"This is your [my] life"

Last night I went to an impromptu gathering of folks I went to highschool with - most of whom I have not seen (social networking sites notwithstanding) in 10 years. It was a TRIP! Playing catch-up with a handful of folks, mostly musically-minded people-was fun and funny. We all met up at a bar and drank and reminisced and filled each other in, met spouses, told our tales. It was fun.

Today, I spent several hours helping my mom label all of the family pictures we have in our hallways. We have wonderful pictures of our family, grandparents, great-grandparents and various and sundry other members of the family tree hanging out on the walls. It was a lot of fun to re-hear stories and learn new tidbits about family long gone.

This week also brought the knowledge that my friend (and Ty's cousin) P has been moved from where we thought he might be staying over in the Sandbox. It's pretty scary to think about - and I know his parents are freaked out. P did not get a chance to call home on Christmas, but (Praise the Lord) he did get a chance to call his parents yesterday. He's not allowed to say what he's doing or where exactly he is, but said that he was doing fine. I guess that's good news!!

I also got to see my friends J & G (who live in Dallas) and A (who lives in CO). These folks are some of my oldest and closest friends, and it's always good to see one another. We tend to pick up just where we left off, which is one of those weird but wonderful quirks of old, established friendships. It's akin to finding a favorite sweater in the back of the closet, putting in on, and remembering why you loved it so much in the first place.

Now...it's time to play dominoes!

Merry Christmas

Wishing you a Merry Christmas! We woke up to a magical snowy morning, here. A white Christmas, indeed (and it hasn't stopped coming down, yet).

We opened our stockings and our gifts by the fireplace. Had a hot breakfast and tea, and now we're getting ready to go to lunch at a friend's house.

Hope you are all having a wonderful celebrations of your own.

Love you!!!

-Me

brilliant

Whomever came up with this baby product is a genius.

My friend K, who just had her first baby, has been chronicling the entire adventure (pregnancy on) on her website. The most recent installment includes the difficulty of changing diapers without getting peed or pooped on. (She and her husband had never changed a diaper before). An adventure, indeed.

Well, Sibling and I had sent some of the afore-linked items to our cousin when they had a baby boy, and I couldn't resist sending some to K. I picked the ones with airplanes, since her husband J is an airforce pilot.

Good times.

I don't know's on third

been runnin' in circles, conversationally speaking . . .

FRIDAY NIGHT
A: Hey, [MezzoSF], when do you get home?
Me: Tonight, late
A: So, hey, J and T and I are going up skiing Sunday...but we were thinking why don't you and your brother and G join us and we'll go up Saturday afternoon, get up there, have dinner, chill out catch up etc etc. Then the three of you non-skiiers can go home early Sunday to beat the traffic.
Me: uh...okay. That would be fun, but I have to clear it with my parents. My dad's working all week (yeah - that's another story), so his only time off is the weekend.
A: OK call me ASAP when you know.
Me: I'm getting on a plane in like 20 minutes. I'll call you in the morning.
A: OK, but ASAP. G's going is contingent on you going.

SATURDAY MORNING
ME: Okay, I'm in but Will is not.
A: Okay - let me call you back after yoga and after I talk to J.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON
A: uh, well, J & G weren't as committed as I thought. So they're not going. T and I might still go.
Me: Oh. okay. Well. Are we still on for karaoke tomorrow with everyone?
A: I already made plans for tomorrow - no one told me about karaoke. So, if I get out of dinner early, then sure. Call T and ask him.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON, part deux
Me: Hey, are we still karaokeing tomorrow with the gang? Since the mountains are not happening and all?
T: What? I didn't know that fell through.
Me: Oh. Well you better call A and talk to him about it and then call me back.

5 MINUTES LATER
T: Yeah okay yeah we're not going to the mountains. So yeah, karaoke's still on. Let's meet at my house at 5pm and then go to dinner and karaoke
Me: Okay fine.

3 HOURS LATER
T (via voice mail): So, yeah, A and are I still going skiing on Sunday. So...we should be back and ready to go by 6. So...come on over for 6pm.


ACK. I can't wait to see what chaos Sunday brings!

C'est bien ca

So, I got to pass an enjoyable time tonight with my new French friends from Sunday. Turns out the place they are staying in SF is 2 blocks from my house!! So, I went over "pour un gouter" which literally translates "for a taste": small appetizers, aperatifs and the like.

I raced home after work and ran to the Lucky, determined not to show up empty-handed (a faux pas en France). I found a decent looking bouquet and a bottle of wine and made my way to their house. It was really nice to be accepted into their home - even if it wasn't their *actual* home. Also invited were some of their friends from France who moved to SF 3 months ago. Between the two families, there were seven (7!) kids! I was like....WHOA what universe did I land in?

In any case, we had fun chatting, eating, drinking and laughing. I had an especially fun time with their kids (who'd a thunk?) and learning of their impressions of their many travels throughout the States. It was a fun night!

Je suis ravie!

I was so happy yesterday to make the acquaintance of a French family who happened to be visiting our church yesterday. They had 4 lovely kids, and also Galadriel was in town, too! It was French Fest 2007! We had a fun time chatting and talking about differences between our cultures. I was having a ton of fun speaking French and just getting to hear about their trip around the world (yes - with 4 kids!)

So, it was very fun. They have a blog chronicling their adventures. I would post a link - but it's all in French. If you'd like it, send me an email.

groan

I'm watching TBS (good Sunday afternoon activity) and trying to compose my Christmas letters. Anyways. "My Best Friend's Wedding" came on and I like this movie. But I had forgotten that it's 10 years old. And the things that clued me into the vintage-ness of it all:

-Julia Roberts' cell phone had a pull-up antaenna
-"If we aren't married by the time we're 28 years old, let's get married." I don't remember that line as such. . . I was thinking they were talking about reaching at least 35. And now that I am at the *ahem* ripe old age of 28, myself, I couldn't help but crack up outloud and practically spew my water across the keyboard.

And OMG one of Cameron Diaz' crazy Southern-cousins is played by Rachel Griffiths. Who knew??

thoughts

It's been an interesting week. Fun, surreal, hard, restless, and tiring.

The highlight - by far - has been news of the birth of Clark Garrison, the newest addition to my friend Katie's family. K and I have been (and have remained) close friends since we were 5 years old. Such joy!!

Monday night's performance was . . . *interesting* . . . to say the least. I have a top-10 list about it, which I'll post here shortly.

I have a sort of penpal at the moment (my friend in Kuwait with the Army), and I find myself saving up stories throughout the week to write in a letter. It's funny...and I worry about repeating myself in a new letter, because obviously - unlike email - you can't just go back and look up what you wrote before. I don't want to sound any crazier than I already am like a crazy person...hahaha...it's funny. And fun!

Proust's madeleine ain't got nothing on me . . .

I found out this evening that the mother of my closest friend from childhood (until about 6th grade) passed away very suddenly from a stroke.

Even though it has been many years since we've seen each other or even spoken . . . I have several years of memories inextricably linked to her and her family. For various and sundry reasons, ALL of these things have the ability to bring me immediately back to that time - that lifetime - so many years ago:
David Bowie, Labyrinth, Ouija boards, Michael Jackson, Pink Floyd, Lip-syncing, pet pigs, parakeets and cockatils, Afghans, wicker rattan floor mats, red clay kitchen tiles, false eyelashes, castanets, flamenco dancing, guitar music, tying fly fish flies, hammocks, sprinklers, weeping willows, Barbie dolls, seances, the B-52's, "One Night in Bankok", Girl Scouts and Scout camp, 5th grade talent show, backyard chicken coops, sleepovers, jumping on the bed, cats sleeping on my head, hanukkah gifts, lighting a menorah and turning on the Christmas tree together, long braids, picking apples, supernatural stories, fortune-telling, a small scar on my ankle, Bethesda, overdoses, gothic art, Caddyshack, Mel Brooks, R-ratings, The Temp, Sea Monkeys, Shaving my legs for the first time, jumping into leaf piles, record players, Beetlejuice, roller skating in the basement, playing dress-up . . . and on and on.

My heart goes out to C, her siblings and her father. I wish I could be there to mourn with you this Friday - but I will send my prayers and love from here.

opera & psa

I just came from Madame Butterfly at SFO with AZ for an early-birthday outing. It was a most enjoyable performance - which is high praise from me, indeed :) I actually had goosebumps! But then again, Puccini! What's not to love? The woman singing Butterfly was wonderful...great voice, great actress. Pinkerton...meh. The role was a little bit of a stretch for him, vocally. Their little boy was a scene stealer - soo cute! And Suzuki was perfect in her part, and sounded great.

I am not going to go into full opera-review mode at the moment (I am too sleepy) but can I just say that the people next to me would NOT stop coughing, chortling, sniffing, etc etc. It was driving me crazy! ack!

People! Don't go out to see a show with lots of quiet, intimate moments if you're the kind of sick that involves noisy bodily funcions and/or cough drop wrappers! Can't we enforce this courtesy, legally? Pretty please with pink sugar on top??

That is all for now.

whoa

I seem to have lost four days! After strictly sticking to my NaBloPoMo one-post-per-day standards, I reached December 1 and threw all that "discipline" out the window, it would seem.

Never fear, I am still here. (In Colorado to be exact).

Since I've been home I've:
-had a sinus infection
-lost my voice
-had the stomach flu

I'm chalking it all up to the following:
-stress
-no sleep
-talking for hours on end
-being around other people with the stomach flu
-spending hours in the hospital (around sick people...ew!)
-travelling
-allll of the above

It has been a long - but ultimately good, I think - couple of weeks at home. No vacation, that's for sure, but a necessary time at home. I'm glad I've been here, but I'm ready for a massage :)

It was almost 70 degrees here today - and it's supposed to snow on Thursday. CRAZYness, I tell you. CRAZY.

THINGS I BROUGHT TO DENVER AND HAVE NOT USED these two weeks:
-my camera (maybe I'll take a picture of Dad's incision yet
-my laptop (am using mom's - can't get her wireless to work on mine)
-my singing voice (not so good - I have a show in less than a week)
-my calendar (this has been nice)