bah humbug

So I totally forgot that it was supposed to start raining today. And of course I didn't bring my raincoat. I have my fleece, and that'll have to make do as I hurtle down 108th to the Transit Center.

This weather and the proximity to holiday fun has apparently made me babblier than even usual.

I brought leftover pizza for lunch today. I want to eat it right now. I went out last night with my good friend Amy T. I love her. I haven't seen her in awhile because her in-laws were visiting for two and a half weeks. So last night we stole away to 3rd Place books in Ravenna (and to NY Pizza in Maple Leaf), where I bought a used copy of Baking at Home with The Culinary Institute of America. It is such a beautiful book, I can't believe someone gave it up!

( Blather about cooking and foodstuffs )

That's about it. I am now STARVING and also impatient about being at work, and it's only 10AM. I have a document to plow through, that I hate, which is very sad. Especially when I could be home. COOKING!

caveat emptor

LA Times report: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-giftcards10-2008nov10,0,2342051.story

Beware when buying gift cards to stores this year or things that may need to be returned/exchanged to a particular store this year.

Fwded from a friend:

"If you tend to give gift cards around the holidays, you'll want to be aware of the following store closures as the cards may not be honored after the holidays. Stores that are planning to close after Christmas are still selling the cards through the holidays even though the cards may be worthless January 1. There is no law preventing them from doing this. On the contrary, it is referred to as 'Bankruptcy Planning."

I checked the following information out on Snopes.com (http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/storeclosings.asp). Some of the information may be out of date, but the general concept is true. Check out the link at Snopes for information on specific stores.

Some consumer advocacy groups are fighting for better protection for the buyers of GCs, but until then, I think it's going to be the rare gift card that I'll be tempted to buy.