Late Night Coca-Cola

G. and I decided that today was a dumb day--dumb in the sense that we both puttered about the apartment doing three things at once, but not really doing anything at all. I woke up late from the kind of sleep where your muscles feel sore and you have marks on your face from pillow wrinkles. Filo woke me up as she usually does if I'm still asleep late in the morning. She snuffles about my face and licks my earlobes--maybe cute when conscious, not so cute when asleep. So the day got off to a slow start. I had to force myself to work on my lectures for the very last week of classes and G. had to force himself to work on a book review. We're both sooo close to the end of our semesters. We already have a list of movies to watch, plus a Lost Season 1 marathon. Getting a little ahead of ourselves? Sadly, yes, considering the first marathon I'll experience is in grading. Boo.

This weekend was damn busy. Thanksgiving turned out just fine. I experienced a fleeting gee-I-love-my-family moment somewhere between my second helping of pie (sweet potato yummy!) and the end of Star Wars: Episode III. I consider that as close to a magical holiday moment as to be expected. I also decorated our first Christmas tree with multicolored lights and random ornaments from my childhood. I'm still debating if I should put lights outside, or would that be overkill? I've never decorated my place for the holidays, so I'm initially attracted to setting up an extensive, all-out light display, complete with a herd of holiday deer, or better yet, an inflatable Santa.

It's late. We've committed ourselves to staying up and working on our assignments. I'm pretty awake thanks to a half-hour nap and shots of coca-cola. We're a little pathetic right now, well, mostly me actually. G. just asked (half jokingly/seriously), "What did I do all day?" Wish I knew...

Holidays, Shmallidays

One short class this evening stands between me and the Thanksgiving holiday. Thanksgiving is mostly fun because you get to eat delicious, once-a-year dishes (Dad's stuffing! oh Dad's stuffing, how I miss you during the year. And pie--don't get me started on pie.). Thanksgiving also means spending time with family, and you don't have to buy any gifts--the actual best part about the day and what, in my opinion, totally ruins Christmas. Lately, Thanksgiving and Christmas are getting trickier, specifically dividing up time between my family and G's. Delicate negotiations must take place so that nobody is offended or feels left out. I have to take into consideration my family, my sister's in-laws (not to mention my brother-in-law's sister's husband's family), G's family and now that his two sisters have boyfriends, the boyfriend's families. Yikes--way too complicated. The negotiations started off courteous enough, but soon declined into hurt feelings and crying (no surprise, I'm a huge crier).

The most memorable Thanksgiving G. and I spent together was in Albuquerque two years ago. We were totally stressed over our end-of-the-semester research papers and presentations. We weren't in any shape to deal with the drive home, staying in separate places, and the inevitable argument over where to spend Thanksgiving, so we made the big decision to stay in Albuquerque for the holiday break. Everybody in El Paso was disappointed; G and I understood their disappointment and were sad, too. At the same time, however, it was a big relief not to deal with a complicated Thanksgiving. I made a small turkey (my first) and all the expected fixings. We cleared off the stacks of notebooks and books from the table and used a tablecloth and lit candles--a special moment for G. and me, simple and true.

We worked out this year's arrangement after much back and forth over the course of an afternoon. We're okay again, all is well. Holidays are oftentimes such fragile days, so carefully orchestrated to be special moments. Beautiful, glowy, Hallmark-experiences emerge if executed as planned. If conditions aren't just right for any old reason: food burns, cranky kids, annoying family members, boring TV, the holidays tarnish so quickly. Maybe it's easier to navigate when you aren't dealing with so many people. Thanksgiving and Christmas were perfect when I was younger with my parents, and sister. Well, it will never be just the four of us again (and I wouldn't want it that way), so I have to learn how to finesse my way through late November and December. Good luck to me--and to all of you gearing up for the holidays.

I should have canceled today's class; nobody is going to show up.

Ness and Filomena Go to the Park

I completely avoided fresh fruits and vegetables for an entire week. I replaced those essential foods with cake. Lots of cake.

As a result, I felt pretty gross by Thursday, so Filo and I went to the park. For me, the cool air helped to purge the sickly sweet feeling. Filo had to sniff EVERYTHING and pee EVERYWHERE. Then we chased one another like fools. It was super duper fun :)

It's My Birthday!

Hey, hey, it's my birthday! I don't know who these kids are, but don't they look like fun?

The days leading up to the 14th are never pleasant. I find fault with everything: I hate my clothes, I think about cutting my hair, I start to see my life as a big waste, Filo's fur is now a pale grey and borderline stinky, I hate my job and I get really lonely. Basically, I sink into a big ol' pity party.

These dejected feelings were swept away yesterday. G. and I had brunch with my parents and sister, then came home to do a little work, be a little silly. It was nice.

Today I woke up to roses (literally). All is well. Life is good. Happy Birthday to me.

I love this Filo dog

Damn you syndicated TV

I'll be the first one to admit that I watch a lot of TV. And not the PBS-kind. I watch a hefty dose of VH1 and Bravo, TLC, Style, WE, E!, Comedy Central, um, Food Network & MTV(the regular one, not even M2). I'm not proud. As a matter of fact, I feel pretty horrified when I really think about what I'm watching (i.e. Laguna Beach. Jesus Christ, I hate those bitches). On one level, it's just fun, trashy tv, no problem. But there is a problem! These channels dull my thinking skills. I'm bewitched by their melodrama, the slick countdowns and best-of/worst-of lists that are perfectly synched with soundbites and pop music. Entertaining and funny at best (ex. VH1's Best Week Ever), infuriating and absurd at their worst (VH1's I love the 80's-3D). And don't get me started on reality TV. Four hours can slip away from you like (insert clever similie here, I can't think of one thanks to TV).

Syndicated TV is the real enemy what with their regular, daily schedule. I can watch Seinfeld for a total of three hours a day on different channels and at different times. I was a loyal Seinfeld viewer when the show was still new, yet I still try to catch the evening's episodes. I am about at the point where I can quote particular scenes (G. and I are amazed at how the show is STILL funny after all these years--and viewings). Thanks to syndicated TV, G. and I worked through several seasons of That 70's Show, King of Queens, Just Shoot Me, Will and Grace, and the Simpsons. And Felicity (just me, not G. He doesn't like that the characters whisper). The new show on the syndicated circuit is Sex and the City. Like Seinfeld, I can catch Sex and the City a couple of times a day. I don't like the show or the characters per se (actually I feel wicked glee whenever something humiliating happens to them, which is often). Whatever the case, I'm hooked, I'm hooked dammnit!

Maybe by publicly recognizing this problem, I will empower myself to press the off button and only turn it on for Lost. And Gilmore Girls. And American Dad/Family Guy. But that's it.

Crafters Unite!

So I didn't mean to spend the afternoon being crafty--but that's what happened. Here is the result. Not bad, huh? I found myself in Michael's this morning. By the way, I absolutely hate that store--the aisles are so goddamn skinny you can't help but knock things over making the store more of a mess than it already is. And it makes you smell--stop by any Michael's and you will immediately notice the smell. Anyhoo, I was perusing the holiday wreaths, mentally calculating the 40% discount, when it hit me: I can do that! And cheaper!

And I did.

Every once in awhile, I experience moments of craftiness-DIY spirit. I trace it back to my mom, who is one of the craftiest women out there. When I was a kid, my mom went through phases of crafting: ceramics, baking, toll painting, sewing, floral arrangements, crochet. She's stuck with crochet since we moved to El Paso, I think because her sisters and mother all crochet, too (it seemed like my abuela crocheted 14 hours a day. Her fingers were always wound in fine yarn and a needle. You'd request a tablecloth and ta-da! it was ready almost instantly.) I think crafting was a way for my mom to get to know people when we moved around. She'd find the local ceramic shop or join classes of some sort and then meet fellow crafters. My mom is also infamous for taking on huge projects and finishing them before my dad got home from work. G. and I unexpectedly stopped by her house last year and caught her sawing wood in the kitchen amid an enormous mess (I think she was making a shelf). Come 6 pm, the entire kitchen was spotless and dinner was ready.

I really admire my mom for taking on all sorts of projects. She never let a project overwhelm her. Sure, all that crafting also created a million knick-knacks suitable for every single holiday. But thanks to her as my DIY role model, I never have to be a slave to expensive premanufactured decorative crap. Instead, I can make my own decorative crap, thank you very much!

Go Miners!

Ooooo
Originally uploaded by NessandFilo.

Here are some pictures from UTEP Homecoming on October 22--just in time for tomorrow's big game against Tulsa. There aren't too many pictures--I was a little disgruntled before the game and, well, during the game, too. It was an astounding victory for the Miners and I did get orange and blue pom-poms, so can't complain.

I'm a Slow Starter...

NaNoWriMo is up and running. I'm off to a slow start--only about 1,000 words. Just 24,000 more to go to meet my personal goal. Everybody else from my regional forum is about at 5,000 words, so I'm lagging behind. No excuses just yet, but the past two days have been busy with work...

So far, it's been hard to shift my writing over from academic voice to creative, fiction voice. I think I've got good ideas and will be sure to post something soon.

In other news, yesterday I drove waaaaayyy over to the other side of town to check out Atomic Cafe from the public library (I waited too long to have it send to my library). It's a different scene over there on the Westside. Could be my imagination, but it seems cleaner. Maybe it's just newer? The westside is definitely is more mountain-y, which I like. The drive was a nice departure from being chained to my desk and laptop everyday. My problem with focusing on Monday evolved into all out feeling that This Semester Must End!!! Soon!! I was on the verge both Tuesday and Wednesday of canceling my classes. I remember daydreaming as a student that the professors would burst into class and announce that it was canceled. Sometimes I totally want to fulfill that daydream now that I'm the instructor, but there are syllabi to follow, lectures to slog through, and the fact that I would get in trouble with the dean's office. Damn. G. had a hard week, too, poor dear, he took a midterm yesterday that just about left him speechless and his brilliant brain a puddle of goo. We have to do something fun this weekend, at least for a couple of hours, to offset this immense weight on our shoulders. Hopefully brownies can be part of the solution.