Well, it turns out Emirates wouldn't let me print because the site didn't actually save the passport information I entered. Boarding pass printing now!

I almost upgraded to Business Class for $380 and realized at the last minute that the upgrade only applied to the 4 hour flight between Hyderabad and Dubai, not the much longer flight from Dubai to Dublin. Boo.

I view hearing LDB as a win.

Liese, I wish you forebearance until the labyrinthitis is gone.

Maria, I'm sorry, that's just rotten.

Calli, I don't know how much you care to engage with this person, but if you are so inclined, here are some places where Jesus said various crappy things happen to people not so much because of sin. I'll spoiler font 'em in case this sort of thing would be worse than useless.

John 9 1As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. 2And His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?" 3Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.…

Luke 13 1 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no...

The absolute worst is "Christmas Shoes," but it's at least easy to avoid. I think I've heard it exactly twice--once when I came across it radio station surfing while down in Alabama at Christmas and listened to it all the way through in incredulous, horrified amazement, and once on a local station, Warm 106.9, which I swear plays in 90% of the doctor's waiting rooms I've ever sat in in Seattle, and which would never sully my ears if I could just avoid needing medical care.

That one is the worst. I only hear it when my dad picks the radio station in the car.

Thanks, WindSparrow. The thread seems to have died down, but I'll keep those in my pocket for the inevitable next one.

Liese, I wish you relief soon!!!

SA, congrats on being done with exams. I hope you are sleeping well right now.

oh, Maria, I'm sorry!

I like LDB. I don't mind the 12 Days of Christmas, though I don't really understand it.

I love Wonderful Christmas Time, though.

In Good News, I have a new nephew - my half-sister had her baby safely early this morning, and she named him after our grandfather, which is nice, because he was a pretty great grandfather (not the jerky but cool one who just died, but one who thought reading to children was one of the most important things in life and quietly worked for racial justice in the 1940s and never drove a Porsche although apparently he did swear at bad drivers.)

I am not a huge fan of Christmas carols, but LDB is not the worst. It's not really a Christmas Carol, but John Lennon's "Happy Christmas (War is Over) always has me running for the mute.

Still LDB free!

I got asked twice last night, while holding a 5 week old baby, when I was going to have one of my own. They both got the, "you know how old I am, why are you asking me such a dumb question" variation of the "are you nuts?" look.

One of the advantages of hitting my 40s is the "when are you having kids" question being put to rest forever. Though I suppose I'm a little sorry I'll never get to respond with "I keep trying, but none of the guys I've had sex with have gotten pregnant. Maybe it's me, do you think I should see a fertility specialist?"