Well seasoned
I have a lot of journal entry ideas. None of them have anything to do with the holiday season; they're more the sort of intro- or retrospective overthinky stuff that I tend to dwell on when I'm not used to writing regularly and am suddenly subjected to Writing Thoughts that bubble up from the muddy depths of my subconscious.
But, you know, it's almost the end of the year, and I've already done a little too much of that sort of thing here, so instead I'll do some actual journal-type writing for a change. As in, talk about what I've been up to.
On Wednesday, I went to a Boxing Day party that a friend holds every year. It was super fun, despite the fact that I was the most cursed participant in the White Elephant exchange. My first grab was kind of weirdly awesome: an old metal (I'm guessing military) first aid kit, filled with bandages of various kinds. . . and a heavy wrench. Perfect for the zombie apocalypse! I've had enough experience with Zombies, Run! that I know good supplies when I see them. Unfortunately, those were stolen from me almost immediately. In retaliation, I stole an item that had already been hotly contested: a tiara and accompanying parure of earrings and bracelet, all appropriately sparkly.
Well, that was also promptly stolen away. Sigh. Fine. Hey, now I was free to steal back the zombie safety kit! I was quite pleased. Lo, the person who'd taken it from me the first time was freed to pick and choose, and she chose it back. Since it had changed hands three times, it was now out of the running. Back to the tree for me to take my chances with the unclaimed gifts.
My next item was a flask. Basic, but functional, with an embossed pattern that sort of recalled some kind of leather, or maybe alligator skin. Anyway, I decided it would be ideal for drowning my sorrows at my bad luck. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to make use of it, since the couple I'd taken the tiara from exacted their revenge.
At this point, few items were left to choose from. I picked up a bag that felt a bit heavy. In it was... a ceramic cow.
I mean, as ceramic cows go, it was pretty cool, and from a worthy cause. But, you know, it's a cow. Ah, well, I thought, I lost. Still, it was lots of fun.
And then the people who stole the flask from me insisted that I have it, since they'd taken it more for comic effect than because they really wanted it. So in the end, I actually won.
The game was followed by a fundraising auction (the nominal reason for the party), where I auctioned off some Italian-English translation skills that turned out to be surprisingly in demand. And then, a few of us played Cards Against Humanity (as I mentioned last time), and lo, there was much laughing about awful things. An example: a highlight for me culminated in an "ethnic cleansing high five!" with another player. (They're really not kidding about the horribleness.)
So that was fun. Thursday I went to see some student shows, both of which were very enjoyable, and then out to our traditional gay bar hangout for karaoke. I didn't sing, but I did get a little dancing in, for the first time in months and months, so that was good. Yesterday I had a very enjoyable lunch with someone I've known online for years but had never met in person before, even though she lives in the area, and this afternoon I went to a housewarming party a few blocks away. There, I got to play with an adorable toddler, chat with a few friends, and most importantly, get out of the house a bit.
All that's left is New Year's Eve. I've already started easing into readiness for the onslaught of medical stuff I have going on next week, so I'm not sure how long I'll stick around at the party I'm planning to attend. I know it's considered bad juju to say certain things (Buffy insegna), but I feel pretty confident in saying that even if I spend the evening feeling vaguely ill and come home early, it is almost guaranteed to be better than last New Year's Eve. Which means that, if the Italian perspective has any validity, 2013 is almost guaranteed to be better than 2012. (I'm a little less confident about the latter assertion, so I'll just call that a fervent hope.)
School starts again on the 7th. I'm woefully behind in prep, but since I had virtually no social life for the latter half of the year, I don't feel too guilty about having prioritized spending time with people and reconnecting. It's made me feel better about myself, and given me a real sense of holiday season happiness. All work, health crap, lots of sources of stress, too much solitude, and no play has made Plin a very dull and unhappy girl of late. No regrets about putting a stop to that. The trick will be figuring out how to keep the positive momentum going after the new year.
Wish me luck.