Obligatory "What Did You Get?" 2015

Compared to Santa, I'm a total ingrate, and I'm O.K. with that. No need to steal the big guy's thunder.

    I got a bike and a coffe machine. Perfect for keeping myself awake enough to finish my research, and for getting some excercise so the aforementioned research doesn' drive me insane.

    I also got some British beers, some nice candies, and phone charger stuff.

   However, my favorite gift was a letter from Jonno regarding this past year for both of us and some memorabilia to commemorate that said year.

 

Wanting Santa to go away? Why, I've never heard of such a thing! It's always a pleasure to have you in our midst, Mr. Claus. I hope that the present-delivery operation went smoothly as ever.

This year I was very lucky to receive a new phone. That was my 'big gift' for the year, and I am really enjoying it so far. It's a Blackberry Priv (which is their new Android phone), so it's kind of cool to be 'ahead' of the curve in terms of smart phones and technology.

I got some nice new clothes -- more plaid so I can look ever more like a stereotypical Canadian woodsman, a pair of stretchy jeans which are hecka comfy, and SOCKS. Always socks. Always needed, though, so no complaints! I also got a sweater with my family's name on it (because my family is really cheesy like that) that says "Lifetime Member". It's super comfortable, though.

In terms of video games, I got Xenoblade Chronicles X, which I haven't had the chance to play yet but it looks super neat. I'm pretty excited, since I started playing through Xenoblade Chronicles not too long ago and I love the interface for the battles.
From @"Flimzy", I received To the Moon and Terraria. I'm particularly excited about the former as I've been meaning to play it for quite some time, but the latter I have also heard nothing but good things about. Should be cool to play through them both! Thanks, Flem -- it was a huge surprise and one I wasn't really expecting.

@"whitesubtitlesoncanadianwinter" got me a really cool "space pen," which can write from any angle and in any climate. This is particularly exciting for me, as I am so often horizontal that pens just never work properly for me. She also handmade me a light up constellation of Ursa Major (which I will post pictures of later). It's super cool and I am really excited about it! And she got me a poster of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker which is also super amazing. The art style is awesome and it's going to look great on my walls at university.

I'm sure Krista will want me to mention also that Santa brought me a selfie stick, which is a little strange since I've never expressed any interest in one... but that won't stop she and i from getting a jump start on santa's naughty list next year though nahmean :x
Other things I received... I got a few books to read (note to self -- edit in the titles and authors), a lovely Christmas card from @"Jonno", a cool notebook made out of an old record, and my little sister made one of my stuffed animals a cute little shirt out of one of my ooooooold shirts.

All in all, it was an awesome Christmas and I got a lot of awesome gifts from equally awesome people. I don't want to get hugely sentimental in this post, but I am so glad that I got to spend time with my family and good friends over this Christmas season.

 

I was waiting on today to make this post since I knew there was an absolute slew of things coming in the mail a bit past Christmas that I should've taken into account in my initial post. Now, the wait is over, for all one - three of you who were waiting for it. :5 

I'm with good Mr. @"Santa Claus" on the highlight of this wintry holiday season, first and foremost; hanging out with family and being able to talk with friends in extent for the past couple of weeks has been a much-needed breath of fresh air throughout the workloads provided by grandma-sitting, school, and a few good freelance jobs and internships that I've been juggling. I had this weird, extensive video chat over Skype with @turbotaxer on his birthday until like 3 a.m., where we ushered in his wondrous return to ZEJ, which was a highlight; as has been talks with fellow old buddies @Flamezone and @Eebit, as of late. The four of us getting together for that last SSB presentation? Also a highlight.

On top of that, I've seen two uncles and a cousin come and go throughout the past week, finally got to watch the 3D rendition of The Force Awakens with one of 'em yesterday as his Christmas gift to my sister and I (which lived up to the hype, for me), and seeing my grandma, whose finally gotten a "real" celebration of the time of year this go-around, be so damn happy about it all has been the best part by a long shot.

We were also given a gift of this sense by a "stray" American bulldog that ended up winding up on our property and stayed for a couple of days before ultimately disappearing once more. Even though she's wandered off somewhere or was picked up by the (thankfully no-kill) humane society, she offered some levity across a time that has been characteristically, unfortunately, rather dreary amongst my family due to certain stressors She wasn't exactly stray (hence the quotation marks), since she had a microchip in her, though, precariously, the attached address was for a home for the mentally afflicted. It, along with her sunken rib-cage, would indicate that she's potentially been on the road for quite a while. I was happy that we could offer her shelter for a few days and work together as a family beyond the dredge of stuff that my parents in particular have been mired in for quite a while now. Her temporary presence resuscitated my acclimation towards the idea of having another dog after my dachshund passes; yes, the idea of looming death is always sad, but I feel more now like the memories you make with these animals are worth the pain of loss, like any long-lasting, meaningful relationship would be.

As for the idea of gifts in the traditional sense, well, there were quite a few - all of which I'm grateful for.

My parents gifted me a vinyl record player(!!!) and an electric toothbrush(?!?!?) - Fun AND useful! :5

While the toothbrush is random, I did want to pick one up, actually, along with some teeth whitener, so they'd read half of my mind. LOL.

The record player is not only pertinent because I'm the "music guy," but because my grandparents owned a set of about 50 - 60 vinyl records that I'd inherited after my grandpa passed away. His player was broken, though, so I couldn't play the records until now. I am a huge fan of Sinatra and those associated in that golden lane of music with him, and there's a couple of his records in PERFECT condition that I've been blasting on the machine incessantly for the past few days. The first song that I had played, though, was "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" by Tony Bennett, which was my grandparents' wedding song. Everyone present just about cried reflecting on him and his life with my grandma (who we are now taking care of). Truly a meaningful gift that I'm very happy for. (A $25 Target gift card from my aunt just went towards an online purchase of Brandi Carlile's Bear Creek in vinyl form, which is gonna be the BIZknIt.)

The record player also plays CDs, FM and AM radio, and can be hooked up through an AUX cable to play songs from my iPhone or PC, so that's been cool to toy with (although vinyl sounds notably better on this more intrinsically analog machine than all of the other formats).

My sister had given me a very nice dark gray sweater with leather patches that I've already donned a few times since receiving it, as well as a light brown/brown windbreaker jacket of the same quality that I fear may be a bit too small for me, length-wise, though I haven't really fully assessed the situation yet. We'll see! I'm going through the numbers of readjusting my wardrobe to be more "adult" given my ascent into higher career-orientd places, so new clothing that reflects that, given, is much appreciated.

My dear friend Savannah (check out her band's music) is easily my favorite person from the past few years that I've been infusing my writing into the music industry; we really hit it off and talked for ages last year, and it culminated not only into a grand business relationship, but a grand friendship. She pretty much proved without a shadow of a doubt that she knows me to a tee by sending me a NINJA GNOME. Not even kidding. It's the most dangerous gnome in tha hood, with solar LED eyes that shine a light on evil before they slice 'em to pieces. Michael, who is also a part of the Accidentals, sent me his self-titled solo CD for Christmas.

@whitesubtitlesoncanadianwinter, of course, sent me her favorite read of 2015, Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I plan on starting up my reading on it very soon, now that I have a good pocket of time to myself leading into 2016 prior to kicking things up with a concert venue that I'll be closely working with within the lane of promotions into the new year. Just reading the book's back summary, I can say that I'm looking forward to what I'm anticipating to be a scintillating, potent read. Krista also tossed me a banana in the form of Bananagrams, which I can't wait to give a go with my sister in the coming days, and this kids' joke book tossed in to bring her up to the lane of free shipping from her Secret Santa vendor. You can bet you'll be hearing some bomb diggity jokes from me leading into 2016, friend! :5

I was sent a great, ornament-shaped card featuring my old friend Octavianus (check out his wedding photography portfolio) and his newly-minted wife and baby girl. It is moving just seeing how far he has come in his life, given that we all began as lulzkidz and spent hours interacting with each other over Skype before evolving into our own worlds. Keeping in contact with the guy even with his new familial responsibilities in tow has been a blessing.

The aunt who had sent the Target gift card had it dolled-up in a custom gift card carrier with a candy cane wrapped around it - deluxe, and also sent me a notepad (always handy) and a couple of shirts (one black long-sleeved, one green polo) with the Sacramento University Library (where she works) logo emblazoned onto it. My other aunt from the same side of the family sent me a check for $20; she does not make much in the form of ends meet, so I'm always flabbergasted to the point that I initially want to tell her to keep the money, but perhaps that would be a dash on her pride. Regardless, I'm very thankful for her doing so, especially thinking about the lengths at which she goes just to make her nephews and nieces' Christmas that much more jolly.

My uncle on the other side of the family who'd brought us to see The Force Awakens donned my phone with a neat leather case from Pierre Cardin (I'm assuming this is a lush brand), which I'm thankful for since my old case was getting all ratty and disgusting. Perfect timing on his part. My other uncle and cousin (same side of the family as Uncle 1) gave us a couple of $25 gift cards to the movies, but alas, the closest applicable theater is an hour away! Regift ahoy, ey? Be on the lookout, turbotaxer! :5 (Though these will probably go Jose's direction when his birthday rolls around, since the jig is up as far as ZEJ is concerned, haha.)

In regards to our dear old turbotaxer himself, I would say that he wrapped this Christmas up FANTASTICALLY with a grand surprise in the form of The Making of Fire Emblem. Anyone that knows me even to the most minute percentage knows that Fire Emblem has been my favorite overall game series for quite a long time (even more-so than Super Smash Bros., by a smidge; at least as far as actual gaming is concerned and not cultural relevance amongst friendships made), and this is one book that I've been aware of, but had never quite been able to seek out given the overall business of the past several months. Know that I'm grateful, ol' buddy, and that having this book really gets me going in terms of brushing up on my Japanese; if this were a few years back before I'd lost my touch, I'd be able to dig into this a bit more than I am now, speaking in the literary sense, and its more of an inspiration than a gear-grinder. In the mean time? Pretty pictures!

And Eebit, be on the lookout, still, for that final gift from me! It should arrive any day now; Skyped ya the tracking number a little while back.

 

Thanks to @Zantok I got a few things on Steam this year! The list is pretty darn great and as follows:

-A Wise of Time
-Psy High
-Choice of Robots (This and the two above are all multiple choice choose-your-own adventure style games from Choice of Games, which I dig)
-Thomas Was Alone
-Undertale

My uncle from Canada visited and ended up giving me $50 too, which I have yet to spend, so there's that!