My heart goes out to all the victims of the killer tsunami that recently hit the Indian Ocean. I can hardly bear to watch video footage, it's just so horrible to even think of. I made a small donation to the American Red Cross towards the disaster relief efforts, via Amazon.com. You wish there was more you could do, but hopefully even this small monetary donation will help in some way.

Merry Christmas! :D

Last night my parents hosted a dinner get-together at their house. It was a nice time. Mocha was the star of the party :) ... he started off very excited and hyper, barking and jumping as guests arrived but as the night went on he mingled more calmly, hehe. Jerry schooled me, Lori, Rho, Tiffany, and Mark in a couple games of Texas hold-em. I managed to finish second to Jer in one game. I've got to work more on my poker face...

Today I had Lori, Rho, Jer, and Jon & family over at my place for lunch. We had fun playing with Kasey and Jerald, and we got in another game of Texas hold-em. :) Unfortunately, they did not eat nearly enough food so I have leftovers that will last me a week! :P

Finally went to the doctor yesterday about my cold... he said it's probably sinusitis, so he gave me a short course of antibiotics (just three doses). Lungs sounded clear, so no bronchitis (whew). Hopefully the antibiotic will do the trick. I'm sick of being sick. :P

Also, I interviewed yesterday for a spot on a project team working out of our Chicago office. I start on January 3. :) It will be so nice to not have to travel for a while, plus the project looks to be very challenging (in a good way) and if I do a good job it should really push my career forward. Here's hoping.

In other news... I bought a new TV last night! I got a 26" Samsung LCD. It fits perfectly in the entertainment niche over my fireplace and is a nice upgrade over my 20" Sony, which is now sitting in my bedroom. This is the biggest purchase I've made in a while, so needless to say I agonized over it a bit, but there was a great deal at Circuit City so I went ahead. I figured I deserved to treat myself to something nice for my 30th birthday, and this will also serve as my Christmas self-gift. ;) Hopefully it will last me a good long time.

Speaking of birthday, tomorrow Rebe and I will be meeting for ice cream creations as a belated birthday celebration. I haven't seen her since the summer... I imagine her pregnancy is showing a bit more now. :)

Happy Birthday to Mom! Apparently we (Mom, Dad, and I) are going to celebrate with Tita Marie and Mark at Greek Islands in Greektown (my neighborhood). I haven't been there yet (even though it's like four blocks away) so I'm looking forward to it.

I still haven't fully shaken this cold that I have. I was feeling better a couple days ago but now I'm congested again, and coughing occasionally. Ugh. I should probably catch some naps today.

Oh the boredom. Second week in Cincinnati and just today someone finally got back to me as to what software and access I need on my pc to be able to make programming changes to the reports I'm working on. Ugh. Still haven't gotten everything set up but at least I've got requests in to the help desk.

Mocha was very "clingy" yesterday when I was over at the parental units' house. He kept wanting to sit in my lap while I was trying to fix Mom's palm pilot. :) It was very sweet but it would have been nice if he sat elsewhere a few times. Silly puppy!

Still have some residual coughing and sniffles from the cold I caught last weekend. Blahhh... two colds in a month. Not good.

Gotta think of what to get Mom for her b-day... she mentioned they need new towels :) so maybe I'll just go with that.