There are a number of things about my job that are fun. Yes, I enjoy what I do, which is truly a blessing, but I mean other things you don't quite expect that just pop up.
For example, I get a kick seeing the Christmas Surprise Package orders going all over the world. Today we had three from various parts of Canada and one that’s going to Japan. Yesterday there was one to Australia, and we had two from Germany, one from England and one from Singapore last week.
Domestic orders come from all over the USA. Some of the cities are well known, some I’ve never heard of. It's fun seeing the name of a place you've never heard of before or a name you don't connect to a particular region.
It’s also interesting seeing patterns, like we seem to get orders in batches where for some reason we get a bunch from one part of the country (say California or out West) all in a day or two, then it'll switch to some other part of the country. Likewise, it seems to me that we get more orders from the states of New York, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, Texas and California, than elsewhere, though that may be a false perception. I have not done a formal survey or accounting, and we get orders from EVERYWHERE.
Of course, I also enjoy putting together Grab Bags that I KNOW people will enjoy. I love the idea that the Surprise Packages put a smile on the face of a couple thousand gamers every season. I also love making mothers, grandparents and wives ordering for their gamer loved one look good with the items in the Surprise Package. It is rewarding, I guess.
Christmas has always been special to me. I imagine I get that from my parents. Mom and Dad always made an effort to get people gifts they knew they’d enjoy or needed.
I think that came from being poor. If you could only give one or two gifts to your loved ones, you wanted to make them special. Actually, my Mom had a talent for stretching money as well as buying a lot of small, inexpensive things, so it seemed like you got a lot of stuff. I know it’s silly, but that meant a lot to my brother and I when we were kids. A box of Crayons, some coloring books, and plain white paper goes a long way for a kid who likes to color and draw. Dad was smart too. Back in the 1960s you could go to various “book and coin exchanges” (a sort of used bookstore) and get old comic books for half off (even though they were only 10-15 cents back then). One thin dollar netted 15-20 comic books. Get each boy 20 comic books to find under the bed and it kept us thrilled and quiet reading till at least 7:30 AM, allowing Mom and Dad to sleep to a reasonable hour Christmas morning. Smart.
Mom and Dad always made us feel loved, happy, and not as poor as we really were. Christmas Eve with my grandparents, aunt and uncles, and an evening dinner of my favorite Polish food (namely potato pierogi, poppyseed cake, Polish poppyseed and almond rolls) was always wonderful. After dinner, we’d exchange gifts with my grandparents, aunt, uncles, and counsins, which spread the Christmas celebration and gift-giving over two days instead of one, which was awesome.
Christmas morning would be quiet, intimate and special because of the love and gifts exchanged between the immediate family. We all always strove to get each other that truly special item and inevitably there were tears of joy, and lots of hugs and kisses. Heck, most years you’d end up saving all year-long or did extra work to get that special gift, so it really was “special” on many levels. Being poor but artistic meant drawing, painting and making things as gifts too. I know I was foolish, but when you’re a kid, that seems like a cop-out or a cheat. From a kid perspective, it didn’t seem “special” or a “real” gift if you had to make something because you didn’t have the money to buy one. People would say things like, oh this is much more special because you made it for me and it's one-of-a-kind. Which is true, but it doesn’t feel that way to a dumb kid. Today, my Dad’s drawings are some of my most cherished keepsakes.
I didn’t mean to go tripping down memory lane. I've been thinking a lot about my Dad, and that leads to memories of Mom and nice memories from days past. We were poor but blessed in that we had a very loving family. Erick Wujcik once told me he was envious at the relationship I had with my parents.
I was been feeling a bit blue over the weekend and down in the dumps on Monday. So much so that after four hours at work, I decided to go home and take the rest of the day off. Just needed some time off I guess.
I'm feeling better today and yesterday. Spending five hours shopping yesterday buying gifts for freelancers and friends helped. Of course, by the end of the night I was pooped and went to bed around 10:30 PM (early for me).
Online sales have been good so far this week.
Work on Armageddon Unlimited™ is coming along slower than I’d like. I think my Dad’s passing has made me a bit less focused and slow when it comes to editing and writing, but it’s really good stuff – heck, great – material. Carl Gleba outdid himself. (Again!)
Folks seem excited about the Palladium Facebook Page. I’ll try to remember to post regularly.
Wayne is Mister Destro today. First, he knocked over some stuff in Alex’s room. Then snapped off one the window blinds in my office. Funny, he’s usually Mister Fix-it, and, in fact, he fixed the blind he broke and some other problem. What a guy.
Sincerely,
Kevin Siembieda
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