… And to all, a good night
I’d like to thank the City of Alexandria for refunding part of the income tax refund they robbed from me earlier this year due to my supposedly owing them property tax even though I only lived there for a half-year in 2006.
What irks me, though, is that while they did acknowledge that I spent the latter half of ’06 in D.C. proper, the fuckers kept the $25 decal fee (property tax sticker, for those not lucky enough to live in the Commonwealth o’ Virginia at any point in their lives) even though they never sent me the decal. (Not that I needed it, because again, I was registered in D.C.) These states will do anything for a buck and boo hoo if you disagree with how they’ll spend it.
I understand that sales tax is going up in Virginia and Maryland, which pfft. I do lots of shopping/activities in those wonderful areas, and again, anything these governments can do to anally rape you, they will. Happy freaking new year to you, too — isn’t it bad enough that everything already costs more here to begin with?
In any event, Christmas came and went at the Caterwauling chateau. I bought a turkey breast from Harris Teeter, which was yucky and dry, but luckily there were plenty of awesome side dishes to take its place. And sweet potato/cream cheese pie, also from HT. Proof positive that the universe really doesn’t hate me!
My feeling is that Santa got stuck in the chimney but he decided to crawl back up and not land with any presents. I did buy myself one thing, and as usual I find myself strapped for cash and feeling guilty about the purchase, so it might go back. It was the T-Fal/Food Network 4-in-1 Grill Station (in red!), which I’m sure is half-off at Kohl’s today but meh, ask me if I feel like fighting crowds today.
Actually, I do have to make a return today because I have something purchased 30 days ago and, alas, today is day 30 and that’s the return policy. Unfortunately, everyone’s so damned stinky — I was in line for an hour on Christmas eve and the woman in front of me was farting up a windstorm. *gag* Seriously, between the B.O. and the B.M.s that people are apparently making in public, the case for shopping online exclusively is pretty airtight.
But anyway, I wanted this stupid grill because I have this wild hair up my ass that’s making me crave panini sammiches. ‘Tis the season for grilled cheese, too. Mmm. But guess who never has any groceries in the house? Which means the grill is destined for the tower of boxes in the dining room that includes about four different coffeemakers, an iced tea maker, indoor grill, outdoor grill, sandwich maker, toaster, blender and whatever else I have but I’m forgetting about. What can I say: I’m a Gemini — I like gadgets. Preferably vibrating ones, but ones that are edible or contribute to making edible things work, too.
In any case, Christmas is over. Yay. The tree remains undecorated — now to pack up the fucking thing for another five years (*sigh*). But for the first time in my life, I heard/understood the story of the nativity. I guess I’d always written off the Bible as being equally non-fictional as Santa Claus, but this year I tried to keep an open mind. I guess I needed to believe in some magic, and it was actually kind of comforting to get why we celebrate Dec. 25 as we do (or should do).
I love how the angels came and spoke to people directly, and that they believed it and did what they were told and that they were rewarded with a miracle. I guess I wonder why the angels don’t talk to us anymore, but I figure they gave up because we all stopped listening.
Guess I should do some work or shower or something useful like that, speaking of avoiding the voice that’s telling me to hop to it, already. Hope y’all had a Merry Little Christmas!