Life and Times of AlieMalie

And to Prague it is on the 27th of February. Then an overnight train to Budapest on the 3rd. Ooooh, I’m getting so excited. 53 days. Not that anyone’s counting.

Unsurprisingly, I’ve been a little bit irritable this week since it’s the anniversary of my other set of parents’ son’s death. Not only that, but I’m not really a big Christmas person to begin with, at least not how this part of the world celebrates it. I’m not into spending gobs of money on gifts to give to people I barely know, the people whom I do like giving gifts to, my family and close friends, are already aware of my feelings for them and don’t necessarily need a gift to show them that I care. I definitely don’t understand the races to get this toy or that game before the rest of humanity does and spend half my life’s savings – not to mention half my life waiting in line – to attain it; it makes no sense. On one hand, I’m really glad this holiday season is almost over – I’m much more of a New Year’s Celebration kinda gal anyway. But back to the main reason I’m writing this:

I’m annoyed by people who use me for my network connections.

I know quite a few people. Some of the people I know are locally popular or famous or well known, and yes, each of those are different. My other mother is a well known author around these here parts, not to mention an excellent priest and someone who is routinely sought out by others. It doesn’t help that her husband is a priest as well. Both of them are people magnets, there is something about them, even more so if they’re together, that people want. Not to make them sound holier than thou, but there is something about their presence that is inexplicably wonderful and mysterious. People constantly want to be graced by it. I feel beyond lucky to not only know them, but to have been accepted into their family completely. A few years back I was explaining to my other mother that I had quite a few people who considered themselves to be a Jewish mother to me and and she retorted, “Well that’s fine, but I’m your premier Jewish mother.” And when people who also know them ask me who I am and how I know this family and she’s within earshot, she’ll race over, put her arm around me and say, “[AlieMalie] is my daughter.” which will usually shut the inquisitor up. Because of this relationship, I’ve unfortunately begun to be yet another link to this family for some people to exploit.

Anyway, rewind to Christmas afternoon. I’m sitting at the table eating Christmas dinner with my mother and some friends when my phone started to vibrate, of course I didn’t answer it, but when I got back into my car to drive home, I listened to my voicemail from a woman for whom I occasionally work for.

Hi [AlieMalie], it’s me, I was just calling to ask if you had the number for the [Duke] family. It’s unlisted and I need them to see if they can officiate at the funeral for a friend of mine. Could you possibly call them and have them call me back? Thanks.

Now, I understand your friend died. I understand you need a priest for the funeral, HOWEVER, I am not the person to call to get this information, and before you ask, think of the people you’re requesting and their own circumstances: it’s Christmas day, not only is it Christmas day, but it’s the first Christmas that this family has had since their son died last year, and oh, by the way, the first year anniversary of his death is tomorrow, the day after Christmas. And I know you know this since YOU WERE AT THE FUNERAL. Anyway, that really pissed me off.

So I called her back and point blankly said that no, I couldn’t give her the number, she might be able to have better luck with calling the church directly, and anyway, I’m sure this could wait at least one more day since no priest is going to plan a funeral on Christmas day. That was brief, yet to the point for the time being. Yesterday I finally saw her again and went into a little more detail as to why I refused her the number, namely I’m not this family’s secretary, I’m not their public liasion and I’m not about to exploit my relationship with them for any other person’s gain. No can do. I love them too much. She then informed me that she didn’t need the number, she actually had it in her cell, she had just wanted me to call because she thought I’d get a better response from them than if she called.

Bitch.

I just checked rail fares in the UK and am realising that it will be cheaper to rent a car rather than take the trains. I’ll still travel by train once I reach the continent, but spending £43 on a one way student fare?! Inconceivable! If you know of any cheaper rates, please drop me a line; otherwise, don’t say I didn’t warn y’all.

Anyway, so far the plan for the first week has pretty much been set: London to Salisbury to Bath and then back to London; from there, possibly elsewhere in the UK? Who knows? After that, it’s the Chunnel to France. Still working on the rest of the trip. I can’t believe how expensive things are compared to the last time I was abroad in 2002. The dollar keeps slipping against the GBP and the euro. I’m seriously considering buying euros now and keeping them ’til I leave. The exchange rates totally suck for the American dollar. blah.

The past couple of days have been really nice, not because I got to spend it with friends or family catching up or doing the whole Christmas thing, but for the opposite reason. Granted, I did, in fact, spend time with friends on Christmas eve, my mother on Christmas day, more friends Christmas evening and then went to a gathering of friends the day after Christmas to remember our friend who died last year, but in the midst of all of that, I’ve had plenty of time to myself. It’s been nice and very quiet. I’ve had time to stay at home and do absolutely nothing but watch movies and catch up on books that I’ve been wanting to read for the past few years. This time I’ve had where I’ve checked out of the world has been great. I’ve been able to think and reflect on the past year. A lot has changed though on the other hand, like the cliche goes, the more things change, the more things stay the same. I’m finally feeling like I’m rested enough to take on the challenges I want to face, do the things I want to do and take those first few steps into the next chapter of my life. I think I have the first paragraph or so written, now for the meat of the chapter. We’ll see what happens.

First off, it’s high time I started making concrete plans for my upcoming trip. I wake up every morning thinking that I need to make reservations and such because the days just keep ticking by … I can’t wait. teehee.

Hope y’all have a very Merry Christmas.

November 27, 2006
12 Days of Christmas Cost More
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 6:13 a.m. ET

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The cost of ”The Twelve Days of Christmas” is on the rise — again.

Buying each item in the song just once — from a partridge in a pear tree to a dozen drummers drumming — will cost you $18,920, or 3.1 percent more than last year, according to PNC Financial Services Group.

The total cost of items gifted by a True Love who repeats all of the song’s verses costs more than ever before — $75,122 — for all 364 items, up from $72,608 in 2005, a 3.5 percent increase.

”After years of stagnation, wages for skilled workers, including the song’s dancers and musicians, have increased as the labor market has tightened,” said Jeff Kleintop, chief investment strategist for PNC Wealth Management. ”Also, a decline in the housing market has dampened demand for luxury goods, such as gold rings.”

While prices for the partridge, two turtle doves, three French hens, six geese and seven swans remained the same as last year, higher wages made the lords a-leaping, ladies dancing and pipers piping costlier.

The nine ladies dancing earned $4,759, 4 percent more, according to Philadanco, the Philadelphia Dance Co. The lords a-leaping got a 3-percent pay raise, while the drummers drumming and pipers piping earned 3.4 percent more.

The maids a-milking, however, weren’t as lucky. They make the federal minimum wage, which has been $5.15 per hour since 1997.

Each year, the Pittsburgh-based bank does a tongue-in-cheek tally of how much the swans, geese and drummers would cost if you purchased them at today’s prices. PNC has been calculating the cost of Christmas since 1984.

For the price of buying all 364 items, you could get a brand new, fully-loaded special edition Hummer 2 sport utility vehicle, fully-loaded Cadillac XLR two-door roadster, a cruise around the world, a 5-carat diamond ring or top-of-the-line Cartier or Piaget watch.

Trying to find cheaper deals online won’t help, either. The 364 items online would cost $125,767, including shipping costs, compared to $123,846 last year. You would spend $30,330 online for each item just once this year.

The nine ladies dancing are the costliest items on the list again, at $4,759. The seven swans a-singing cost $4,200. And a pear tree saw the biggest jump, going from $89.99 in 2005 to $129.99 this year.

The cheapest? As always, the partridge, still $15.

——

On the Net:

PNC Christmas Price Index: http://www.pncchristmaspriceindex.com

PNC Financial Services Group: http://www.pnc.com