I can’t believe that it’s actually already December. Where does the time go?? I still have so much to do before the holidays.

On the plus side, we’re leaving to be visit our families in about 20 days – yay! California to Michigan (with stops in Denver and Iowa), Michigan to Nebraska, then back to California again. By car! With Ratsy & Squidgy!

Hey, American Airlines screwed us last year and we wound up having to drive anyway. I still haven’t gotten any of that money back. So, if I have to drive anyway potentially, might as drive the whole way. Oh, and don’t fly American Airlines.

Two cities from my home state of Michigan were “honored” with being among the top dangerous cities in the United States according to the 14th annual “City Crime Rankings” report. Detroit was the number 1 most dangerous city in the country and Flint, my home town, was the third most dangerous city. Go Flint-town!

But seriously, folks, what do all these numbers mean? As the Detroit police chief wisely observed, the full results of the study are only available if you purchase them. “It really makes you wonder if the organization is truly concerned with evaluating crime or increasing their profit,” said Bully-Cummings, who noted the complete report is available only by purchase. “With crime experts across the country routinely denouncing the findings, I believe the answer is clear.”

You tell ‘em, Detroit!

Now, do I think that Flint is a safe city? Not particularly. But if Flint is the third worst in the nation, then I don’t think that things are really that bad. It’s not a pretty area by any means but they have made some strides with local colleges in the area. The downtown is cleaning up a bit. And it hasn’t turned into a complete wasteland since GM pulled up the stakes and left town.

I also don’t recall seeing the once-a-week televised car chase that you tend to see in southern California. For my money, Los Angeles is a much bigger (and therefore scarier) place. However, there are a lot of sketchy cities in LA County which may all be lower on the scale than Flint and Detroit. Together they may have worse crime rates but you won’t know unless you order the official report.

Where does the time go? It seems like I just got married a month or two ago, then our honeymoon, a bunch of work, and WHAM! Here are the holidays already! How can it seriously almost be Thanksgiving??

Am I the only one who feels like the holidays shouldn’t be here quite yet? I guess I’m still not used to having sunshine and 70 degrees this time of the year, having grown up in Michigan with significant weather changes around the holidays. It’s not that I dislike the weather, of course. It just seems that it allows the holidays to sneak up on me a lot easier. Holidays are the jerk in school who creeps up behind you and gives you the atomic wedgie except that, in this instance, the pain you feel is the realization that you have to go to the mall with the other 70% of the population who put off getting their gifts as well.

I have never made it a secret that people annoy me. “I hate people” is a catchphrase that should be inscribed on my…I don’t know, tombstone? It’s not that I hate people in particular – it’s not personal. It’s just that you get in my way by going 1mph blocking the whole aisle of traffic at Target; you decide to wait until your entire order has been rung up to write a check; you don’t know how to discipline your children and allow them to scream and run through the store.

I don’t make the mistake of thinking that I’m perfect. Far from it. But I know how to put one foot in front of the other to get out of peoples’ way while I’m deciding between the “I’m with Stupid” t-shirt and the “No Fear” t-shirt for Billybob. I don’t write checks unless it’s from the comfort of my own home. And if I had children, they would either be under control or under the care of a principal at one of those “send your kids to be disciplined” schools.

The main thing I’m thankful for every year is also the thing that annoys me most: people. However, the people in those two categories are drastically different. And I’m thankful even more that the people I appreciate do not cross the line into sheer annoyance. Yes, I know, it’s a miracle that I have friends.