Uncle Sam wants YOU!!!!

Well, W said that we should support our troops by going shopping. It's an interesting concept that discloses that he knows nothing about living in poverty. Nevertheless I'd hate to seem unpatriotic so I headed out with the fam to support the troops. We went to Powell's, which will be my personal library should I ever become rich. We also checked out the robust delights of Whole Foods, Crate & Barrel, and some store that starts with a Z that only Travis remembers the name to. By afternoon, Jo and I were beginning to lose our shopping buzz, so we left the parents and headed out for a food source. Taco Bell it was. Jo, who apparently was hurt by my discouragement with her modeling abilities set out to prove me wrong...


I got all excited when I saw the Saguaro cactus in front of Taco Bell only to discover it was only a not-so-well shaped bush.
We were so very tired, so I gave up and went home leaving Jo with her parents to continue supporting the troops.

The End.

There is a Bomb in Gilead

Well, it was a Christmas. Since I didn't get to go home to my birth parents (I'll see them next week), I spent it with the next best thing, an aunt and uncle and my cousin. On Sunday, Jo (the Cuz) and I met her parents to view the Egyptology exhibit at the Portland Art Museum. It was rather good for something about dead people. Although she did point out things she wanted for Christmas, I reminded her that a felony will keep me from getting licensed someday and she won't be able to move into my poolhouse because if I were lucky enough to have a poolhouse, I would be the one living in it. After we left the museum, I felt the need to take a picture. We're going to have to work on her modeling poses and my focusing abilities. (she's the pink blob you see). Apparently my work isn't headed to an art gallery near you anytime soon.
After leaving P-town, we enjoyed something (can't remember what, but I'm guessing it was food related) and then we sat down to open presents. This came as a bit of a surprise to me as we've always opened them Christmas morning, but hey, I'm breezy and it's fun. Now Nicky, is the Christmas cat, so this is her special time. To commemmorate it, we did portraits. If you'll notice, Jo has a beatific look on her face and Nicky's scowl, is well.....we'll just call them the yin and yang of Christmas.
Then, Uncle Bruce read us a short excerpt from a Nicholas Sparks book. Oddly enough it didn't make me cry like it usually does. (I hold him personally responsible for the rising rates of depression in the US.)

Of course we had the traditional family portrait time. It was not as adventurous as is usual in my family, but nevertheless took a few attempts to perfect and finally it came the time for Jo to pass out (insert Ted & Scott joke here).....the presents. One of the high points of this Christmas, was the apparent theme of smelling good. There was all sorts of colognes and perfumes and bodywashes for all to sniff and swoon over. I didn't think we smelled bad before, but perhaps I missed some memo (it often happens).
My family likes to give practical gifts. Although no underwear was gifted, we did have a share of practical gifts.
Jo with scissorsJo with clock

Jo stunned with the amazing brilliance and the lack of practical use of her gift from me.
We also learned that this may be the most effective way of getting a good family picture.





After opening all the gifts, Nicky enjoyed the luxury of hanging out with the three wisemen. You'll notice that the one on the left is a devout Muslim with a lousy sense of direction (after all he's praying towards Alaska, otherwise known as the second great land of Mohammed).

The next day after a relaxing morning that included hot tubbing, we ate Christmas dinner (complete with recipe from the North Dakota Library Association cookbook). I assure you it was more interesting than it appears (there was also more food than appears).

All in all it was a very good Christmas. Hope yours was as well.

Where are we going? And why are we in this handbasket?

Well Time Magazine named me their person of the year. Well actually it was "you" in a collective sense, but I need every bit of inflated self-image I can muster to get me through the ego-battering internship application process. I've now heard from everyone except for two sites; one which I'm sure is a "no" and the other which could go either way. Both of them were supposed to notify me by the 15th, which makes the wait even more frustrating. So, with the exception of these two sites (and they know who they are thanks to my little fabric voodoo site dolls with pins in them), I might be moving to Honolulu, HI, Fort Meade, SD, Syracuse, NY, or Coatesville, PA. I'm very pleased with these options.

Some of you may have heard about the storm we had out here on the left coast. Apparently it was the worst one since the 1930s, although I missed most of the news information given that I was without electricity for a day (which meant the only thing I had was cold water). About the time the temperature got below 40 degrees in my house, it came back on, something for which I was very grateful. The hardest part was not being able to obsessively check my email to see if internships had contacted me. Fortunately my sister came through and did it for me from Arizona. I spent most of the day in bed under my down comforter with Simon and Garfunkel cuddled up to me for warmth. On the upside it wasn't bad timing as the applications were beginning to send me into the fetal position anyway (two days later and I've now finally started to uncurl).

I'm now done with school for the semester and have time to catch up on things I've pushed from consciousness for the last five months, such as finances and organization. My cousin from North Dakota is coming to visit over Christmas which means a lovely Saturday night of eating popcorn and apples and watching M*A*S*H reruns until we fall asleep. I can hardly wait!! Then we will make apple pie and head up to her parents for the holiday. Oh, I love this season!

Tannenbaum

I have a tree. It smells good.

Snow and other random thoughts.

I woke up this morning to about an inch of snow on the roof. I wasn't expecting it at all so it was a pleasant surprise. For those of you who know me I have a love/hate fascination with snow. Not having grown up with it, it makes very little sense to me. Sadly Oregonians don't know what to make of it either and apparently few of them have spent any of their life in snow country. I passed two wrecks on my way into work and the ground wasn't even freezing. Tonight we're supposed to have two inches by morning and I am planning on going to work. Hopefully if all goes well, the rest of the locals will stay in.
Also on another random tangent. I'm listening to Sufjan Stevens Christmas album. He included the song "Come Thou Fount." The only connection I can make to Christmas is the phrase "here I raise my ebenezer." Now I know this has absolutely nothing to do with Mr. Scrooge and is only connected because my brain is tired. Any thoughts out there? Is this historically connected to Christmas or is it just a friendly hymn that makes me go back to that comfy happy place that I wish Christmas was for everyone? This album was given to me as a birthday gift and I recommend it for anyone who likes gentle background music for Christmas. It's one of the best, unobtrusive, yet beautiful albums I've heard in a long time.

Ahhh, Christmas....

Beth and Anne and I went to the Christmas tree lighting in downtown Portland. It was quite lovely with lots of people singing and drinking coffee. There was a weird guy there promoting the Cricket telephone company. He was dressed like a green court jester and had some interesting dances for the Christmas carols. There were, of course (after all this IS Portland), the anti-Bush protesters bringing their own special brand of hate to the happy celebration with their signs about impeaching Bush. Even though I like Portland because of its activism, I didn't want it there last night. I had to agree with Beth that a Christmas celebration is no place for protesting. Even I don't want to think about the state of our nation during the holidays. Happiness is often about denial ;) After the tree was lit and the carols were sung, we walked around the city blocks enjoying the pretty window dressings in the stores, drinking hot drinks and eating a slice of pizza schmizza. Despite its lack of sunshine, I am going to miss this city. It really is beautiful and I like how community centered it feels. It's one of the best places to be if you're homeless, outdoorsy, an activist or a dog (I've seen surveys and studies done on all of those things). I'll miss Powell's (the wonderful bookstore), the food (Riyadh's, Papa Hayden's, Pastini), Wandering around and seeing all the street musicians and artists (wish I had a picture of the guy covered in silver paint standing in a silver box, I'm guessing it was performance art?), and most of all, the people.

I also had a realization when watching Santa at the mall, we teach our children to be afraid of strangers, then once a year we shove them on a strange man's lap, shake things at them so they pay attention to the camera and try to make them smile instead of cry in terror. Are we mad? Oh well, these children are my future clients and will help me pay back my student loans!