Somehow I came out of the Santa job without a single image of myself in costume. That suit was so hot, one Santa told me he lost a belt notch to dehydration the first week. I, on the other hand, felt I was in a Tim Allen movie, as my belly grew noticeably in a few weeks as Santa. It wasn't enough to replace the phony belly bag I had to wear in my role. Why does Santa have to be too fat to be healthy? Some older European versions were slim.
I took my Santa duties seriously, vowing to brighten kids lives, when they came in to see me. It was a revelation to me, because I didn't even know I liked kids. At a very early age I realized I didn't want to have kids, and never did to my knowledge. My jobs never put me in a position to deal with lots of children. Wal-Mart came the closest, and I remember feeling compassion for some of the kids I saw there for their home lives were worse than anything I had experienced growing up. That feeling came back, while doing Santa.
As I reported earlier, Nintendo soundly thrashed both X-Box and Sony. Somewhere since Christmas I caught a glimpse of television with an ad for the Lego Star Wars and understood why it was a popular choice. I'll bet that ad was in frequent rotation. Strong movie tie-ins put Transformers into the top three, and I'll bet they had a saturation ad campaign going, too.
The Santa union petitioned the government to put Santas high on the H1N1 vaccination priority, since Santas had to handle kids all day and some were bound to be sick. Santa union? I didn't realize there was one. I knew of two organizations who recruited Santas, but a union?
I'm looking for more of a Santa Society dedicated to brightening as many lives as possible 24/7. It can't be limited to children, although they would still be a priority, and it can't be limited to a single season. Many religious groups claim to share this duty, but their results don't impress me.
It's time to trim my beard. It is swallowing my face and getting caught in straps and zippers. It will be back to Santa size by next winter, but it needs some quick size reduction now. I think my next persona will be Uncle Sam. The specs stay the same, I have the hat, and the beard's smaller.
There are some other items higher on the to do list. First, my next show is coming in February at Food for Thought. The display concept fell into place in my head yesterday. An alternative for my unavailable flickr archive is still an issue. I've looked at the remaining 200 images several times, but still haven't decided what to do with that site. It could be time for an upgrade. I looked at Zenfolio. Their base rate was close to flickr and offered more services, and I found myself wishing I could afford their premium service level.
It's First Night in Missoula. Events start at noon and roll into the new year. I've got my batteries charged, and I'm packing my camera bag. My first stop is MAM for the jazz. The university has many good performers in close proximity for easy walking. I'll have to get back downtown for the Volumen and El Zombi Gato at the Palace, plus Wartime Blues at the Old Post. I wonder what the weather is going to do. The forecast says wintry mix, which is not a good thing. I don't want my car downtown at 2am, if the streets are dangerous, and the possibility seems likely. Walking might be as dangerous as driving, and I might not be in shape to walk.
As always, life is full of so many possibilities.
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