Holiday Top 5

Alright, so Christmas is behind us, New Years is just around the corner. I figure it's time for a Holiday Top 5 list..

#5 - Going somewhere warm

Living in Salt Lake City is cold. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I actually love the snow, wearing jackets and beanies, and winter-time activities, but coming to San Diego for a few days and wearing shorts in December is wonderful. I'm taking a two week vacation this year.

#4 - Shopping Online

Holiday traffic, both on the roads and in the stores, freaking blows. I'm glad I jumped on the online shopping bandwagon a few years ago. No headaches, just a little planning ahead.

#3 - Drift racing

I love it when I don't have to be somewhere by a certain time and there's snow on the roads. It's the one time that my 9 year old 4Runner becomes a rice rocket. Don't be surprised to see me completely sideways on the road as I drift past Paul Walker and Vin Diesel on my way to glory.

#2 - Trust funds

Okay, so maybe I don't have one, but I kind of feel like it this week. I am doing absolutely nothing, but I'm still getting paid. This is the first time I've had a job that gives me paid time off, and I'm milking it and blowing it all while I sit around my parents house. I feel like a king.

#1 - Cookies

Christmas joy, spirit of giving, love unto your fellow man, yadda yadda yadda. That stuff is great and all, but the real spirit of Christmas is cookies. My mom just made some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies that would melt your face with their deliciousness.

Audiophile

I recently made two resolutions.

1. Stop stealing music.
- I'm going to actually buy music rather than download it. I decided this for two reasons. One of the reasons is my 2nd resolution, the other is for honesty's sake.

2. Stop listening to downgraded music.
- Okay, so this is kinda nerdy, but once you start, you can't go back. .Mp3's are compressed versions of CD quality audio files. They basically chop a big chunk of the sound spectrum off each end and just give you the meat of the music. Most people don't notice the difference, but I do.

I've started ripping all my music in Apple Lossless format, and the sound quality really is a whole lot better, especially through a semi-decent pair of headphones. You'll hear things in songs that you've never noticed before if you do it. The music is much fuller.

The downside? File size. A full album in lossless is around 300mb.

The other downside? I didn't realize how many of my favorite albums I've never actually owned, or bands for that matter. I've never bought a single CD by Brand New, who is quite possibly my favorite band... Weird. I've got a lot of music to buy.