Emily. Shock and Awe.

Phil. Just Like In the Movies.

Wendy. Ski Bum and Adventuress.

Rachel. Dancing Queen.

Julie. The Littlest Elf.

Chris. There Ain't No Party Like a Marching Band Party.

Cyn. Just a Pink Haired Girl.

 

Christmas Update 2003

Our Christmas was an action packed 4 days in San Diego with 25 members of my extended family including but not limited to Andy, Rick, my mom and 2 of her 4 siblings, my cousin Emily and her kids (one of whom is 4 months old and carried around in one of those hippy baby slings), my Grandma and Grandpa (aka The Scrabble Master), my rebel cousin Tom and his Asian girlfriend with whom he is living in sin, Tom's girlfriend's ruthlessly spoiled French bull dog named "Buffy," the recently married 22-year-old cousin and his wife and, making her first appearance at a family gathering in at least the last decade, my cousin Monica (and her fake, fake boobies) plus Monica's husband and 1 year old daughter.

We cooked, we sang Christmas carols, we went to a crazy nondenominational Christian service at 4:30pm on Christmas eve, we played Taboo after some of us had had a few too many cocktails, we challenged Monica and Grandpa to Scrabble and Eben beat us all in the second round, we passed the phone around when absent relatives called to say hello, Eben and I gracefully skirted the issue of unemployment and we bowed our heads while everyone else was praying, we ate several delicious mostly vegetarian meals and the EbenJulies added a new state to their list (if you know what I mean). The hotel where we stayed had a stinky bathroom and Mr. Funk was typically Funktastic (especially when it was his turn in Taboo, what with the stutter and all), but I have to say we had a pretty rockin' xmas. Best of all, Eben was liked and excepted by everyone in the fam, despite his being Jewish and from New York.

Now my brother is here to stay with us...I'll let you know how that goes.

posted by Julie Comments [] 9:53 PM

Saturday, December 27, 2003

 

Hey, so I finished my first semester of teaching without any significant catastrophes, I had a nice Christmas, & everything is going pretty well. I would like to present a couple of entertaining items as a sort of end-of-year roundup. This first one occured about a week ago when I was waiting in the lobby area of some dorms on the MD campus. I was visiting some friends & had to go down there to let Andy in, for reasons too complicated to explain here. I had been there for a while & a guy I know, a certain Andrew, showed up to go hang out with the same people.

Emily: I've been loitering down here for a while. It looks creepy. People are going to think I'm a date rapist.
Andrew: Well, somehow I doubt that.
Emily: Don't be too sure. Women can rape too, you know!
Andrew: {Boarding elevator} That's true, but how often does that happen? They can, but how often do they?
Emily: Well, I mean, you tell me. I mean, I could offer you a sip of this drink {brandishes gin & tonic}. Looks like a perfectly ordinary drink? Could be full of roofies. Or, you could become too intoxicated to give legal consent! {Elevator doors close}

Also, in honor of the conversation I had with Cyn last night, I would like to present the following commentary on the stupidest lyrics from the new Belle & Sebastian album:

-- "I took down all she said/ I even took down her little red dress." (from "Step Into my Office, Baby")
Well, these idiotic double entendres are beneath Belle & Sebastian. Also, their presence leads me to suspect the further presence of smutty intentions in lines such as "I'm pushing for a raise/ Been pushing now for days." What does that mean? Stuart, that is unsavoury.
-- "If you're going off to war then I wish you well
But don't be sore
If I cheer the other team
Killing people's not my scene
I prefer to give the inhabitants a say
Before you blow their town away
I like to watch them play
I like to marvel at the random beauty of a simple village girl." (From "If You Find Yourself Caught in Love")

WAIT WHAT? Is this supposed to be about the Iraq war? The rest of the song isn't about the Iraq war; it is about love. Also, way to exoticize the "simple" people of other cultures, who apparently spend all their time in childlike play.

-- "I'm waiting for you to get out of your situation/ With your job and with your life." (From "Asleep on a Sunbeam")

Stupidest one of all. This might be a good thing to say if you needed to tell somebody you are waiting for them to get out of their situation with their job & with their life, but it should not be forced to serve as the lyrics of a song, any kind of song. It doesn't belong in a poem, either, unless you are writing some kind of anti-art poem with purposely clunky phrasing.

posted by Emily Comments [] 2:26 PM

Sunday, December 21, 2003

 

I've finished my first knitting project and I am very proud:

posted by Julie Comments [] 4:34 PM

Monday, December 15, 2003

 

I ran into an Obertone while knitting at the bar tonight.

posted by Cyn Comments [] 11:39 PM

 

Remember last Obie X-mas, how I was all mopey for the first day or so because Chris dumped my ass.

He called looking for a place to stay, since he's moving back to Philly.

posted by Phil Comments [] 10:39 PM

Monday, December 08, 2003

 

i had quite an eventful week. most exciting was the tire drama. tire drama is what happens when your tire EXPLODES while travelling down a dangerous mountain road, and you careen wildly into the oncoming traffic and then towards a cliff. luckily, due to mad driving skills i avoided both crashing and certain death. however i did have to walk 2 miles in the rain/snow because the jackwads out here in california don't stop to help you shen you have a problem. for any jackwad california drivers reading this i'd like to say "SOME OF US DON'T OWN CELL PHONES ASS HOLES!"

the good news is, i wisely complained to my mechanic about the magical exploding tire, and got nearly free snow tires out of the deal. now, studded snow tires are so unbelievably terrifying yet cool. they have big jagged bits of metal sticking out of the treads, so it sounds and feels like you're driving a giant space vehicle when really it's just a volkswagen. anyhow, these tires fill me with a strange desire to drive up big snowbanks.

i also went to several interesting parties associated with my new job as a ski instructor. i played cranium while very stoned. (cranium is the best stoner game ever, especially when there's hummus dip). for the first time in my life i witnessed people doing keg stands on a tuesday night. then again on a wednesday night. on wednesday the 3rd keg was gone but i managed to score the last beer at the party by chatting up some random guy who was sitting on a case of high life. it was pleasant enough until chris showed up and i introduced him as my boyfriend. random guy said the following: "this is your boyfriend? YOU JUST DRANK MY BEER!"
i said, "oh shit, i drank your hook-up beer!" and then ran. really hoping i don't see him at work this work.

posted by Wendolyn Comments [] 10:44 PM

 

SOY MARGARINE? You weiner. I considered going to see "Uncovered" this weekend, but then I was like, Oh wait, that's not going to happen. Instead, what I did yesterday was, I went to a tacky store with my friend Emily & bought tacky Virgin Mary paraphenalia, & considered buying a bag of plastic fruit, but then said to myself "No! I do not need this plastic fruit! I need my big fruit bowl to store real fruit in!" Then we went to see "The Royal Tenenbaums" at our local independant movie theatre. We got there totally late, but as it turned out, we were so late that they let us in free. Brilliant planning!

Tonight I went to see Rocket from the Tombs. A few nights ago I had the following conversation about it with a friend of mine:

Emily: Are you going to see Rocket from the Tombs on Sunday?
Person X: Actually yes, I am. Do you think it'll sell out?
Emily: Well, I dunno.
X: I was thinking of buying a ticket in advance, but I hate buying tickets in advance.
Emily: It probably won't sell out. If you show up early you'll be fine.
X: I hate showing up early. That's the other thing. I hate watching opening bands. So I'm screwed no matter what I do.
Emily: The Man Who Hated Everything!

Then I told Andy about it:

Emily: {Tells Andy about conversation}
Andy: Why wouldn't he stop whining?
Emily: Well, that's not really what he does.

It was an awesome show. Not only did I get to shake hands with David Thomas, but I bought this boss t-shirt that totally matches the purple eyeshadow I got at Sephora. What a satisfactory weekend.

posted by Emily Comments [] 12:58 AM

Sunday, December 07, 2003

 

Saturday Night

Eben and I went to a MoveOn.Org party where people were showing the new documentary "Uncovered: The Real Truth about the War in Iraq" but I think you all know the real truth about the war. I just wanted to share my recipe for vegan cookies, which was a total hit with everyone at the party:

mix together 1 3/4-2 cups flour, 2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt and set aside
in a separate bowl, mix 1cup soy margarine, 3/4cup brown sugar, 3/4cup maple syrup and 3-4 generous spoonfuls of unsweetened applesauce, 1tsp vanilla, a dash of cinnamon
also add any of the following: raisons, semi-sweet chocolate chips, nuts (if you like that sort of thing)

All I have to say is thank you, OSCA for making me believe in vegan baking!

posted by Julie Comments [] 12:53 AM

 

Friday Night

Eben and I decided to go out. We took our newly purchased bottle of Dr. McGillicutty's and went to see A Nightmare Before Christmas, which was playing at our local independent movie theater. We got there really early so we went to have some coffee and listen to music at the place down the street. It was here that we picked up the free times and saw that Steven Malkmus and The Jicks were playing nearby in one hour. We had already bought our tickets for Nightmare Before Xmas, but I really wanted to go see Steven anyway. Eben doesn't know much of Steven or his music and was hesitant about forgoing the movie for the Jicks show. Thus I found myself in one of those classic relationship binds: do I A) go to the show alone, even though Eben and I had planned to do something fun together B) convince Eben to go to the show even though he probably wouldn't have a very good time or C) go see the movie and try to forget all about the Jicks show. Well, none of these options seemed appealing so I got irritable and pouty and decided I needed to leave the coffee shop because it was too hot. Once outside, I still felt hemmed in by my unappealing options for the night. It was then that I took the bottle of Dr. McGillicutty's out of my bag and smashed it on the sidewalk. As it turns out, smashing a full bottle of vanilla schnapps on a public sidewalk can do a lot to cure a foul mood. After that, Eben and I went to the bar for long island iced teas before thoroughly enjoying A Nightmare Before Christmas. The fact that I was missing Steven Malkmus just didn't seem to matter anymore.

posted by Julie Comments [] 12:47 AM

Monday, December 01, 2003

 

I didn't do all that much this weekend, but one thing I did do is see "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938), starring Errol Flynn, at the fancy theatre near my house. Best movie ever. I recommend it to everyone. While I was there I stopped by the Payless Shoes in the ghetto mall down the street. You remember that pair of tan high-heeled shoes of Dani's that I was always being jealous of & trying to borrow? I found a pair of those -- for $9! It's a great time to be alive.

Unrelatedly, I'd like to bring up the question of whether we might do some sort of "Obie Christmas" this year, either by traditional (convening) or non-traditional means. Would people be interested in sending presents to those they're not able to convene with? Suggestions?

posted by Emily Comments [] 10:58 PM

 

you are mediumvioletred #C71585

Your dominant hues are red and blue. You're confident and like showing people new ideas. You play well with others and can be very influential if you want to be. Your saturation level is very high - you are all about getting things done. The world may think you work too hard but you have a lot to show for it, and it keeps you going. You shouldn't be afraid to lead people, because if you're doing it, it'll be done right. Your outlook on life is brighter than most people's. You like the idea of influencing things for the better and find hope in situations where others might give up. You're not exactly a bouncy sunshine but things in your world generally look up.

the spacefem.com html color quiz

My html color is also my hair color!

posted by Cyn Comments [] 4:02 PM