SANTA SAYS >>>>
The holiday season isn't supposed to be about panicked, sweaty shopping - even though every December you find yourself hip-checking someone who's about to snatch the last of the Isotoner gloves that you were going to get for Great Aunt Bertha again this year. Let's be honest. This sort of behavior doesn't inspire holiday cheer or goodwill toward your fellow shoppers. So get a grip this year with an adult-ed class.
Many of the winter offerings are geared toward the festive and fun, 
and some will leave you walking out the door with something you can use as a gift (remember what Mom said about homemade stuff?). And even if you've got nothing tangible when you complete the class, at least your mind has been engaged in some sort of creative endeavor. Writing poetry about the complexities of your brother's personality is definitely better than strangling him on Christmas morning with a designer scarf (the one you bought for him) after he's quick to inform you he already owns one. Below are just a few highlights being offered by Pierce College this season. Get inspired - and then go do something.
Knitting Jumpstart
So maybe your brother's not really interested in a chenille scarf (though who are we to say?). But someone's bound to be impressed by a soft, brilliantly colored knitted scarf that you created yourself. Learn how to cast on, knit stitch, purl stitch, rib stitch, increase and decrease, cast off, read patterns, and sew a seam. Also learn how to choose a project appropriate to your skill level and how to select the right yarns and other supplies. Bring 10-inch straight size 8 needles and a skein of smooth worsted-weight yarn for practice to first class.
[Pierce College, three sessions, 9-11:30 a.m., Jan. 21 and Feb. 4, $49, Puyallup campus, 253.864.3330]
Web 2.0: Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts
In this course, you'll learn how to create, manage, and promote your own blog, wiki, and audio and video podcast. Each of these amazing Web 2.0 tools gives us a chance to interact, share ideas, and collaborate with others from home, at work or in a classroom. C'mon, click on. All the other kids are doing it.
[Tacoma Community College, Dec. 14, six-week online course, $94, website]
Get Assertive!
You should have taken it in college, but wait, that's right - you didn't speak at all in class, never mind with confidence. Who doesn't need some help in this area? Well, maybe those loudmouthed jerks who are always drowning you out in office debates. Learn to squelch self-conscious nervousness and state clearly and confidently what's on your mind. Discover how you lose your power when you talk and what you can do to get it back. Learn how to deal with anger and criticism effectively. In the future, let bossy relatives at the family party know that you don't want any more turkey, you're not upset because you're not married, and no! you don't want to live in Grammy's basement because the rent would be cheaper. Enough with the quavering, the umms, and the I-don't-knows, dammit - speak up!
[Tacoma Community College, online course, website]
LINK: Santa Says RSS feed
LINK: Arts and entertainment events in the South Sound
LINK: Give the Weekly Volcano a "LIKE" present
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The vast resources of the federal government have combined to bring you answers to questions you missed the day you were absent. A sample includes: You Are What You Drink, Home Wireless Safety Checklist, How to Give Medicine to Children, Funerals: A Consumer Guide, Shopping With Your ATM Card, High Earning Workers Who Don't Have a Bachelor's Degree, These Fly and These May Not, Social Security: What Every Woman Should Know and many more.
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