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UK children’s programs are so much better than US ones – Shaun the Sheep!

I am definitely a citizen:

• got my naturalization certificate
• got my US passport
• got my voter registration card
• got a jury duty summons

All I need now is my pick up truck and rifle.

Sad news that Sir Edmund Hillary passed away yesterday, a rare person in today’s world who achieved much and yet remained a gentleman despite all the celebrity. It’s too bad there aren’t more people like him.

I also dedicate this video to Teri’s grandmother who passed away this week at the grand age of 92. Although I didn’t know her real well, she clearly shared a kindness and a good heart with Ed. May they both rest in peace.

I cringe every time I am asked to give my name in a restaurant, fast food joint etc. I know not why but there are very few people out there who hear the word “Paul” when I say my name. Much easier just to call myself Josh. Or Steve. Or … Recent names that have appeared on my receipts, starting with the one from today:

• Poul
• Pole
• Pawl
• Pull

time for reflection and resolutions! Except that db makes a good point so I’m not going to bother, except to list some things that would be nice if they happened in 2008:

• I became, and stayed, MRSA-free.
• I lost 15-25 lbs. First course of antibiotics had me well on the way but not this time around
• Lived with my wife more than 2 days a week. Whatever happened to the great telecommuting era?
• Got my Commercial Pilot certificate.

Check back in 366 days to see how I did, I’ll be waiting for ya.

Well, I kinda knew it wasn’t going to work. The bag of secret liquid has quite a lot of crystals already grown so it’s no real surprise that there wasn’t enough juice to grow a full woolly coat. But at least the sheep will be keeping his rear end warm this season (33F last night!).

Last year my Dad gave me this “Magic Sheep” kit but I never got round to putting it together until now. Well, I originally had the idea that I would make a time lapse movie but despite having more cameras and video software than Circuit City I couldn’t work out how to do it. So, anyway, I present to you the Magic Sheep, watch out for updates over the next day or two to see how she’s doing.

It’s the last Friday before Christmas so there was really only one video to put here. But I couldn’t find a decent link anywhere on the intertubes so you’ll just have to listen to the Waitresses’ Christmas Wrapping on your own.

Instead, I present the Pogues and Kirsty MacColl, complete with “almost-banned by BBC Radio 1” profanity.

Yes, I am now a fully-fledged citizen of the USA. Friday afternoon I stood up with 34 Mexican nationals and swore the oath of citizenship. We had to absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty. I had known in advance about state and sovereignty but giving up my potentates, that’s going to hurt. Sometime over the Christmas break I will put in my passport application. Until I get a US passport I am unable to travel back into the country, should I leave.

In other news, we came back from Sedona to find a letter from the hospital saying that the culture taken from my most recent abscess contained MRSA but that I had been given the proper prescription and that they hoped I was feeling better. I certainly am feeling better than when I went in for the lancing but I feel like this is not over yet by a long way. The first wound doesn’t look too bad, but the second is still healing and it just feels to me like it’s going to form another boil. Every tiny itch or sensation on my body screams to me “here we go again”, it is not a good feeling. And I swear that if I have to have any more lancings I am going to exercise my US constitutional right to own a gun, and put it to my head.

I love getting mail (real mail, that is), few things more fun than walking to the mailbox and pulling out a big wad of envelopes. Though there is the flipside of getting back to the house and finding that it’s all charity pleadings and catalogues. But this week I am expecting:

• A ‘welcome pack’ from ING who last week took over my NetBank accounts after they went bust. As of last Friday NetBank truly ceased to exist so the money I have there is currently wholly unavailable to me until ING get my account details to me. [Received!]
• My driving licence from the DMV. It expires this Friday on my birthday and the new one is not here yet. They took my money a couple of months ago and the renewal website says my licence has already been renewed so I assume it is coming this week.
• Six – count ’em, six – parcels from Amazon.com. It’s only three orders but one has been split into three shipments, another into two. I think they will all arrive same day. I can’t say what is in them in case Teri is reading. [Received 5!]
• A returned cheque from my local bank that they denied because it was made out to my business rather than me, been waiting for that a month now. I need it so I can a new cheque in my name – and its for $750! [Received a letter but not the cheque grrrr.]
• Maybe I will get the final cheque from the buy out of my previous employer, supposed to have been settled at the end of November. The amount has been in dispute but it’s either $300 or $1200, either is good.

Hopefully they will arrive as expected.