Expect Delays!!!

In life, we expect everything to be immediate. We expect to find our perfect job after we graduate from college, be married within five years, have all our kids before we turn 30, and find a parking space when we go shopping during Christmas time.

A friend of mine told me she thought that parking at the mall was the real challenge to the Christmas spirit; she followed it up by saying that if you still want to listen to Christmas music after leaving the mall, you’ve had a successful trip.

Well, I say that in order to keep your sanity while driving through parking lots, you should sing Bugs Bunny’s and Elmer Fudd’s interpretation of The Ride of the Valkyries from Die Walküre…nothing brings a greater smile during a trying time in the same way. Then, when you leave the parking lot, shift immediately to the Hallelujah chorus, making sure to start with the rolling refrain ...and He shall reign for ever and ever! before breaking into the series of punctuated Hallelujah’s that follow.

Yeah, I don’t think it’ll help much either, but at least you’ll keep your sense of humor.

Merry Christmas!

Going Platinum

For those who travel frequently, as I do between Scottsdale, AZ, and Orange County, CA, one of the things we all do is try to maximize our points so we can earn more points. For example, I recently accumulated the 90 segments required by US Airways to get to Platinum status, which means that I get higher dibs on first class upgrades than those with Gold or Silver status. However, the Chairman status travelers (120 segments or more in a year) get first dibs over us Platinums, but that’s okay, as for my miles, I get more bonus points, 75%, for each mile I fly than I did when I was Gold or Silver. And I’ve similarly gotten up there with Marriott and Hertz.

But you’ve really arrived when you get a Christmas card hand-delivered from your local Starbucks! Okay, so I practically live at Starbucks—I feel embarrassed when I fill out those surveys and have to specify that I drink at Starbucks more than 30 times a month, and I’m not talking about those months that have 31 days in them—so it does feel like home.

The decorations also are out, and while it doesn’t come close to the 115 foot Christmas tree at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, CA, having Christmas wreathes encircling the P.F. Chang’s horses’ necks is definitely a unique touch for Scottsdale, AZ. And, those palm trees decorated with Christmas lights—nothing says desert Christmas like those.