PEANUT!

Today I had the great pleasure of spending most of the day with one of my favorite smallest humans, the Peanut. I have a great fondness for the little munchkin, so when her parents called last night to ask if I were free today and could watch her, I was absolutely delighted to accept.

I'm also irrationally proud of myself that although it's been something like 15 years since I changed diapers with any regularity (I did a lot of babysitting as a kid, which now seems like a lifetime ago), Hathor complimented me on my mastery of V's cloth ones. In addition, I got ridiculously lucky and the Peanut went down for both a morning and an afternoon nap--the latter following nearly an hour of playing quietly in her crib.

When I related these things to David tonight, he said, "Somebody's full of herself!" He's just glad I don't want one of my own.

I did take a few pictures on the camera phone, which the Peanut likes better than me (it's red and shiny!). I don't have any way to upload them, though, having left my card reader at home, so this one's from Thanksgiving.

Tomorrow, we head across the mountains for Second Christmas.

Facebook's Nefarious "Privacy" Update

Not all of you dear readers are on Facebook, which is fine: I still love you, even though you didn't get to see the rest of the cookie pictures, for example, and even though I might forget to invite you to a social function. If you're not on FB, and don't intend ever to be, you can ignore the rest of this post.

If you are, though, I want you to be aware that as part of recent "improvements" to its privacy settings, Facebook has removed at least one major setting altogether: the ability to control what recent activity gets posted to your wall and to friends' news feeds. (The old version--as of a week or two ago--is shown at left.) I didn't like having my own page cluttered with reports of things I "liked" or commented on, and I certainly didn't want all my friends receiving a notice if I decided to change my relationship status, so I specified early on that only a very few things--added friends, for instance--would be posted to my wall and others' feeds.

Since I've also always had things like my status or photos visible only to friends, I wasn't particularly concerned about the new settings. Yes, it's unfortunate that users are being "encouraged" to make more of their information public, and that the new defaults are for more public sharing. And, yes, it's unfortunate that many people are completely unaware of the importance of privacy altogether.

What I didn't realize was that with the advent of these new settings, this entire page of privacy controls would actually disappear, without any mention at all. This update is clearly the opposite of increased privacy; as one disgruntled commenter raged, "We're tracked like animals!"

It's one thing to suggest that people voluntarily share more of their information publicly; it's quite another, I think, to not only reverse, but entirely remove, the option users had already intentionally selected in the interest of protecting their own privacy.

Currently, I'm having to manually remove these notifications from my own profile, but they continue to show up in friends' news feeds.

I really like Facebook (see photos and event planning, as well as keeping up with a wide range of people), but this new update really does make me want to bail. Currently I'm lodging complaints in all the venues I can (including one member's suggestion of messaging Mark Zuckerberg himself), and would encourage those of you who care about your privacy and the continued viability of Facebook to do likewise. I'm not terribly optimistic about our chances, but am invested enough to hope FB decides to re-implement some real privacy options, soon.

W2

Internets, this is the third separate blog post I've started over the past week to try to explain both my recent absence (in person Christmas-ing!) and where I am for the holidays.

Before leaving Mpls, I was busy being all sorts of festive: I sent out all my Christmas cards, had a cookie-baking and -decorating extravaganza, finished my Christmas shopping, and attended the Nutracker at the State Theater downtown (David's first ballet, in addition to his first Nutcracker!).

Then last Tuesday I flew into Seattle, where I met my aunt for lunch downtown and got to see Brother Rockstar for a bit before heading across the mountains with my dad. We arrived in Walla Walla at about 9 that night, and I've been here since.

Mandy pointed out to me in a recent e-mail that I've neglected to actually mention here that a few weeks ago, my parents moved. Here. To Walla Walla. From sunny southern California, they moved to Walla Walla, two weeks before Christmas.

The good news is that they are now within a mile of my aunt and uncle, my grandma and grandpa, and my dear friends the Swinjarnyars and their Peanut (as well as other bloggers of note). They're also now just a few hours' drive from my mom's other two siblings and their families and both of my siblings. (It's also a nice place to be in the summer, as my blog archives attest--and it's a veritably paradisaical fruit basket during much of the year, too.)

The bad news--though apparently only for me--is that it looks nothing like this Christmas past, or this one. Instead there has been a pervasive, low-hanging grayness every day I've been here, and although it hasn't been Mpls-cold, it has been in the 20s and distinctly chilly. Also: no palm trees.

And I'm trying to just get over it and enjoy being around family and friends--which I do, very much--but I admit that I miss, terribly, holidaying in a holiday destination. I know I should appreciate the fact that I got to spend any time there at all... except that spending time there was part of the deal I made with myself when I decided I could survive Minnesota for my doctoral work. A month of warm sunshine makes a world of difference in the middle of an Ohio or Minnesota winter. I'm not precisely sure what I'll do without it.*

Anyway, here I am. We'll head back across the mountains for Christmas with my nuclear family next weekend for more food, presents, and general festivities!

*Starting to run again is probably a good start; as I wrote here in 2007, on surviving a Mpls January: "I'm afraid I'm going to have to start running again, though, to make it through this winter, which is a daunting prospect indeed." I didn't bring my shoes with me to Walla Walla, having successfully managed to carry-on only, but am confident they'll be happily waiting for me back at home.

Cold

I've had a cold since Thursday, and it's sort of the pits. I think I'm starting to get over it, but I think the thing that's currently most frustrating (though it is in close competition with my very sore nose, sneezing fits, and intermittent headache) is eating.

I don't feel much like doing it, for one thing: on Friday, I started feeling shaky and lightheaded and thought I was getting a fever, only to realize that as I hadn't eaten in seven hours, I was probably just hungry. Also, because I can't smell, it's not as much fun when I do eat. AND it takes me about twice as long, because I can't breathe through my nose while I'm doing it. Sigh.

Here is something happier, found on the blog of a friend of a friend:

More Christmas

This is my tree!

Tonight I further upped the Christmas-ing with a very cold pilgrimage to Holidazzle, which I apparently mentioned here last year, but only in passing. It's a distinctly chilly, but blessedly short, parade that's kind of an institution in these parts. Primarily, it's cold. Secondarily, it's sparkly. Thirdly, it's extremely corporate. Sixthly and lastly, it's festive (and cold).

Here are a few of David's pictures:





In the last picture, we're dancing to stay warm. Good times.

Cards

See my little button over in the right column? If you click on it, it takes you to the place in last post where I talk about my Single Person Christmas Cards and how you can get one (by e-mailing your address to disasterkitchen ((at)) gmail.com). I do have addresses for several of you from last year, but I will be more likely to remember you, and get your address right, if you go ahead and e-mail me again. Do it.

You can send me a card if you have one and feel like it, but you should feel absolutely no obligation at all. Just send along your address!

Last year, I posted 2007's card, but haven't yet posted last year's model. So here it is:

(Yes, I am wearing the earflap hat again in last year's card--and am in this year's, too!)

I spent most of the afternoon working on this year's card, so hopefully I'll be printing them and sending them out soon.

Oh, and I got more lights and put up some ornaments, so maybe I'll post some pictures of the tree, too!

Christmasy

I am back home, and delighted to be here, Winter Storm notwithstanding!

Actually, the snow feels very festive; David helped me bring home a beautiful (sustainably- and locally-grown) tree this afternoon, and although it's a bit short on lights and thus still undecorated, I am thrilled to have it glowing prettily and deliciously scenting my living room!

I've had my own place for the past six or seven Christmases, but have always returned to my parents' for my entire Christmas break from school, and thus have eschewed any decorating. But this year, whether because I was inspired by decorating at David's parents'; or because spending several weeks in Walla Walla is admittedly less tempting than spending them in sunny southern California; or because David's Real Job doesn't have quite the Christmas break my semi-permanent student gig does, and I don't want to abandon him entirely; a tree seemed like the right decision.

I'll get another string or two of lights, and then I can't wait to deck it out in my 25-for-$5 Target mini balls and the string ornaments I started tonight!* I also have silver and gold spray paint and lots of glitter, so we'll also see what else I might find to hang.

In other seasonal news, it's time to get in your Christmas card requests! As I did last year, I'll be sending real live cards to whomever would like them.** If you want in on the Single Person Christmas Card Crusade action, send your mailing address to disasterkitchen ((at)) gmail.com. Whether I know you in person or not, whether you're an avid commenter, emphatic lurker, or are visiting here for the first time, I'd love to share the Christmas love! So hurry and get those addresses to me--preferably within the next week (by which time, hopefully, I'll actually have the cards designed and assembled... ahem).

Merry Merry!

*Let it be noted that all water balloons are apparently not created equal; the cute little grenade ones Becca and I used were lovely and spherical, but the bag of assorted colored ones I picked up at Target tend, sadly, more toward the oblong/ovoid/generally pear-shaped.

**Though last year I forgot my dear friend Mandy, and still feel bad about it. Mandy, should I send you two cards this year? I'll try hard not to forget anyone this year!

Leaving Las Vegas

I am in the Las Vegas airport, where I managed, thanks to a miraculous absence of lines at the taxi queue, the ticketing counter, and security--as well, less happily, as a 40-minute flight delay--to arrive approximately two hours in advance of my departure. I would like more than anything to be in my own bed in Mpls (though I'm informed they're experiencing their first real Winter Storm of the year), but instead I have a red-eye to Atlanta. Yay!

The good news is that I'm ready to fall asleep right here at my computer (though the time in front of it would be more productively spent on my submission for writing workshop, due tomorrow...) and will hopefully get at least a few hours of snoozing in on the flight. I'm thoroughly exhausted from yesterday's race, the subsequent hoofing up and down the Strip, and last night's late show.

Everything is so big here, and so consistently-bafflingly far apart! The hotel/casinos themselves are emphatically labyrinthine, and although the distance between the Luxor (where we stayed) and the Venetian (to which we walked to claim our Blue Man Group tickets) is ostensibly only two miles, the peripatetics required to actually navigate the space (including dodging myriad meandering tourists and card-flipping solicitors, and unavoidable bazaar-esque roundabouts) makes it feel at least twice that. The blistered feet, tight calves, and sore quads did little to help!

The race itself was a pretty good time. It had been a long time since I'd run an entire race with a friend, and running with my sister (and much of the time with my brother-in-law) was definitely a highlight. We finished in 2:01:48, a bit faster than my Monster Dash time and quite a bit faster than my Lacamas Lake. It was very cold at the pre-dawn start, and had actually only warmed up to around 40° by the time we finished, but the sun did come out and the course was nice and flat, with good bands and entertaining scenery.

We forwent the after-race concert (has anyone even heard of Donavon Frankenreiter--?), but did get tickets to the 10pm Blue Man Group. Thankfully, it was more than entertaining enough to stave off our race-induced sleepy stupor--a really amazing show! I could throw some words at you to try to explain it, but I highly suggest seeing them whenever you can. Maybe I'll try to write more later. I definitely have more pictures to post.

At the moment, I'm thinking I'll remove my contacts for my upcoming flight, in hopes of getting as much rest as absolutely possible after quite the full and fantastic, but rather exhausting, weekend.

More Vegas!

Thankfully, Vegas--or at least my experience of it!--has improved vastly in the past 24 hours. Last night a friend from high school who lives in town picked me up and we went to dinner at a nice little Indian place. The food was pretty decent, and the atmosphere was lovely, but I can't decide whether the highlight was our great conversation (he let me pick his brain about this very strange city, and it was fascinating)--or SEEING ANDRE AGASSI!

So I'm sitting there, and I keep staring over M's shoulder at the next table. "I'm sorry," I apologize for my distractedness, "but that guy just looks just like Andre Agassi!" He's there with an attractive blonde woman, another big dude, and like five kids. Another half hour or so passes (filled with enough engaging conversation, thankfully, to keep me from doing too much staring) and I notice that they're getting up to leave--and that Andre is posing for pictures with the hugely smiling Indian waiters. M finally turns around, and confirms that it's him, all right, and that the blonde woman is Steffi Graf. Andre is the last to leave, after the picture taking, and walks quietly out, exuding cool. Completely awesome.

This morning I met up with Seester and Chris at the Luxor, where we checked into our room and grabbed some food before heading to the expo madness next door at Mandalay Bay. We fought crowds there for a while, picked up our stuff, and strolled a bit on the strip before calling it an early night. Now I'm going to sleep as much as I can; the race starts at 6:15!

Vegas

Dudes, I hate Vegas.

I think I'll like it better when April and Chris get here, but in the meantime, I have to keep reminding myself to stop grimacing.

Anyway, I'm on the ground and back in the Pacific time. I didn't even have to fly through Atlanta this time; I discovered this morning, to my great relief, that today's layover was in Milwaukee, instead. It was snowing there, and in Mpls, but not here!

The weather is definitely in this town's favor. I'll probably feel better about it in the daylight. And after sleeping.

Travelin'

Happy December, all!

It's extra happy here today, because David was offered a position at what amounts to sort of his dream job. It's a controller position, so he won't have the pesky tax season he's dealt with for the past several years in public accounting. His office is also in the Warehouse District of downtown, which, in addition to being generally awesome, is only a few miles north of my house and forms a neat little triangle with my East Bank office. (Yes, I've already become a total pansy this winter as far as biking is concerned--but it's so hard to turn down free rides, and when I don't have to bike I get to wear nice clothes!) Needless to say, after three months of rather daunting unemployment (curse this economy--as I told him this evening, he's a frikkin' accountant, after all, not a beat poet!), this is a huge relief. To terminate his unemployment with such an exciting prospect and great people feels extra fantastic.

We just got back from the west coast last night, after driving back through the gorge and flying out of PDX. David and I didn't get to sit together on the plane, but we did both have window seats, and it was one of my most memorable flights in recent memory. It was a gloriously clear day, and the view of Hood was spectacular. I was wishing I could identify all the peaks (Adams? Jefferson? Three Sisters?) when it occurred to me that as I could see clear across Oregon to the south, I might be able to see Rainier to the north. I actually gasped when I turned and saw it, larger than life and perfectly framed in the windows across the aisle. Amazing! It was especially interesting to follow our path east along the gorge, having just come the opposite way that morning. I recognized the dams and phalanxes of wind turbines (visible in the full-sized version of the photo), and even thought I could see Multnomah Falls, where we'd stopped briefly on our way in.

Tomorrow I board another plane, this one bound for Las Vegas. I get in late and then have Friday by myself before meeting up with April and Chris Saturday morning. We run early (6:15 a.m.! the pain!) Sunday, and if you feel like tracking us, you can find details about that here. I had thought at one point about running the full marathon, and I am very glad that I talked myself out of that rash plan and registered, along with the other two, for the half. I'm already feeling so much less stressed! My usual race voodoo--what I can and can't eat, what I wear, how I sleep, etc.--is significantly calmed when I know I'm running 13.1 miles, instead of 26.2. I'm not too inspired at the moment, having been on the ground in my home timezone for only slightly more than 24 hours and not particularly anxious to leave again, but I'm sure I'll be excited soon enough.

One inspiration: AirTran (for all their other, significant flaws [i.e. I fly through Atlanta on my way from MSP to LAS]) now has wifi on all their flights! It's not free (yet), but still--we're living in the future.