How I Spent my Holidays, 2006

Christmas Eve Eve (Dec 23rd):

JP and I tried a new brunch place that is in uptown, Tweet. This place is awesome. I had a massive breakfast burrito that was super fresh, a cup of fruit, some coffee cake, and sides all for 7 dollars. It was insane, and tons of food. JP's sandwich was massive. We then wandered around uptown, as it is very rare I'm in that area. We went into this vietnamese supermarket and looked around. I considered buying some bun/vermicelli but knew I'd never actually cook it.

When I got home I took Audrey out. As we re-entered the apartment my nosy neighbor's husband/boyfriend/partner/roommate let out their two big dogs OFF LEASH. The two dogs immediately attacked Audrey in our cramped hallway. Audrey was terrified, and when it was all over she was covered in dog drool. I checked her all over, and found no blood. Audrey was really shaken up, and I had a minor fight with my neighbors over it. Bah Humbug to them.

So I spent the rest of the day cuddling Audrey to make her feel better, and watching Herzog's Heart of Glass which I really did not like. I think I liked a few scenes, the ending in particular, but I had a ton of difficulty deciphering the film and staying awake during it. I understand that Herzog had the actors hypnotized for their scenes, so they'd act more insane. That is interesting, but doesn't make up for the rest of the film. I'm disappointed.

Christmas Eve:

I slept a lot this day. Woke up to my mom calling me to say Merry Christmas and tell me about her husband's gout. Ew. I made sausage and blueberry muffins, 2/3rds of my family's regular "special" breakfast. Then I napped until I met up with JP and the Fasts to play scrabble. I left them to go to midnight mass. Yup, I decided to go to St Hedwig's for midnight mass. I got there at 11:30 for the choir performance, which included an orchestra. The mass itself was 90 minutes. Ugh, long. I forgot most of the procedure, the sitting down, standing up, kneeling, praying at the right times, the call and response. I didn't have any religious revelations either - still a nonbeliever. However the church was gorgeous, and it was nice to be in a quiet place. The priest was much more livelier than my priests as a child. One really cool part was that when you came in and sat down, the church was nearly pitch black. Only some candles were lit. Then as the priest and the other people walked in with the cross and bible and went to the alter, they slowly turned on all the lights in the house. It was really intense and beautiful to see this historic church in full light.

Christmas Day:

I woke up and called my mom, so that I could open my gifts over the phone. Talked to my brothers for a minute, and also called my dad and his wife. Then I was alone. I made an egg/cheddar/monterey jack/sausage scramble for breakfast. I tried to make an omelet but failed miserably, hence the scramble. I've spent the rest of Christmas Day smiling at all the text messages people sent me wishing me a good day, and watching Battlestar Galactica.

Yeah, no family interaction, minimal friend interaction. First Christmas single in four years, so it seems fitting I'm here all alone right now. It doesn't upset me much, and tomorrow people will return, and my life will resume its normal fast pace.