Day 3: Your parents, in great detail

My parents are really great people.  I have almost always appreciated them for the great people that they are!

My mom is the second of nine children.  You may know her as Helene who comments on my blog.   She is tone deaf and says she's bad at languages.  She does "speak" ASL fluently, though, which I think is really neat.  Something I really admire about her is how fearless she is at speaking her mind.  When I was younger, I didn't love this trait as much, since she "embarrassed" me in front of my friends a lot.  But now, I just hope that I can be the same way some day.  My mom loves reading, and she passed it on to me.  For Christmas for the past few years, I have given her a book that I really loved.  Sometimes she will also love the book (Doomsday Book), and sometimes she will not (Pillars of the Earth).  But either way we can usually have a long talk about it!  She is also my travel buddy.  So far, she has come to visit me in Spain and France when I lived there, and she paid for Jube and I to meet her in Norway.  We have also gone to Guatemala and Russia together.  On our Russia trip (which was a cruise, by the way), everyone kept commenting about how great it was to see a mother and daughter who got along so well.

My dad is a music teacher who plays the piano and sings.  Because of him I have loved music all of my life.  He is a born storyteller, like most of his family.  He tells us stories about his past (like the time he played "mutiny on the Bounty" on Easter Sunday with his Jewish friend, who wanted to be called Fletcher Jew instead of Fletcher Christian); on camping trips, he tells us made-up stories based on trucker songs or flatulence.  He also loves car racing, but is kind of a snob about it.  He really likes open-wheel road racing, although he makes an exception for the Indy 500 of course.  With Dad, my brother and I watched almost all of Jackie Chan's oeuvre; with my Dad, we learned about comedy classics like Blazing Saddles and Spinal Tap, along with some more serious ones like Harold and Maude and Dr. Strangelove.  So my dad made me into a woman who knows more about F-1 than the average American, who can recognize Saint-Saens's "Carnival of the Animals" in part because of the movie Herbie Rides Again, and who is almost always ready to launch into a long and complicated joke at the smallest encouragement. 

My parents divorced when I was 2 years old, so I can't remember a time when we all lived together.  My mom remarried when I was 6.  My stepfather is the first of ten children.  It is because of him that I grew up in Ohio - before the age of 7 we lived in the DC area.  It is because of him that I was baptized and confirmed as a Catholic.  It is because of him that I learned how to hold a knife and a fork properly, and what not to order on a business lunch (nothing smelly like garlic, no finger food like French fries, and nothing potentially messy like pasta with sauce).  Our relationship has always been contentious, but it has grown into a loving and respectful bond.  We share parts of our senses of humor, and I am very happy to have him in my life.

Day 2: Your first love, in great detail

Jube is my first true love, but I can tell you about my first true crush. 

In high school, I was the "Queen Nerd" (according to my brothers).  I was in marching band and In the Know, pep band and all of the school musicals.  I had a great time in high school, actually!  In my senior year, I was the drum major of the marching band, and one of the trumpet players caught my eye.  His name was Randi*, and for some reason, I really liked him.  We went out almost every Friday between the end of school and the beginning of the football game, and we went on a couple of dates.

I created handmade cards for him, colored with crayons.  I was grounded for the first and only time of my life for spending too long at his house after one of our Saturdays out.  For Christmas, he gave me a snow globe that played "Memories" from Cats. 

We never kissed or held hands.

The summer between my senior year and starting college, I wrote him a letter explaining that I had once had a crush on him.  He could have had a girlfriend, but he blew it!  I used the word "dearth" in the letter, and in a moment of passive aggression I included a vocabulary flashcard with the word's definition on it.  I am still very ashamed that I actually mailed him the letter.

The summer after his senior year, a boy in my high school died in a car accident.  He was supposed to be Randi's roommate in college afterward.  I hadn't thought of either of those boys since I had mailed the letter (I met Jube during that first year at college). 

Since then, I have thought of Randi once or twice.  I didn't know much about him then, and I know less now.  But maybe that's the way of all of our first crushes.

*The name has been changed, since I use pseudonyms on the blog.  But believe me, this was a teenage boy whose name ended in "i."

Day One: Introduce Yourself

I am going to do this 30 Days of Posts thing.  It is supposed to happen during a month with 30 days, and you do a daily post.  But I'm going to do it as it comes to me, which I think is better.  They are writing prompts, and mostly all about me.  Sorry about that.

I am anonymous on my blog.  I call myself "Gem," which is not really similar to my name, but which is short and easy to remember.  Introductions are always strange.  What do you tell people about yourself?  What does that say about you? 

I guess I will do more of a "blog personality" introduction.  This blog is really focused on my life in France.  Although I haven't lived there since 2006, it is still a very important part of my life.  I am now a French citizen, and it forms a big part of my identity.  I speak French with a southern accent, which helps disguise any grammatical errors I might make. 

I am a professional administrator. I keep my work life very separate from my blog, which is, I think, a huge part of why I haven't posted much since starting my career.  I love my job, but I don't feel like I can talk about it here.  It's in a field that is always changing, allows me to learn new things every day, and it lets me feel like I am doing something helpful for other people.

I love reading science fiction and fantasy, although for a short period between graduate school and now I didn't read much of anything at all.  I am getting back into it now, and it is reminding me how much I love it.  My new job includes with it a two-hour round-trip commute, so I have been listening to a lot of books.  I like watching movies less and less, though.  I used to know about all of the new releases and watch quite a few of them, but I have been to the movie theater only once in the past year.

I talk about Jube a lot on this blog.  Hopefully I don't do it quite so much in real life!  We are both introverts, so we spend most of our free time together.  We even go grocery shopping with each other most of the time!

This was a brief introduction to Gem... I do wonder how much of "me" it captures.

2012 - The Year of No Posts

Yeah, no posts in 2012.  I really want to get back into semi-regular blogging, because I realize how much I love going back and reading my old posts.  So here's another New Year's meme like the one I did about 2009.

1. What did you do in 2012 that you've never done before?
I led a study abroad trip to France!

2. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Le Parisien and his wife had a daughter. Jube and I are tonton/tatie now!

3. Did anyone close to you die?
No.

4. What countries did you visit?
I went to France, Spain, and Russia.

5. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?
I am hoping for a long vacation with Jube.

6. What were the highlights of 2012?
I turned 30 in May.  I led that study abroad trip to France, which was awesome. I got a new job in August, which was super exciting! In June, I went to Ohio for a wedding and got to see all kinds of old friends.  My brother moved to Puerto Rico.  And of course, I can't leave the highlights of my year without mentioning going to Russia with my mom!

7. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Starting this new job.  It is a promotion and has a lot of new responsibilities.

8. What was your biggest failure?
I should have finished my master's project, but it's not quite done yet.

9. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing serious.

10. What was the best thing you bought?
I guess it would have to be my tickets to Russia!

11. Whose behavior merited celebration?
I have been really impressed with my brother (who moved to Puerto Rico).

12. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
No one, really.

13. Where did most of your money go?
My new job has a longer commute... more money on gas.  I love buying clothes and plane tickets, too.

14. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Leading the trip to France.  I danced around my office and my apartment for awhile after that.

15. What song(s) will always remind you of 2012?
"Neutron Star Collision" by Muse.  Thanks, Twilight. 

16. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder?
No difference. Still basically happy with my life!

ii. thinner or fatter?
Probably a little bit fatter.  I lost a lot of weight in 2011-2012, but since starting my new job I haven't been able to work out a lot.

iii. richer or poorer?
Richer :)

17. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Working out.

18. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Stressing out.

19. What was the hardest thing you did this year?
Changing jobs.  Starting somewhere new has been a real culture shock experience.

20. What was the best thing you did this year?
Went to Russia.

21. Did you fall in love in 2012?
I stayed in love! 

22. How many one night stands?
Boring.

23. What was your favorite TV program?
Parks and Rec.  I love, love, love this show.

24. What was the best book you read?
At long last, I took the advice of one of my best friends and started reading Lois McMaster Bujold.  I fell in love with Shards of Honor, although I have been assured that it is not even her best.

25. What were your greatest musical discoveries?
I don't think I made any musical discoveries.  Maybe... well... no, I have no idea.  I don't think I listened to any new bands or bought any "new" music.

26. What did you want and get?
A new job (sorry to keep talking about it, but it was the big event!).  Also, I turned 30 and Jube gave me the best birthday party I've ever had in my life.

27. What was your favorite film of this year?

Two Days in New York

 28. What did you do on your birthday and how old did you turn?

I turned 30.  I kept pushing Jube for a party, and he delivered in a big way.  My good friend BB came down from Ohio, and tons of friends came to my place.  We even had a (mini... pony?) keg.  After they came over to our place, we went to a Mexican restaurant and pigged out.  I got a little bit drunk, but it was all worth it!

29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

I loved my previous job.  If I could have changed one thing, I would have loved my new position to be at my old employer.

30. What kept you sane?
My colleagues, my husband, and books on tape.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept for 2012?

Wear jewelry.  I don't wear makeup or high heels very often, so finding ways to make my natural attributes work for me was/is important.  Also I love wearing colors, especially if they clash just a little bit.

32. What political issue stirred you the most?
Gay marriage.  Go Maryland, the first state to legalize marriage for all through a legislative referendum!

33. Who did you miss?
I saw almost everyone I miss this year, although not my cousin who lives in California.  I miss my little brother now that he's off to the US Commonwealth.

34. Who was the best new person you met?
My new colleague Dharma.

35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012.
You have to take risks, even if they don't turn out exactly the way you want.

Summer 2010 part trois

Finally, we treated the whole of the Belle-famille to lunch at la Maison de la Lozere.  One thing you may not know about Jube is that he was born and grew up in Lozere, one of the least-populated departements in France.  The cuisine of Lozere is not necessarily considered the most refined food in France.  Generally it is seen as hearty peasant's fair, with the most famous dish being l'aligot, mashed potatoes mixed with tomme, a special kind of cheese.  Through some kind of Lozerian magic, the potatoes and the tomme mix together to become one seul et unique creation.  Jube tells me of his memories eating aligot, watching the gruff farmers make it by mixing and mixing with a big wooden spoon, lifting the aligot out of the dish to reveal a long string.  It really does look like someone pulling a spoon out of a dish of fondue.  It is wonderful.

La Maison de la Lozere basically serves haute cuisine, but they also bring you aligot on the side.  Jube and the Belle-famille always complain that gourmet restaurants give you a tiny dish of something - but they all like la Maison de la Lozere because if you don't fill up on your entree, you can always get more aligot!  Here are some pictures of our wonderful meal:

This was one of the first courses - I think an amuse-bouche - made with fish.

Unfortunately I didn't take any other pictures of our meal until dessert:

And, one of my favorite things about those expensive restaurants - they always give you a surprise dessert with your cafe:

Summer 2010 part deux

We also did some traditionally French things last summer.  They included:

Seeing a manifestation on the streets of Nimes;

Visiting my favorite market (aux Arceaux de Montpellier) and picking up some tasty French food;

And checking out the social commentary graffiti'd around the city.  (It says:
Vous pouvez me filmer (priorité!), mais, vous n'aurez jamais ma liberté de pensée. 1984!  Fuck you!
You can film me (top priority!), but, you'll never have my liberty of thought.  1984!)

Summer 2010

Looking back at my blog, I see it's been severely neglected!  I completely forgot to post about our time in the south of France last June!  Well, we met the newest member of the Belle-famille:

Erine!  Yes, this little bouledogue francais has conquered the hearts and minds of the Belle-famille.  She goes everywhere with them.  Luckily, she really is a sweet little dog.  Even Jube ended up liking her (although he is not quite as obsessed as le Pacha, who really got upset with us when we yelled at her for chewing on our shoes).

Our Condo/Notre Appart

As you may remember, last summer we bought a condo.  We figured that interest rates probably wouldn't drop lower (they haven't dropped by much!) and that home prices would probably go up soon (untrue - but they haven't dropped, so almost as good!).  We decided on a condo because there are only two of us and we don't need too much space.  We also both hate doing yard work, so the condo ended up being an  obvious choice.  Finally, it's located right next to a metro stop.  Although neither of us use the metro to get to work, we both can, and it's great for going into the city for after-work happy hour, etc.

We both really like the location and the layout... but when we visited, we knew we had to do something about the paint.  It looked like this:

Do not adjust your screen - you really do see four colors in that last photo (blue, cream, red, and green).  We repainted nearly all of the walls in the apartment, and although you could say it's less unique, it suits us a bit more.  Here's a photo of the living room:

(Yes, the green was one of the few colors we kept intact.)

Something we didn't have to change much of was the kitchen:

Although when Beau-papa was here this summer, he helped us install a backsplash (well, actually, he pretty much did it on his own).

Rehoboth

Jube and I went to Rehoboth Beach last weekend. We biked, body surfed, ate ice cream and frozen bananas, and in general enjoyed a 3-day weekend. Nice.

An arty Jube photo.

I wore this hat the whole time.

Body surfing!

Bye-bye, Rehoboth! We will miss you!

Father & Son: A Meme + My Comments

Here are the rules:
1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
4. Tag 20 friends.
5. Everyone tagged has to do the same thing.
6. No classical or Christmas music, or music in other languages.
7. Have Fun!

1. What do your friends say about you? Oh Very Young

I hope this refers to my looks and not my maturity level...

2. How would your coworkers describe you? Just

Yes, I am a very fair person!

3. How would you describe yourself? Beautiful Way

If I were to describe myself, I would do it in a beautiful way...

4. What do you like in a romantic partner? Stoppin' the Love

Is it opposite day?

5. How do you feel today? Street Spirit (Fade Out)

I guess I feel tired of hittin' the streets.

6. What is your life’s purpose? Unnatural Selection

Heheh.

7. What is your motto? Feelin Good

I like it.

8. What do you think about the most? The Small Print

It does consume me, I admit it...

9. What are you going to do on your next vacation? Escape

We are leaving for Rehoboth on Saturday. I can't wait!

10. What do you think of your first love/date? Separator

We did have a LDR for awhile.

11. What is your life story? A Punch Up at a Wedding (No No No No No No No No)

Yeah, that's all my life is, man... just some punch up at a wedding...

12. What did you do yesterday? Cymbal Rush

It sounds like a cool day.

13. What do you think of when you see the person you like/love? Everything in Its Right Place

:)

14. What describes your wedding? The Icicle Melts

-_- I don't get it?

15. What will they play at your funeral? Sober

It will be a sobering situation for me, for sure!

16. What is your obsession? Space Dementia

I think that this is what happens when you play Mass Effect for too long. I didn't talk to Jube for a whole weekend.

17. What is your biggest fear? Ruled by Secrecy

It does sound super scary!

18. What is your biggest secret? New Born

Shhh. Ne le dis a personne...

19. What is your biggest turn-on? Moonshadow

It is sexy.

20. How do you describe your friends? Dollars & Cents

Yeah, suckers just out for what they can get.

21. What would you do with a million dollars? Annie

Anne, did you see this? It's true. I'm saving up for it right now.

22. What is your opinion of sex? Lucky

I don't think I'm the only one with that opinion!

23. What is your biggest regret? Airbag

Yeah. Buying a car without them would be pretty bad, eh?

24. What would you rather be doing right now? Feral

It sounds kinky...

25. What will you post this list as?

Father & Son

Cultural Misunderstandings

Jube works with immigrant youth, helping them integrate to life in the US. Part of his job is helping them find internships and jobs, which includes talking to their supervisors and things like that. The other day, one of his students' supervisors contacted him with a concern.

"It's kind of embarrassing, and I don't know how to bring it up with him..." she said.

"What's wrong? I can talk to him about it," said Jube.

"Well... you see... he doesn't wear deodorant. And in the summer, well... you understand."

"Oh, yes," he answered. "In some cultures, deodorant just isn't as important as it is in the US."

"What, do you think he's from France?" she said.

...She was serious. Poor Jube.

Jubisms

On Incubus:

They're a pretty good band. They did this album with a lot of different styles, even some jazzy stuff. But it wasn't actually jazz, so it wasn't like . . . [insert retching sounds here].

On his sartorial choices in the evening:

Why . . . am I not wearing pants?

On Facebook:

Jube: I really should de-friend this guy.

Gem: Why, who is he?

Jube: Oh, my oldest friend.

Gem: What?

Jube: Well, he's really stupid! The only reason we were friends is because we met when we were two, and I couldn't tell how stupid he was.

On Glee:

Jube: [While I am watching Glee, during a musical number]: Is this Glee?

Gem: Uhh, yes. Isn't it kind of obvious?

Jube: No! It's in a school! That's all there is on TV - schools and hospitals. How am I supposed to tell the difference?

Synchronicity

I am taking a French linguistics course this semester and I am learning all sort of phonological words and descriptions. It doesn't seem like this is very practical or even applicable to my daily routine, but as I was writing a work e-mail this morning, I made a typo and wrote, "convusing." The little red spell-check underline popped up, and I looked more closely at the word. But wait a minute, I thought, that's not a spelling error - that's a natural linguistic evolution: la sonorisation!

So I was right on one count: the class is NOT practical. But I was wrong on the other: apparently it is quite applicable to my daily routine.

Guilt

It's been months since I've posted here. I've got all of the same excuses: I've been busy - went to Las Vegas and le parisien's wedding, bought an apartment, started a new master's program... But that won't cut it, and I know it. I mean, I could have been updating about these changes as they happened and I wouldn't write a stupid "catch up" post.

I also feel guilty because of something that happened just a few minutes ago. You see, I have this set of cheese plates that I absolutely love. They came in a box that looks like a huge camembert cheese, and there are vintage cheese labels on each of the plates. (They look kind of like this.) And during the move, Jube broke my favorite plate.

I didn't even get upset - I've broken plenty of things in my time, and one clearance cheese plate isn't worth the trouble. But I did regret it.

Tonight I served myself a brownie on one of the remaining cheese plates, and I thought back nostalgically on my favorite plate. I found myself looking down at the cheese plate I had, thinking, "If only it had been you who had been broken!"

Poor little cheese plate.

Guatemala

Last weekend, my mom and I went to Guatemala. I have to admit that I've never really been tempted to go to Central or South America - I've always dreamed of Europe and Asia. But when one of my old friends went to Peru and my good friend Catherine sent me information about an extremely reasonably priced package to Guatemala, I called my mom and we booked the trip.

I am so glad that I did! Guatemala exceeded all of my expectations (though I admit I wasn't expecting much). First of all, I left hot and muggy Washington, DC for the "land of eternal spring" - the weather was in the 70s the whole time. Wonderful. Second, the food was great and cheap! I ate tasty steak, black beans, fresh cheese, guacamole, smooth coffee, and more. Finally, I visited cities, villages, and Mayan ruins: the perfect combination. I was able to take my mind off of everything else that was stressing me out for an entire 4 days!

We started of in Guatemala City, but the next morning we were off to Antigua Guatemala.


Here, you can see a stone fountain used for laundry. It is free. There are several of them throughout the city in front of different churches. They attracted Mayan women, and then the missionaries took the chance to try to convert them. (It didn't work very well, although the fountains are still in use today.)

After Antigua, we went to Chichicastenango.


This is the cemetery. It was painted in bright, beautiful colors, and was on a hill across from the main town.


These children dressed up and did the dance of the conquista for us. They weren't especially good, but they were cute!


The day after Chichicastenango, we went to Copan in Honduras. Although Tikal is the largest and most impressive Mayan city in Guatemala, we didn't want to take a flight (and we didn't want to spend the money, either!). Instead, we took a 10-hour round-trip bus ride to Honduras. Copan was amazing!


We saw wild macaws and all sorts of other birds in the jungle. This was the hottest we'd been on the trip, since we weren't in the mountains any longer. It was truly awe inspiring to see such old, beautiful, and well-preserved ruins!


This is Gallo beer. We all fell head over heels for the light, crisp taste of "the best beer of Guatemala." We liked it so much, in fact, that our Copan driver called us "the Gallo girls" on the way home.

We had such a great time that we were already planning our next trip! Maybe Cancun and Tikal? Maybe Peru and Machu Picchu? Who knows?!

Roland Garros

About a month ago, Jube and I visited his family in France. We took the opportunity to do one of the things I've wanted to do since spending the last week of May with his father in 2003: attend Roland Garros in person!

We saw lots of doubles - women's, men's, and mixed. The most fun was watching men's doubles with a French team against a Spanish team. Unfortunately the French men were quite outclassed - one of the Spanish members was Nicolas Almagro, who ended up in the quarter final against Rafael Nadal, this year's (and most other years') winner.


We also watched a team with this Polish player, Agnieska Radwanska. She missed a shot and shouted at the sky at one point. Beau-papa, whose mother was Polish, told us that she was saying "oh la raquette!" Later we found out that he had absolutely no idea what she was saying.

I loved our short visit, and we all decided we wanted to go back again.

To Buy Or Not To Buy . . .

Jube and I have recently visited some houses in our area. We are currently renting a house for a very reasonable rate (from a family member), so we've been able to save up some money. (You might remember we bought a car in November; we've also bought tickets for France, Guatemala, and Las Vegas this summer, and we've still been able to put money in our savings account, if that tells you how little we've been paying in rent.) Then recently, I noticed a nice house for sale in our neighborhood. The real estate market has been very bad in the US for home owners... but that makes it a "buyer's market," right? And interest rates are super low, right?

So, yes, we've visited houses and gotten pre-qualified for mortgages. And then when we consider the monthly charges and a 30-year loan, we both get scared. Neither of us are sure about buying a house, but we almost feel obligated to look. We both wish we knew more about the whole process!

2009 Mememe

Since I did such a bad job of keeping this updated throughout 2009, I figure I'll answer all those burning questions you have. Here's a meme to cut down on the work. If you leave a question in the comments, I'll get to it. I'm sure you've got a desire to know something about me...

Anyway, to business:

1. What did you do in 2009 that you've never done before?
Completed a full 12-month year at a job.

2. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Nope.

3. Did anyone close to you die?
Nope.

4. What countries did you visit?
I didn't visit any foreign countries, but I have some trips planned for 2010!

5. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
I can't think of anything I want right now - everything is great chez Gem et Jube! Maybe a pair of boots? A new stamp in the passport?

6. What were the highlights of 2009?
Jube's family came to visit during the summer and we went to New York City. Also I bought tickets to see Muse. Also my friend Lorene got engaged!

7. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Planning some major events at work and having them come off pretty perfectly!

8. What was your biggest failure?
I don't feel like I failed at anything unless you count messing up a new recipe or something...

9. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Only a cold or two. Some bruises.

10. What was the best thing you bought?
A new car! I love my little Hyundai!

11. Whose behavior merited celebration?
I'm not sure what to say. Le Pacha's? He got a great new job. Hooray! And Jube got a new job, too. Yippee!

12. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
I was only depressed while reading books that made me think about people dying. So I guess some authors' behavior... Thanks a lot Connie Willis and Ken Follet! Appalled? Basically every decision made by US Customs and Immigration Services officials appalled me.

13. Where did most of your money go?
On boring stuff mostly - I guess on food, rent, gas. Normal things, right?

14. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
To Say Nothing of the Dog and a possible visit to Spain in 2010!

15. What song(s) will always remind you of 2009?
No song comes to mind. I guess "Bad Romance"?

16. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder?
No difference. Still basically happy with my life!

ii. thinner or fatter?
About the same, even though I started going to the pool twice a week! (Now that I write it out, it doesn't sound like that much. Maybe I should add another night?)

iii. richer or poorer?
Personally: the same. The household: richer. Yay!

17. What do you wish you'd done more of?
More of the pool! Also housecleaning more consistently.

18. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Reading trashy novels (heh, not really!).

19. What was the hardest thing you did this year?
Remember those two big events I planned for work? That. Really hard. Also hard: keeping the house clean. It didn't work very well.

20. What was the best thing you did this year?
Not freaking out about anything (at least not too much!).

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
I stayed in love!

22. How many one night stands?
Oh man, who's reading this site? OK, I'll tell you: about 15. But you have to keep it a secret!

23. What was your favorite TV program?
Jube and I both enjoy The Office, but the Fall 2009 season of Survivor was really great! We love you, Russell!

24. What was the best book you read?
I liked Lavinia, Doomsday Book, To Say Nothing of the Dog, and The Pillars of the Earth. The best was probably Lavinia. I'm warning you: three of the four made me cry.

25. What were your greatest musical discoveries?
Lady GaGa. Haha, no, probably Frou Frou and Universal Hall Pass.

26. What did you want and get?
A new car! If you will it, it is no dream.

27. What was your favorite film of this year?
I liked District 9 and Good Hair.

28. What did you do on your birthday and how old did you turn?
I turned 27! I went out to an Indian restaurant with my mom, brother + girlfriend, and Jube. Then we ate a humongous Whole Foods cake. Jube bought me a laptop!

29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
A shorter commute. Until I got my car in November, I took an hour/hour and a half bus ride. It really eats into your day!

30. What kept you sane?
Mon Jube! Also instant Indian food and frozen pierogies. I can't say enough about good, easy-to-make food. Oh, and did I mention my officemate Em? She's the greatest!

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept for 2009?
Always remember to put on your jewelry before you leave the house. No Chanel crap about taking a piece off!

32. What political issue stirred you the most?
Healthcare. I find myself yelling at the radio on the way home. Probably raises my blood pressure.

33. Who did you miss?
BB! For the first time in years he didn't come to visit! I guess he has better things to do, that sucker.

34. Who was the best new person you met?
My friend Lorene's fiance Jay. Thank you, Jay, for bringing her to Washington!

35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
Oh lord I think I'm going to vomit. Life lesson? Oh wait, I've got one! Always remember to check that you're in your own Amazon account before you buy .mp3 albums! This is an important one for a long and successful marriage.

Ho Ho Ho!

We're off to my parents' house for Christmas. We're taking all of these gifts with us to open there. I couldn't help putting them under our own little Christmas tree to make it just that much more festive!

Jube and I have been having an epic "guess the gift" battle. I got him something I know he won't be able to guess, and it's been hilarious to tease him and hear his suggestions. He's convinced I got him a guitar or a Metallica DVD or some new headphones or even a video game. He's got no idea.

Of course, I don't know what I've got waiting for me, either. And he upped the ante - apparently at first he got me something (ugh) practical, but then he heard me complain about getting something for the house and he returned it. So I really want to know what the first - returned! - gift was. A food processor? Kitchen knives?

We'll find out tomorrow! Happy holidays to you all. I hope you find out what all of your gifts are, too!

Winter Storm '09!

Last night it started snowing in Washington. We woke up to 7 inches of snow, and by the afternoon we were up to 13. We went on a little excursion to a nearby bakery (I'd bought lots of cold weather food - fondue, raclette - but no baguette to go with it!) and took some photos.
Not surprisingly, no one here knows how to drive in the snow, although Jube says it shouldn't be so difficult for them to figure out that they need to drive slowly!