christmas stuff

[ateolf]

just got back from my parents'...christmas was pretty decent, i totally scored in the presents department (my dull, itemized list will come shortly...) when i first arrived there was the typical "holiday" tension/frustration/anxiety/ocd within my family, but it didn't last too long...i did some "cooking" (heating/flipping/watching food my mom had already put together)...not too much to report now other than the stuff i got...i got the BIG thing i had asked for and i'm totally thrilled about it!: The Compact Oxford English Dictionary (probably the hugest thing to get labeled "compact" next to a compact car...) i got a few books i'd asked for: The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Runaway Horses and The Decay of the Angel by Yukio Mishima (i guess now i need to get the other half of the tetralogy...) a few dvds: The Straight Story, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (the single disc version, which i didn't know existed...but it's still cool, can hold me over til i get the two-disc version like for my big nerdy self), Strangers with Candy: Season 3, and Mystery Science Theater 3000: Collection Volume 6 (my first of any of the sets and i don't think i've seen any of these episodes so that's cool...) and a few cds: Miles Davis: The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions box set...then i got some more practical, non-list stuff: an led book light, an emergency radio with a hand crank, am/fm/shortwave, and a siren (i know it's wasn't THEIR intention, but it will make an AWESOME instrument for music/noise...), this gadget that's like a car jumpstarter and an air compressor in one, a big floor lamp, and a heated blanket...so no complaining here...also my vacation seems to be at its end...i guess i can't complain about that either...i can barely even remember what work feels like...it seemed a lot longer than two weeks...i got to spend quality time with the dogs...i finished writing a story...and i did most of the work on my theremin...so i can't regret it along with my usual, wasted sloth of my time spent...anyways, Happy Hanukah and god bless everyone!!!