(no subject)
The holidays have been nice, but I think I am getting old. I was talking to friends and we all admitted that we've just hung out with family, and have done very little socializing this holiday. I have done the most socializing with my parents and my dog, to be honest. I spend hours with my dog. I really, really have to get my own dog sooner rather than later.
On Christmas day we went to family friends' for dinner, which was awesome. There were 12 people in the house and dinner was a raucous, hilarious event.
Boxing day, I woke up with a cold. My dad and I went for Vietnamese soup, and then wandered through the mall because we are stupid. However, I managed to get a new lightweight parka that I'm completely in love with. We then checked out a new restaurant in town and went for coffee before seeing Avatar, which Dad REALLY wanted to see. The visuals are stunning, but I could write a book about the bad dialogue and colonial themes. I'll spare you a long essay, but it's basically a white boy fantasy about befriending and infiltrating the natives. However, I'm glad I saw it since it will be up for a bunch of technical awards and I'm glad to be able to discuss it with people. It was also a first 3-D movie for both Dad and I, and it was nice to have that experience with him. After we saw the movie, we went on the Net to read criticism about it so we could discuss it more.
Yesterday Mom and I went to see Sherlock Holmes, which was visually stunning. I also liked the banter between Holmes and Watson and thought it was good, just not my favourite kind of movie. Then mirabillia came over for a visit and we went to a party at our friend Kjell's. Kjell's dad was my advisor for my International Studies program. I also worked as his research assistant and housesat for them about 10 years ago. So it was really cool to go over there and say hello to his parents and chat with everyone. Kjell is currently studying in Galway, Ireland, and working on a Ph.D in human rights law. He specializes in genocide and his research takes him all over the world. His most recent projects involve interviewing genocide perpetrators and victims in Rwanda and Cambodia. Fascinating and disturbing stuff. His new girlfriend, who is from Amsterdam, was also present. She still lives in Amsterdam, but they met in Ireland at a conference as they do similar work. Interesting night. Unfortunately, we had to leave early as mirabillia's plane back to Ontario left at 4:30 in the morning.
I am still feeling kind of sick, so I'm not skiing with my father today. I've been bugging him about a roof rack for my car. Today he did the work and found out that my car will not accomodate a roof rack. Fortunately, it does have a hole which leads into the trunk, so I can pack my own skis and the skis of others into the car properly. I was placing my skis inside at a diagonal angle, and couldn't take anyone else's skis with me. This solution enables me to take other people and is much, much cheaper.
On Christmas day we went to family friends' for dinner, which was awesome. There were 12 people in the house and dinner was a raucous, hilarious event.
Boxing day, I woke up with a cold. My dad and I went for Vietnamese soup, and then wandered through the mall because we are stupid. However, I managed to get a new lightweight parka that I'm completely in love with. We then checked out a new restaurant in town and went for coffee before seeing Avatar, which Dad REALLY wanted to see. The visuals are stunning, but I could write a book about the bad dialogue and colonial themes. I'll spare you a long essay, but it's basically a white boy fantasy about befriending and infiltrating the natives. However, I'm glad I saw it since it will be up for a bunch of technical awards and I'm glad to be able to discuss it with people. It was also a first 3-D movie for both Dad and I, and it was nice to have that experience with him. After we saw the movie, we went on the Net to read criticism about it so we could discuss it more.
Yesterday Mom and I went to see Sherlock Holmes, which was visually stunning. I also liked the banter between Holmes and Watson and thought it was good, just not my favourite kind of movie. Then mirabillia came over for a visit and we went to a party at our friend Kjell's. Kjell's dad was my advisor for my International Studies program. I also worked as his research assistant and housesat for them about 10 years ago. So it was really cool to go over there and say hello to his parents and chat with everyone. Kjell is currently studying in Galway, Ireland, and working on a Ph.D in human rights law. He specializes in genocide and his research takes him all over the world. His most recent projects involve interviewing genocide perpetrators and victims in Rwanda and Cambodia. Fascinating and disturbing stuff. His new girlfriend, who is from Amsterdam, was also present. She still lives in Amsterdam, but they met in Ireland at a conference as they do similar work. Interesting night. Unfortunately, we had to leave early as mirabillia's plane back to Ontario left at 4:30 in the morning.
I am still feeling kind of sick, so I'm not skiing with my father today. I've been bugging him about a roof rack for my car. Today he did the work and found out that my car will not accomodate a roof rack. Fortunately, it does have a hole which leads into the trunk, so I can pack my own skis and the skis of others into the car properly. I was placing my skis inside at a diagonal angle, and couldn't take anyone else's skis with me. This solution enables me to take other people and is much, much cheaper.