How I Spent My President’s Day Weekend

Day 1 – Friday
No, this day doesn’t really count as part of the holiday weekend, but I took it off anyway, hoping for some plans that didn’t pan out – either way, knowing I had Monday off as well, figured I’d take advantage. Friday was a waste of a day – I spent the whole day sick on the couch. TGF reruns of The OC and 90210 on SOAPnet. That’s all I’m going to say about Friday.

Day 2 – Saturday
My dad is a certified wine-o courtesy of St. Paul College. By day, he’s IT department whiz at NWA’s computer helpdesk. By night, a part-time know-it-all wine-seller at The Cellars in Woodbury. This particular week he was giving a seminar at the store and asked me to be the “lovely assistant wine pourer” (his words, not mine). The “wine education” was a battle royale between West Coast wines. We pitted Washington-Oregon against Califoria to see whose grape was top notch. I don’t remember who won. I just know that I got two good bottles of wine out of the deal!

Two hours of wine pouring (aka tasting) was followed by dinner and some father-daughter bonding and shrimp n’ steak cooking, then a nap, then out with pals to The Independent in Uptown for a small birthday shindig. As was discussed with dear friend Mr. Brown, The Independent is one of the BEST people-watching spots in the Cities. All walks of life. All kinds of attitudes. We pinned stories on innocent passersby as they passed by.

Day 3 – Sunday
I will not bore you with the productivity that was my Sunday, but it was. Oh, and Si was in town and cut/colored my hair for me (I’m an addict). And I did advance my “practice” as my yogi calls it in an early Sunday morning yoga adventure. I’m so hooked. Good thing too, because now I’m paying for it… Anyway, highlight of the day – Fuji Ya’s Sunday night happy hour – Bangalang and I got two tempura rolls, I got my usual hamatchi (yellow tail), we split some gyoza (potstickers), and a bottle of chardonnay. Next time, I’m sticking with sake. 1/2 priced bottles of wine aren’t a bad deal, but sushi+sake=way more fun. Oooh… I have sake at home… and chambord… OOH! Purple haze! Purple haze!

Anyway, then we spied our sushi bar-sharing neighbors to the right, a couple of tie-dye-wearing, stringy-hair-sporting, talkin-like-they’re-trippin hippies, as they were served a pineapple roll and strawberries all drizzled in some sort of sauce and chocolate. So, the Fuji Ya Happy Hour virgins that we were, we asked the sushi chef what kinds of desserts they have. Turns out that comes with the sushi bar! Deliciousness.

Day 4 – Today/Monday/Pres Day
That brings us to today… I’d vowed *not* to go into the office today, but I made the mistake of checking my email from home this morning and letting that stress me out, so I did. 4+ hours should mean an extra vacay day though for coming in on a holiday, so that’s at least worth it. Back in the STP, Erna and I FINALLY signed our lease (though we’ve been living here since December 1… well, technically Nov 1 for me, but the subleasing doesn’t count…), and now Roxy owes me $150.

Meow.

‘Bama or Bust

Well, we made it to the dirty dirty without any trouble. My dad works for Northwest, so while I am too old and quote-unquote independent to fly free like he and mom do, I fly on a cheaper companion pass and we all fly standby. Try THAT on Christmas Day the year they reduce the number of flights in general. The flight this morning was supposedly oversold, but we still managed to not only get on, but to sit up front. That was always the perk about dealing with not knowing whether or not we’d actually get ON the flight – knowing that there was always a little chance of sitting in first class.

And I hate take-off. HATE it. Something about the initial force of power or height or something, but my whole body just kind of silently freaks out. So what if it’s 7 in the morning? I’m sitting in first class, stomach in knots, dressed UP (because we are “representing the airline” or something) so dammit, I’m having a drink. And I did. I thought about a bloody mary, but vodka seemed fairly intense for barely being 7AM – even for me. I opted for Bailey’s and coffee instead.

I don’t know if it was the alcohol or just the coincidence that we “reached a final cruising altitude of 39,000 feet” at the same time I finished my coffee, but 25 minutes or so after take-off, I’d finally calmed down enough to read my book. *see next entry for my totally unqualified and abbreviated review of Chuck Klosterman’s Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs.

So I read and we flew, and eventually we ended up in Memphis. We switched planes, and headed to Mobile, which is where we are now and have been lounging for the past few hours.

I brought books, magazines, and my laptop. I’m planning to read, read, write a little, dig up trashy celebrity gossip, and watch whatever the rest of the family is watching on whatever TV is in the room. Right now, it’s something on PBS about the Vanderbilt hunting lodge (aka MANSION) in North Carolina. Before this, it was Alton Brown’s “Good Eats” (about sushi!) and then Marc “I’ll-Take-the-Physical-Challenge” Summers’ “Unwrapped.” *more on this later – I totally found my dream job.

So, Day 1/Travel Day of Vacation has been a success in that I really haven’t accomplished much except finishing one book and starting another – My Point… and I Do Have One, Ellen DeGeneres’ 1995 book that was updated (or something?) and re-released last October.

My goal is to finish that and start The Audacity of Hope by lunchtime tomorrow.

Merry Christmas!

I’m such a schmuck

… for this whole holiday thing. I am; I can’t help it. I’m one of those people that gets caught up in the romance and magic that started last night (Thanksgiving Eve) and extends through New Year’s. It’s my favorite time of year.

I was SO excited this morning to see that on this first day of holiday time, it was snowing! And not just kind of. It was snowing giant snowflakes, some stuck, some melted, but either way, it was a perfect way to wake up on Thanksgiving morning.

By the time we finished dinner with the future in-laws (my sister’s boyfriend’s family… relax), it was right around 5pm and there was a light white dusting on the grass and the sun had just come out. It was beautiful. By the time we left, the stars were out and it was cold enough to see your breath, but not so cold your scalp hurt (that’s the worst).

From this point forward, I get totally wrapped up in the snow, the Christmas music, the red, white, green, silver, gold, blue lights and sparkles. I love the cooking and holiday specials on the Food Network, love the Christmas movies on TV. I LOVE Christmas Eve. I love how calm and quiet it is outside in the snowy moonlight, and how boisterous and cheerful it is inside with friends, family, music, stories, kids. I love my family’s traditions – we don’t have many, but what we do have is special.

Our longest-standing tradition occurs on Christmas Eve. After dinner, when we’re all in and settled for the night, we get to open ONE present. The catch is – it’s always pajamas. Always. Sometimese mom picks them out; sometimes we pick out our own. But it’s always pajamas.

New Year’s is probably my favorite holiday. I love being with friends, I LOVE champagne and I absolutely love the magic and romance of the countdown, the promise of a new year and new beginning, the hugs, the kisses, the fireworks.

This is my favorite time of year. And it officially started today.