I get it. The thing I got form my friend was his device is able to reverse that or vice versa. He can either reprogram the computer for a new set of keys or the keys to the current computer id.

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If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

I can already feel my yule log dimming.

I have baseball practice Saturday morning and a party at night. My wife wants to squeeze in seeing santa with her family in between. She wanted to know if we could go to the club for drinks after. Nice way to start the holiday week fronting the money for Schlitz drinkers who will find themselves having the taste for 20 year scotch that day.

We are going to see a Christmas carol sunday night. She wants to squeeze her family having a cookie party in before. Now, over 50% of them will bring nothing, another 40 will bring oreos and my wife will be baking into the morning trying to be the good daughter.

Now, it's super important that we go to these things because we are only going to see them 1-2 other times in the 5 day time span. Then I'll really look forward to her mom's OCD kicking in and demanding that all the dishes are washed after the dinner on Christmas night before she will put out the deserts everyone else made even as the next day is a work day...not for her, of course. The centerpiece of it all is my father in law sitting at the head of the table proclaiming he and his wife the master of feast with foods bought and prepared by everyone else but them.

Ho, Ho, Ho!

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Move

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I have seen the renaissance of PBR and even Hamms but where the hell is Schlitz and who is drinking it?

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If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

They came out with the 60's recipe version of Schlitz a few years ago and it's actually quite good if you can find it.

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“Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.”- JD Vance
“My god, what an !diot.”- JD Vance tweet on Trump
“I’m a ‘Never Trump’ guy”- JD Vance

Make the best of it, gd. Compromise and maybe suggest doing Santa OR the Cookies rather than rushing around to do both. If not, enjoy as much 20 year old scotch as you can. Maybe start an assembly line with the dishes. Get two people to wash and have the kids dry them so its all done quickly.

We found out we are kinda sorta in a similar situation this year. Christmas Eve is always with my family. My wife works (7a-7p) though she might get off early if there are no surgeries scheduled later in the day. Regardless, we're hosting and whenever my wife gets home she does. We'll make the best of it.

Christmas Day was always a later start with her side. We do our gifts and now Santa in the AM. If we have time for church, we'll go. Otherwise we will cook and prep the house for the guest arrival later in the day. Her brother goes to see his wife's family in the late AM/early PM, and they typically arrive around 3 or 4. My wife's uncle with his family see his wife's side earlier, and generally arrive around 4-5. Dinner is usually 6ish, and the festivities go until they run their course and end on their own. Some years its 10 or 11, other years we're playing drinking games until 2am.

Last night, my wife got a text from her aunt that said her brother was arriving into town with his kiddos around 9 xmas night, so they will be leaving around 9:30 to see him. On the surface this may not seem like a big deal, but it definitely breaks with tradition and she thought it was pretty shitty that there was no notice of this until my wife started texting people last night on schedules and what to bring, etc. I get both sides. The aunt wants to see her brother, but on the other hand a two minute phone call to my wife when his trip was booked likely would have avoided any hurt feelings.

It seems like there is a lot of this on the board where people show up to family gatherings with nothing. I'm never like that, especially for holidays. My wife and I are always asking what we can bring, what we can cook, or can we throw in $, etc. Even with friends gatherings there is always a dip made or chips and salsa or something. Even impromptu gatherings we'll take the five minutes to stop at a CVS and grab a bottle of wine or something. I couldn't imagine having my parents or her mom hosting xmas, and here it is 6-7 days before and we haven't even talked about dinner or what to bring or whatever.

People suck.

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PBR is just OK. I wouldn't buy it, but if its cold and available I'll drink it. I like Schlitz actually.

Back when I lived in Oak Lawn, I used to frequent a bar that had Hamm's on tap. They had one of those new fangled Jon Taffer super draft beer systems so the beer was always ice cold, and couldn't be beat for $2 a pop. I have never had macro-brew a draft beer that tasted as good as Hamm's does at TCs.

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I have 2 categories of beer
1) Good Beer I drink at home or if it's just dinner
2) Marathon Beer: Beer I drink if I'm going to be out for a while and don't want to get stupid.

PBR is and has been my Marathon beer since even before it's resurgence (it was biker beer before the Millennials got hold of it). Hamm's is also a fine option. I completely agree on Schlitz. I think it's better than all other domestics, but just not distributed as heavily.

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I figured it might someday along with other antique brands. Haven't seen it yet.

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If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

We are running in to that with Christmas Day. We are hosting for the 2nd year in a row (because no one else would step up, and my grandma would pitch a fit if she didn't get to see her whackjob side of the family). Several have asked what they can bring, but several won't show up with anything, anyway. Kind of annoying. Especially since the ones that won't bring anything are the ones we didn't think would show up (family feud, lol), and shocked us all when they are.

Yay holidays....I can't wait until they're over.

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I recently had a 12 pack of Hamms as it was my dad's brand for a while. Was fine to me.

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If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

Lakes, where I sub on Thursdays, has Hamms for $2 drafts. I think Elk Grove Bowl does, too.

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I agree with your take. Except I call number 2 Friday I am going to fuck with people on the board beer.

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If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

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Christmas Eve used to be super crazy for us in that we'd have an AM brunch, then we'd host my parents and sister, brother in law, and kids; then we'd go to my Aunt's around 6 for about an hour to see my Dad's side, and then back to Rachel's brothers for XMas Eve dinner...

This year, we're just hosting and we may go to my Aunt's but, that's it.

Christmas Day we hop around to Rachel's Moms, Rachel's Dads, possibly out to McHenry to see some of the Eve dinner folks again, maybe make a trip to the City, and end up at a bar or the movie theater near the house.

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@audioidkid

Hosting my wife’s family this year. This is a first for us. We will have her kids, one sister and parents from Monday until Xmas Day, then the kids leave and her other sister, husband, four kids and sister in law come in until the 30th. That makes 10 people for 4 days straight to end the holiday with separate trips to drop off and pick up from the airport. It’s gonna be rough. Her parents are with us 8 days. Let’s just say I will be in the office for half days next Thursday and Friday just to escape for a while. We may not host again. Ha ha

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Go stay in a hotel.

Go to Galena with Spaulding's family.

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8 days? Yikes man. You're going to need more a plan than going to the office

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

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Are you going to have to bring them into Chicago (or Milwaukee?)

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I don't remember half the time if I'm hiding or I'm lost

Guests and garbage start to stink after a few days. I can't imagine 8 days.

8 fucking days is unreasonable.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

my mother in law comes for two weeks at a crack. you don't see me complaining, do you? my wife won't have sex with me (or anyone) while she's in the house.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Does she when her mother leaves? Does she ask her mother to visit often?

I'm guessing her "mother" visits once a month and his wife is an overachiever?

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They didn't use the lube

$700 at the dealer for keys, programming, and a new battery. On top of the $75 tow and $100 diagnostic test at the mechanic I've already spent. Merry fucking Christmas.

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WTF are you driving so I avoid that.

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If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

It's a 2008 Ford Escape.

The key went bad and I had no spare. So the only option was to have the dealer reprogram the car's computer and pair with a new key. Its somewhat rare, but can happen to any make or model car that has a chip key.

So, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A SPARE CAR KEY.

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