Ramblings of a Samurai and his Duct Tape

So far the holidays are kicking my ass.

I'm at my parents house right now in a little lull time before going to the big family Xmas eve bash up in North Oaks. Gifts so far have been pretty good, several pants and books, and quite a load of candy and booze. Sleep has been quite elusive though. I've been relegated to one of the less comfy air mattresses in the basement as one of my mom's sister's and her family are in MN from Alaska for the holidays. It wouldn't be so bad except that it's quite cold down there, and the kitchen is right above me, which is where everyone goes when they wake. It's much better than it used to be before the basement was finished, but it's still quite loud. And I only just found out today that the heating vents were closed.





I'm used to seeing heating vents that have metal grills in them at shin level if they're not in the floor itself. I was quite surprised to find out that the circular things in the ceiling were there for the heat. I had noticed them each on their own, but never noticed there were three. Seeing them alone I thought it was a new type of smoke or carbon monoxide detectors. And then to have a grate in the wall as well? After everyone else was asleep I took the grate off the wall to try and see if there was any heat coming through it, and was astounded by how little it did. I learned something new I dids.





My sister's BF has his daughter with him for the holidays this year so I finally got to meet little Allie. She's a cute and fun little girl. One of her gifts was a 'fairy wand,' and me being me I mentioned that I was evil. After I sat on Spencer (her Dad's lap, who is actually the same age as me) she seemed to believe that I really was evil. While my sis and Spencer were out back using their damn cancer sticks, Allie told me she was going to turn me into a clock. To which I replied I would have really long arms finally. And then she decided she was going to turn me into a frog.





All the girls would want to kiss me so I could be their prince.





This went on for a while, I was going to become my own mustache, a lightbulb, an ear, and I don't know what else until she said I was going to be a princess. I had no comeback for that so I just started singing under the sea. And she was going to turn herself into a werewolf. It was fun.





Now I'm trying to figure out if I should head back down to Iowa after the family thing so I can sleep well in my own bed, or if I should just wait for tomorrow. I do have to work at 4...