Thursday, December 23, 2004

For All You Last Minute Shoppers

I'm visiting my family in Houston for the holidays (so expect light blogging for the next week or so). Flipping through the Houston Chronicle, I found an article about a new gift-gifting idea: healthcare gift certificates!
At [Dr. Margit Winstrom's] family practice in southwest Houston, pap smears, blood tests, prostate screenings and general office visits can be purchased, personalized and packaged with festive wrapping for Christmas, Mother's Day or birthdays. Each card comes with a description of the service written in calligraphy.
Just what I wanted for Christmas -- a prostate exam! Thanks, honey!

P.S. Here's something I wrote two years ago celebrating the commercialism of Christmas. I'm especially lazy this time of year, so I figure I'll just make linking to this old post a Christmas tradition.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do you really have TWO christmas trees in your apartment? I think that's funny. Do they smell of pine or plastic? That's twice the work to decorate. Will it demean your web site to post pictures of your trees? Somebody has to give you a digital camera (not a proctological exam) for christmas or should I say the pagan ritual of Saturnalia. Happy pagan feast and a prosperous pagan new year!

Anonymous said...

Are there any downsides to commercialism that you can see? Can we start with our massive trade deficit? Is it possible that commercialism is more an indication of how brainwashed we are as a society rather than how "rich" we perceive ourselves to be? Are there other ways to be feel the abundance, the blessings of a good and happy life without going on a eating, drinking binge and a spending spree every X-mas season?

As an indication of the effectiveness of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, Tiffany's and Cartier's sales are going through the roof. Cartier's low-end watch sells for $5,500. Don't bother trying to buy one retail though; they're all sold out! How many of the 51% of the electorate that voted for Bush can afford to buy one? No sad faces at Christmas time; there will be another tax break for the wealthy for next year. You won't qualify? Tisk, Tisk!

Glen Whitman said...

First anon -- I don't have two Xmas trees this year, but I have in past years (including the year I wrote that post).

Second anon -- Lighten up and have some fun, man. Go shopping or something!

Anonymous said...

Hmmm...How'd you like that earthquake/tsunami in SE Asia? Merry Christmas. What a horrible disaster.
I never understood why it is that so many more people die in the poor countries than anywhere else. ie: 130,000 deaths in 1991 earthquake in Pakistan?
I can only attribute it to bad buildings/infrastructure, and not enough warning. Which reminds me, I was watching the news(such sparing coverage considering 11,300+ people died), and the reporter said US meteorologist knew about this but didn't know who to contact in Sri Lanka. Didn't know who to contact? Are there no officials for weather and disaster in Sri Lanka? Or how about just contact and warn somebody, anybody!? I'm not blaming any meteorlogists for the oversight, but I didn't think that communication was so poor when it's international.
Brian Jaregui is vacationing in Thailand, i wonder how he's doing...

sk

Anonymous said...

How to Help:
https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation-form.asp

sk

Anonymous said...

The company I work for applied major arm twisting to make us all give the maximum possible payola to the United Way this year, so I have no more charity money in my budget to help disaster victims. Isn't it ironic?

Anonymous said...

United Way is a terrible organization. They mismanage donation money. There was also some scandal not too long ago.
Nobody *has* to give. It was FYI.

sk