OMG. Oh my god. Ohmygod. oh my gawd! Piro and I headed out to do some Thanksgiving Eve day errands and when we got up to the bank police were pulling in and blocking off the exits. It had been robbed just before we got there. It’s crazy – had we made the light down the street just a few minutes earlier we would have been there during the robbery. The poor bank ladies. They are just a bunch of hard working, middle aged ladies who can count really well. Years ago Piro was actually in a bank when it was robbed. He walked out and the bank manager locked the door behind him saying the bank had just been robbed. He was probably walking across the parking lot with the robber. Piro was all cool about the our local bank being robbed – with his experience and all- but I was freaked. I can't believe someone robbed our branch. When ever we go to the bank now I tell Piro to pick a branch that isn't being stuck up.

I finished my classes on Friday. Cue Handel's Halleluiah Chorus. I read over 100 pieces of children's literature, had a killer group project, and I don't even want to talk about government documents. I'm not proud of what I had to do to finish. I completely researched, wrote, and edited a semester long term paper on Reading Material for Learning Disabled Youth and Young Adult Readers in slightly less than 48 hours (any of my fellow students, please do not point this out to the professor, I don't want to get busted again!) I'm not really looking forward to the instructor's commentary about it. It was definitely a Calvin moment.

I did have to read, watch, or listen to a lot of children's media. My favorite was the box set of Schoolhouse Rock! I can't believe how many of them I remember. "I'm just a Bill" is hilarious – especially when you are taking a government documents class. "Bill" tells the kid that only a small percentage of bills ever become public laws (it's around 5%) and that he could end up dying in committee. It is a riot. Take a look at all the bills introduced by Congress this year. There is one titled Concerning the national cheerleading championship of the University of Central Florida Varsity Cheerleading Team and another one about Congress expressing concern that they feel families should eat dinner together. Our tax dollars at work - inviting cheerleaders to the White House for their historic championship win. Nothing against cheerleaders, but c'mon - historic? There's a couple thousands reasons to get out and vote.

Piro and I have chosen a non-traditional tree this year. We don't sing Oh, Tannenbaum here. Our lyrics go - Oh, Ornament Stand. We are lazy. I think we are getting better because I'm not even sure we had a pseudo tree last year. We are pathetic. Truthfully, we don't have any space to put up our very traditional fiber optic tree and I have no idea how we would protect it from the cats. With the way Hime chews on cables and wiring I don't know how we would protect her from it. What I absolutely cannot believe is that the aluminum Christmas treethat my girlfriend had when she was a child and I that made fun of in a rant last year, is in the Hammacher Schlemmer catalog. I think my friend's parents claimed it was safer since you shine a color wheel light on it instead of stringing Christmas lights. You probably could string it with lights because it sure isn't going to spontaneously combust being all metal. I have to say that the fact it is in the Hammacher Schlemmer catalog doesn't make it anymore attractive.

I want to share the two best things in the world I've discovered this year:One is Delsey luggage. If you ever need luggage go for the kind with 4 wheels on the bottom. They are so convenient. We didn't do all that traveling last year without learning something.The second greatest thing is Amy's Rice Macaroni and Cheese. Not the soy cheese version! It is better than homemade. I am a cheese fiend and this is the best I've had. Why wasn't this stuff around when I was in college. Kids these days have everything.

Thanks to everyone who donated to Operation Comix Relief. Piro and I added all the Paypal fees back in so everything you donated went to OCR to help provide comics to the troops. And Glenn Schmall of Anime Tourist has some kind of a Y2K end-of-the-world stash of comics he can send along. Just teasing Glenn!

After I finished my paper I vowed to not write anything again until next semester so I'm surprised I pulled off a longish rant. I don't know if I'll rant again before Christmas, so I wish you all a Happy Holidays and a peaceful New Year!