Monday, December 17, 2007

My version of a Christmas letter

Now is the time of the year where I actually get things in my mailbox that do not require payment or head straight to the shredder.
It is the season when you get adorable pictures of kids and the past years updates from friends and family in a Christmas letter.

Since I don't have any kids, and not much to write as an update I feel I owe my friends and apology.
So this year I decided to write my Christmas letter in a blog, don't you just love technology.

So I thought to myself “how could I make this cute and snappy?”
Especially since I am not much for the mushy and sappy.

So here it goes a Christmas letter from the ramblings of Newtie.
My friend Promise came up with that nickname and frankly she’s a bit fruity.

Now every good Christmas card should have at least a few pictures that are cute.
But I fear for me this year that might a very fruitless pursuit.
You see I have no kids, but I do have Joey, one old, grumpy cat.
He's approaching 15, sheds a lot, is very aloof, lazy and fat.



Oh then there is our bad dog Grover who is always on the move making it hard to get a good shot.
The only time he is still is when he is sleeping, eating, or outside taking a squat.
He will chew on anything he can get his teeth on, from paper towels, cat food, soap dispensers, and even dirty socks
But his favorite place to grab a snack is from what he thinks is a buffet, also known as the cat's litter box.



Now both pets lack manners and do not know the definition of polite.
You see the way they play, and say I love you is to open wide and bite.



Now is the time for the year in review,
I can’t believe how fast this last one flew.
Well I decided it was time to get a degree so I headed back to school.
I thought it can’t be all that bad, Then I remember about homework, so uncool.
I have had a few great teachers whose teaching style made it seems like less of a chore.
I also have had several classes with Hanna that helped keep things lively when the class was a snore.

There was no magnificent vacation this year but I will share what I did just the same.
I went to Joshua Tree national park, the scenery was great but the company was LAME.


There were also two short trips made to Las Vegas which were rather a waste.
It could be said that looking back they were about as fun as eating paste.


Then there was not one but two 500 mile drives up to to Maine.
The traffic was bad in spots but at least there was no rain.
I am convinced Maine is stuck in a time warp and the whole state feels like a small country town.
At least they have general store where you can buy cold beer, guns and your wedding gown.

There will be one more drive to Maine this time it will be much colder and there will be lots of snow.
I will head up on Christmas Day to spend some time with that side of the family minus my little bro.


So you know I am a bit off center so you might wonder about my family group.
As you might expect just like me they are slightly nuttier than squirrel poop.




So this past summer my mom turned the big six zero
Anyone who can wear that hat and shirt is my hero.





For the big day we had visits from Lois, Jamie, Jeff, Ryan and their dog Willie
This was Jeff’s first trip to the area so I got to play tour guide around Philly.






We of course had to go to Geno’s for a famous Philly cheesesteak.
Then off to the Rocky statue and a run up the Art Museum steps to make your legs ache.



Now SEI is where I still work and collect my paycheck
Although a finance company I still work in the area of tech.
However in my limited free time I am still busy with my photography.
Maybe one day I will be famous and someone can write my biography.


There really isn’t much else to report
This year has not been the overly exciting sort.
Perhaps next year I will have more entertaining news.
Maybe I will get a couple of piercings and a few bizarre tattoos.


For now I will leave you with just one final thought
This holiday season should be about more than presents to be bought.
Remember it should be about the Savior’s birth this time of year,
Not all about that chubby dude and his flock of flying reindeer.

Love to you all and Happy Holidays

Friday, December 14, 2007

The Santa Cause

So every year at work their is the opportunity to "adopt" a person or family for the holidays. It is called the Santa cause. The team I work on "adopts a family each year. This is the second year I have been the one to collect the money and do the shopping for the family. I had some help from a fellow co-worker, Tom, which was good when it came to collecting the money oh and heading into the scary part of town to pick up the gift certificate from Pathmark.

Yesterday was the day I drag everything in and get some help wrapping the gifts. Now you don't think the team on all guy I work on would wrap gifts willingly and without Bribes do you? Naturally we get them to help wrapping by feeding them. we order pizza every year on the day we wrap.

It is a great thing to be able to help give a family Christmas each year, even if it is a lot of work to collect the money and do the shopping and try to keep things as even as possible for each member of the family. next up in the holiday season is the SEI holiday party down in Philly tomorrow night which i have decided not to go to. next week on Wednesday we have our First annual holiday Beer exchange. (Yes Beer not cookies, again what happens when you work with all men) and on Friday we have our annual technology luncheon which usually consists of pizza, sandwiches, soda, beer and wine. there will also be a holiday Texas hold em tournament on Friday too.

More holiday season news to be reported later...

Another reason to celebrate

Its the holiday season and there is lots to celebrating, for a myriad of reasons. Near the top of my list this year is completing yet another semster of school. 7 Classes(22credits) in total have been completed since staring over the summer. I am 1/3 of the way done with the classes I need to take for graduation. Just have to make it through without completly buring out.

So yes I am happy another semester has come to a close. My last class for the year was on a Monday night and I am ready for the break. For some reason this last class was a struggle for me to get through. Of course I have registered for spring classes and i have another monday night class... Oh well hopefully this one will be easier to get through.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Christmas Party Season

It's December so that means it is time for the holiday parties to hit in a big way. I have decided to once again skip the big SEI holiday party but we will have several smaller ones at work which I will be part of, it is all part of that mandatory fun we do at work.
However the first party to hit this holiday season was the ward Christmas party. Being on the activities committee it was a given I would be there. So aside from helping out in the kitchen and beign in charge of decorations, and set up I also brought my camera along so I could get a few shots for a bigger project I will be working on over the next year for the Activities committee.
The night was a good one and the program was fun since it got people involved singing hymns, even if one of the wisemen had further to travel than the others and was a little late to shower his gifts on the Christ child.

So here are a few of the pictures I took during the night.

Sunday, December 2, 2007

A blast from the past



So this weekend there was an 80's themed 30th Birthday party for Cody Skinner and Dave Arthur. I was asked if I would like to do the music for the party and of course I accepted cause waht could be more fun than some playing some 80'music. everyone got in to the spirit dressing up for the evening as shown in the pictures. I wish our ward did fuun activities like this one. The dental students really know how to make things fun. It is great.


I can't believe it is December already. This year has flown by...