jolly but no holly

Christmas came and Christmas went! Oh how the people who attend and the places we go change over time. It was very much a lovely one here in Seabeck.

A good assortment of gifts were exchanged. Some from lists and some surprises. I got a Kate Beaton assortment of goodies! Actually I think I got all I requested, so totally spoiled: the Boat! shirt, the 2015 calender poster, the Roosevelt & Baker & Henry VIII mug. Awesome! I also got Wrenchies and Bobcat and Carsick. And toesoes. And chocolate. And little legos. And a scarf. And a globe puzzle that is really cool.

I worked on the puzzle on and off. And got more people to play Pandemic. And Danny came up and visited for a bit. And played Pandemic.

Dinner was salmon and rice and broccoli. Ma and Pa watched St. Trinians. I computered it up.

Did I blog last year about the changes? This year there is no Holly or Salvador. The house is different. Very changed. The whole vibe of life is changing. Traditions are different. Hmm.

I slept in, and Dad made PEOTwMC and coffee in the siphon coffee maker. It was old and broke during cleaning. A shame because it made a damn good cup of coffee and the same type of maker is expensive!

Nate and Helen stayed till 3 and then left for the airport. Then Ma went to her movie about Paramahansa Yogananda. I sorted out their NatureBox gift card and Dad made dinner. We played, and lost, two rounds of Pandemic. Love that game. I'm glad it is two player!

Tomorrow I return home and Ma and Pa are coming to visit and to help out with the ramp.

time is running out

uHG gawd I just became massively congested. Don't know why. Maybe the ice cream? Though that doesn't make me congested. I've gone through several hankies now. Gross.

Worked from home today. Researched jewelry to the best of my ability based on the photos at hand. Celia gave me one of her treasured time honored seasonal wreaths. It's hanging in the dining room. I'll snap a good picture of it come morning.

Yesterday I went in to Poulsbo and worked on a gift. And I made a little something for me. Don't want to be to vocal about the activity on account of it being a gift, but I had a good time just listening to podcasts and doing my own thing. Swung by Seabeck and saw Ma and Pa (who went to a Star Trek convention today and didn't even ask me if I wanted to join them! How rude). I put a few ornaments on the tree and had salad and microwave chicken pot pie and chocolate. I gave mom my MP3 player, the new one because I was able to revive my old one.

Got home lateish, slept in. Got a late start on work. Now to tuck into bed and try to get some rest because my sleep schedule is all whack. Another exciting week! Christmas is almost here and I'm behind on EVERYTHING!

props

Breaking news: Trillian tries huckleberry pancakes and enjoys them! Dad made them for breakfast, and chided me for being picky, so I consumed the long avoided breakfast food and found it scrumptious.

Heather and Daniel met my parents and everyone seemed to get on well. Lots of great conversations about travel and family and garages and art and other things. After breakfast, they were shown around the property and we walked down into the valley. Holly followed and had a good time of it. The creek runs dry in the summer. I like showing people the Seabeck house. It has a lot of cool stuff, and the surrounding area is nice. It is a bit hectic and eclectic, but that adds to the charm. We sent H & D on their way with some rhubarb and drinks, and then I packed up.

Time ran short, so I was driven to the airport. Probably the last time that will happen. Airporter from now on, hhaha. There was the fear of traffic, but that was unfounded. I arrived two hours before my flight, but got my boarding pass, bag checked, and was through security in about 10 minutes. And my gate was right there...so for an hour and a half I relaxed. Ate some fish & chips. Logged onto the airport Wifi.

The planes I flew today were both prop engine smaller planes, and I loved that! And being smaller, I got on and off really easily. I read my book, looked out the window, enjoyed the complimentary beverages. I had a 50 minute transfer in Portland, but the gate I had to take was a couple over from where I came off the Seattle flight, and again was left with a bunch of time. I got some candy and logged onto Wifi again. The flight to San Jose was an hour and a half, and the first flight was barely over 30 minutes. So quick!

Arrived in SJ, got my checked box of stuff, got on a shuttle, got to my car, paid for parking, and drove southward to Santa Cruz. Easy drive. My Christmas Tetris shelves are now set up in a tower on my bedside table. They look quite cool with their assorted nick knacks in them.

Long day, time to rest because it is back to work tomorrow!

Cherish & Isaiah

Tucked into bed after a lovely day.

The wedding was lovely. The venue was pretty and nicely staged. The company was excellent. The food was divine and plentiful. Ah nice.

I arrived about 15 minutes late (due to much traffic in downtown), but people were still being seated when I arrived, so all was well after a bit of driving stress. I sat with Daniel, Heather, Danielle, Jared, and Jason. The latter two being the boyfriends of Danielle and Sandra (who was a bridesmaid) respectively. There were four long tables set up, with the aisle between the middle two. The ceremony was surprisingly religious, but I think there is a lot of religion on the two sides of the family. Their vows were really cute. Nerdy, but cute. Cherish looked gorgeous. Her dress had so many nice details and she had a veil and all this great stuff. Isaiah had a great mustache and a bowtie. Really lovely. I didn't take any pictures, because I was a bit far away and I figured the wedding photographer would do a better job anyway. I did do some sketches, so I have that. Had a couple brewskies. Gorged myself on salmon, chicken, gnocchi, bread, beans, salad, and rice. Yum. It was a buffet style, which is a good way of doing it. There were banana cupcakes for the cake, and they were amazing. It was a nice ceremony, and oh so smart to do it at the venue. None of that driving to the reception stuff that is so silly.

It was nice to see friends, to have good company and good food.

Breakfast was poached egg on toast with melted cheese. I looked through some of my bins and sorted out some clothes. We caught the 3pm ferry from Bremerton. Ma and Pa planned to spend the day in Seattle, so that was nice. Got the lift from them, and a life back from Daniel & Heather.

Heather had only been on a ferry once before in her life, so she enjoyed the Edmonds/Kingston ferry ride. It was a starry night. Back in Seabeck, we hot tubbed it up. Tomorrow we shall have breakfast and I'll give them a tour. Then I'll figure out how the heck I'm getting to the airport, and what I am packing with me.

Nice to be with friends. Nice to spend time with people that matter. It was about five years ago that I started this blog. Look how far I've come!

A Return to Washington

Kind of amazing how eight hours of travel, through many different means, can take a person from Santa Cruz, California to Seabeck, Washington. My alarm went off at 5:30. I got up and showered at 6ish. Packed my things up. Prepared an avocado creme cheese sandwich to eat on the road, and at 7:00am, off I went to the San Jose airport! The roads were not crowded in the slightest, and it was really easy to get into parking. I arrived two hours before my flight, but I could have been way later, as I was not checking a thing. Got my boarding pass, got through security, and walked up and down the terminal hoping for a frozen yogurt place, but settled for a hot chocolate and muffin from Starbucks.

The 10:00am flight was uneventful. I'm a really unanxious flyer. I just get to my seat and all is well. Take off is fun, the bumps along the way don't worry me. An hour and a half later and we were touching down. Got off the plan quickly, and strolled to the light rail, and it pulled out of Sea Tac at around 12:30. I've never ridden the light rail train in Seattle before. It is new. Part of the way I sat next to a guy who was browsing Reddit on his phone. We struck up a conversation about the various subreddits we subscribe to, and he asked me if I liked banana slugs, which is a pretty effectual pick up line when it comes to me and my way of going about life. Not that I think he was picking me up, because the ride was too short and I live in Santa Cruz. Shame. But nice to remember that I can easily chat up someone when I notice a big common interest like a shared favorite website.

Walked from the University Street stop down to the ferry, and just in luck the Bremerton ferry was unloading! Hopped on the 1:30pm ferry to Bremerton. Read from the drudging tome that is Shadow of Night. I was so enthusiastic for the book, and it has been such a let down. Gah! Oh well. I am determined to finish it before I start any more books (exception being Neuromancer, which is for a book club I have joined). Ma and Pa were there with hugs, and we ate at the Bremerton Bar & Grill. My steak dip sandwich was good eating, and we caught up and chatted. At 4:00pm I was in Seabeck. The house is looking really tidy and squared away. Things are all organized. And there is an influx of cool Mats Mats things. Too bad the Bingo box is full of Bingo, because it is a really cool box, I just am not going to trash its contents, ya know?

We walked the dog. I met the new outdoor kitty, thusly named Salvador. Helped dad with the arbor. We hot tubbed. Then went to see ParaNorman.

As we pulled into the theater, I saw Jared and Jamie and waved frantically and hugged them. Ahhh! How great to see friends randomly like that. This visit is a very short one, so I haven't agreed to meet anyone save for the wedding and my parents. We chatted briefly and parted ways.

ParaNorman was great. I only wish it were longer, but the animation was so beautiful and obviously time consuming. It didn't treat kids like morons, the humor was great, and did I mention the amazing animation? It was amazing. So much creativity and thought and technological awesomeness.

Back at home, I sorted through my library and pulled a few choice books. Tomorrow, before I head to the wedding (which isn't till 5 in the evening) I want to check out the sizes of the frames in the house, and go through my left behind things a bit. I didn't check baggage coming up, but I will when I return.

A long day, but not wholly exhausting. I got through many different types of transportation effortlessly and with confidence. That seems like something worth noting. Airport navigation? No problem. Getting off at the right train stop and knowing where to walk to get to a ferry terminal? Also no problem. Were I a tourist, it would be much more difficult. Proud of me. Go me!

toodles year of suck

Bye bye 2010. You sucked. Really hard. There were some good times and some good people and I really learned how to appreciate the wonderful friends I have, and how supportive they are. But 2010 till had some horrible moments that I'll never forget, and some friendship lows. Anyway. I'm glad to be rid of it and I'm entering 2011 with a clearer head and self assuredness. Bring it on!

Woke up early. Begged and Dad made a poached egg on toast with melted cheese. Stuffed my stuff in the car and off we left. We got to the station a bit early, but I had to check bags, so early is better. We solved crosswords in the car till the train arrived. I tried to sleep but was unsuccessful.

Arrived in the slightly warmer Portland right on time. Pulled my stuff off of the area and right as I was pondering tugging the box that dad made(safely protected in cardboard with rope) to the curb to wait for my ride, he arrived to carry the box with a box in it! Good old Rollyn. Packed my stuff up in the car. He dropped me off at my place while he found parking, and I brought the stuff in. Then we went to Pizzicato because I was starving. He had been snacking, so I just got myself pizza and a drink. It was very good. We then chilled at his place for a while. It was nice to relax. At sixish he brought me back to the apartment. He had prior plans for New Years, but if he is in the neighborhood around midnight, who knows.

Anyway. Walked to Trader Joe's to get some beverages and chips, found them closed, so I walked to Fred Meyers. The apartment is looking great. It is a The Mighty Boosh themed new years party. Mark is dressed as Old Gregg and Kristen is Vince Noir. I just threw on some nice clothes, a sparkly top, and did up a scarf like a turban. Nothing major. Anyway, people are arriving. Party is starting. Bye bye 2010! Hello 2011!

I'll never be able to tell someone to fill their hands...

Got up a little earlier because I needed to look up times for True Grit and make plans for the day with various parties.

Had some tea and some microwave food, and then I looked up times and called Celia. The basic plan was to go with pa into Bremerton, get ma, eat lunch, meet up with Celia, and then go see movie. And that is how it played out.

Dad and I listened to Lady Gaga on the way to pick up mom, because that is the only way we can listen to Gaga: without mom. She just loathes the catchiness of her music. Anyway, picked up mum and then we went to Anthony's for lunch. And we all had salads! All though mom and pop had a soup bowl along with their salad. My almond chicken salad was good, though a bit heavy on the dressing. Mmm. Pa cleaned his plate and finished off mothers and helped with mine. We talked about taking a canal trip in France once the school year is over. Hmm.

The parents dropped me off at Goodwill, where I waited for Celia. The DVD selection was awesome. Picked up Royal Tenenbaums, Zoolander, Point Break, and Spice World on the cheap. Picked up some clothes too. We drove to Poulsbo and talked and cruised around town a bit, then we got to the theater early and chatted. Ma and Pa arrived and sat next to us and then moved to the back because it was too close for mother.

True Grit was GREAT! Coens have done it again. Really solid direction. Great acting. Surprisingly violent for PG13. Better than the original. Bridges did so well. And the parents and aunty enjoyed it as well. We all left the theater in good spirits. I hugged Celia goodbye and home we went.

I packed up my suitcase and box. Dad helped pack the box. My suitcase is nice and light. The box is wrapped up in cardboard to protect it on its train trip. Mom gave me some of her old clothes. A nice coat and shirt that dad got for her in 1981. We really do not get rid of anything in this family. Now my stuff is all packed and I have to get up early. But I'll nap on the train ride.

blah day

Made the blog for my 365 project. Ooooh. Now I am committed!

I set my cell phone to chime at 9:45, even though I had no idea when I would be getting up. It is good to keep ones body on a generic time. Can't just let it sleep all day. All though I do spend half of my days here in Seabeck in bed.

Spent most of the day on the internet. Keeping the fire burning is a full time job. Dad worked on his truck. Lots of work to get it to move just a few feet. Really strange problem.

I decorated a couple more cupcakes.

Dad was nice enough to let Holly sleep on her rug inside! Normally the doggy is strictly outside.

Dinner was a delicious stir fry. We watched Shrek the Third, which was better than I was expecting it to be.

Now I think I'll read some Cannery Row.

It really sucks not having wheels of my own when I visit home.

sweet cuppin' cakes

Slept in. Oh joyous joy. Ate some cheerios. Wasted time on the Internet. Dad baked some cupcakes. We planned to go to get some sweets to decorate them with, but the truck had some wiring issues, so that occupied dad for the rest of the day (till dark). I just sat and wasted like, like I tend to do.

Dinner was pasta and fish and green beans. Ma came home with candy in hand. After dinner dad and I finally got around to decorating cupcakes. The frosting was warmed by the heat of our hands so when the bags started to get used up, the icing lines lost their fidelity. Still, turned out pretty good. Though from all the icing ingested while making them, I didn't feel like actually eating a cupcake till much later.

Ma and Pa and I sat down to watch Brothers Bloom. I like this movie bunches. Ma was a bit meh about it. Oh well. Now time to relax. La la la.

Christmas and Boxing Day (not that we really celebrate that)

Christmas!!

Woke up at 7:30 but worked on nodding off, because I knew people were not up yet. Woke up at 8:20 and decided that was late enough, so I bounded out of bed and lo and behold there were stocking filled with sweets and treats! Dad was up. I put the kettle on and made myself some billy tea. I go the go ahead for the stocking so I opened up a few of the things in there while waiting for Nathan and Rubie to make their way downstairs. There was a lego toy from Harry Potter so I assembled that. Nate and Rubie came down and opened up their stockings. We got WD40 and 3-in-1 oil, which is very useful, and puzzles (mine had classic cars on it, naturally). And lots of candy. I let the oranges roll away toward Rubie and Nathan's presents piles. One of the parents grilled up sausages. Dad opened up the cupcake decorating book I got him. I think it has a lot of good ideas that can also be applied toward cakes. I miss getting the cakes that dad makes. He is so good at designing them.

Anyway, ma got up as well and then it was PRESENT OPENING TIME!!

Off the top of my head I got: a cool makeup set, two nice table mirrors (it is good to have multiple), Amy Sedaris' new book about crafting, David Sedaris' new book of fables, some socks with bacon and eggs on them, a soft teal colored turtleneck, the book Bad Marie, some emergen-c and tea, bike lights, and the big one of them all: A NEW DIGITAL CAMERA! 12 glorious megapixels! Easy to use interface! Lots of functions! And a 5gb card to go with it. Yess. Totally sweet present. Great Christmas. Got what I asked for and lots of other neat stuff. Nate got a new razor and a Kinect, Rubie got a skin buffer fancy thing...thingy. And some Lush bath stuff from me. And Nate got a card game from me. Among other presents (like my Christmas print and tee shirt, which Rubie and Ma also got). Anywaaay. Pa got a sweet boot dryer, Ma got a nice knife thing that dad broke within an hour. Only partially broke. It was a really good haul.

Pretty soon I'll start sorting through my photos. Already took a bunch.

I showered and got dressed and came down for waffles. Yum! I put my new mirror to good use. It is really helpful, all though there is such a thing as too much magnification. Yikes! Nate, Rubie, and I played a game of Poo. A fun money centered game. Fast paced.

Then we started packing the cars up. Nathan and Rubie had different night plans than we did, plus we couldn't have fit everyone in the Prius (maybe the Contour). I dozed a little on the way to Mats Mats. The weather is pretty sucky. Lots of rain and mud.

Grandma, Grandpa, Aunty Joyce and Uncle Dick were all there and we got to presents! Well first we got to the DVDs that we made from old family films. We popped it into the DVD player. Lots of my dad as a baby and his first couple birthdays. Then baby Joyce. Then Alaska. Nice films. We paused them and handed out gifts. Got a nice fat quarter fabric assortment from Joyce in a cool bag with some lotion. And cool hard cash from the grandparents. Now THAT I am going to put in the bank. Sweeeeet. It was a nice little exchange. Dinner was salad, roast beast, salmon, rolls, broccoli, and sort of done potatoes. I ate a decent amount of juicy meat and salad. No dessert for me. Nate and Rubie left for Rubie's parents place. I put my feet up and digested a bit.

Ma and Pa and I went to Pulali for the night instead. I worked on a crossword with lots of help. Celia came over for her presents. She brought us delicious fudge! Can't get enough of that fudge. Mmm. I read a good chunk of Bad Marie while trying to get to sleep.

Boxing Day

Uneven night sleep. Toast and juice and crosswords for breakfast. Got dressed and went over to see Celia and her puppy (which will probably go to a new home soon). Talked about future plans and we took a walk up to the end of the Pulali driveway. It seems so much longer a road in the car. The puppy is very spirited. It rained off an on. The whole day. Sometimes big juicy drops, sometimes not. Either way, not fun weather.

After our walk, we parted ways and I had bread and creme cheese and salmon open faced sandwiches. Yum! Listened to the radio and again, put my feet up while the parents did all the work. Classic Trillian move. We put our stuff away in the car. Well ma and pa did. I put my purse in the car. It was a rainy soggy ride home. Swung by Costco. Started watching the Doctor Who Christmas Special. Paused it for a hot tub break. A rainy hot tub break. Returned to Doctor Who. A delightful episode. Then watched No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency with mom. Then pulled up the Top Gear Botswana special, because mums show is set in Botswana. Now I'm watching the Top Gear Syria special. It is new. Yay!

Awesome awesome Christmas. Lots of family. Lots of food. Lots of love.

that pitter patter on the roof is rain, not reindeer

Slept in. All though I woke up at 8am initially. Ma made sandwiches for breakfast. Well, for lunch. Breakfast for me. We played Bananagrams. Nathan played games. I played a little Braid. Then we watched the Top Gear Bolivia special (it is a very car Christmas). After we were all cleaned up, we went to pick up Rubie! Yay Rubie! Costco was unfortunately closed when we got there. We picked up some Taco Time for dinner. Mmm. Tacos, burritos, taco pizza. I helped Dad put on some new LED lights on the tree. And then it was hot tub time! Mom stayed to watch something. Pa, Rubie, Nate and I hopped in. Hot tubs are nice, even if it is raining. Tucked into bed early. Now just going to watch some movies till I nod off.

Then presents! We might spend the night at Pulali. Visit Celia!

PRESENTS! FAMILY! FOOD! CHRISTMAS!

hey you guuuys

Another day where I am up before noon. Whoo. Solved another crossword last night. Ma made delicious french toast for breakfast. I give it five stars. Loafed around for a bit. Watched the Top Gear special again with Nathan. Drank some tea. Nathan left to hang out with his friend. I put some makeup on mom. For fun. She looked rosy and pretty. But ma is a babe naturally. We walked to the end of the driveway. Got the mail. Mom made chicken, broccoli, and au gratin potatoes for dinner. We played Bananagrams. I won. Then Ma, Pa, and I watched Goonies. Great movie. So many great lines and moments in that movie. It never gets tired.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve! EEEEEE!!

nate's here!

Yay, Nathan is on this side of the water for the holidays. Hurrah. Now we just need Rubie, though I think she is with her folks. And again, no hot tub! What gives?

Had a restless night sleep. I kept loosing blankets. I set my phone as an alarm and I did manage to get downstairs before noon. Okay two minutes before noon, but that is still a nice accomplishment. Dad made poached egg on toast with melted cheese. It was perfect. Stopped by the minibarn and spied in on what mom was working on. Showered. Ma and I braved the traffic and went into town for some shopping. Stopped by stores. Bought some stuff for people. It was slow going back. Lots of people blocking intersections. At least it wasn't raining.

When we got home ma made dinner. Ravioli and delicious salad and then I was too full for the risotto. Maybe tomorrow. Lots of ginger ale. We three watched the new episode of Top Gear. It was quite silly. Ma and pa watched Hair and I tooled around on the internet and then I heard a car door slam and Nathan was here!

We stayed up playing computer games. He showed me Braid, which was cool, and Osmos, which was neat. Fun games. He better not beat my Data Worm high score though. I'll be mighty peeved.

Don't know what we will get up to tomorrow. Games? Movies? Who knows.

feeling kinda weird

Slept in further. I set my alarm so I'll try to get moving before 1pm tomorrow. Maybe. I miss my comfy bed. This one is a bit stiff and I lost a lot of blankets. Mom scrambled me some eggs and toasted some muffins and even cooked bacon for me. Yum! What a good mum. Tooled around on the internet for a bit. Ma and Pa agreed to see the 4:30 showing of Tron. I showered. I just realized I haven't been in the hot tub yet since I got home! Weird! I'll amend that tomorrow. Dad came down from the garage and cleaned up. We got our seats in the theater right as the trailers started to roll. I'm excited for Green Hornet. Green Lantern, meh. Tron was good, but I think it could have had a little bit more grandness. The 3D effects were utilized well, but they could have shown more. The game and fight sequences were beautiful, but there were too few of them. It was a lot of CG sets and subtle things. It was good, but it wasn't the amazing oh my GOD thing that I was expecting. Still, I like it when movies utilize the medium of film, and Tron did that with our world not being in 3D and the Tron one being in 3D. I hope the technology sticks around.

Afterwards we went to Origami Sushi. Got a vegetable and shrimp platter with a caterpillar roll and a Philadelphia roll. mmm! Very good.

At home mom popped in Committed. It was cute. I started getting a headache and my stomach felt funky. Feeling better now that I've popped some advil and I have some tea.

I think Nathan comes over tomorrow. Christmas gets closer every day!

presents and presence

I was having a nightmare and thankfully my cellphone woke up me. Yay text messages! No one was around when I eventually got up. Made myself some cocoa and poured out some cheerios. Watched some stuff. Then I got to wrapping presents. Lots of presents. Yaay. Little things. Big things. With home made wrapping paper. Looks good under the tree. Dinner was pasta with white sauce and shrimp. Very delicious! Afterwards ma and I put our heads together and solved a crossword puzzle. That was nice. Ma went to bed. Dad snored. I stayed up but the special eclipse wasn't visible. Boo. Nice relaxing day. Really want to see Tron!!

flowers for julia

It is nice to head home. Set my alarm so that my clock would be started earlier in the day. Still took my sweet time getting up in the morning. Had a meager breakfast and some chicken tikka masala for lunch (courtesy of Trader Joe's frozen food isle). Did the dishes. Put away my laundry. Tidied up a smidge.

My suitcase was mostly filled with presents. I opted to pack light. A couple sweaters, five or so shirts, two pairs of pants. Normally I overpack. When I am going somewhere where there are left behind clothes for me to wear and a washer/dryer, I can pack lighter. It doesn't take me that long to pack. Though I still managed to forget my needle felting needles. Oh well. I have my crossword puzzle book at least! I only had my large purse (gift from Rubie) and back pack for carry on. Sweet. And Karen gave me a ride to the station.

Mark and Kristen got a larger fish tank. They are really into this fish thing. Fish, shrimp, a couple frogs.

It was starting to snow when Karen picked me up. More of a slush that wouldn't stick, but still it was coming from the sky. Got to the station. Hugged Karen. Got my ticket. Checked my bag. Sat down and worked on solving my crossword. Soon enough it was time to line up for seat assignments and before I knew it I had boarded. Got an aisle seat, but thats okay.

The person who sat next to me was a nice fellow named Alex. I complimented him on his Goorin Brothers hat and he said he worked there. We ended up talking for most of the ride. He helped me a little with my crossword (the first one I asked was about a Chicago radio guy, and Alex was from Chicago. What a quinky dink!). We chatted about art and writing and being positive. I drew him a picture of him holding flowers for him to give to his lady that he was meeting in Seattle. I worked on it slowly here and there. Building it up. I was quite happy with the final results. I hope his lady is as well. He paid me a piece of caramel for the drawing. I still pulled a piece off to share with him. It was so damn good. A perfect reward. I had a hot dog in the dining car.

It was a very nice ride, though a nap would have been nice. Made a new friend!

Ma was waiting for me. There wasn't a lot of people getting off at the stop and the luggage was brought out quick. We drove to SeaTac from Tacoma to pick up Dad at the airport. He flew in from Houston. There was a bit of a mixup. We were waiting by an escalator, and he was in the baggage claim. Neither were very far apart from one another. He just managed to go up a stair way that we were not watching. We drove the long way around, stopped for some drive through. It was rainy and then lightly snowy.

Yay! I'm home! Christmas is coming soon! Have to wrap my presents. But first. Sleep.

36 hours

Trying to figure out the right little sentences in my proposal is difficult. I'm almost there. I think I might drop out View on Color all together. It isn't very relevant anyway beyond "I like faces". Got my comic documentation in. It looks better but not great. Though I think I can settle for "not great". It's only a bit of the whole proposal. Need to draw some more artwork to go in the starter slides. That won't be too difficult. I'll probably do that before I go to sleep.

Tomorrow is a practice day. And a redo note cards day. And a finish abstract day. I'll go to school. Scan and color the new slide art. Put it into the slide show. Find 815F. Call Madeline. Write notecards. Practice. Practice. Go home. Practice some more. Decide my outfit/makeup for tomorrow. I will be wearing white boots and war paint (aka probably heavy black eye makeup, for impact).

Cut my bangs. Now my eyebrows are visible. Cut them a little bit high. But my hair grows fast.

Oh right, I started my day at home in Seabeck. They made Dutch Baby for breakfast, but I don't eat that. Had some bacon and a sandwich instead. Ma made the sandwich. It was good. It was warm! Warmer than 40! Hurrah! No hot tub. I just packed and Nathan drove me to the train station. We talked about Top Gear and TSA mostly.

Oh, there was also a bomb threat in Portland. CIA had it under control and the explosives were a dud. Still, jeeze.

We got to the station right as the train was pulling it. I got a seat to myself. Nice and empty train car. Watched the end of True Grit and Red Riding: In The Year of Our Lord 1978 (part of a trilogy, there is a 1980 and 1982 movie as well). Ride went fast. Thankfully, while dark, it wasn't raining. Hauled up Hoyt and then over to Johnson for the walk home. Passed a gorgeous yellow Rolls Royce. Got back at 6pm. Chilled for a bit (literally, I was quite sweaty from the walk).

Pulled up thesis stuff. Looked at it. Ate some macaroni cheese. Wrote some thesis stuff. Took out the View on Color influence, as it wasn't that great of an influence and I didn't have much to say about it. Right now my mind is in "this can be done tomorrow" mode. And I think I'll let it win. Just tomorrow has to be an early day.

As it is 3, I don't think I'll be able to get to drawing tonight. Tomorrow I'll have a small breakfast. Than I'll draw. Then I'll eat a scramble and call Madeline. Then I'll go to school and scan and edit. Get some note cards. Then practice! I should be all squared away, or nearly squared away.

I also need to take note of potential questions I could get asked. Will I get asked to explain the relevance of mantra? Why is this important? Hmm. Long stressful day tomorrow. And then OH MY GOD I PROPOSE!

I PROPOSE MY THESIS!

THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW!

getting tense, here it comes

Less than 72 hours till I've proposed. Eeek. I'm starting to feel the tension. Next two days will take a lot of work. Kurt sent me a good message about an artist to look into and that he likes my idea. Kurt is one of my panel members and a mainstay of the illustration faculty. Nice guy, he was part of the summer pre-college intensive program that I took part in in 2006.

Anyway, got up before noon! Whoo! Had a cinnamon roll and poached egg with melted cheese on toast. Yum!

Nathan and Ma returned, and we decided to go get a Christmas Tree from Kunie's! It probably took longer to get ready for the trip than it did to find the tree. It was about the fourth one we looked at, and it was quite good. Also, the day broke 40 degrees and it rained so nothing was icy and a lot of the snow was gone. Hurray!

The tree was perfectly in between lots of branches and space between branches for ornaments to hang. Dad sawed the bottom and I pulled on it so that the saw wouldn't pinch.

When we got back, we had a reprise turkey luncheon. As the typical modern family, we watched stuff on Youtube for a while. Then we started decorating the tree. Next year we need to get another strand of lights. Two is not enough. We crammed so many ornaments on. it is magnificent! Ma queued up Community for Nathan to watch. Great show.

After ornaments, we got in the hot tub! Whoo! Then we decided to catch the 9:25 showing of Harry Potter. But first: Bananagrams! A game. I won. Whoo!

It was probably one of the best Harry Potters. Great filming, great acting. I don't remember much of the book (besides the fact that the forest traveling was booooring) so it wasn't stale. The animated story telling bit was beautiful. It was good. I can't believe that after so many years and all the fandom, there is only one Harry Potter film left.

Late night drive home. I quickly documented my comic.

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention last night was that we were playing "I Spy With My Little Eye..." and Nathan said he spied something that began with H. Which ended up being "Hybrid". After 15 minutes of us guessing and Nate acting like we were fools, he remembered we were in the Contour. Not the Prius. There fore he did not spy a hybrid. Not at all.

Return to Portland tomorrow. Eeeek.

thankful for love

Just because I post at 11:35 pm, doesn't mean I go to bed exactly at that time. Just means I wanted to get on with my writing before I got to the queue of stuff to watch. Like Misfits, Terriers, and Never Mind the Buzzcocks.

Anyway. Stayed up watching the first half of True Grit. It is interesting how much just simple filming and shots have changed in films. Now we take our queues from scene set ups to understand the meaning of what is being depicted, instead of reading into a scene. The original True Grit isn't overbearingly shot and sound tracked, so it encourages less enthusiasm from the audience.

Slept in, as per usual. Ma and Pa did the cooking. I got up. Had some bacon and eggs. Then hot tubbed. It was a great morning (see: afternoon) to relax in a 103 degree tub of water. It was very brisk and there was still snow. Ahhh Seabeck.

Then we started hauling the food into the Ford Contour, and off we went. Picked up Rubie. It was a Mats Mats Thanksgiving. We supplied most of the meal, with Grandma and Grandpa providing pre-dinner snacks and drinks. Martinelli's galore!

Turkey was moist, the bread was warm, the salad had delicious avocado and shrimp, the broccoli couldn't decide if it wanted to be raw or cooked, and the gravy as delicious on the potatoes. I didn't have everything on the table, but I had enough for me. We didn't say what we were thankful for. But I'm thankful for my wonderful friends and supportive family. There is so much love, and I'm thankful for that.

I laid up on the couch while everyone else enjoyed berry pie (I don't like berry pie) and ice cream. I laid up some more and skipped out on being generally helpful. Watched the tail end of Goldeneye and the start of The World is Not Enough. I helped marginally to put stuff away and then we said our goodbyes.

It had started to warm up, so the roads were better. We dropped off Rubie. Went home. Snacked on stuff and watched Top Gear clips. Then ma and pa tucked in. And now I'm tucking in. But that doesn't mean I'm going to bed.

Don't know what we'll do tomorrow. Maybe get a Christmas tree. I have to practice my proposal. Finish up my slideshow. Work. Bleh. Don't like work. But in just a few very soon days, I'll be proposing. It is inevitable.

two wagons hitched to one horse

Got the space heater running at the bottom of the futon, got my laptop atop my lap, and the anticipation for the hot tub tomorrow is brewing. Ahhh it is good to be home, if only for a little bit.

Had some toast and propel for breakfast. Mmm. A reasonable start to the day. In class we looked at some animation shorts and stuff from previous classes. Ambitious but reasonable projects. Only about ten people were in, probably due to holiday travel and the weather.

I had lunch with Daniel and Heather at Barista. We gabbed. I bragged about my zine. I had steamed milk and a muffin. Afterwards I helped Dom a little bit with his crossword puzzle. It was more difficult this time around. The rest of class as a brief discussion of our projects and then we were free to go. So I did.

Went home. Ate some macaroni and cheese. Packed my bag. Went to Trader Joe's and got some snacks for the parents. Mark and Kristen gave me a ride to the train station, which was awesome as it continues to hover around freezing. The line in the station looped around itself. It took a while just to find the end, but find it I did! I sat next to a lady but we didn't talk. I grabbed a hot dog. Took a nap. Read my book. Got lost in thought. Then I was in Tacoma!

Ma and Pa were there with the truck, which had a few inches of snow in the bed. It was a relatively uneventful ride home. No black ice. No skidding. No snow. I talked about my thesis, but didn't go through the practice.

Since I have my big bed in Portland, I know have a little futon for when I return home. It isn't so bad. I'd rather have a big bed in Portland and a small bed here, than the other way around. Got the space heater cranked. It's quite cold. But can't complain. Tomorrow is turkey day!!