What I did on my Xmas vacation

[dan bailey]

I sorted & shifted & boxed comics. That's it. That's almost all I did on 12/25 itself (we observed the holiday the previous evening at my gf's grandmother's), so far behind had I gotten on incorporating (I arrange my ishes chronologically by character & company, with all the indies except Image filed alphabetically as well, separated according to whether the publisher in question is still in business or not) my last several months' acquisitions of comics, old & new, from my 2 LCSes or eBay.

To save a few bucks off what the shops charge, a couple of weeks ago I took a deep breath & ordered a whopping 10 short boxes from an eBay seller -- entirely too many, I was sure, but the cost per box was considerably less than for a purchase of the 5 I figured I'd need. And what the heck, the extras would last me for weeks if not months, right?

Ha!

All 10 are now filled, & I've still got 30-odd ishes of Nexus that have nowhere to go.

*siiiiiigh*

[Hintermann]

Me, I worked from 1pm to 10:30pm on X-mas day. At £160 (about $300) an hour, I could not resist the temptation. But I did sneak a Phantom comic annual to work to read now and then!

[dan bailey]

At £160 (about $300) an hour,

My god, what do you do? Fly rocketships? (Though I guess that's more in MW Gallagher's field ...)

Lord knows, back in the '90s I worked plenty of Xmases in my time, as the token non-religious city desk editor with no family ties. Not that I ever got an extra penny or anything other than straight (as opposed to time & a half) comp time off ...

[Hintermann]

My god, what do you do? Fly rocketships? (Though I guess that's more in MW Gallagher's field ...)

Fly rocketships? Wish I did, cos like most people, I dreamt of going up to space as a boy. I'm afraid what I do is very boring - I am a GP - Family Doctor to you Americans.

[dan bailey]

A GP? Hmmm.

Doctor, I've been having a pain in my side ...

[scratchie]

Doctor, Doctor! It hurts when I do this!

[dan bailey]

So stop doing it, already!








Bah-dum!

[Lone Ranger]

My Christmas was quite nice.

The weather here in Toronto was unseasonably warm so Kat, Logan and I visited a small zoo in High Park, which is a 10 minute walk from our house. It's actually called the 'Animal Paddocks', which I find quite cute. It's free, and has bison, yaks, peacocks, barbary sheep, and llamas. It's not every Christmas Even that we feel like taking a stroll through the Park.

That afternoon was spent at my in-laws for a nice meal and some great presents. We didn't go to the church service that evening because Logan hits the hay quite early (so do his parents these days).

Christmas morning was just the 3 of us at home - it was really quite nice and Logan can now help to unwrap gifts and take things out of the stockings.

We went to my parents' house for dinner that evening with my grandmother, my sister and her family and Kat's parents. It was fun, and everyone was in good spirits. We were worried about Logan staying up later than normal, but he never really had a meltdown because so many people were entertaning him.

Boxing Day was mainly clean up and relaxation at home. Logan got some great books and toys. He really loves books, just flipping through the pages and pointing out various things.

I am at the office for the Wednesday and Thursday of this week, but am off from Friday until next Wednesday. My family has an old farmhouse 2 hours northwest of Toronto, so the 3 of us are going up there for a change of scene. I wish there was snow, but at least the driving will be a breeze.

I got some great Classic Comic goodies as presents - check out my latest entry at my blog (link below).

[scratchie]

So stop doing it, already!One minute! Not bad! Thanks, folks, we'll be here all week.

I say, Dan, my dog has no nose!

[dan bailey]

(Damned work, getting in the way of witty repartee ...)

So, Scratchie, how does it smell?

[scratchie]

(Damned work, getting in the way of witty repartee ...)

So, Scratchie, how does it smell?Bloody awful!

(Sorry, I was getting my coffee)

[Sir Tim Drake]

I spent Christmas evening in the drunk tank. An old man said to me, "Won't see another one," and then he sang a song... Wait, no, that was someone else.

I was in Israel on Christmas. So I could hardly even tell it was Christmas, since no one was celebrating it.

[gentlesatirist]

...did that old man sing a rare old mountain tune?

(And I do hope I'm remembering that right.)


- FE
Wickliffe OH

[Sir Tim Drake]

...did that old man sing a rare old mountain tune?

(And I do hope I'm remembering that right.)


- FE
Wickliffe OH

Yes, he did! But I think it was actually "The Rare Old Mountain Dew."

I couldn't really tell, though, because I had already turned my face away and started dreaming about Kirsty MacColl.

[dan bailey]

I was in Israel on Christmas.

Hope you had a great time, & good to have you back. I've never been to Israel (heck, I've barely ever been north of the Mason-Dixon Line), though I'd love to visit over there -- my late mother's oldest (I think) half-brother lives in Rehovoth, near Tel Aviv, having relocated there from California in, I believe, the early '50s. He's considered an "original settler," I believe they're known as.

[scratchie]

Yes, he did! But I think it was actually "The Rare Old Mountain Dew."

I couldn't really tell, though, because I had already turned my face away and started dreaming about Kirsty MacColl.Christy Moore does a really nice solo acoustic version of "Fairytale of New York" that's worth tracking down if you're a fan of that song. I downloaded it off of Kazaa several years ago.

"Merry Christmas me arse
I pray God it's our last"

[MichikoS]

Hi everybody. Just got back from two weeks in Tokyo with my family, and starting to catch up with normal life here in the US. I trust you all had a good yasumi (vacation).

Here's a few pics from our stay in Kichijoji, a northwestern suburb of Tokyo. We had a small apartment there and took a lot of day trips to various places. I have family in Tokyo, so when we weren't sightseeing and shopping we were eating or drinking and partying. Not a bad way to spend two weeks.

Here's a night shot of the Kichijoji train station shopping area called SUN ROAD.
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i221/elbert_coalwell/kichijoji.jpg

This is a pet store in Kichijoji. Talk about truth in advertising!
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i221/elbert_coalwell/dog_wiz.jpg

Yours truly, with my lovely teenaged daughter Olivia, strolling around Odaiba looking at the ganguro girls. Google the term if you're curious.
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i221/elbert_coalwell/mc_ow.jpg

And finally, one of the tokusatsu icons of my formative years, the one and only ULTRAMAN, celebrating his 40th anniversary on this giant billboard in Mitaka.
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i221/elbert_coalwell/ultraman.jpg

I look forward to catching up will all the posts I missed while away.

akemashite omedeto gozaimasu! (Happy New Year!).

Michi

[Sir Tim Drake]

Sounds like an awesome vacation. I'd love to go to Japan someday but I'd kind of like to learn the language first, as unrealistic as that might be.

Did you pick up any interesting manga?

[MichikoS]

Sounds like an awesome vacation. I'd love to go to Japan someday but I'd kind of like to learn the language first, as unrealistic as that might be.

Did you pick up any interesting manga?Sir Tim, as hard as it may be to believe, this was a comics-free vacation. I know, it seems incredible, but true!
Michi

[Nate C.]

I'm in the process of putting all of my comics from long to short boxes. I bought 8 recently and filled them yesterday. I now have 32 short boxes and 12 long boxes plus a bookcase of trades. I'd like to get eight more to "get up to speed". Then, I'd like to have stickers made of the titles and put them on the fronts.

[Sir Tim Drake]

I'm in the process of putting all of my comics from long to short boxes. I bought 8 recently and filled them yesterday. I now have 32 short boxes and 12 long boxes plus a bookcase of trades. I'd like to get eight more to "get up to speed". Then, I'd like to have stickers made of the titles and put them on the fronts.

I really need to get a long box or two. Currently all the comics I have here are stored in a cardboard box that used to contain toilet paper, and I'm running out of room in it.

Alas, it will be a long time before I can have all of my comics in the same place. The bulk of my collection is at my parents' house and it will probably stay there until I move into a permanent home.

[Nate C.]

I really need to get a long box or two. Currently all the comics I have here are stored in a cardboard box that used to contain toilet paper, and I'm running out of room in it.

Alas, it will be a long time before I can have all of my comics in the same place. The bulk of my collection is at my parents' house and it will probably stay there until I move into a permanent home.

If I could sway you to the short box instead of the long one with the following bit of advice- you too will age. Your back will one day ache, your arms will tire. You might want to consider skipping what a lot of aging guys eventually do- going from long to short box- and just get the short boxes.:)

[DoubleWide]

I was in the hospital on Christmas getting an IV antibiotic. Loads of fun. :p

[Sir Tim Drake]

If I could sway you to the short box instead of the long one with the following bit of advice- you too will age. Your back will one day ache, your arms will tire. You might want to consider skipping what a lot of aging guys eventually do- going from long to short box- and just get the short boxes.:)

I wanted to thank you for this advice. Yesterday I bought three short boxes and put them under my coffee table. They take up a lot less space than long boxes would, as well as looking much nicer and being more easily portable. Best of all, there's enough room under that table for at least five more short boxes. I still think I want to move back to long boxes or drawer boxes once I have a permanent living situation, but the short boxes appear to be the ideal solution for now. So thanks for the advice.

[InfoBroker]

Short boxes are also more friendly to your comics. I have had many an incident with comical books getting bent in the long boxes.


- jb the long and short of it ib -