I was late in finding out there really was no Santa Claus. Sure, there were kids at school who used to try and spoil it for me, but I would just reply, "My parents would never lie to me." Keep in mind too, that I had no brothers and sisters to ruin the fun for me either.

Honestly, I think I was around 10 before I figured it out. (maybe older).

We always spent Christmas eve at my grandmother's. This specific year, she had gotten a camcorder to record our Christmas memories. They put me to bed. The next day after we'd unwrapped all of our gifts, we decided to watch the tape of the day's festivities. The tape started off with our arrival the night before, and then progressed in to after I had gone to bed.

There they all were: Mom, Dad, Grams, and Papa putting out the gifts Santa had supposedly brought me. And of course, eating all the yummy cookies I had put out. I just watched in disbelief. I really wish I could have taped all of their faces sitting there, with looks of "Oh shit" on their faces. I got up and left the room, and went straight to the bathroom. The next two hours consisted of me sitting in the bathtub crying my eyes out. I seriously felt like the world had ended. What is there to look forward to? What magic exists in life?

Mom said she remembers me looking up and saying, "I suppose you're going to tell me now that there is no Easter Bunny either." She said it was awful.

I look back on it and think, "God, I was a moron." But it's kind of nice to reflect back on when life was easy and we didn't always have to be realists to shield ourselves from getting hurt. At least we allowed ourselves to feel more then.

Head on over to Josh's page and read guestblogger Ryan's post. It's one of my favorite stories.

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What Classic Movie Are You?

(Via The Cheese Stands Alone)

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Many of us have been a bit tipsy in our time (OK, perhaps totally drunk). But can you possibly imagine being so drunk that you didn't notice that you had been shot for 10 hours? I sure as heck can't.

But it apparently happened to this guy.

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What movie did I watch last night?

"Then one day, I say fuck fish."

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I've had a fairly productive day already. I had a dentist appointment at 8:40 a.m. Fairly routine. No cavities (I've never had one). Much to my surprise, they had a new toothpaste flavor--mint chocolate chip. It was quite tasty.

I then ventured out to finish some last minute Christmas shopping at the Keystone at the Crossing mall. It wasn't too crowded at 9:30 a.m. when I arrived. I hit the usual spots: Pottery Barn, MAC, Bebe, White Barn Candle Company, etc. (Yes, there was some minor browsing for me in there too). Indianapolis is becoming more and more like a small town to me. I literally ran in to 7 people I knew in the first hour of being at the mall. It slowed down my shopping, but was fun.

I then headed to Saks Fifth Avenue (our newest anchor store at this mall). Not a damn person would wait on me. This has happened to me there before. I really think it's because I'm young, because I've walked in looking like crap, and I've walked in there looking really nice. And still--I'm invisible.

I arrived in one of the departments and started looking for something I wanted to get my mom that I found on their website (And since Mom reads this, I'm going to have to be vague). I look around and the one that I need is on a mannequin. Rather than dismantle their "creation," I look around for someone to help me. I make eye contact with three freakin' sales people, and not one of them asks me if I need help. Now granted, I didn't look too great today (jeans, New Balance tennis shoes, wool turtleneck sweater, and IU law school hat), but that shouldn't matter. Since I'm trying to be a happy little elf, I don't get bitchy, but ask if someone can help me. Then they were more than willing. They even wrapped the gift too. They're lucky they crossed me on a good day.

I'm telling you though, they could really use a lesson in customer service.

Now it's time for a low-carb lunch and then work on my law review paper. UGH.

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Did anyone see the Oprah show today? (re: her trip to South Africa).

Heartbreaking. I'm speechless.

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This week's tip has to do with traveling--(which I'm sure many of us will be doing in the next week or so).

Next time, before you fly or before you book check in at Seatguru.com before you leave. Detailed maps of the most commonly flown airplanes provide the lowdown on the best and worst seats on board. Down to the tray table in seat 1E on jetBlue's A320 Airbus or the legroom on seat 19F on Delta's Boeing 757 200. Those not obsessive enough to click their way through 594 seats can select according to color-coded rankings: Very Good Seat, Be Aware, and the dreaded Bad Seat.

Here are some cool travel accessories I've found:

1) Don't cram the itinerary, restaurant and shopping lists, receipts, and Post-Its into your wallet. Organize them in a cheap document case (which also fits a passport).

2) Swaddle yourself in double-duty covers. For planes, trains, and automobiles: a pillow that doubles as a blanket.

3) A sleep mask is a wearable do-not-disturb sign. May as well hang a pretty one.

4) You'll never fit all your shoppings into the suitcase you brought. Come prepared. LeSportsacs fold down smaller than a sweater and expand to hold several dozen new ones.

5) What to bring in order of descending size: The rolly-bag conundrum: brilliant for dashing through airports, embarrassingly ugly at baggage claim. Not so with Samsonite's Black Label collection. It's as functional (nothing will rip it) as it is fashionable (its patterns resemble an elegant men's suit).

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Like many bloggers, I wholeheartedly agree with TIME's choice this year. While this tribute is to all soldiers, we're especially pleased and proud because a Hoosier female soldier from Lebanon, Indiana made it on the cover.

UPDATE: Click here for the IndyStar article on Spc. Billie Grimes.

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I took this palm reading "quiz" for fun. Thanks for the heads up, Gennie. Those of you that know me, let me know if you think this is accurate. Here are my results:

You are intelligent and practical, very likely to have a good memory and the ability to make and follow plans. Leadership skills are among your useful traits. Just be careful not to go to extremes and become a dictator.

You may have trouble concentrating or focusing your attention, especially under stress.

You have so many interests that you may have trouble deciding which ones to pursue.

You are a warm hearted person, with much love to give. You probably like children, and exhibit many playful characteristics.

There may be times in your life when you give in to feelings of sadness or depression.

You are likely to make decisions based on intuition or feelings rather than intellect.

You are naturally charming and inclined to be flirtatious.

You have a basically strong constitution, and should enjoy good health most of the time.

No matter what other factors influence your personality, there is an underlying sense of practicality that you can draw on if you wish.

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Someone at the White House is reading Geoff's blog.

This has left him wondering: Either someone at the President's office has good taste in blogs or he's headed for a federal pen.

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And you thought the holidays were only about silver, gold, red and green. Don't forget about orange.

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Man sets drinking world record. The unidentified middle-aged man was unconscious but stable after a blood test showed 7.22 parts per million of alcohol.

An average person would vomit at around 1.2, lose consciousness at 3.0 and stop breathing at a level of about 4.0 parts per million.

There's no bottle of aspirin big enough for this guy.

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This woman gives the phrase, "getting paid with the green stuff" a whole new meaning.

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I realize I'm a bit late posting about this...but I was at my parents' house when the nominations were announced.

No huge surprises with this year's nominations, in my opinion.

Nominations I'm happy about/agree with:
--Charlize Theron for Best Actress in a Drama--Monster
--Helen Mirren for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy--Calendar Girls
--I've heard great things about Thirteen, so I'm glad that movie and its actors grabbed some nods.
--Six Feet Under for Best Drama--it's a damn fine show.
--Sex and the City--you knew I'd be supportive of all its nods. I'm especially pumped that SJP, and ALL THREE of the supporting cast members got nominated.
--Nip/Tuck--I wasn't sure what to think about this show at first, but it just draws you in like nothing else. You almost feel twisted to admit you like it.

Nominations I don't like/disagree with:
--Uma Thurman for Best Actress in a Drama--Kill Bill
--Johnny Depp for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy--Pirates of the Caribbean
--Alec Baldwin for Best Supporting Actor--The Cooler. I didn't see the movie--I just don't like him.
--Matt LeBlanc for Best Actor in a Comedy--Friends. Come on! He is the least funny and talented of the bunch.

Overlooked:
Scrubs
Gilmore Girls
Jane Kaczmerek--Alicia Silverstone gets a nomination and Jane doesn't? Major mistake.

For an entire list of nominees, click here.

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So I'm at the IU game today, and some jackass's cell phone goes off during the Star Spangled Banner. As if that wasn't bad enough--HE ANSWERED IT and had a full conversation.

I was mortified. (Caveat: unless he was expecting bad news about a loved one or perhaps baby news. However, the fact that the guy stayed for the entire game makes me think the call had nothing to do with either)

Good ole Francis Scott Key had to be rolling over in his grave.

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I'm off to cheer on IU against the gross Kentucky Wildcats. Considering the fact that KY is ranked #2 right now, we could use all the extra cheers we can get.

GO HOOSIERS!

UPDATE: It didn't turn out too well for us.

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Better late than never, right?

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You just have to love a small town. Shopping is SO different here than in Indianapolis. Here, we can walk in a store and say, "Bill me." They know us and they know where we live. If I did that in Indianapolis the salesperson would just laugh at me.

Today we went in a locally-owned store and I bought some last-minute gifts for people. As we were leaving Mom and I commented on these cheeseball mixes they had and how good they sounded. We started to leave and the owner grabbed one and put it in our bag and said, "Try one and let us know what you think. Merry Christmas."

Small towns have a sense of goodwill and good cheer the bigger cities lack.

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So I drove to my hometown after my finals today. A list of things I appreciate about home:

1) Our Christmas tree. White lights, angel, and every ornament means something. I also get a kick out of seeing this cut-out Christmas tree I made in pre-school. We each only got 10 sticky stars to place on the tree for ornaments. Most of the kids placed them here and there, including on their own body parts. I, on the other hand, placed them neatly in a row and was completely perplexed when I didn't have enough for the whole tree. I of course didn't understand why I couldn't have more because my tree had to be perfect. Think I was/am a bit anal-retentive? I think tears followed.

2) How nothing changes. Big news though: Vincennes is getting an Applebee's!

3) My life-sized cardboard cut-out of Commander Will Riker from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" that is in my room. YES, I watched that show. Get over it. I might also have some other Star Trek stuff, but I'll never tell. It was a phase.

4) The fact that the SAME DJ works for the main radio station. I just smiled as I listened when I drove in to town. Incidentally, his wife and I got into a car accident when I was in high school. (Her fault).

5) My cat Charlotte.

6) The fact that martinis are $6 or under.

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I AM DONE WITH LAW SCHOOL FINALS FOR THIS SEMESTER!!!!!!!!

Can you tell I'm pumped???

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