Tight as...

Super lazy day today.  Since we stayed up late last night, Beth and I both slept in until around noon.  That gave me just enough time to pick up, eat "breakfast", and shower before Jaja came for my massage at 2.  That lasted until 4 and then I putzed about picking up my room and prepping Christmas gifts and chatting with Beth.  I think I'm getting into winter hibernation mode because of the Christmas preparations.  All I've eaten today is carbs and that's all I want to keep eating.  :)  Then we decided to watch my favorite version of A Christmas Carol - the one starring George C. Scott.  I've included a short clip of some highlights below for those who have never seen it.  Love that guy - so good at being lovably crotchety and yet so believably joyful at the end.   And Fred - Hurrah!  And the Spirits are awesome with their mullets and chest hair and minor-key music.  And I still get freaked out every time Jacob Marley unties his chin.  Ack!!! 
Seriously, put it on your Netflicks cue.

Since I had such an image-free day, I'll pull some stuff out of the random folder to share.  It's in no particular order and some of it's old, but still interesting.  (at least to me)

 I saw this in a convenience store and really wanted to buy it, but it was not a convenient time for me to carry it home.  (Pun very much intended - that was for you, Dad.)  Have been looking for it in vain ever since.

This caught my eye in a children's bookstore.  This is the company I did freelance work for over the summer.  Disney ESL - a somewhat disturbing thought, but I guess they're doing well.

The grocery store is so much fun.  I should do a little video one of these days.  You know what they mean but the translation just isn't quite right.

And just in case you aren't getting enough MSG in all your takeout and instant food, you can get it by the bag.

I thought this rusty gate on "The Shortcut" was pretty.

As was this display of cards.

I love almost every kind of cheese, but at pineapple I draw the line.  Who is buying this?

Guess what this store sells.

I saw a dude in a restaurant with one of these gold bottles on his table just before Thanksgiving.  Later that same day, I went to a fancy grocery store and found the same thing.  Beaujolais Nouveau, you are much less fun to drink alone.  :(

Beth and I have been speculating what a person should do if he or she wants to go to a higher floor...

My lamp!  

I forgot that I took this photo when I first saw it so I wouldn't forget about it.  

As if!!!

This is a rambutan.  I've seen them many times here and at Berkeley Bowl, but I've been burned by exciting looking fruit before, so I resisted.  Finally tried one a few weeks back and it's quite good.  That's a pit in the middle and I should have just popped the top off and eaten around the pit instead of slicing it in half, but I wanted to show you a cross-section.   It's the consistency of a grape, but sweeter.  Very yummy and fun looking.

On the last day of class I brought treats for all my students.  I bought plain m&ms, dried nuts, and these things.  The bag said they were dried plums and they were in the candy aisle, so I thought they might be a good choice for my oh-so-health-conscious students.  Several students seemed amused by these and asked me if I knew what they were.  I didn't realize until after all the classes were over that they're not really candy.  Carol told me that old people eat them with their herbal tea, so perhaps it's like our equivalent of eating prunes.  No wonder everyone thought it was so funny.  Yet another hilarious gweilo moment, compliments of me.  (I really like dried plums - so there.)