recovery

merry christmas everyone!

or heppy christmas as the queen would say


and i suppose today is actually boxing day, so happy boxing day as well. i imagine dad the post man will come home with a few more things from those people who still give their postmen thank you gifts the day after christmas. we do already have a lovely bunch of cookies and chocolates and honey and such, but can you ever have too much food at the holidays?

holidays were mostly wonderful. christmas eve party was preceded by massive amounts of tamale and mole making in the caset home


tamale mama

steamy pot of tamales

an armful of tamales

don't they make the perfect holiday food all wrapped up like presents? so yummy... so pretty...

what else.... lots of kitchen gadgetry and movies and books for christmas, everyone loved the things i gave... i now have at least 3 sets of canisters, probably the loveliest being from krb - vintage nesting tins in sage that say coffee, sugar, and flour

i love cooking implements.

what else..... oh plenty... ill try to take a picture of the outside of hte house all lit up at some point before we stop turning on the lights. the roof says POE. can you figure it out?

holidays at home

holidays at home mean

people in the co-op talking about solstice plans
the npr station advertising its pagan dance music hour
days when i'm in a skirt, tights, and a sweater and the rest of the town is wearing big coats
decorating everything inside. and plugging in the lights that my dad has hung outside.
constant rain. or drizzle. or fog.
screeches from the highway at least twice a day
spending evenings curled up with friends, board games, and movies
reading somewhat trashy fiction while drinking many mugs of tea and hot chocolate
cooking for hours with mom - today was mole and chicken, tomorrow is tamales

home this time also means taking care of mom with a bad cold. making tea and toast, trying to keep her in bed, keep her from shouting, keep her from going to work so that she can be healthy for christmas. also means that i didn't get the house to myself for my first days home as i was expecting. she's very frustrating when she's sick, because she doesnt let herself get better. i mean, i understand to a degree - bed gets boring and things need doing, but i'm here, my dad had at least one day off this week and we can get things done. i made dinner almost by myself, i vacuumed, i decorated, i helped dad move things out of the living room so that it actually looks livable. she still sounds like marlena dietricht on a very smoky day, but doesn't feel quite as shitty. hopefully even better by the big party on monday.

shocking similarities

is it just me, or does she look like addison shepherd from grey's? i guess private practice now.



but still. shocking similarity. i think it's just in that photo though.

no way kate walsh is making that face.

(thanks prungay boys for prunway photos)

these are a few of my favorite things....

Borrowed from blackbird....

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?

wrapping paper, most assuredly. generally recycled from whatever we received last year. occasionally cloth bags.

2. Real tree or artificial?
real. so long as i can convince my parents and find one that's not sprayed (my mom is allergic)


3. When do you put up the tree?
well, now that i dont live at home, as soon as i get there and convince the fam that we still need one.


4. When do you take the tree down?
sometime around new years. i believe these questions are better applied to christmas lights, as my family does that with or without me. christmas lights go on on St. Nick's day (dec. 6) and go off bit by bit starting on new years.


5. Do you like eggnog?
i love eggnog. real, store bought, fat free, whatever. eggnog icecream.... mmmmmm


6. Favorite gift received as a child?
hmmm.... i believe that would be a tie between my addy doll (which i helped pay for and received at the same time as a faaabuuulous black and silver sparkly dress that i still wear for dress up parties) and my doll house with all its little tiny pieces of furniture.


7. Do you have a nativity scene?
we have a mexican tin one, tiny and wrapped in tissue paper, that i always put up because it's beautiful. christmas is not a religious holiday in my household.


8. Hardest person to buy for?
dad and brother, about equally. dad this year. i don't want to buy any more fishing lures or ties.


9. Easiest person to buy for?
krb. i always find a million things for her.


10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
some of the aunts have been known to send awful clothing.


11. Mail or email Christmas cards?
mail. not very many - mostly i send thank you notes that serve the same updating people on my life purpose.


12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
oh, i don't know.... the claymation christmas special, i believe.



13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
depends. whenever i starts seeing things that are perfect. i love buying presents, but they have to jump out at me as the perfect gift for a person, which means that i still end up doing much shopping in the days before christmas for those people who haven't yet been found.



14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
maybe as a white elephant....


15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
cranberry orange relish. and satsumas. and the tamales i make with my mom.


16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
colored. many of them.


17. Favorite Christmas song?
the holly and the ivy, silent night, i like a lot of them....


18. Travel for Christmas or stay home?
the only time i've spent christmas away from home was when n was in the hopsital. it was the first night he got to spend outside of his hospital bed. we all stayed at the family house across the street and my dad made him laugh by blowing raspberries on his stomach.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers?
yes. i might have to sing it though.


20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
we actually having a shepherdess. she's vaguely witchlike and has a sparkly purple skirt... i believe my mom traded from her back when she still did craft fairs.


21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
christmas eve is generally uncle tim's box, everything else christmas morning.


22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
decorations/sales/songs before thanksgiving. crushing crowds. twelve days of christmas at the family/friends christmas eve party. and having to explain what i'm doing to every adult there.


23. What I love most about Christmas?
Finding the perfect present for someone. Decorating. Christmas carols. Going to krb's on christmas afternoon for quiddler and small children. family christmas walk at the beach. making tamales. too many things. i love the holidays.

clean and clear

home state. california. apologies for neglecting while touring, but 6 "beds" (read couches/futons/air mattresses) in 13 nights across 3 metropolitan areas (5 cities, i believe) does not make for the best posting conditions. tonight will mark the last stop before home, and as it is my god parents' home, which is essentially home, i do not mind. warm hugs, showers i'm used to, and an actual bed that i have slept in dozens of times make this almost the real thing.

in any case, brief highlights from caset's tour across the northeast, in which she managed to stay one step ahead of the major grossness that is now hitting it full force. so ha. nary a delayed flight or missed bus.

much of boston has already been highlighted.
the final day/evening was spent with:
> frustrated academic searches (i shall never understand archives that won't let me take photos of their images if they won't scan/copy them for me)
>a divine tapas dinner with the lovely anna, my thesis advisor from last year
>trivia night with em and her law school friends - i contributed sambuca and basalt
>followed by a highly entertaining chat with gregorio, one of the most amusing people i have ever met. "you're looking for a donor, right?" "ooohhh so that's why you were so insistent on seeing me." (very loudly to the bar at large) "i use my high speed internet to watch porn. so does she. she's also looking for a donor. anyone interested?"


next day greyhound dash to queens and rs's lovely apt (which she shares with mdm and at) for baking and a long desired reunion. we realized that the majority of our friendship has been conducted long distance, as we only got close last march or so. wonderful to see her face to face. spent the next couple days shuttling around the city to see various friends, often accompanied by the fabulous miss ebk. plenty of good eats and shopping and the moma:


martin puryear's exhibit at moma is soaring and glorious. the sculptures feel completely liberating and joyous. i don't know how interwoven wood strips and huge magnifications of farming equipment (amongst many) can emote so, but if you're anywhere near ny, do go.


giant paper masala dosa for a much belated bday for rs. eat my dosa. enjoy the humor in the amount of food inside the dosa.


and for my father, from their shop at the union square gift market:
because he fosters a tender spot in his heart for teddy. and how could i resist that jolly look? visit the unemployed philosopher's guild for more silliness.


to dc on friday morning. reunion with the other third of frammey (ebk and myself being the other 2/3), miss fchm at her office in dupont circle. where someone has established the dream bookstore/coffeehouse/bar that krb, lsl, and i had planned. later, reunion with friends from cty, adventures with first year lawyers, a fancy dinner at an overly snooty and completely white (marble, hanging flowers/leaves, lights, tables, dishes, oddness) restaurant, a visit to the wonderful national portrait gallery/museum of american art. i like dc. i like free museums. and good public transportation.

i do not like taxis without meters and wintry mix. nor do i like feeling poor. but i believe i managed my money at least decently this trip, while still finishing my christmas shopping and buying myself a few key items of clothing. and seeing juno. more on that later, but everyone should see it.

now to help pack the rv for the trip all the way homeward tomorrow.

sleepytime

so traveling is not terribly conducive to posting. nor to sleeping, apparently. i'd forgotten how late my big h friends stay up.

anyways. being here has been enormously fun thus far - i've seen many many people, visited all my favorite haunts, and generally had a glorious, if exhausting time. kong three times in as many nights - it's been completely redecorated and looks a swanky now, though the food is still as greasy and groan inducing as ever. tealuxe makes me happy, as does curry chicken soup from le's and mojitos at casablanca.

the show was glorious - i'm so proud of hrgsp and its production values, even if the board is apparently falling apart at the seams. all japaned out - gorgeous kimonos, beautiful set, lovely voices - it was so odd to sit down and realize i'd had nothing at all to do with it. for the first time in four years, my name was no where in the program. actually, that's not quite true, as i donated enough to be listed as a patron. but still, that's only on an insert.

ball afterwards was quite fun, and though i forgot to take any pictures, plenty have been posted on facebook. they remind me that i need to start going to the gym and eating only cucumbers or something. but oh well. we danced and sang and drank lots of champagne, then danced and drank some more, and finally ended up with only grads (plus apope) at the kong before finally heading to bed. the last two nights have been 4am bedtimes.... such ridiculousness.

apope decided mid ball that we were each other's default date, so, as with last year's qball, we danced and held hands, followed each other around, and generally behaved as though we were on a date. which is always fun, though i don't think i would ever actually date that boy, despite his sweetness. i don't know that he'd actually date me, either. mel g and i crashed in his room, which, in my overly champagned and vodka'd state, i had rather hoped i'd be crashing in by myself, so that if nothing else, i could get a nice cuddle out of him. in the long run, it's of course better that that didn't happen. but still.

i apologize for no photos ... oh well, i'll remember to pull out my camera in ny and dc. tomorrow is library day and tonight i am retiring early as my throat hurts and i can barely keep my eyes open.

accomplished!

remember that list i posted this morning? check check check! almost all of it. still have to pack. and write cards (which can totally happen on the plane) and buy a book to read on the plane. and clean up the kitchen a bit. but the papers are both done and turned in. i am done with my first quarter of graduate school!

pictures of my productivity and holiday spirit:




so many cookies! so tiny! and not sure what to do with all of them as the prunway party i was going to bring them to fell through.... i'll find people to give them to.


christmas lights! reflected in the kitchen window....

and the newly decorated wall. hurrah for sticky tack!


and actually did start packing.... i love the setting out of clothes before packing.


now have to decide which suitcase to use. always feel cooler with my backpack, but with the gifts and the number of shoes i want to bring, etc.... i might just have to go with the normal suitcase. oh well...


off i go tomorrow morningQ

hot mess and a half

life is both terribly dull and really really exciting right now. mostly just busy though.

namely, this is because i leave for boston tomorrow! waaaaah - so excited. But, of course, i have a bazillion things to do today, which is why i woke myself up too early and am now giving my brain a couple more minutes to adjust before i start.

most importantly, i have to edit and conclude my paper for dain. it's a rather boring paper, being a lit review and all, but in drafting i put in a few rather horrid puns that i need to go find now and remove. because, somehow, i don't think he'll appreciate them. the paper is long enough, has 50-odd sources (I know! when did i even skim 50 sources!?!?!?), and i think does what it's supposed to. if not, well, i'm screwed. and don't care.

if that gets done at a decent hour (i.e. before 1, which should be very possible), part of the afternoon will also be spent attempting to finish (not just conclude, but actually write the last section) my colonialisms paper. which i wrote 8 pages of yesterday sitting in the library, something i generally hate. but i did NOT want to haul even more books home. so i randomly decided to look at A Passage to India as an imperial/anti-imperial novel (i know, i'm a historian, but i'm also a lit person and the prof seems okay with that. hopefully.). and have now skimmed and summarized too much criticism. i hate that that's all i do as a grad student.

other things that need doing today:
laundry, returning various books, writing a few more holiday cards, turning in my financial aid papers, buying gifts for my girls here, baking cookies, finding something for rp, oh, and packing. i know that list is actually longer. but if i'm to make it through and still get to watch prunway tonight, i need to start now.

dull post. like my life. but by the end of day, i should have all sorts of reasons to celebrate how exciting my life is!

page 7

slowly working through this paper. slowly slowly slowly. writing literary reviews is not fun. there's little original thought; it's just going over what other people have said and showing how it's applicable or not to what i'm going to say someday. i don't get to go into any of my cool primary material - i.e. no pretty pictures or flowery descriptions. sigh. but about halfway to my page goal and maybe a third of the way through my material. blerg.

other than that, today was really great. brunch with ks, mb, and js - my girls - at medicci. i love love love breakfast food and this omelette - bacon, spinach, and cream cheese - was divine. as were the potatoes. as was having girl talk that, even though our papers came up every once in a while, was generally just silliness about tv and goign home and birthdays.

and then tonight rita and i took a massive target trip.

i got these:


to go with my dress and because they're pretty and shiny....

this because i need more comfy shirts that aren't cardigans:

these to frame the prints i bought for people the holidays


these, powdered sugar and food coloring so that i can make cookies at some point this week

these because they were soooo cheap and i've been wanting something different to eat


and shampoo. since when i thought i bought a bottle of shampoo and a bottle of conditioner the other day, it was actually two bottles of conditioner. dumb. dumb. dumb me.

isn't it amazing what target has to offer? gotta love it.