On Thursday, Dec. 17 I finished 544--the worst class ever--and packed my bags which still had clothes in them from when I moved back in August. Don't judge me. Then on Friday morning I flew away home to beautiful, frozen Utah. I seem to have brought the Pacific Northwest with me, however, because soon all the snow melted and it rained and the sky was gray. Festive.
On Saturday my family got up early for breakfast at the Sunshine Cafe which happened to be full, so we downgraded to Denny's instead. After scarfing down some grand slams, we made our way out to the Hale Centre Theatre for A Christmas Carol which was very well done and the stage effects were very nice. And in the end, Scrooge learned the true meaning of socialism, I mean Christmas.
Later that night, I went to Megan's wedding which was not at all themed like Joe Versus the Volcano, but Megan made a lovely bride anyway, and I got to see some high school friends. Then Eric (the groom) threw the garter to the only two bachelors in the room which included myself. Oh, Utah.
On Sunday I went to Apartment Christmas with my college friends (and some new ones that I didn't know) even though none of us really live in apartments anymore. Ellen made me an apron--tres chic--Val got me hot cocoa and wrote me the most beautiful note, Chris/Tina got me a gift card, and Matt and Dixy gave me stuff they got for free. We also went to Temple Square and sang carols and stuff like that.
On Tuesday it was the solstice which meant we could all go dance naked in the freezing cold or sing karaoke indoors where it's warm and there is alcohol, so we went with that plan. Elise and Justin B. sang beautifully, and then I sang "Fuck and Run" which did not go well since I do not have a beautiful singing voice to begin with and am tone deaf too. But I was drunk so I didn't even care. Yay, Solstice.
On Wednesday, Ellen and I watched Love Actually, as is we are wont, with Justin A. and Daniel. O Love Actually, you have so many plot lines, quite a few plot holes, and we love you dearly.
I got sick the next morning with a minor cold. Bah humbug!
Then one day it was Christmas morning, and even though my brother and sister got up at seven as per family tradition, I slept in a whole extra hour. And I made out like a freakin' bandit. I already wrote a love letter to my Roku player. I am very pleased with The New Best Recipe cookbook even though it is sometimes very judgmental. I got a Nancy Pearl action figure with amazing shushing action! which I used on my family. I got an external hard-drive so I won't cry if my computer dies and all my songs are gone (also to back up important school files), an Edith Piaf collection, a new watch, lots of gift cards, and more. My sister and brother-in-law came later and gave me a risotto cookbook and risotto rice which they bought on the Internet since apparently Logan grocers do not stock arborio. I barely managed to shove all my loot in my suitcases.
My family also got a Blu-Ray player and lots of Blu-Ray movies, and I have to say I wasn't super impressed. It was nice and all, but it didn't blow my mind.
On Sunday the extended famdamily showed up which made our house very crowded. And we ate a huge feast and then exchanged more presents. Goodness gracious.
The next day, Elise hosted her Festivus party which was low-key and charming, and everyone got obsessed with the fake snow--like the stuff they use in movies. Elise also made super delicious party food.
Sometime during the week when I wasn't busy reading The Passage or The House of Mirth or watching Battlestar Galactica, the family went out to eat at The Mandarin--best Chinese restaurant in Utah! Yum. And on Wednesday I went to Village Inn with Jessica which also happened to be free pie day, so that was awesome. and I drank coffee for the first time in over a week, and my heart went pitter-patter.
Friday was New Year's Eve--at which point the freezing weather had returned with a vengeance--and I went downtown to the Broadway sing-along with Elise and Justin A. and then we got dinner at Applebee's. I left them to join Elise in her kitchen sink with a couple of bottles of Cava that I bought at my beloved SLC wine store, and we rang in 2011. This is us.
Now Megan has hosted New Year's for the last eight(?) year, but now she's all married and currently in Texas, so . . . yeah. She stole New Year's, like the Grinch, with the lemon water and the Little Smokies, and we just had to make do somehow with the broken pieces of our shattered lives.
On Saturday, I went to Barnes & Noble with Kristen P. We browsed and talked and caught up on life and school and wedding plans (hers, not mine), so that was lovely.
Then it was Sunday, and after a lovely home-cooked dinner, and a round of billiards, I was hurtling back to Seattle on a jet plane--after it was severely delayed. And Heidi, who went to bed at 7 on New Year's Eve--because she is already an old person--picked me up at 11 at night which was way past her bedtime. Once I got home, I unpacked my bags, and that was that.
Greg.
ReplyDeleteTwo things. 1) Thank you for being a good sport and standing there for the garter. Really, I do have single friends still - girls and guys, not just 3 of my bridesmaids . . . they just all split before the garter and bouquet tosses. Sigh. I looked around the room and went, "Do we have to do this?" Anyway. You're a champ. And I'm sorry.
2) I, too, very much missed New Year's Eve. If we wouldn't have had a four-day drive, I would have stuck around for it. Although spending it with Eric's brother and sister-in-law was lovely, there was no lemon water, there were no little smokies, and we didn't bang pots and pans together at midnight or listen to "New Year's Day." (We did, however, eat steak and chocolate fondue, and Kristi did provide us with poppers and those little blower things, which we fought with. So . . . it could have been worse.) Anyway. I missed you terribly. Although I would like to point out that Jeff wasn't there to bring Jello or yams, and Dain wasn't there to make a playlist, and Thomas wasn't there to awkwardly sit on someone's lap during Truth or Dare Jenga. You can't pin this all on me!!
That is all. Mwah.