for but it will have to do until I find something better. All that searching for appropriate photos, picture cropping and style sheet updating took up more of my evening than I thought it would and so now I am out of time. I guess the book post will have to be delivered tomorrow.

Why can’t every work day be like this?

9:00AM – Got out of bed
9:40AM – Left for work
10:00AM – Arrived at work
10:15AM – Went for coffee with Doug and Eva
10:50AM – Returned from coffee
11:00AM – Went for coffee with Taras
12:00PM – Returned from coffee
12:15PM – Went for lunch with Doug and Eva
1:30PM – Returned from lunch
1:45PM – Chit-chatted with Gail
2:15PM – Took care of my daily blog reading
3:00PM – Went for coffee with Eva
3:30PM – Returned from coffee
3:40PM – Chit-chatted with Christopher
4:15PM – Read 3 emails and answered one work question
4:25PM – Chit-chatted with Eva
5:05PM – Left office and headed home

What does all this mean? Well it means I did very very very little work related stuff today!! The office was pretty empty again today and I am enjoying the slow time. Oh why can’t work be like this all the time??

Did a pin just drop?

The office was sooooooo quiet today. I think there were a total of 15 people on the floor. For most of the day I couldn’t even here voices. It felt like I was working on a weekend. And really I should have just stayed home because I really got nothing done today. I just couldn’t get motivated knowing so many other people were enjoying a day off. Perhaps tomorrow will be better – or perhaps not.

After work I watched March of the Penguins. I have been hearing really good things about it and I was not disappointed. It was really good! I recommend it. Penguins are just so darn cute!

All over for another year

There is something sad about Boxing Day. It feels like something has been lost. The Christmas lights don’t seem to be as bright, the Christmas decorations don’t seem as shiny and it feels as though our festive bubble has sprung a leak. It is the day that people go back to shoving and pushing and cursing at their neighbours as they battle crowds in stores looking for that big bargain. How quickly we forget the spirit we felt just hours before. Perhaps we should spend a little more time trying to get the most out of our relationships and a little less time trying to get the most out of our money.

Man, I’m full!!

Ouch – my belly hurts. I can’t eat another bite. In fact, I prolly should have stopped eating many bites ago. But who can say no to Christmas dinner or Christmas desserts? Certainly not me! And now I am paying the price. My belly is full, full, full, full, full!!! Perhaps a game of cribbage with my Dad will help me burn off the meal. Or at the very least the anger at constantly losing to him should burn off some calories.

He’s on his way, he’s on his way!!

This morning as I was baking and wrapping presents it really hit me that Christmas has arrived. The sight of wrapped gifts and the smell of fresh baked goodies makes even the dreariest of days seem festive. I am heading off to Ajax in about a half hour and I figured I would write my post now as I will be busy with family festivities tonight. We go to church, have some snacks, open presents (after midnight) and then play cards or just visit until the wee hours of the morning. Then tomorrow we have the traditional Christmas feast. Yummy!!

I also wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I hope that all of us can find some time to truly just enjoy the feelings of love, joy, hope and charity that are the best part of this season. Time is a very precious thing and you should enjoy every minute of it that is spent in the company of the people you care about.

Happy HO HO y’all!!

Anyone want a hug?

Holy smokes! I think I hugged everyone in the entire office today. AAAAAAH – human contact – AAAAAAH! It is a well known fact that I am not the cuddly kind at the office so it seems to make quite an impact when I am hugging people. I don’t know if people were scared or what but they all seemed to have a slightly hesitant look on their faces when I went to hug them. Come on people – I can’t be that scary. Oh wait, maybe I can.

In addition to all the hugging, smiles and well-wishing abounded at the office today as everyone headed off to their Christmas celebrations. I can’t believe another Christmas is here already. And I still have to wrap presents and do some baking tomorrow. I better get to bed because it is going to be a long day.

The power of radio

13 years ago, when their first daughter was born, a man and his wife began a yearly tradition of donating presents to the CHUM City Christmas Wish. They now have two children and they continue to go with their children to donate toys every December. This year was a little different though. As they were leaving the house, their 13 year-old daughter asked them to wait and she ran back into the house. She returned a short time after and her father asked her what she had forgotten. She told him that she knew that gifts for tweens and teens were in short supply so she wanted to donate all the HMV gift cards and DVDs that she had she recently received for her birthday.

This is a story I heard on the radio this morning as I was getting ready for work. I was so touched by the compassion and charitable nature of this child that I was almost in tears. I have supported the CHUM City Christmas Wish every year since I moved to Toronto because I think it is a great charity. I think that every child should be able to have some joy at this time of year and the Christmas Wish tries to make that happen. I had my donation ready to be dropped off today but after hearing the story on the radio this morning, I doubled my donation. It warms my heart to know that there are parents who are teaching their children to be socially aware and willing to help the less fortunate. More compassion in the world is definitely a good thing.