Is it just me, or did Christmas come really fast this year? Anyway, here’s what I got!

Aunt Ann and Ed:
- stocking: Blistex, Basis vitamin bar, Orbit gum (2 packs), mini kleenex (3 packs), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End DVD, and various food/candy items
- Starbucks gift card
- Gap gift card
- brown Gap sweater

Grandpa and Mary:
- Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind DVD
- MoMA Hug Salt & Pepper Shakers
- MoMA Stacking Coasters
- wooden Christmas decoration

Grandma and Bob:
- moose PJs
- teal hand-knit scarf

Uncle Chris and Mary:
- TuneBuds
- The Italian Job DVD
- motorized coin sorter (and extra coin wrappers)

Ross:
- Simpsons Movie DVD

Mike:
- bi-color LED blow on-off candle
- mono/kissing disease plush microbe
- HTTPanties (413 Requested Entity Too Large)
- Castle in the Sky DVD
- Sleepwatching (Vol. 1) DVD

Mike’s mom:
- basket of vanilla shower gel, bubble bath, lotion, bath salts
- stocking: chocolate, date nut bread

———————————————

And for graduation (which we basically combined with Christmas):

Grandma and Bob:
- official JMU diploma frame

Uncle Chris and Mary:
- necklace
- small wooden “running horse” box

Grandpa and Mary:
- money

Aunt Ann and Ed:
- money

Mike:
- Shrek 3 DVD (with Donkey beanie baby)

Lois:
- Barnes & Noble gift certificate

Amy:
- Diana Krall “From This Moment On” CD

!

I got a flu shot 2 weeks ago, and my upper right arm still hurts from it. The pain subsided for awhile but didn’t disappear completely, and now it seems to be back in full force. Is this normal? This is the 2nd flu shot I’ve ever gotten (voluntarily ’cause it seemed like a good idea … no one said I needed one), and last year everything was fine.

Some background, thanks to Tunnel Vision:

1. Go to http://www.careercruising.com.
2. Log in with username: nycareers / password: landmark
3. Click on “Matchmaker” at the top.

I wasn’t sure if 39 questions about what I like and dislike in the job world would produce anything meaningful, but since there have been moments when I’ve questioned if design is right for me, I decided to give it a go. Luckily, the results below provide a bit of reassurance! Bold = what I do now and italics = something I’d like to do:

Interest Rank:

1. Multimedia Developer
2. Website Designer
3. Desktop Publisher
4. Cartoonist / Comic Illustrator
5. Fashion Designer
6. Computer Programmer
7. Animator
8. Video Game Developer
9. Computer Animator
10. Graphic Designer
11. Artist
12. Business Systems Analyst
13. Database Developer
14. Medical Illustrator
15. Web Developer
16. Industrial Designer
17. Computer Support Person
18. Interior Designer
19. Sign Maker
20. Film Editor

So, I turned 23 six days ago. Over the weekend I was in Manhattan with my grandpa (and dad and brother) to celebrate, and it was awesome: 3rd row center seats for Rent (at first we were like, are you sure these are our seats?), visiting MoMA and its design store, the Apple store on 5th Avenue, dinner at a nice Italian restaurant, and the American Museum of Natural History! I took tons of pictures too. So yeah, it was pretty sweet.

I also got the following:

Grandma:
- Sheetz gift card

Mike:
- Treasure Planet DVD
- trip to Harrisonburg (sort of)

Aunt Ann and Ed:
- money

Grandpa and Mary:
- magnet from Turkey
- purse from Turkey
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail DVD
- Gap gift card
- digital picture frame

Dad:
- money