See, I was thinking Casper had learned Adam Sandler's "The Hanukkah Song":

Tell your friend Veronica, it's time to celebrate Hanukkah
I hope I get a harmonica, on this lovely, lovely Hanukkah.

My dad has the Hanukkah song in the middle of one of his Christmas mix tapes that he pulls out every year, and it's always hilarious.

Me, I put "Three is a Magic Number" from Schoolhouse Rock on my Christmas mix I made a couple of years ago, but that's because I'm more religious. Than my minister father.

Also, thanks to you people, I'm having a beer. Brooklyner Weisse.

(For men it's called a Hardy Boy)

For me it's a Nancy Drew!

I only have ever purchased from *$ s because the parents of kids i work with keep giving me gift certificates. They do come in handy when travelling, as the company has a zillion stalls in every airport, and many have reasonable tasty grilled vegetable sandwiches which can be easily carried onboard for an in-flight meal. And the cookies aren't bad.

My Christian Celtic punk band did a cover of "Three" years ago and it's a classic in my house.

I just love that song!

Also, I think I need to get over myself and divide Secular Christmas from Religious Christmas in my head, because I can get myself all worked up over all the "the REAL meaning of Christmas is GIVING!!" stuff out there, and it's completely ridiculous. The extent to which I can get worked up, I mean. Secular Christmas is perfectly legitimate!

If those employees had the option of donating their PTO to other employees (even those who normally are not eligible for PTO) how often you you suppose people would do this?

My mom's school district does this with leave. She may have availed herself of it when she had pneumonia, but I'm not sure of that. I do know she puts hours into the pool when there were others with major medical crises.

Walking around New York this week, I was thinking, they couldn't have held off on all the big Christmas decorations until next week?

I was gonna say, my PR station is having an overscheduling crisis tonight: Choral Arts Annual Xmas concert tonight, the first night of Hanukkah (they normally air special Hanukkah programming through the duration, and are still. Just later) AND the NPR democrat debates repeats (even later.)

I kinda would have preferred they run the Hanukkah programming earlier. It's more interesting to me (learn new things! Traditions and stories I haven't already heard my whole life!)

It's dark, snowing and twenty degrees out. Why did my husband think it a good idea to drag us all out to buy wood? Like seriosly far from our house. In the middle of nowhere.

Awesome photo of happy dog catching snowball: [link]

I am maxed out at 960 hrs sick leave. Can't do a damn thing with 'em. Except call in sick more often.

I don't know if we have a cap on sick leave. Regular vacation, yep, but I'm pretty good at using that up. Main contract gets 5 wks/year (ptui!) and some of those folk end up doing all sorts of weird schedules to avoid losing accrual (you can't cash in vaca for $ to burn it while an employee. But if you quit/leave, you do get the $. So it makes sense to avoid losing accrual. It's losing $$!)

I could *totally* find a way to use up 5 weeks/year vacation!

Yeah, we have people who hit the 320 hr vacation max accrual. I'm never close.