The Daily Derenger

12/25/2003

I've managed to sneak away from the family Christmas gathering long enough to write this. However, I don't think they'll miss me. There's too much food to be eaten and stories, albeit recycled ones, to be shared. Then there's my step-cousin, Kenny, who just returned from a 9-month stint in Iraq. His work there trumps any of my funny happenings or meaningless trips through the midwest. We can't even watch a good movie with my step-dad contolling the clicker. He's watching James Bond flicks while "A Christmas Story" and other comedy classics pass by. I'm off to visit friends with some function in their family, not to dys mine at all, of course.

12/24/2003

Merry Christmas 2003!!! I bought many more gifts than I had planned, but it felt really good to do so. Then came the wrapping. Not having a girlfriend this year made the wrapping more of a chore than I ever imagined. Luckily there's a dollar store nearby where gift bags hung freely. That cut my wrapping time in half. Of course I had to wrap the gifts for the kids as tons of fun is had in savagely tearing open boxes, ribbons and paper. My adult friends will be more than okay with a book in a bag, though.

Check out the journal for the re-posting of my Daily Derenger's. Also, if you've yet to do so, please stop by the pictures link to see Wrigley Field like never before.

Happy Holidays!!!

12/23/2003

I had a revelation last night: I'm a loser. It came to me through the television. As I was flipping through the channels while stopping a lot at the Packers-Riaders game, I came upon MTV. I don't watch much TV while at home 'cause there are only TV's in my sister's and in my step-dad and mom's room.

Last night my sister was at work, so I watched her muffled sounding TV in her darker-than-mine purple bedroom. I was glued to the "Jessica and Nick: Newlyweds" show. And I loved it. I loved them yelling and swearing at one another while drinking beers. It was like Cops without the trailer and actual cops.

It was a show with two early 20's millionaires arguing over house decorations and the time spent putting them up. Then they went shopping for insect repellant at Home Depot. I didn't change the channel.

29, living at home without a TV, and watching a reality show in my 17-year-old sister's room about wealthy married kids way younger than me chasing after bees in their front yard. That's being a loser my friends.

12/22/2003

It's been a week since Pepper's been gone and although I was on the road last week, I've been home long enough to miss her. It's weird not hearing her galloping down the sparsely tiled hallway. It's weird not having to cover the dinner courses in the kitchen or push them out of her reach. It's weird being unable to call her name when a fatty piece of steak has been chewed up and then spit out in her direction. It's also weird not having her to bark when someone comes home while I'm surfing the internet porn sites. She was my buffer between excitement and embarassment. You're sadly missed old friend.