texas vacation routine

I've settled into a nice little schedule since I returned home. Since I am all alone- and will be until after New Year's- it is up to me to find good uses of my time. Sometimes they are not so good uses, but oh well. It's vacation, right? There's nothing really I need to get accomplished, other than practicing regularly and doing some domestic chores and projects.

The kitties are rejoicing in having just me to climb over and snuggle with in bed. What I mean by that is that Nikolai has taken to sleeping next to my head and Gatsby spends the night in the small of my back. Neither of them possesses any inhibition in standing on top of me or stepping on my vital bits (neck, boobs, crotch, face) in order to achieve some other sleeping position. I quite enjoy it, actually. They're good company.

Internet at the house works but is pretty much useless. So a brisk walk to library it is for me! Afterward I'm so pumped up by the fresh air that I've been riding my bike in random directions and discovering new parts of Denton. It's gorgeous outside! Feels like spring, kinda. When I have someone to ride bikes with, I'd like to go up Locust St into the country. Because I live in the country, in a way! Isn't that cool? Texas isn't so bad with sunshine and nice weather. I think I've said that before. Ah well. If you're in town and want to go riding, let me know. I have extra bikes, too!

I've got a gig tomorrow night!

I stayed up all night reading The Kite Runner- you would too, or you have already, if you've read it. It's impossible to put down.

House projects: sanding/stripping the table Anna gave me for my hallway, and then painting it all spiffy-like; repotting some houseplants; putting up decorations in my bathroom; building a cat tree.

Back outside I go!

final wrap-up

Tomorrow I fly back to the land of trucks and soul-lessness leaving behind my parent's sunny paradise, free food, and the people with "save the planet" and "keep tahoe blue" bumperstickers. Time to start practicing trombone again, decide what the hell I'm doing for New Year's (if only I had the money and car power for a trip to Madison), and snuggle up with my kitties. Painting projects and maybe some yard work, should the weather permit, are also on the docket. Perhaps not as much internet time. Our dial-up has been cowering weak-kneed before the tyrannical regime of Verizon phone services for about three weeks with all signs of rebellion crushed under the fuzzy dialtone of monopoly.

At any rate, I'm spending my last evening in San Diego wreaking havoc on one (maybe both) of the two bars in Rancho Bernardo with Jonny and Katie, and maybe it'll turn into some sort of tradition.

And what, you aren't listening to Andrew Bird? You silly little music infidel. Amend your foolish and sinful ways right this instant!

you, mr tumnus, aren't so bad yourself

Narnia= awesome.

Today hasn't been so traditional, in turns out. I slept in later than I wanted to, thanks to staying up late panicking about life (like you do), and my dad's sick, so just my mom and I went to the movie. Besides the presents I bought with myself in mind (each year I am charged with the excellent task of stocking-stuffer shopping, which I quite enjoy. It ensures me new additions to my CD and book collections), I was given a $100 gift certificate to Borders! Imagine what fun I shall have! Tee hee! Too bad the nearest Borders to Denton is half an hour away, and they switched over to Seatle's Best coffee, which means I no longer get a discount for my Borders mug and the excellent chai lattes are now merely Tazo mix, which is gross and not to be trusted. Le sigh!

Narnia= still awesome.

Let me explain a little more about why I feel the holidays, for me, aren't always worthy of the trip (which is not to say I don't relish a few days in the warmth and blue skies of my Other Homeland). I guess it's the feeling that there should be holiday cheer, and laughter and arguments over who does the dishes, but there isn't much of anything in my house. My dad is crabby and sensitive, my mom frowns at my attempts to introduce new ideas, Christmas morning we greedily tear into our presents and then retreat back to our respective stations. What can I do to change this? Well I am trying, for one, to act less sullen and try to make the most of it in a Buddhist fashion. If it makes people happy, they say... well anyway, Christmas used to have magic for me but it doesn't any more. Too many petty things revolve around this season- do we need so much to reaffirm our belief in the good of human beings that we need a whole holiday for it? Why not find the joy in the rest of the year? Malls are scary. Make cookies and cheese dip instead.

Well, anyway- go see Narnia. It's EXCELLENT.

i laughed so hard silk came out my nose

Coming, as I just did, from the mall where I terrorized old ladies with the "I love my cunt" and "Ever tasted green?" buttons on my bag (that latter is thanks to Anna, via Chuck), where I was also greeted with "God loves you!" and "We're a Christian store!" by two perky Mary-Jane-and-Bobby-Joe-meet-the-decadent-90s type teens in front of some hip new "Kids Love Jesus" tribute to Christian capitalism, I felt immensely better upon seeing the following on my livejournal page. Thank you, thank you, thank you Jon Stewart. May I lay the hearts, puppies, and flowers of my eternal gratitude to your consummate satire at your feet for many years to come.

Happy Osama's Homobortion Pot 'n' Commie Jizzporium to you all!

so quiet

I think i just figured out what it is that bugs me about Christmastime. For me, personally. Maybe some of you have very different holidays, but then, my family's small. We could be bigger but we live 2,000 miles away from the nearest relatives.

It's the quiet. It's the time of year I come home for a week to sit in front of my parent's computer obsessively making music lists and catching up blogs. Sometimes I read a blog all the way back to the beginning of time. Or a webcomic. Either way by the end of the visit all I want is some intelligent conversation and booze (maybe mutually exclusive?).

Sitting around in the place I grew up means I become terribly introspective and moony about whatever situation emotionally/personally/professionally I happen to be in. All this is made worse by the fact that on Christmas Eve and Day it is fairly off limits to call your friends or arrange for meet-ups because it is Sacred Holiday Family Time (TM). My parents and I just do the same thing we always do, which is: after our mandatory half-hour of together time spent either eating breakfast or opening presents or staring at our plates uncomfortably, my dad watches TV, my mom falls asleep watching TV (in a different room) and I stare at the computer for hours on end listening to music and playing 3-D Pinball. Meanwhile I imagine my friends with larger families are off engaged in loud vaguely ethnic conversations and eating large heafty meals, younger kids arguing over videogames, older kids staring sullenly at walls, people of my awkward adultish age either arguing over videogames or staring sullenly at walls, old people asleep in armchairs, people futzing around in the kitchen.

I tried to watch some TV today. Just to pass the time. Mind you, I haven't watched TV...in a year. Near exactly a year. I think I swore off the TV after the election results burned a hole in my retinas. I got kind of car sick, or motion sick, I think. I came back to the computer. I desperately wanted to talk to someone. I started thinking about people I haven't talked to in forever, and miss utterly. Davis, Emily, Bethany, Felicia, Beatriz, Mikey, Doug, even Ryan for chrissakes. I daydreamed about Madison for a good forty minutes. When I woke up I started crying. Mostly because I haven't done anything since I've gotten to San Diego, besides go out to the Gaslamp with Katie (which was quite fun) and take a walk around my neighborhood. And next two days are Sacred Holiday Family Time (TM) so I'm pooched in the entertainment department for another whole weekend's worth of boredom.

This little ode to my personal holiday is less about boredom, though, and more about self-contemplation. Since this vacation is pretty much the first time I've climbed out of my trombone since August, all the things I've been wanting to think about but haven't had time for because of overarching musical interests are now pouring into my consciousness full steam. Not fun, after you've had a one-track mind all semester. So I guess I just need to talk. I need a little hovel of friendship to make myself feel better. Too bad about that SHFT(TM), huh?

And since even the blogosphere is quiet, I felt even more need to fill up the emptiness with my own private bullshit. Consider it your early holiday of choice present.

friday random ten: because at home i sit around bored edition

Fire up your media player, hit random, and record the first ten songs that pop up.

1. Vamos- The Pixies
2. Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps- CAKE
3. Opened Once- Jeff Buckley
4. Precious Things- Tori Amos
5. As Is- Ani Difranco
6. Sylvia Plath- Ryan Adams
7. Sunbathing- Torben Floor
8. High Fidelity- Elvis Costello
9. Joy- PJ Harvey
10. A Certain Shade of Green- Incubus

Your turn!

went walking

and took some pictures of my neighborhood in San Diego. Enjoy!

hello, san diego

Hello hills and vegetation, hello clean streets and civic pride, hello unique restaurants and sitting outside in the sun. Hello, San Diego. I've missed you.

Things to do in my short vacation:
-Eat Mexican food (sworn off the stuff in Texas. It's disgusting)
-Breathe fresh ocean air
-Read a book on the porch swing in the sun sun sun
-Assemble those people I love to be goofy, silly, and giggly with and act like a kid again at the Wild Animal Park. Late night, cold handed ride on the monorail. Dirty jokes and absolute insanity abounding.
-Martinis and flirting with David Patrone
-A hike to my waterfall, alone? Camera in hand, I'll share it with you this time. I haven't been willing-it's my San Diego place- but maybe- if you're nice- we'll see.

behold my triumphant return

I am now officially a graduate student, having passed both of my confirmation hearing juries. My third jury, tunes and scales for Jan, was cancelled due to time conflicts with the crazy weather madness that overtook North Texas Wednesday. And by crazy weather madness, I don't mean that the weather was crazy, but mostly that it made people go mad from silliness. Class was cancelled half of Wed and all of Thursday, even though Thursday was just gloriously sunny and blue-skied.

But that's not important. I'm officially a masters student at UNT! Huzzahs are in order!

I have been cooking up some less lame posts for Buddha Stew, but the self-enforced break was good for me. Look for some more interesting things to come in the near future.

Time to enjoy a delicious beverage or ten!

Snow! In Texas!