Concatenated Christmas Miniposts
SNOW: AT LAST!
It's cold here. There's 6 inches of snow on the ground and it's not going anywhere anytime soon. WAHOO! That's what I'm TALKING ABOUT!! mF!!! *dance of joy*
KIDS ARE CUTE, PART 53,019
We took professional photos today at some mall place. My aunt, bless her, insisted that my sister and I be included as "the grandkids" (we're not "the kids," but we're not cute and 2 either, so we've always been in this weird limbo). Those teenagers they get to take those pictures are getting some awesome experience in life. Wrangling 3 children, ages 5 and under, to all be looking at the camera and smiling at once. Then mediating the family's deliberations over which photos to pick, which has got to count as class credit towards some sort of psychology or business degree.
Cool: We got to see the process from the kid's POV. Sitting on the floor, facing a large camera, many lights, and 5 adults all beeseeching you to do something or other is freaky even if you're 29.
KIDS ARE CUTE, PART 53,023
Tonight we taught my niece (5) some dance moves. The twist, the monkey, going swimming, the mixing bowl, the lawnmower, I even showed her how to headbang, and while I considered it, we are not emotionally ready for kitchen-floor mosh pits yet (oh the chaos that'd unleash in her little mind). She hit on running man and robot all by herself. She's actually a very good dancer, last time I was here I showed her the 5 things I remembered from ballet classes when I was her age and she got them instantly. Her brother (3) is in the "jumping up and down" phase of dancing. Damn my dead camera batteries. DAMN THEM!
ADAMS-MORGAN AT NIGHT
Instead of getting 2 hours of sleep, I stayed up the night before I left and walked around A-M from 2 to 4 and got a chance to be there on my own terms (after all the drunks stopped hitting on me and went home, anyway). It was lovely. Only after I left the house did I think, hey--crime wave--maybe I shouldn't be wandering around at night? But I've never been good at heeding such warnings be they given by others or my own mind, and I carried on and was fine, although I did limit myself to well-lighted bits of Columbia and 18th street. Also, an advantage of being cold-tolerant in the south (the south! I live in the south!!) is that the criminals don't want to be out mugging you in witch's-tit weather, which, oddly for DC, it was.
In related news, I need to pick up a tripod. I don't have a single shot I want to keep, though I did see a lot of things I never noticed before and want to try for again. OH, AND, a camera that I can take past F fucking 8 would be cool. Sigh. It's like tracking an underpowered car, right? You learn more? My sister has a kickass-8-years-ago 35mm SLR that is gathering dust and I prefer film anyway, so maybe I will switch to that. Cause I'm made of money, you see.
This poster will look better in daylight.
TRAVEL IS UM, FUN
Tuesday didn't feel like that long of a day until I realized that the pictures I'd taken that day were (sunrise through airport window) (sister on bus) (sunset through bus window). Even for the shortest days of the year that's a lot of traveling.
HOW TO BEST CELEBRATE THE BIRTHDAY OF THE KING OF KINGS?
Stepfather: "You know, Elvis' birthday is coming up."
Grandmother: "Can you take me to the casino??"
THINNER
Jesus fuck have I lost a lot of weight in the last 3 months. I think it's a) all that walking I now do--40 minutes or more a day, b) less appetite--it usually happens every other winter or so, c) unlike in Chicago where I could just drive by someplace before going home there's no easy way to keep the house well-stocked with food so there's often a day or two I'm short of good things to eat, d) I'm also needing less sleep, Watch This Space for mania! (not really. I was much closer a few months ago. ;)
People keep congratulating me. I hate that. It's not like I'm doing it right--I'd accept compliments if it happened because of some conscious lifestyle regimen, but it's not. And (while not a big factor at all) every now and then the ridiculous "maybe I am actually dying of cancer" weight-loss thought floats in there, and compliments seem to trigger that through pattern (it's the fate-tempting).
Weight loss is far more of an inconvenience than one would think. (The "I hate you cause you're skinny" crap our culture foments creates this "thin life is easier" misconception even in people who should know better, but change is change.) I had a fat-clothes cache from fluctuations throughout grad school (junky bras, baggy pants) but my skinny-clothes cache amounted to one pair of size 6 jeans which I am wearing right now. My COATS--all 12s, to fit over bulky sweaters and big boobs--are too loose to keep me warm. An inch of air between torso and outerwear will do that. Yay, Gap! Many cheap coats for sale there. I availed myself of one today and am pondering another.
FAMILY
Happiness is a warm, loving family in another state.
Every year the holidays remind me of the truth of this. (My aunt told me this, over 10 years ago.) Now y'all know me and you know I LOVE my family. I do. But the patterns, the patterns kill ya. The tensions, the snippiness, the not-really-jokes are the same every damn year. They're not just difficult and painful, they're boring too!
WHA- CHRISTMAS? AREN'T YOU JEWISH?
Shut up.
(It's an uninteresting story. Bottom line is: Judaism is not an exotic photocopy of Christianity, and Hanukkah is not the Jewish Christmas. An even deeper bottom line: see "Family," above.)
It's cold here. There's 6 inches of snow on the ground and it's not going anywhere anytime soon. WAHOO! That's what I'm TALKING ABOUT!! mF!!! *dance of joy*
KIDS ARE CUTE, PART 53,019
We took professional photos today at some mall place. My aunt, bless her, insisted that my sister and I be included as "the grandkids" (we're not "the kids," but we're not cute and 2 either, so we've always been in this weird limbo). Those teenagers they get to take those pictures are getting some awesome experience in life. Wrangling 3 children, ages 5 and under, to all be looking at the camera and smiling at once. Then mediating the family's deliberations over which photos to pick, which has got to count as class credit towards some sort of psychology or business degree.
Cool: We got to see the process from the kid's POV. Sitting on the floor, facing a large camera, many lights, and 5 adults all beeseeching you to do something or other is freaky even if you're 29.
KIDS ARE CUTE, PART 53,023
Tonight we taught my niece (5) some dance moves. The twist, the monkey, going swimming, the mixing bowl, the lawnmower, I even showed her how to headbang, and while I considered it, we are not emotionally ready for kitchen-floor mosh pits yet (oh the chaos that'd unleash in her little mind). She hit on running man and robot all by herself. She's actually a very good dancer, last time I was here I showed her the 5 things I remembered from ballet classes when I was her age and she got them instantly. Her brother (3) is in the "jumping up and down" phase of dancing. Damn my dead camera batteries. DAMN THEM!
ADAMS-MORGAN AT NIGHT
Instead of getting 2 hours of sleep, I stayed up the night before I left and walked around A-M from 2 to 4 and got a chance to be there on my own terms (after all the drunks stopped hitting on me and went home, anyway). It was lovely. Only after I left the house did I think, hey--crime wave--maybe I shouldn't be wandering around at night? But I've never been good at heeding such warnings be they given by others or my own mind, and I carried on and was fine, although I did limit myself to well-lighted bits of Columbia and 18th street. Also, an advantage of being cold-tolerant in the south (the south! I live in the south!!) is that the criminals don't want to be out mugging you in witch's-tit weather, which, oddly for DC, it was.
In related news, I need to pick up a tripod. I don't have a single shot I want to keep, though I did see a lot of things I never noticed before and want to try for again. OH, AND, a camera that I can take past F fucking 8 would be cool. Sigh. It's like tracking an underpowered car, right? You learn more? My sister has a kickass-8-years-ago 35mm SLR that is gathering dust and I prefer film anyway, so maybe I will switch to that. Cause I'm made of money, you see.
This poster will look better in daylight.
TRAVEL IS UM, FUN
Tuesday didn't feel like that long of a day until I realized that the pictures I'd taken that day were (sunrise through airport window) (sister on bus) (sunset through bus window). Even for the shortest days of the year that's a lot of traveling.
HOW TO BEST CELEBRATE THE BIRTHDAY OF THE KING OF KINGS?
Stepfather: "You know, Elvis' birthday is coming up."
Grandmother: "Can you take me to the casino??"
THINNER
Jesus fuck have I lost a lot of weight in the last 3 months. I think it's a) all that walking I now do--40 minutes or more a day, b) less appetite--it usually happens every other winter or so, c) unlike in Chicago where I could just drive by someplace before going home there's no easy way to keep the house well-stocked with food so there's often a day or two I'm short of good things to eat, d) I'm also needing less sleep, Watch This Space for mania! (not really. I was much closer a few months ago. ;)
People keep congratulating me. I hate that. It's not like I'm doing it right--I'd accept compliments if it happened because of some conscious lifestyle regimen, but it's not. And (while not a big factor at all) every now and then the ridiculous "maybe I am actually dying of cancer" weight-loss thought floats in there, and compliments seem to trigger that through pattern (it's the fate-tempting).
Weight loss is far more of an inconvenience than one would think. (The "I hate you cause you're skinny" crap our culture foments creates this "thin life is easier" misconception even in people who should know better, but change is change.) I had a fat-clothes cache from fluctuations throughout grad school (junky bras, baggy pants) but my skinny-clothes cache amounted to one pair of size 6 jeans which I am wearing right now. My COATS--all 12s, to fit over bulky sweaters and big boobs--are too loose to keep me warm. An inch of air between torso and outerwear will do that. Yay, Gap! Many cheap coats for sale there. I availed myself of one today and am pondering another.
FAMILY
Happiness is a warm, loving family in another state.
Every year the holidays remind me of the truth of this. (My aunt told me this, over 10 years ago.) Now y'all know me and you know I LOVE my family. I do. But the patterns, the patterns kill ya. The tensions, the snippiness, the not-really-jokes are the same every damn year. They're not just difficult and painful, they're boring too!
WHA- CHRISTMAS? AREN'T YOU JEWISH?
Shut up.
(It's an uninteresting story. Bottom line is: Judaism is not an exotic photocopy of Christianity, and Hanukkah is not the Jewish Christmas. An even deeper bottom line: see "Family," above.)