It's the most wonderful time of the year..

Merry Christmas to all...

Work is a mess. Today was the last Saturday before Christmas, and as such the throngs were out in full force.

Christmas brings out the best in people. It also makes them irritable, uncharitable, angry, frustrated and clinically insane.

I've never understood why people simply CANNOT accept that 5 days before Christmas we might be sold out of a few things. Oh that $69.99 camera, or that $179.99 Avril Lavigne Canon camera aren't here anymore? What do you mean?!? RAGE.

Customers seem to have this idea of this mystical place simply, and universally called "The Back". If the item they want is not on the floor, then in their minds there is at least an 80% chance that some enterprising employee has got it out for them PERSONALLY, and is hiding said item in the magic caves of the store that contain all manner of goodies forbidden to hit the floor - for fear that we might sell TOO MUCH, and thereby right the economic ship of our country.

In reality the back is much more dull. We have customer units in and out for repair, items purchased waiting for delivery, an awesome bailer that will compress cardboard to a cube and could sever your arm without blinking. But no where in The Back is your Malibu Stacy doll with matching pink mustang convertible.

By the way, if you wanted a Wii before Christmas and waited until December 20th to buy one and now we don't have one, and you just HAVE to have one for little Timmy or Billy, or who ever, well I have no sympathy for you. It's your own damn fault.

We had Wii's all year. All. Year. Now, 4 days before the Eve of Christmas, you must have one and we cannot provide. Well that is not my fault. It's not even Nintendo's fault.

The blame rests squarely on you. The consumer.

I doubt I will ever understand such a thing. I have a small amount of shopping to do.. mostly stocking stuffers, and if something I really wanted to put into the stocking (which is not the most crucial thing in the world..) I will accept that it is my own damn fault for waiting until now.

On to what I want to share photographically, which is the true spirit of the blog. And the primary reason why this time of year I don't get to update it as much - being that I have precious little time to take pictures.

I took some pictures to share with my mother and father in law, of our house all gussied up for the season. It's been a nice change being able to find the time to decorate with my wife this year. And we have a real tree this year, which is equally cool.

Here are a couple of pictures from the decoratorium.

Something a little more ordinary

So that picture I posted a couple of days ago was definitely unique as far as my usual content, and I haven't tried anything like it since.

I had an interesting conversation with a customer today. He asked probably an hour's worth of DSLR questions, which was an okay thing because it was slow as heck at work. No one knows we're open to 10 (except my boss), so my evening routine right now consists of reading up on product and entertaining myself and my coworkers with the wonder that is my iPhone.

He claimed to be interested in a Rebel T1i, a nice new Consumer DSLR, and started asking what lenses he should buy, explaining he was on budget, if the kit lens was any good, what I thought of flashes etc... at first it seemed like he knew a lot about cameras... but as the conversation dragged on, it became increasingly apparent he was killing time... kinda like I was...

It was one of those illuminating conversations whereby you think you're talking to someone in the same language and you slowly realize that you're speaking English and they're speaking Cockney. (please no one take offence) At a cursory glance you both say the same words in basically the same patterns, but you're ordering glazed ham with scallopped potatoes, and they look hurt when you don't appreciate the deep fried hotdog and fries they bring you.

He knew enough of the technical stuff to keep up, but not enough to appreciate the answer and left no more enlightened than when the conversation started. Which would not be so bad, but it's 9:30 at night and I'd REALLY like to go home. I have better things to do. Like sleep... or like tonight, not be able to sleep and be busily updating my Blog.

So perhaps todays topic has a double meaning. I had intended to post some chickadee pictures and I will, but I think there is a deep and unfortunate truth contained within that pleasant if somewhat bewildering conversation with my customer today. That truth is either: 9:30 is a good bed time so send me home, or some people have nothing better to do than pick my brain on technology they have no inclination or desire to understand beyond the two facts they already know. Maybe it's both...

I don't say this to sound conceited, but just mildly dissappointed.

Here's my chickadees.