Okay, so I still have keys missing, but I can't stand not writing for another second Melissa's wrong, it ain't Snood that's like crack, but instead journalling. I don't know how I stood it before my little gap-toothed laptop.

The whole entire reason that I got this laptop in the first place was so that I could take it home for Christmas, and thus I am doing so! Of course, as I was in the car with Cynthia I remembered the one thing that I needed, the one thing that I needed her to mail to me, and that is my v and g keys, that I left on the kitchen table.

"There are two keys, the g and the v."
"I'll send every one I find."
"Well, if you find only one, keep looking, and if there are three, then something is really wrong!"

So Friday was a fairly non-traumatic day at work--The Evil Overlord wasn't there, and there really wasn't anything to do, because we aren't paying anyone for the month of December, so of course there were many phone calls to avoid, but other than that, not much.

I worked for about twenty minutes all day, if that. Part of the reason for that was that I took a two hour lunch to run errands, and before that I mostly mailed out my last Christmas presents. In mailing, I realized that I had accidentally left some prints in the wash the night before, which kicked off the two hour lunch.

Since I had to go all the way down to 17th St., I decided to run all of my other errands downtown as well--meaning returning my library books (yes, there were fines, why do you ask?), picking up ridiculously expensive paper at Kate's Paperie ($10 a sheet, thankyouverymuch, but beautiful and worth it. One hopes.), buying John's Christmas present (leaving only Melanie's middle child to shop for), and the whole thing wouldn't have taken very long at all, but for the fact that I went insane and took the bus back uptown and got stuck like hell in traffic.

When I got back, I did about five more minutes of work, then sent out the rest of my Christmas cards (the only Christmas card you're likely to get with the word "fuck" in it, so's you can tell it's from me!), at least until I ran out. It was about the most satisfying day at work of my entire life.

Went home, thought vaguely about packing or cleaning or washing dishes or going to the store or doing any of the other fifty million things that I needed to do before my flight, but instead I played Snood for about three hours. I hadn't played the Puzzle level before, and it's just exactly as horrible and time-sucking as Journey. Damn you, Snood!

After Cynthia got home, we had The Best Christmas Ever™, she and I and Fran trading gifts because I wouldn't be there for the day itself. The only good reason to open gifts ahead of time. Besides, if I didn't open mine they wouldn't have had the fun of watching me be thrilled.

And thrilled I was! I got a t-shirt that Cynthia had tried to get for me in time for my birthday, but couldn't manage, so it was saved for Christmas. It's a custom made jobbie, a white t-shirt saying "INTERVIEW MEEEEEE!!!", like I mentioned in this entry. I about died laughing, it was so clever of her.

I also got Under the Tuscan Sun and Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep from my Amazon wishlist. You could have knocked me over with a feather, because she had said before I set up the list that she knew exactly what she was getting me! I told you that I set it up for friends! I just wasn't aware that it was those friends.

"I didn't want to get you bath products again this year!"
"There is no such thing as too many bath products!"
"You must realize that there are only so many bath products on this earth!"

For my part, I got Cynthia the next two Anne books ( ...of the Island and ...of Windy Poplars), Fran a copy of The Shining, because he has never read it (shocking!) and both of them a new picture of Molly. It's a strip of three shots, and it took me months to figure out how to have them all in a row on one print. I guess I'm not that bright, because it was pretty easy (take the neg out of the carrier and just lay it right on the lamp, and don't close the door so that the surrounding paper is entirely black) and it looks just great.

I'm going to make a book just on Molly. I've been planning it for awhile, as I have so many pictures and stories, I just need to shuffle them like a giant deck of cards. I mean, I'd love to do a real book (anyone out there in publishing?) but I can just make one for myself. I have been telling her story and photographing her face since she was one week old.

Even if I can't get it published, it is still her legacy. I always say that I write this for my children, as yet unborn, but maybe in a way I'm also writing it for the Callahan children, my children by proxy. My children once removed.

When I went upstairs, right before The Best Christmas Ever™, Cynthia said "O, you've got another package from Amazon."

And it was huge.

When I opened the box, it wasn't a bit smaller. I was staring at it, thinking "What the...", because every other package I have gotten thus far has been normal, you know, the size of a book or a cd or a DVD or something. This one was...bigger. And heavy. I suppose that it could be twenty books or eighty DVDs or one hundred and forty cds, but it didn't quite feel like it.

I haven't peeked at the tags on any of the other packages--I only know who has sent me something if they have specifically written and told me so, but this present was so huge that I just had to find out who my benefactor was.

"What does it say?"
"From PP and Bapa."
"Who in the hell are PP and Bapa?"
"I have absolutely no idea whatsoever."

It's like, long ago my parents got a Christmas card from The Fitzes, inscribed about how they were looking forward to seeing my Mom and Da that summer, at a place of which they had never heard and had no intention of going. And my folks were at a complete loss--they couldn't figure out who The Fitzes were or what they were talking about for the life of them, so it became a running joke in our house, whenever we'd get a card from a complete stranger we'd exclaim "It's The Fitzes again!"

So I can only assume that The Biggest Present in All the Land (appropriate for the The Best Christmas Ever™) is in fact from PP and Bapa Fitz!

Cynthia wanted me to open it, ("C'mon, I'm sure that PP and Bapa won't mind!"), but I refused, hardliner that I am. It was no joy to pack, that's for sure. I put all of my presents, giving or getting, into my small rolly suitcase, but when I put PP and Bapa's offering in, it filled the entire suitcase, so I had to put it in the big red suitcase instead.

Who the fuck are PP and Bapa? Do I have grandparents I am unaware of?

Anyway, yesterday morning I leapt bright-eyed out of bed at the crack of 8.30a (okay, stumbled bleary-eyed after hitting snooze three times, what's your point?) and packed and cleaned and went to the store twice (there is only so much cat litter one person can carry at a time) and took out bags and bags of rubbish and recycling (I don't mind living with it, I just don't want to come home to it!) and scrubbed out the sink (is that dish from Thanksgiving? I don't want to know!) and refereed another twenty-seven cat fights and managed to leave the house only twenty-five minutes after I had meant to.

And all I forgot was my g and v keys!

Boy, after two days of miserly mini-entries, an embarrassment of riches! Just a little Christmas present from me to you. And to PP and Bapa, wherever you are!!

Today's horoscope:
High optimism enables you to move closer to your desires, but don't take foolhardy chances.

One year ago today:
"Yes, through all of eternity, I think..."

* Yesterday / Index / This Month / Tomorrow *

E-Mail

Christmas Cheer by:
Brittly!

This page was written by hand. My hand. Only pussies use HTML editors.
Last Updated Sat 19 December 09:43:09 1999