Plays Well With Others

And The Xmas Spirit is Upon Us …

… whether we like it or not.

I remember, back in the day, when you wouldn’t see even a hint of Christmas before Thanksgiving had ended. It was kind of the big deal. You could go to a store the day before Thanksgiving and the stores would look like they normally did, and then magically overnight they’d be transformed into Winter Wonderlands. It was neat.

Let’s fast-forward twenty years … right next to the Halloween candy is the beginning of Christmas merchandising. Santa’s of every size, trees with lights, trees without lights, trees with lights built into the faux pine needles. It’s a little overwhelming. And, by the time Christmas gets here, you are so sick of seeing it all, you just can’t wait for it all to go away again. It’s the story of how the Grinchy stores stole Christmas. They over-merchandised it.

Which brings me to Christmas shopping. Ugh. One of my least favorite things to do. I avoid anything related to gift giving. I hate when friends buy me birthday gifts, because then I’m obligated to buy them a gift and before you know it, you’ve got this “birthday gift exchange” type of thing going on. So, now, not only do you have to remember when their birthdays are, you have to figure out what to buy them. Just wait until they all start having kids. Then it only gets worse. I don’t do gift exchanges.

Of course, Christmas is a whole other ball of wax. Quite a few years ago, when I got old enough to join the ranks of the adult gift exchange, which translates to “your day’s of getting gifts but not giving them is over, pal”, the family thought it would be prudent to pick names out of a hat. And so we do, and have been for quite a few years. We usually pick that name on Thanksgiving.

Besides that gift, Wifey™ and I have done ALL of our Christmas shopping. Our closest friends and family is all we have to do, and so last month and this month, we have spent our weekends doing a little at a time. This weekend, we got the last of the gifts purchased and are now home free. It’s a REALLY good feeling knowing that it’s all out of the way. The worst part of Christmas for me is entering a mall and watching how ridiculous people act, all for a sale item or a parking spot. Christmas spirit much.

This weekend, besides Christmas shopping, we went to visit my father and step-mother. Everytime we visit they take us to dinner somewhere and this time it was a place called “P.F. Changs“. It’s chinese like you’ve never seen before. They are all over the place, so go to the website and look them up and you’ll probably find one near you.

When I picture a chinese restaurant, I picture an old rundown building with table and chairs that look like they were recycled from a restaurant garbage sale, worn floors, peeling wallpaper, and greasy everything. The last thing I think of is “trendy”. And P.F. Changs is VERY trendy. Another thing is that not once did I see one chinese person. I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but I do know that I was able to place my order with full confidence that the person taking it understood every word I was saying. It’s kind of important since I’m allergic to nuts and if I’m not completely understood I could end up being airlifted to the nearest emergency center. Most times when I ask about the “nut” situation, I get a smile and a nod and just brace myself that they actually understood what I was talking about. This time, Brandon, our server, knew exactly what I was talking about and assured us that nothing we ordered had nuts in it … not even nut oil.

Usually, not seeing any chinese people would worry me a bit, because you have to wonder if the food is going to taste good. I mean, the whole reason for having chinese food is because I want CHINESE food. Well, I don’t know if this place serves authentic dishes, but it doesn’t matter to me because it’s pretty damn good. We actually started off with a lettuce wrap as an appetizer. Basically, it’s a meat mixture that you spoon onto lettuce leaves and then dribble some sauce over and sort of eat it like a mini burrito. I’ve had it before and can actually make it, so I knew what to expect. It’s very good and I’d recommend it.

Anyhow, go to P.F. Changs if there’s one in your area. It’s a nice change from the usual Chinese dives I’m used to.

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