Christmas Break, Days 11, 12, & 13

Tuesday I went to see The Life Acquatic With Steve Zissou. Amilynne summs it up best by saying it's like Bottlerocket: Little Boys playing at being grown-ups with jobs, and floundering about a lot, but really just playing. It was a lot of fun--especially all of the David Bowie songs in Portughese (Major Tom being the best-placed of them all). Afterward I got my new exercise bike. Which prompted a re-arranging of everything in my room to make a spot for it. Moving bookcases is slow work, especially because I took the time to rearrange the books into basic categories.

Wednesday I picked Thomas up at the airport and got him to help me put the bike together. I was going to do it myself until I opened the instruction manual and the first instruction was "While another person holds it up..." Hmph. So I enlisted help and got it put together.

Around this time Amilynne and I started having conversations something like this.

Me: I got a bike.

Amilynnne: It's not a bike, it has no wheels.

Me: It does have two pedals that cycle around.

Amilynne: It is not a bike. Quit calling it a bike. You are a liar.

Me: I'm not a liar. (Then, to piss her off...) I think I'll go make some s'mores.

Amilynne: S'mores?

Me: Yeah, but I think I'll use Fudgeshop cookies instead. (This brilliant idea is rightly attributed to Daryl, who made s'mores this way while camping, and I must say that it's better this way than with nasty grainy Hershey's chocolate.)

Amilynne: That's not s'mores. S'mores have chocolate bars and graham crackers. You're a liar.

Me: No, I'm toasting a marshmallow, and eating it with chocolate. It's s'mores.

(S'mores is a word that is not in the dictionary. Amilynne and I have both looked, I in my Webster's and she in her almighty Oxford American. Will someone tell me, please, why this word has been overlooked?)

Amilynne: You're a liar.

Me: Well, you claim you sell coffee, but it's really just milk. (Amilynne works for a certain Seattle-based coffee empire.)

Amilynne: Yeah, it's just milk. With a little coffee.

Me: Expensive milk with a little coffee. Yet it's supposedly coffee. You're a liar and a price gauger.

Amilynne: You're a liar.

Me: You're a liar.

And it disintigrates from there. I can't think of anything that can keep Amilynne busy for longer than an argument about semantics. There's something else she claims I lie about, but I can't think what it is at the moment, I'm sure it will come to me eventually.

Tonight I mixed Nutella with fondant to make some candy centers. At the outset of this break, I was sure that I would make chocolates, yet here it is, day 13, and none made yet. Blah. But I must say that the Nutella centers are glorious.

Christmas Break, Day 10

I sat down with 8 1/2 again to finish it. The movie is so bewildering until it finally starts to pull itself together and Fellini's genius is staring you in the face. Then as I was doing some dishes, I put it on again with the commentary track and learned a whole lot, like I already knew that Fellini would choose his actors for their looks, then have them say their lines in their own language, and dub in their voices later in Italian, but this commentary track pointed out that the studios at Cinecittà were built before sound movies and were therefore not soundproof, and so this voice dubbing thing was actually quite pragmatic. It is also why even the Italian actors' voices don't really seem to be coming from them all of the time, why, for example, Mastroiani's voice often seems so much larger than it should be, even though they matched the words to his lips pretty well. Anyway the film is delicious and worth watching so many times. And listening to the commentary, I realized that I had understood and followed along watching it just in Italian without subtitles just fine, even though it was confusing enough that I worried that I had missed something at the beginning. I know that in all reality, I really do understand Italian, but I look at watching a movie without subtitles as a proof and a test, and that always makes me a little nervous, like failure is immenent, and like I will suddenly lose it and be pulled back to the world of speaking only English.

I went to lunch with Katie--we just met at the food court of a mall, because niether of us would decide what we felt like eating--then we walked around the mall and shopped and chatted for a while. We went into this store that specializes in really garish things for pre-teen and teenage girls--rugs and pillows and handbags and the such, all with lots of fucsia feathers and sequins. They had a cool pillow, though, a Tootsie Pop, with a stick--I imagined myself bopping my students on their heads with it to keep them in line, the fantasy soon ended when I realized that their reactions in this situation would amount to pure chaos, and that eventually they would steal the pillow from me and bop each other, and possibly with the stick, not the pillow end. That wouldn't have ended well.

After that, I went to a karaoke party. Actually, when I got there, they were watching Napoleon Dynamite, which makes me laugh a lot, especially since Dad's from Preston, and it shows the spirit of the town well even if the film portrays everything stuck a little too much in the 80's. I have to say that the movie loses a lot on the small screen, because part of what makes it great is Napoleon's dance at the end, and a big part of that is him being blown up larger than life on a movie screen. At any rate, the party moved forward to karaoke, which proved quickly that there were really only two people at the party who could sing, (I was definitely among the non-singers) but we all had fun anyway.

Christmas Break, Day 9

Yikes! Christmas Break is half over!

Tonight I tried to watch 8 1/2, but the phone kept ringing and I kept falling asleep. Maybe tomorrow. The problem was in trying to watch some dumb French film first (a movie with Amelie in it before she made Amelie)--so I started off bored. I'll try again tomorrow.

Christmas Break, Days 6, 7, & 8

Shopping Cooking Shopping Cooking Shopping Shopping Shopping Cooking Cooking Cooking Cooking Cooking Cooking

Merry Christmas!

Shopping: Last year, Thomas gave me one of those shiatsu massage chairs. Fantastic. So fantastic that earlier this month I broke it. And I have missed it terribly. So terribly that I went shopping, only this time I got a massage mat that I can lay down on and that has heat. I ♥ it. ♥ it, ♥ it, ♥ it. Deeelightful.

I've also spent a lot of time making candy--fondant for fondant centers of chocolates, and a batch of carmels. I have yet to dip any chocolates, but I would hate to be without a project, wouldn't I?

For Christmas Dinner, I went to Jane's. She was my department head my first year here, and her best friend was my principal the first two years. They always have Christmas and Thanksgiving together, and they are kind enough to invite me along when I don't go home for a holiday. When I called to see what I could bring, Jane said an appetizer, so I made a spinach and ricotta cheesecake with smoked salmon and capers on the top. I must admit that it turned out well. Unfortunately, though, there was a lot left over, so I'll be eating it for a while. The dinner was fantastic, delicious beef tenderloin with a bleu cheese sauce, everyone there was so nice, I had a wonderful time. Although I don't think I'll be invited to play spades again, as I tend to bid a little wildly, and Jane's mother is a card shark.

I also spent a lot of time on the phone with my family and with Elizabeth. I think Dad liked the glasses I got him, a lovely red, and Alan was very funny giving me the play-by-play as he opened them. Amilynne called me early before she went to work and we opened presents over the phone. She got me a cool persian rug mousepad, it's beautiful, but she got the one that replicates the rug Freud draped over his couch, so now that my mouse rests on it, it tells me a lot about its mother. David sent me 8 1/2, a Fellini film that I like a lot.

I also talked to mom, she got engaged.

Tonight when I got home from dinner, my carbon monoxide alarm was going off, and I couldn't get it to stop. You can silence it for like two minutes, but then it goes off again. I feel bad for my neighbors, because I'm sure they could hear it (I can hear theirs), and I don't know how long it had been going off, since I was gone for about 6 hours. I had to call the emergency maintenance number and get them to come--I had a pilot light on my stove that wouldn't stay lit, so he cleaned that up re-taped a hose, and replaced my alarm. I was sad to call the on-call guy at 10pm on Christmas, but I didn't want to die in my sleep, either.

So that's the big day. Now a week to recover, and then back to the grind.

Christmas Break, Day 5

Well, I didn't manage to complete ANYTHING on my plate today. I got up early to take Thomas to the airport, and on the way home stopped off at the grocery store (I think it was so early that I was their first customer of the day) to buy some unsalted peanuts for making peanut clusters. I came home and did nothing--talked on the phone, but nothing--I wanted a nap but I wasn't quite tired enough. What a grumpy, cranky mood.

In the afternoon I used a free movie pass (free is good!) to go see Ocean's 12. Which was more of a fun character sketch than serious burglary planning like in Ocean's 11, but I found it delightful, and laughed out loud a lot. Sometimes it's splendid to go to a movie alone. It's like the effect of watching is amplified 10 times because all of those little moments when you would elbow or grab onto or mumble something in a friend's ear has to remain inside, so the emotional effect builds up to the point of bursting. Not that movies with friends are bad--especially after the movie when you're out to dinner and rehashing it--the point is that a lot of people don't like going to movies alone and I do relish it. One other plus side: if the movie's a weeper, and I'm not with anyone I know, the embarrassment factor goes way down, becuase I admit that I'm a weepy one, and it is SO embarrassing to cry in front of people I know, especially when you've cried in the last 3 movies you've been to, and especially if they aren't crying, especially if they're guys, or most especially if it's my dad, who laughs at me when I cry at movies.

I ended up the night on the winning side of a Cranium game (my favorite game) at a party. A splendid way to end the evening.

Christmas Break, Day 4

Finally I got a chance to watch the Return of the King extended edition! Hooray! Great show! Long show! Great, long show! I have to admit--I do love it, and I loved the extra goodies, but I was quite ready for it to end. Four hours is just a long show. Or maybe it's just a long time when I'm sitting on my couch (not the most comfortable piece of furniture in the world).

I also finished decorating for Christmas. The living room is clean, the nativities are out, it's beautiful and joyous and festive.

Christmas Break, Day 3

I worked hard today! I finished packaging packages, and did Christmas cards, and took the whole lot down to the post office. Living far from home is not cheap around the holidays. The post office lady kept looking at me like I was a loon for sending so much stuff, and I just said "It's the holidays, and this is the price you pay when you don't go home." C'est la vie. It wasn't even really the whole bunch--I'm waiting on one updated address and I'm still waiting on one thing that I ordered for Amilynne. These items might get shipped in August.

I did some surfing on epitonic and found a great new band called Bedroom Heroes, which I liked so much that I ordered their disc.

I also began the monumental task of cleaning my house. Ick.

I collapsed before 7:00, and slept until about 10-ish, then spent a couple of hours on the phone with Elizabeth and Amilynne, and made some fondant. The bad thing about having made good cooked fondant in the past is that I now expect good cooked fondant every time. It is very labor intensive, but the creaminess of the final product can't be matched by uncooked methods--no matter what, they turn out grainy. So there may be fewer chocolates, but they will be of a higher quality. I figure I'll need to make at least four more batches, plus carmels. It's busy, and all of the mixing and kneading is labor intensive, but it is relaxing to do something besides reading a textbook or correcting tests (although there is some of that to do on a later date as well).

Amilynne is reveling in the family-sized jar of Nutella she bought. She's eating it with vanilla wafers. I must say the combination sounds delightful.

Christmas Break, Day 2

Today I did very little. I got up and popped in Rushmore and worked on the dishes and a bit of gift wrapping. Then I went to church. It was the Christmas program, the choir really sounded good, but I was cramming the last half of Ether because I had a feeling that I would be teaching Sunday School. You see, we alternate weeks, and I was talking to a friend and found out that a couple of weeks ago the guy who teaches opposite me was asking for volunteers to teach while he was gone for Christmas, but I just kind of felt like I should be ready to fill in. So I was cramming during the Christmas program.

Sure enough, Sunday School came and no one was ready to teach. I got up after a while--everyone was just visiting--and said "Is anyone teaching?" and no one said that they were, so I said I would wing it, and I did. The good thing is that I focused on chapter 12 (faith) and ignored chapter 15 (complete destruction), and there wasn't a ton of time, so I got through it without being reduced to tears.

I came home and wrapped more presents and talked on the phone. Filomena called me and it was so nice to talk with her! She is fantastic and patient with me when I speak Italian. I also talked with Alan and Dad, and Amilynne. Amilynne is busy reading The Best American Non-Required Reading of 2004. She called me in sheer delight, reading something to me about parent-child relations that was, in fact, delightful, but of which I forget the details at the moment. I also called Sara to confirm that there is no "h" in her name. There's not.

Tonight we had a Thunder/Snow storm. Thunder and lightning with snowfall, fantastically wierd. I think it's time to make a nice cup of tea and pop in a movie (maybe Mary Poppins?) while I finish wrapping gifts. I also need to get the annual Christmas letter written. Ho Ho Ho.

Christmas Break, Day 1

I spent the day wrapping presents and getting them ready for the mail. I know that wrapping presents shouldn't take the whole day, but each one must be considered in the light of which of the 500 wrapping papers I purchased for this year should go on each. I know that having a wrapping paper room is kind of a joke, but I need one.

Wrapping presents also took all day because I did it while watching movies: Mulan, Shakespeare in Love, and Maverick. All three are such good flicks, and worth multiple viewings, such as today, when I was in the middle of a package when the movie ended, I just hit play again. I watched some of the bonus material on Shakespeare in Love. For a long time, I proclaimed that that was my favorite movie. I really don't know what my favorite movie is, but that one is up there. Maverick is great too. First off--just the scenery is splendid. It makes me miss the Southwest a lot, since it was filmed around Kanab, Utah, and that's just a hop from Jacob Lake, where I spent two summers while I was in college. All of the red cliffs--it's really a beautiful part of the world. Second, the writing is just splendid and fun, and the great script is only matched by the fantastic cast. And don't we all want to be Jodie Foster in that fantastic blue dress?

Amilynne and I also spent some time on the phone. A lot of time on the phone. I am completely worried because the recent AT&T Wireless and Cingular merger almost certainly spells sudden death for my phone plan. Maybe it's time to start shopping around again.

Well, there are more presents to wrap, but tomorrow is another day.

New Chair

Tonight as I work at the computer, I am doing so in lush comfort, because yesterday I broke down and bought a new office chair for my house. When I had been out of college for about a year, I bought an 8' table and a dinky $25 office chair for my computer from Office Depot. The table is still here, although there are items besides its legs underneath helping to prop it up, but the chair had to go. It had been on its last leg since about two years ago--its early demise being prompted by my becoming a teacher and suddenly doing a LOT of work at home. The seat became unattached, so it would flop around, and I even fell out of it a couple of times, and all of the hours on a broken chair were doing a number on my back.

I did have standards for the new chair, though: I wanted adjustable arm rests that would go up and down, and I wanted an adjustable back. I've been seriously looking for the right chair for over a year--and yesterday I saw it, brought it home, and put it together immediately. And I am now blogging in the most heavenly comfort--compared to the other one, this is like sitting on a cloud.

So here's to another late night working...

Cheers.

The best things in life are chocolate.

I don't think I need to say anything more.

MoTab for Christmas

Amilynne called me the other night and practically the first thing out of her mouth was "ARE YOU LISTENING TO MoTAB?" MoTab, for anyone new to the abbreviation, is the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. A fine institution celebrating 75 years of Music and the Spoken Word this year. Actually, get me on the wrong day, and I can't stand it. In general, choral music is not my favorite, and I usually like something grandiose and symphonic (which the MoTab sometimes is, but isn't always) and more instrumental, or just some rock-n-roll. However, this all magically changes at Christmas time, because it is the time of year for choirs of angels, or of people, whichever you have handy. Ergo MoTab for Christmas.

So to Amilynne's query of "ARE YOU LISTENING TO MoTAB?" I instantly responded "Yes, it's Christmas. There is little better than MoTab for Christmas, except maybe Barbara Streisand, heaven bless her for doing it in spite of being Jewish." And to my surprise Amilynne came right back with "Yes, there is very little better than MoTab for Christmas." I admit I was a tiny bit shocked, but I soon recovered because I realized that she did grow up in the same house as I did and therefore she had been subject to the same range of Christmas recordings as I had been. MoTab would make sense for her too, thanks to our dad.

(Not thanks to our dad, we were also subjected to Manheim Steamroller's Christmas. We can entertain ourselves for a very long time immitating Manheim Steamroller's version of Deck the Halls. I do not suggest listening to it, or one may find onesself immitating it for hours on end, and I would propose that one's time could be put to better use doing just about anything else.)

At any rate, Amilynne commented on how the Christmas music at her work drives her nuts, until every once in a while MoTab comes on, and then she is happy.

I have listened to too much MoTab, though, because yesterday instead of working on all of my classwork and work work I got into the Christmas spirit and decorated my trees. (Yes, trees plural--but don't mistake it for anything fantastic. It's a group of three trees ranging from 18" to 3' high). In spite of their diminuitive size, the task took a few hours, as I decorated each individually and differently than its fellows. The best little detail is a nutcracker of a Venetian gondolier hanging from the largest tree. Also there's a bear that hangs from the lowest tree down to the ground, so he has his own forest to walk through. Very sweet. Makes me happy.

So at any rate I find myself coming out of this weekend even farther behind than I was before going into it, and yet there are lit trees, MoTab carols, and a jug of eggnog waiting for me when I get home. Sometimes putting onesself in the position of having to face stress and consequences is almost justifiable.

November 31

The calendar that's above my work area says that today is November 31. I probably won't find out otherwise until I turn the page tomorrow and find that it's December 2.