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Christmas Decompression

I'm one of those people who likes Christmas, as long as it's contained in the appropriate time frame. What I mean is, I hate when Christmas gets cheapened by department stores putting up displays and gifts after (or even before) Halloween. I'm a "one holiday at a time" kind of girl-- that way, I can stay focused. Or something like that.

I listened to Christmas music almost all day, every day when one of the stations dropped its normal soft rock rotation for a 24/7 holiday blitz. I came to realize that I really dislike The Little Drummer Boy and that I really like the classic version of Here Comes Santa Claus. I also came to realize that there are too many of us who believe that Christmas is ruined if a gift is out of stock or doesn't arrive in time.

I'm not sure if I ever felt dependent on a must-have gift on my Christmas list. I have many "would absolutely love you forever if you got this for me" items, don't get me wrong, and maybe it's just part of being grown-up, but I'd much rather spend time baking or eating food or playing cards or going on sleigh rides.

And even though I love getting in the Christmas spirit, I wasn't bummed that my parents' house wasn't bursting at the seams with decorations. My mom apologized to me at one point, and I told her that it meant much more just to be home for the holiday. She also apologized for us not having that many presents, but it's hard to get sheer volume under the tree when several things are true: 1. It's only my mom, dad, and me in our household, and 2. Our wishlists are fairly concise (and sometimes boring).

Anyway, I suppose what I'm trying to say is, yeah, toys are great, but time with family and friends make my holidays now. I spent a full day with my parents and our family friends, then spent the day after Christmas with my boyfriend and his family. His family usually celebrates Christmas near my hometown, which works out quite nicely.

Cameron took me on a sleigh ride while I was up in Leavenworth, and that was great. We glided across the snowy (yes, even though it was icy, old snow, it still counts) ground, with bells jingling on the horses and afternoon sunshine peeking over the mountains. I'd say it was picturesque, but more so than that, it was a very eastern Washington winter day.

Even more awesome: there were several cute dogs running around at the sleigh riding place, and I got to pet all of them. Yes, that's a highlight. Oh, and the hot cider. That was tasty, too.

But all good things come to an end. My bus ride home was miserable. The heat was on too high, and everyone around me smelled awful-- bad breath, unshowered, whatever it was, it was enough to give me a headache. It's enough to make me never want to travel during peak times again.

I also learned that you should always listen to your mother. Once I told her I was safe back in Seattle, she told me to get some rest. I instead decided to wash the dishes. Well, that ended poorly-- I broke another glass (third one in a week) and cut my arm on a shard. It was deep enough for me to call Cameron and ask him, "So... at what point does a person need to get stitches?" It wasn't bad enough for that, but it's probably the worst cut I've had in recent memory.

To top it off, all I wanted to do tonight was watch Up (thanks, Cammie, for the DVD) and drink hot cocoa. I saved enough milk for cereal tomorrow and poured a bunch into a mug. As my clumsiness would have it, I knocked over the mug when I got it out of the microwave. I spent the next while cleaning up the table (and floor) and microwave, and then I decided I was going to give up for now.

So, here I am. Decompressing from the holiday cheer and the bummer of a day today was. At least this coming week is a short one for me-- one of my best friends is getting married, and I'm a bridesmaid. It will be my first time as a bridesmaid since I was in 8th grade.

For now, take it easy. I'm off to hopefully not destroy everything I touch.

Cold & Flu Season 2009

Let me make it clear that when I'm sick, I can't tell if I'm hungry or full or anything.

I also realized that Chinese food is my chicken noodle soup. Every time I get a cold, I get Chinese take-out. It seems to help. Oh, Mongolian beef and fried rice, you are too good to me.

Lessons from Wednesday

I learned a few more lessons today.

First, I am not above throwing a tantrum when something goes wrong. Let me explain.

The other day, the hot water went out in our kitchen sink. There was no hot water pressure at all. The hot water in the bathroom, however, was unaffected, so it was more of an inconvenience than anything else. When I got home from work, though, the hot water pressure suddenly came back on-- and then the water started running reddish-brown. Yuck.

So, the next day, I got a hold of our landlord. He went over to our apartment and seemingly fixed the problem. The rest of the night, we had hot water in the kitchen.

This morning, the hot water pressure was off again. But when I got back to the apartment after work, the sink was running and the water was running warm.

Hooray!I thought to myself. Our landlord followed up on the problem!


I decided I would get a glass of water, make dinner, and maybe do the dishes. So, I turned the sink on all the way, got my glass of water, and shut off the sink.

But the water was still running at full blast.

No matter which position the handle was in, the water was at full pressure, and it was either hot or warm. Great.

Called our landlord. Left a message. Freaked out. Stomped around, and even jumped up and down several times, whining, "Whyyyyy are you doing this?!"

Called Roto-Rooter. They're completely booked because all the pipes are freezing in western Washington. Stomp stomp stomp. Whine whine whine.

Tried the emergency valve under the sink. It was stuck. Called our landlord again. No answer. Freak out more.

I finally got the valve to turn, after maybe 10 minutes of nearly ripping my hand apart. Even now, the water's still running about half power. (Or whatever you want to call it.)

The only reason I believe I didn't start crying with panic was because I bawled on the way home from shopping, listening to the stupid Christmas music station. They played a really great song, about a girl named Maria and a bird with a broken wing, okay?

Okay, so I throw tantrums and cry during random Christmas songs.

What else did I learn today?

I learned that I am much more of a methodical shopper than I was even a few months ago. Even with a list of what I wanted to get my friends and family, I still spent a great deal of time evaluating each choice.

I started out at Barnes & Noble, and I honestly could buy thousands and thousands of dollars worth of stuff from there. There was a book on how to tie knots, mini penguin bowling sets, a book about Filipinos in the Puget Sound region, classics on sale, and tons of new fiction. I wasn't shopping for myself, though, so that ruled out most of those items. Instead, I thought about what kind of present I could get for my dad, my godson, and several friends. I came away with some quality items, but that was only after I picked up a bunch of different things, walked around with them, then decided they weren't right for the recipients.

I spent about 30 minutes in a store as big as my living room. It was the shop where I had planned on buying cute and funny gifts for several of my friends. But there was nothing in the shop that meant anything. Sure, the items would be cute and funny for a few days, but then they would probably end up on a shelf or in a closet somewhere, taking up space. That's not how my friendship should be represented, right? I came away with nothing during that round.

Taking just those two situations into account, I can tell I've grown in some ways. I'm trying to unclutter my own life while making sure I don't clutter others' with plain old stuff. I want whatever I give my friends and family to be meaningful.

And you know what?

I think it's entirely possible this year.

Checklist

One more grad school app submitted. Or, 1/2 of a grad school app submitted: the part they make you pay $$$ for. $85, to be exact. Yikes.

We'll see how the rest of this application blitz goes.

For now, I've got to get to bed. Goodnight!

Be Gone, Twenty-Three!

Today, December 3, is my 24th birthday. With that, I say good riddance to being 23.

Here's to hoping that 24 is full of adventure and personal growth!

Relevant to My Interests

I worked all day today. Got up early and caught the ferry. I mean, I got up at 4AM early to make sure I beat any and all ferry lines. Lucky for me, there were maybe 10 vehicles on the ferry that left shortly after 5AM. I guess I was successful, but after reaching Mukilteo, I had to find a way to keep myself occupied for an hour and a half while it was still dark out. I settled on coffee at Starbucks.

I'm leaving soon and going back to Whidbey for the weekend. I love hanging out on that island.