SantaBlogger Arrives

I chose to participate in the SantaBlogger gift exchange put together by Zeke. It was a clever idea, wouldn't cost me anything (it's a virtual gift) and I figured it would be a good way to spread some holiday cheer. Typically I am rather "bah humbug" at Christmas and the older I get the worse my "humbugs" get... but this year I want to try and "act my way" out of these feelings.

So the name I drew from the proverbial hat was Dan Tripp from the Outchurched website. Our mission was to peruse Dan's site(s) and determine a gift that he might enjoy. Our gift price limit was $25.

So I first headed over to the Outchurched site and immediately knew what he needed. You see, several weeks back Josh and I were invited to be guests on the Outchurched podcast. We had quite a good conversation over there with those guys and I have been looking forward to hearing the show back again and seeing what others thought of our conversation. So, each week I look to see if there is a new post and alas, I am constantly disappointed. Now, I know he has since done other podcasts that also haven't been posted so I don't take this personally.

It seems to me that someone that does a podcast and then cannot seem to ever post it must be either way too busy or way too unorganized. Either way, I thought the appropriate gift for Dan might be an appointment book so that he can structure his life in such a way that he might be able to do all those important things he has do and still leave plenty of time for podcast production.

However, I didn't want to appear mean or to insinuate that Dan was, in fact, truly disorganized. So I decided against the day-planner appointment book.

So heading over to his personal site I discovered that Dan has a new pet. His hamster (apparently still unnamed due to the fact that it seems Dan doesn't have much time for that either) has just joined his family and he has a cute little picture of his fuzzy friend over there that you can check out. Now I understand that this hamster replaces his dearly departed Elsbeth.

It appears Dan thought very highly of Elsbeth. He posted her (I think it was a her) obituary on his site on December 6. It seemed like a tough loss for Dan. Yet amazingly, he seemed to recover in only three days from his grief to run out and get his new yet-to-be-named furry replacement.

Now I know Dan is apparently torn up and sensitive about the loss of his beloved Elsbeth, and with his busy schedule he probably just had time to grab a new unnamed hamster and nothing else. Sadly I bet, what's-its-name is forced to live in the old hamster habitat. I know it's hard to part with the past Dan, but what's-its-name can't live in the shadow of Elsbeth and you will find it easier to move on from her if you get rid of her former living space.

So with that in mind, I give to you Dan Tripp (and what's-its-name) this brand new Super Pet® CritterTrail Outlook Small Pet Home. Here's the description:

A home bursting of color and fun for hamsters, mice, or gerbils. Comes complete with a water bottle, food dish, exercise wheel, climbing ramp, and several spots to hideout. Home has four locations where accessories can be attached for added living space and fun.

It is my hope that you enjoy this fine living space for your pet. May I offer one more thing in the spirit of Christmas... since your new hamster doesn't have a name I would like to offer the use of my name, Steve, if it is a boy and Stephanie if it is a girl. Now that would be the gift that keeps on giving. Merry Christmas!