All Bark, No Bite, Taking Off
last thursday, i attended a holiday open house party at my friends' newly remodeled and expanded fancy-pants home. it was a house complete with a gorgeous kitchen with new hardwood floors, granite countertops, all new steel appliances, cherry cabinets, the intertwined smells of evergreen, fresh baked cookies, and liquor, and mulled cider wafting through, and two too-cute little kids running around in their footed pajamas.
right now, i am eating some leftover peppermint bark that the hosts sent home with me from said party. it's homemade, with red and green peppermint bits. mmm...too good! i think it's a Martha Stewart recipe. as i chew on the peppermint bits, here are some things i'm thinking about, in no particular order: 1) when and how will I ever even be able to own a $500K+ home in a city where you need that much just to buy a decent home that's out of the ghetto? 2) what to pack because i'm leaving tomorrow for the Rocky Mountain State, and, weather cooperating, *maybe* making a trek down into the Land of Enchantment (which would be my 1st time there!). 3) about how I hate wearing my mouthguard/bite plate thingie that my dentist wants me to wear b/c i grind my teeth at night, 4) whether to take Clonazepam on this trip (it was prescribed for #3 above b/c it supposedly helps relax jaw muscles just as it relaxes the whole person!). 5) how i should probably take some Airborne with me since i'll be breathing recirculated airplane cabin air for 3.5 hours. 6) how much i'm looking forward to reading non-school-related books during break. even a Ph.D. student can only take so much academic jargon. along those lines, i welcome any good winter break types of reading recommendations. i've got a new jodi picoult book for starters. this is all exciting stuff, no? right. well...on to packing skillfully so as to avoid an overweight suitcase. flying sucks b/c...well, it just does. add in the silly little restrictions on what you can carry on board, poor seat design, and, well... maybe i should pop a clonazepam tomorrow afternoon! ;-) then, i'll be all set, and maybe sneak in to catch you West of the Mississippi River. if not, then i'll catch you on the flip side of the new year. we'll see.....
PS: sometime, i'll have to tell you about how i snuck in some flowers through customs last summer, yet got a bottle of Uni+ed airlines-distributed wine confiscated at security coming back into the US from overseas!
