most unusual new year in a while

firstly (stupid word, je sais, shut up) because i actually did something, and secondly because it almost did me in.

if you're going to live through two city shutdowns, try not to spend them both with your family. because although i posess the apparently rare talent to be able to sit on my ass and be entirely entertained by a book or fire or the random thoughts in my own head, most people don't. especially not my mother or my sister. stir crazy + family = overload*. this, despite some nordic skiing and snowshoeing incidents that i might discuss later but that generally involved me falling on my ass an amazing amount of times, eventually led to TOO MUCH FAMILY and me getting punched in the neck by my sister on the last day of the year. we've hardly fought recently and are almost never physically violent, so this was... um, a surprise. and then we had to drive home in the same car in the slush. the very definition of fun times (or a modern major general...).

at any rate, this resulted in me taking myself to the movies to be alone and listen to someone else's story. which... there's pretty much no way around pathetic when you're the girl by herself watching "the holiday." but advanced irritation leads to not caring. besides, there was no food in my house and popcorn makes quite the suitable meal. i considered going to the grocery store and purchasing nothing but catfood and chocolate after the movies because i'm unreasonably entertained by overplaying the pathetic, but finally eschewed that idea (with a firm hand). besides, my mood improved enough that i didn't really have to resort to mildly sadistic entertainment. weird.

and when i got home and finally checked my week's worth of phone messages, it turned out one of my friends was having a party. so yay! i didn't actually know anyone besides my friend and her husband, but the other guests were entertaining enough that it didn't matter. and anything that combines drunk people, pointy objects, and fire (i.e. fondue) has to lead to good times. and some amazing "surround sound" renditions of crash test dummies songs... HI-larious. i must say, however, that it's much easier to play catch phrase when someone is operating even anywhere near your wavelength. preferably someone on your team, because if they're on the other team you just end up losing points. also, we were very proud of ourselves for constructing game markers out of marshmallows and pretzels... how is it that alcohol allows you to enjoy acting like children again? and why is it such an expensive luxury? highly entertaining, except that i somehow managed to catch a cold between midnight and three a.m. apparently i'm more prone to turning into a pumpkin than i realized. (p.s. tia uses this expression to, the discovery of which made both of us inordinately excited).

mm, i think there were originally more words in my head, but the dog is pretty clearly requesting that i go cuddle with her and since i've decided to celebrate my precious vacation time by not doing jack shit, this seems like the kind of request that i should honor. so... ups, downs, candy corn, etc. i still haven't decided if 2007 and i are actually fighting, but if i do i'm sure i'll let you know about it. in the mean time, have a happy!



*WHY must i now convert everything into equations, no matter how rudimentary? it's a serious mental plague.