Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone! I'm hoping things will calm down, now that the holiday is over, but probably not. Wednesday I out up the tree. Thursday I cleaned the house and freaked out over my grad school applications. Friday I went back to Hanover to get my grad school recommendations lined up, because I completely missed the form I had to sign, promising that I hadn't seen the recommendations for Chapel Hill.

Sang with the choir at church for Christmas Eve. It wasn't a bad performance, especially seeing as how I only went to three rehearsals. It's a tradition at our church to commemorate all the new babies in the congregation at the Christmas Eve Vespers, and this year it was a little girl named Rebecca. It's truly a beautiful service. The reading addressed how, every night a child is born is a Holy Night. None of them are heralded by angels, but they are all born to potential, and they are all to be honored for the role they will play in changing the world for the better.

Then the chalice exploded. UUs have as their symbol a chalice with a flame in it. Somebody got the bright idea to put the flame this year in a glass vase - it'll be pretty, and fit in with the snow-themed altar. But did they think to make it a Pyrex vase? No... Eventually the glass just heated to the point where it exploded. In the middle of the baby dedication, there was this loud crack! and part of the vase just fell away. Luckily the oil was held in a metal container, otherwise that would have exploded too, and we'd have a repeat of 1985 (the last time the church burned down.)

The thing is, I seem to recall this happening before. We didn't go to vespers last year, because of the weather. But two or three years ago, we used a glass vase for the chalice, and it exploded then, too. You'd think someone would notice and take heed. Well, I suppose everyone needs a tradition...

Christmas Present Update: I now have the Librarian Action Figure Deluxe. Here that, Julie? Deluxe. Not just automatic shushing action, but also a reference desk, a computer displaying the cataloguing module, and a book cart. And not one of those crappy three level book carts with a divider that are prone to tipping, but a good steady two level book cart. With wheels. And laden with books. Now I just need my own office...

Feeding the Capitalist Machine

Today I went shopping with the Parental Unit Patros v1.0. We took my car up to Jerry's to get the check-up it should have had right after I bought it. Don't expect anything to go bad, it's just routine. But I will be without transportation until tomorrow or Wednesday. Possibly Thursday. Also got more minutes put on my time card. So I can call people, now!

Dad put up the tree, and is now putting lights on. If they want me to decorate it later, I'm going to insist on taking over the whole living room and watching "The Muppets' Christmas Carol" and "Mulan," and possibly the soundtrack of "Rent" over and over again.

Picked up some crocheting again. I miss this stuff. It's got the same boring repetitiveness of playing solitaire, only not on a screen. I can easily see this developing into something next semester.

Aerine: "Oh, I see you're doing Latin."
Ellie: *over yarn and hook* "Yeah."

Monday

Dad and I went to the Red Cross today to bleed into the bag. We always try to schedule an appointment sometime around December, just because it feels like a good way to give back during the holidays.

Came home and made a fruit cake. Dad insists on one every year, and insists that it's "just a fruit cake." You think it's so easy? Then you make it! Actually, it really is easy, it's just time consuming. About two and a half hours just to do the prep work. Tedious.

Mom's cleaning the living room so we can put up the tree, moving books around. Several shelves fell down on top of her tonight. She's okay now, but it was really scary when it happened.

Another Christmas Break

Done with my IS. Done with the GRE. Didn't do nearly so well as I could have, but my people tell me they still love me anyways. Am currently taking steps to reduce stress load next semester, more on that later.

Now I'm at home, and have nothing to do and no one to talk to. It's sad. I've only been gone a weekend, and I already miss everyone! So I've started talking to myself, and being honest about shit, and you know that's never a good thing. Someone leave me a message! Or IM me. I like IMs.

Meanwhile, A few days ago Celiedh mentioned Dar Williams' "Iowa," as one of those pining love ballads that don't make her laugh. So I've been listening to it a lot. For lack of better content, here are the lyrics:

Iowa, by Dar Williams

I’ve never had a way with women, but the hills of iowa make me wish that I could,
And I’ve never found a way to say I love you, but if the chance came by, oh i, I would,
But way back where I come from, we never mean to bother,
We don’t like to make our passions other peoples concern,
And we walk in the world of safe people, and at night we walk into our houses and burn.

Iowa oh ooo oh, iowa oh ooooh ooo oh i-iowa

How I long to fall just a little bit, to dance out of the lines and stray from the light,
But I fear that to fall in love with you is to fall from a great and gruesome height.
So I asked a friend about it, on a bad day, her husband had just left her,
She sat down on the chair he left behind, she said,
What is love, where did it get me? whoever thought of love is no friend of mine.

Ioway oh ooo oh, iowa oh ooooh ooo oh i-iowa

Once I had everything, I gave it up for the shoulder of your driveway and the words I’ve never felt.
And so for you, I came this far across the tracks, ten miles above the limit, and with no seatbelt, and I’d do it again,
For tonight I went running through the screen doors of discretion,
For I woke up from a nightmare that I could not stand to see,
You were a-wandering out on the hills of iowa and you were not thinking of me.

Ioway oh ooo oh, iowa oh ooooh ooo oh i-iowa
Ioway oh ooo oh, iowa oh ooooh ooo oh i-iowa