Running Around on Christmas Eve's Eve.

Christmas Eve's Eve. That's what I used to call it, all those years ago as a child in Manlius. Still call it that, really.

A 2007 greeting, based on a 1987 photo.

This year, the pre-holiday rush of December 23rd had a distinct good news-bad news vibe:

The Car

It was hard to get up early on 2 hours of sleep and drop the car off, but I managed it. I had left two of the windows down to air out any possible cat dander, and of course it rained, soaking the seat and two paperback books; but they dried out with minimal damage. Half a block from my goal, the driver's side window (which wasn't down overnight) opened itself all the way and refused to go up again. So I had to get the window motor replaced as well as the front and rear brakes and, it turned out, the front rotors and two drive belts. The total, $641.17. Could have been worse! This does not, of course, fix the completely nonfunctional car radio. Tonight the driver's side internal door handle, which has been half-broken for years, boke a little more, and I was briefly unable to close the driver's side door from outside the car. But I was able to close it from witin, which seems to have sort of fixed it for now.

A Job Nibble

One of my recruiters called about a temp to hire position. It pays well, but it's a 45 minute commute in the opposite direction from John's commute. The benefits are great, but not until six months from my start date, if any. I was asked to keep Tuesday and Wednesday free for a possible interview. What, on Christmas Eve, and Christmas Eve's Eve? I muttered something about unfinished Christmas shopping but agreed anyway - and heard not a peep of follow-up for the rest of the day.

You've Got Voicemail

This morning my cell phone was inexplicably flashing the LG Rumor logo, and could not be turned on or off or used in any way. So I plugged it in to charge, just in case that helped. Later in the day it was working again, and had two voicemails. One was the original message from my friend that her cat had died, which I didn't want to listen to because it was so sad. The second, from Monday evening, was my friend telling me that her new cat was the right cat, that it sits on her lap and follows her around. S. sounded much happier, and I was nearly in tears to hear it!

Last-Minute Shopping

I've officially bought a few presents at last. My dad's Christmas check came, and I was able to talk John into buying a new iPod (his old one has been giving him trouble for years) and get treats for the dogs' stockings before rushing off on my own. We hit two stores looking for Pfferneuse and cranberry relish, and didn't find them, and all the while I worried that I'd left the gas burner on under the remains of the chicken soup. I hadn't. Now I just have to get the aforementioned cookies and cranberries, if possible, plus stocking stuffers for John and maybe more stuffers for the dogs, and do the online gift thing for family.

Christmas Eve schedule.

Well, let's see. We need to put up the tree, and I need to finish my shopping, and I may possibly have a job interview. I'm taking Eva to the 5 PM Family Mass, and Kevin to the 10 PM Hugh Mass with Carols. There's also the dogs' stockings to be decorated, and political buttons to make for a special order or two. Busy day, so I'd better get to bed so I can get up again and get started on it.

Karen