January 1, 2004
Another one bites the dust.
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Will you just look at that date up there? For God's sake, I know I left 2003 around here somewhere...
Despite what apparently everyone else is doing today, I shall not do a recap of 2003. It was a hugely eventful year, full of emotion and angst and wonderfulness and excitement and new things and same old things and just a lot of stuff. So. The archives are there for your enjoyment - just the thought of trying to sum it all up just leaves me tired.
However, I'm not entirely getting away with an absence of recappy goodness. I haven't written since the 15th of December, after all. So. Here's the Second Half of December 2003 In Review.
The last week of work was full of bogusness. AcronymCo winds down around the triple holiday threat (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's), and everyone gets short-timer's disease around, oh, November 20th. Which isn't to say that we get nothing done, just about half (or a quarter) of what we usually get done during the same amount of time in the rest of the year.
Gah. I just remembered that I have to roll up my accomplishments for the year and get it to my manager as soon as I walk in the door on Monday. Review-time looms. I expect to get screwed again. One instance where it isn't nice to have my expectations met.
Let's see, where was I? Oh, yes. The last week of work. There was a lot of going out to lunch. There was a lot of shopping at the mall in the middle of the afternoon because nothing else was going on. There was a lot of the partaking of baked goods from co-workers (and, may I say, what a DAMNED inconvenient time for my back to be giving me issues to the point where the thought of working out is laughable). My boss was gone by noon on Friday. I actually stuck it out until 2:00, then went to the mall with a co-worker. Yes, the mall. The week before Christmas. I've scheduled an appointment to have my head examined.
I wrapped up my Christmas shopping. Then shopped a little more because Michael and Lilly said they'd be able to make it for Christmas. All must have stocking stuffers, after all.
Calvin railed at the unfairness of it all, that Marie and I got to stay home for the next two weeks while he had to work at least part of the time. So I tried to be productive, though right now it escapes me of exactly what I was able to accomplish. Oh, yes. Calvin and I baked cookies on Sunday the 21st in order to be prepared for the Cookie Exchange on the 22nd. Well, he helped me make a batch, then gave the dogs a bath while I finished off the rest.
Monday Marie and I went to the Cookie Exchange at House of Tricks. And I got a parking ticket, which pissed me off. If everyone else had been on time then my meter wouldn't have run out and I wouldn't have gotten tagged. Dammit. Anyway, the whole Exchange thing was a bit too Better Homes and Gardens for me, so I think next year I'll take a pass. Not that it was bad, or anything. Just small talk and having to laugh at things that weren't funny and having to act interested in things that weren't, well, interesting. Marie and I did a lot of secretive eye-rolling at each other. So that was fun.
Marie and I went to Mervyn's directly after that to pick up a couple of things, then we went to the mall (gack!) so she could buy a gift for one of her friends. Then it was off to Kinko's to get some copies done of pictures of baby Anthony to give to the relations. Then we went to Ye Olde Likker Store to pick up the annual bottle of Don Eduardo tequila, and a new fancy vodka that's made from grapes instead of potatoes.
And then I was just about done with the errand running for the day.
Later that evening I finally achieved the pinnacle of my Christmas wishes. Marie and I went with Heather and her friend Jina to Zoolights. Calvin didn't accompany us, since he's not exactly the Christmas light gazing type. We drove around the parking lot for about twenty minutes, and made an abortive attempt ("You guys might want to get out before you get trapped in here.") to park in a teeny parking spot ("Okay, everybody back in the car again!"). A guy coming in from the other direction was confused at whether we were taking the spot or not. His car was even bigger than Heather's, but he pulled into it. And left his lights on. Karma smacking his ass for showing off, I think. We finally found a nearly empty back parking lot that, due to the weirdness of turn offs and lot-hiding hills, turned out to be pretty darned close to the entrance.
Entrance fees were duly paid, and then it was a battle with the crowds. There were tens of thousands of people there. Marie and I kept yelling, "Everybody MOVE!" ala Fessick from The Princess Bride. The crowds did not part like the Red Sea, which wasn't in keeping with The Princess Bride. Ah, to have the powers of Hollywood at our beck and call. Or even Loony Toons. Because anvils are our friends.
Anyway, I think Zoolights is very charming, but I'm pretty sure that my desire to see it has been sated. Dancing trees and piped music from The Nutcracker is all well and good, but I found all the lighted animals having sex to be disturbing. Seriously, the folks who set up the lights must have been having a jolly good time of it. Your first thought is, "No, that can't be..." But I swear, nearly EVERY set of animals made of lights were in a provocative stance. Monkeys. Giraffes. Lions. It was like those Disney animators that made a splash some years back because they got a kick out of inserting phallic symbols into hidden places (and some not so hidden) in their movies. We made a lot of nasty, un-Christmas like comments. Actually, it was more like narration. We made the tour in about an hour and a half, then we got the hell outta there.
Tuesday (the 23rd, for those of you keeping track at home) I did a bit more shopping (last minute stuff gets me every year, despite how prepared I try to be), then ran to the grocery store to pick up some munchies for the get-together at the Grandparent's in the evening. I packed up all the presents for the cousins and everybody, and packaged up most of the fudge to inflict on everyone so we didn't have a metric ton of leftovers. The cookies that I got at the Exchange came along too - how in hell are we, a somewhat non-cookie family, supposed to eat seven dozen cookies?
Unfortunately, we got a call from Michael later in the afternoon, who said that they wouldn't be coming home for Christmas after all. He and Lilly were sick and didn't want to enclose themselves and their germs in the car for six hours, and possibly make the baby sick. We were pretty disappointed, but hey, what can you do.
We spent a pleasant couple of hours that evening, with all of Calvin's relations, eating sandwiches and goodies. One of the cousins kept trying to herd us into the living room so the gift-giving could begin. He got pretty darned tenacious after a while, until we finally did what we were told. Then it was a flurry of wrapping paper, bows, camera flashes, and exclamations. Eight cousins and ten grown-ups make for a lot of presents.
Calvin's mom gifted us with enough cocoa to last for the next several years, and one of Calvin's sisters gave me a great long-sleeved black shirt with my initials stitched on the breast. The framed pictures of Anthony that I gave out were received very well, which I figured would be the case, since the whole family is all about that baby.
Ahem. Some new pictures of him would be nice. Hint.
On Christmas Eve Day we picked the lobsters up from AJ's. The place was an absolute zoo - I think I'm ordering from Cape Porpoise again next year. There's something wonderful to be said about the lobsters being delivered to our front door, instead of having to brave the crowds. I made the traditional Baked Potato Soup, and baked my very first apple pie. I was so darned impressed with myself that I took a picture of it.
We killed the lobsters ("Kill the lobsters, Kill the LOBsters, Kill The LOBSTERS!" ala What's Opera, Doc?), and said a word about their sacrifice so others could gorge themselves on Christmas Day. We pre-cooked them for ten minutes so they'd be ready for our traditional dinner the next day.
We were in the midst of dropping them in the water when Marie's mom showed up to take her away for the night. Marie hurriedly opened her Christmas Eve Present (a mini refrigerator for her room, so she could stop fussing about having to keep coming downstairs for sodas when her friends spent the night). She wanted to show it to her mom, so I walked out with her so I could carry it back inside. I called "Merry Christmas!" to X(f) and her boyfriend, and she responded with, "Uh huh."
Grinchy britches.
Calvin and I had a wonderful night together, watching movies and snuggling on the couch, and listening to music while we sat outside on the patio and nursed our beers. We got phone calls from Michael, and my sister in Maine. We had another one of our terrific conversations about Life, The Universe, and Everything. How to be happy, why things happen the way they do, charity toward our fellow man. You know, deep stuff.
I had Calvin open his Christmas Eve present - a new game for the PS2. He'd wrapped a few of my presents in the same box, and so didn't really have an appropriate Christmas Eve present separated out. So he spent a few minutes re-opening one of my boxes so he could give a gift to me. I kept telling him it wasn't necessary, but I would have done the same thing if it were me. He disappeared into the bedroom with a box, and came back out with No Doubt's new CD, "Singles". Which was the music we listened to while we were out on the patio.
Calvin and I got up late-ish Christmas Day, and cleaned up a bit in preparation for Heather and Jina's visit later in the day. Calvin made egg and cheese sandwiches for breakfast, and we hot tubbed for a while. We showered and changed into jammies, as is traditional for Christmas Day activities, then lolled around on the couch watching TV (him) and reading (me).
Marie came home at about 1:30, all aglow because one of her gifts from her mom was a new cell phone. After all the hints she gave her, ("Really, if you got me nothing other than a cell phone, I'd be perfectly happy!"), I'd be shocked if X(f) didn't get her one. We settled into our own gift giving, starting with the stockings.
Calvin had put a silver cross necklace in my stocking, and the pedometer I asked for (if I ever feel up to working out again). Marie got odds and ends, a new belly ring, a bracelet, and candy. Calvin got boxers, cologne, a flask (going to the movies will never be the same again), and more candy.
We took turns opening presents. Clothes, an MP3 player, a water globe, and a new CPU for Marie. A sweater, a silver necklace, and slippers for Calvin. New pyjamas (which I promptly put on), and a couple of books from my Amazon wish list for me. (As an aside, which I'm not sure I mentioned before, Calvin used Amazon for the first time to order my gifts, and has declared it "cool".)
Heather and Jina arrived at 4:00, and we did a ceremonial shot of tequila to set the tone for the evening.
The gift giving between us commenced immediately after that. I'd gotten some wine glasses, a bracelet, and a book for Heather; and some crazy socks, slippers, and picture frames for Jina. But Heather really won the award for the Best Presents.
She had me save one particular present for last, so I opened the first two. DVD's of The Goonies (which we watched that night) and The Princess Bride from my wish list, and copy of "The DaVinci Code", which I've been dying to read. I could tell that she was really anticipating me opening the final box.
It was a carousel horse music box, that had been her mother's. Heather lost her mom around the same time I lost Grammy, and I thought she was a wonderful lady. Heather knew that this gift would mean a lot to me - she even got me teared up, which is a sure sign of receiving the Best Gift award. There were a lot of hugs and sniffles. I was verklempt.
After we exchanged gifts (and had some more drinks), we got dinner together. The lobsters were boiled for five more minutes (on the burners on the grill outside, so we didn't stink up the house), and the filets were grilled. The potato soup was heated on the stove, and we set out Heather's salad (she brought it last year, too. I lurve it.). Butter: melted. Rice: cooked. Table: set. Wine: poured. Picture: taken. Commence with the eating.
My memories of what occurred after dinner are somewhat blurry. Marie hid in her room when we got too embarrassing for her to stand. I know we watched The Goonies, and I know a lot of pictures were taken. But I only have some of them - the ones I took and some of the ones Heather took. Jina's got approximately a thousand that I haven't seen - I need to know how incriminating they are. She said she'd burn them on a CD for me. Hmmm...
They left around 10:30, since Heather had to work the next day. Calvin and I made an effort to watch Pirates of the Caribbean (one of Marie's gifts), but passed out on the couch about ten minutes into it. I dimly recall Marie prodding us to go to bed - I think she even tucked us in. Aww. And also, poor kid.
Friday and Saturday were pretty quiet - a lot of leftovers eating, laying around, and sitting in the hot tub. Friday night we met Heather and Jina, and two more of Heather's friends, at a restaurant called Rula Bula on Mill Avenue. They had the MOST EXCELLENT fish and chips I've ever had. I had the first chocolate martini of my life, and got flirted with by one of the regulars - an Irish guy with a super accent, who looks a lot like Davey Jones. At one point he was asked (and I don't remember why, now), "What's Irish for prick?" "Prick."
That's become a household tagline, now. Along with, "Hit it with a rock!" and, "I found it in the bathroom!" Don't ask.
Sunday we went to see Return of the King (and broke in the new flask, which was fun in a "Hey you're breaking all kinds of rules" sort of way). The movie was awesome. Absolutely fantastic. I'm a huge fan, of course, but I think even non-fans can see its excellence. I'm itching to get the DVD and have a Lord of the Rings marathon.
Which brings us to this week. Monday I shipped Michael and Lilly's presents to them, and did something else productive that I can't think of (pick up prescriptions? Something. I think I cleaned, too.). Tuesday I went to the video store to pick up the new releases (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The Medallion, SWAT, and Seabiscuit), made Rice Krispie Treats, and then whined a lot about how much my back hurt. When I burst into tears in front of Calvin, he gallantly offered me the appointment slot that he had that afternoon.
And then I cried again at the Chiropractors. He said, "What can I do to help? Give you money? What?!?" Which made me laugh, and therefore stop crying. One of the knobby things that sticks out alongside one of my vertebra is canted upward, poking against nerves and muscles. My muscles have compensated by becoming rock hard around the area. Something about the muscles around the collar bone, connected to my shoulder, connected to my neck. I tried to find a diagram that showed the actual muscle names, but gave it up as probably being more information than you're really interested in.
Suffice to say, it hurts like a mother fucker. I'm seeing a chiropractor and a therapist. Next stop, surgery? I don't know. I do know that I'll be damned if I'll live like this.
Wednesday (yesterday) I was feeling a bit better (let's hear it for Tylenol PM!). I picked up Cerulean Sins by Laurell K. Hamilton at the library, and it's 2/3 finished. Anita is having a hell of a lot of sex in this one, almost to the detriment of the storyline. It's like a porno with a plot, almost. And we all know how well those work out.
I picked up a ton of munchies and finger foods at the grocery store in preparation of our staying in for New Year's Eve. I made my Grandmother's blue cheese spread (blue cheese, cream cheese, mayo (to make it creamy), grated onion, lemon juice), which she used for her stuffed celery and to top crackers. Nobody else here likes it, so it's mine all mine! Heather stopped by for a few minutes, to say Hi and Goodbye before she headed out to Chicago. Marie went with a friend to the Tempe New Year's Eve Block Party (200,000 people, no thanks!). My sister called to wish us Happy New Year, and Calvin and I, well, took advantage of having the house to ourselves. Marie came home at 12:30 to find us on the couch, Calvin asleep with his head in my lap, and me reading. We'd been that way since a little after 11:00, and when midnight rolled around, I couldn't think of a nicer, more peaceful way to bring in the new year.
And now it's today. I've been working on this entry for a couple of hours, and Calvin fed me ramen. Now he's getting ready to massage my back (he takes such good care of me!), and we're going to sit in the hot tub. I can start my 10+ journal today, which makes me happy. Dawn (whose site is back up, by the way) just called to say she was in town, and we made tentative plans to get together tonight.
The new year is getting off to a good start.
Following are pictures courtesy of Heather! In roughly chronological order...
That's all folks! Heather, thanks for the pics!!!
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