Merry Christmas (Eve)!

I wish I had used this as a Christmas card, to mail out to loved ones

weird Christmas facts

Stumbled upon these while searching for Christmas traditions... too good not to post:

Weird Christmas Facts:

• Based on a 1999 estimated population count of North America and Europe, on Christmas Eve of that year Santa Claus had to visit 42,466,666 homes in a 12-hour period — that’s 983 homes per second.
• Kris Kringel, a man in his 40s, lives in North Pole, Alaska, and delivers pizzas for a living. He drives a 1984 Ford Tempo.
• A traditional Christmas dinner in early England was the head of a pig prepared with mustard.
• 1 in 6 men would like to get rid of all the “gift-giving nonsense.”
• 1 in 3 men will wait until Christmas Eve to finish their shopping.
• 56 percent of Americans sing holiday carols to their pets.
• Christmas pudding should be stirred from east to west.
• Saint Nicholas of Myra, the original Santa Claus, was the patron saint of children, thieves and pawnbrokers.

And to think... all this time I've been stirring my Christmas pudding from west to east. So foolish!

from greatness to WHOA... WHAT?!?

And by that ("that"... as in: the title of this particular post) I'm referring to... Twitter.

I haven't always thought very highly of Twitter. Come to think of it... I used to think it was just about the most pointless, invasive, and downright stupid trend to hit the 'net. Quick nonsensical posts about what you're doing, limited to 140 characters? Count me out, cap'n. And yet here I am today, with well over 7,000 tweets under my belt. I don't particularly remember what nudged me towards ever signing up, but whatever that reason was... I am very thankful to have jumped on board the Twitter train.

Why, you ask?

Is it the fact that I can share my random thoughts, that I often think are hilarious... but only sometimes get a reaction? Or the contests and exclusive offers sent out to followers of various bands, companies, celebrities, etc? Or maybe even being extremely up-to-date with what is happening in the world, like when someone famous dies and every single person I follow has something to say about it?

Sure, every one of those reasons definitely factors into my enjoyment of having a Twitter account... but the reason my experience has suddenly gone from "greatness" to "WHOA... WHAT?!?" is simply this :

Jon Favreau responded to my tweet.

AND he re-posted two... count them, TWO, pictures that I sent to him that pertained to the movie Elf.

*for those in need of being informed : Favreau is the director of Elf, Iron Man 1 & 2, the upcoming Cowboys & Aliens, and much more. He also had roles in Elf, Iron Man 1 & 2, Swingers, Couple's Retreat,  I Love You Man, Deep Impact etc etc.

as Happy Hogan in Iron Man 2, carrying the briefcase suit o' armor

I sent him 2 pictures of some of the decorations we here @ LU's Student Activities made for our Elf-themed Christmas talent exhibition, and a cake one of my fellow staffers made of the narwhal from the movie, and he dug them enough to respond and re-post to his profile for all his thousands of followers to see. Thaaaaat is just plain cool. It definitely made the show we organized seem SO much more legit, in my eyes, knowing that the director himself was aware of what we were doing... and approved.

Yes, it's a bit trivial & ridiculous... but I'm a movie geek, and I was super amped to have even the smallest interaction with a director that I really admire.

I don't know how many of YOU are avid Twitter users... but feel free to share any crazy stories involving Twitter, whether it's like mine... or if it resulted in something happening outside of the internet, even!

Looking Back (At Christmas '09)

Here's a picture that basically defines my Christmas break last year...

footie pj's > snuggies

I'm eager to see what this season has in store... and yes, the footie pajamas still fit (PHEW!)

*ALSO: Christmas videos courtesy of LU Student Activities coming soon, inspired by Elf... and yes, I'm rocking the tights & the elfish get-up. Stay tuned.