2007-12-31 
 

second snowiest

It's official. Barring a freak storm between now and midnight, this December is on record as the second snowiest in recorded history for Boston. Mind you, we only missed the top spot by .2 inches so by the time I'm in my 70s I may be telling the younglings that G and I moved back to New England just in time for the winter that broke all the records.

Given the amount of shoveling we've done, I think that'd only be fair.

Labels: boston, dose of mikey, g

* posted by me at 5:33 PM

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2007-12-29 
 

irresolute

Only two days left until the new year and I'm not quite sure where I'm going...both on the day itself and with my life in general.

My resolution, vague though it may be, is to find some income.

Labels: dose of mikey

* posted by me at 10:25 AM

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2007-12-27 
 

penguin poetry

Christmas was crazy hectic and rather wonderful all at the same time. More on that at a later date.

Today, if you dare, experience something I found up in the attic in a box full of flotsam and jetsam from my teenage years that I've been trying to clean up. I'm pretty sure given the strata that I found this particular piece that I would've been about 16 or 17.

A good friend calls similar ramblings that he's found in his own archives bad teenage poetry. I'm pretty sure this fits into that category, but it makes me realize that I have little memory of exactly where my head was at during this point in my life.

I look as the haze of summer rises off of the sea;
the waves ripple onto the steaming sand.

A boat full of penguins lands at the wharf,
they waddle to the beach and play in the hot white sand.

The king penguin lets forth a roar,
and a great whale comes and spouts a geyser of snow.

I look as the arctic wasteland forms around me.
The penguins play in the snow as icy water ripples into nowhere.

Was this a metaphor for my life at the time, or was I simply dreaming of air conditioning on a super hot day? More importantly, did you need to read that? Probably not, but now I can safely discard the decades old pink napkin that I originally wrote it on. (And that does tell you something about where my head is at these days.)

Labels: dose of mikey, memory lane, writing

* posted by me at 10:11 AM

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2007-12-21 
 

christmas meme

Been a while since I've posted a meme and this one seems quite appropriate to the season. Feel free to tag on.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Bags. I love unwrapping things, but bags are reusable and better for the environment. (and honestly, while I love unwrapping things, wrapping them up is a bit of a pain)

2. Real tree or Artificial? Real tree. Even better is a real tree that you get to plant in the spring. (oh for a yard of our own!)

3. When do you put up the tree? Usually the second Sunday in December and keep it up through epiphany.

4. When do you take the tree down? Whoops, I just answered that.

5. Do you like egg nog? Yes, especially spiked with a bit of whiskey.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? There were many, but I still remember the Christmas morning I found a brand new stereo system waiting for me. (I was probably 13 or 14 at the time and feeling a bit jaded about the holiday, but that morning I was like a five year old again. Probably more so because I realized who was truly responsible for the gift and that maybe, just maybe, they understood me after all.)

7. Do you have a nativity scene? I don't, but Mom and Dad still proudly display the little scene of wax figures I made when I was 6 or 7. Even though it looks exactly like you'd imagine, I still think it's the best one out there.

8. Hardest person to buy for? Gram. Doesn't really need anything and I've never really been able to figure out the perfect present for her.

9. Easiest person to buy for? I would almost echo m on this one and say little e, but she's actually a bit hard to buy for since I want to give her EVERYthing. That means G is the easiest. The hard part with him is waiting until Christmas to give it.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? I like both of them. It's nice to get something tangible in the mail, but I'm too technologically inclined to diss the email version as impersonal. It really is the thought that counts.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Hmmm. I got a second hand little dragon bursting out of an egg once from someone at work. (like you'd find at a Renaisance Faire) Then again, that thing sat on the window sill above my desk for several years and the little chipped guy grew on me so maybe it wasn't all that bad.

12. Favorite Christmas movie? For many years this was A Christmas Story, but I finally saw Elf on DVD last year and I gotta admit it won me over.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I've been known to purchase something months in advance, but for the most part I'm a November/December shopper. (and someone who has been saved by the internet on occasion)

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No shame in that. In the words of a good friend, "Recycling is saving the planet!"

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? The sandwiches made from leftovers Christmas night.

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear. I'd have real candles if they weren't a total fire hazard.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Traditionally I guess it'd be "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlman". Something about the minor chord it's written in always appealed to me. Non-traditionally I'm a true child of the 80s and go with Do They Know It's Christmas (warning, this link's for YouTube video which played pretty loud on Dad's computer)

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? So glad to already be with everyone this Christmas. Worst Christmas memory is spending the night at a hotel in LA because of weather. Far from family, far from G. No minibar. No leftover sandwiches. A real rotten night.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Nope, just tried and stumble somewhere around four or five. (and then say, oh and Rudolph!)

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? A wooden star that I've always loved. Figures, me being a bit pagan in my sensibilies.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Why not both?

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? People being rude because they are so frazzled... (I agree with that!)

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? My Gram used to make everyone in the family ornaments every year. Still remember the first Chritmas G got one. Very special.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Turkey with all the fixings. My family likes Thanksgiving dinner so much, we basically repeat it a month later.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? "World Peace." This was someone else's answer, but isn't it about time?

Note, something about typing this in suddenly got me all giddy for the holiday. Thanks m! (and whoever posted the BandAid video)

Labels: linkage, memes

* posted by me at 6:32 PM

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2007-12-20 
 

warmth

Snowed again today which allowed this December to cement it's foothold as one of the top 8 snowiest Decembers in history. Well, snowiest December HERE. I'm sure that folks in Alaska and Sweden would snicker at the amount of snow we've had so far and fart in our general direction.

Point is that it's cold and after being out in it shoveling, I came in to a warm shower and nice dry clothes. Later, I was on the bed reading and starting to feel a bit cool again when G dumped a full basket of just-out-of-the-dryer towels over me. I lay quietly under them enjoying the feeling of being suddenly immersed in the heat of a summer's day.

New England really does make you appreciate the seasons.

Labels: dose of mikey, g

* posted by me at 9:01 PM

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2007-12-17 
 

mikopolis

Presurfer recently linked to a site that generates a city for you. (Every visit counts as a new person moving in and various buildings eventually spring up.) While this is most likely just a clever marketing ploy promoting the Dinopark game, I am still too much of a SimCity addict to ignore any sort of city building opportunity.

Click through to see my city.

Okay, at this point it's barely a village, but it's mine...all mine! Mwa-ha-ha!

Labels: dose of mikey, linkage

* posted by me at 6:04 PM

(2) comments



2007-12-13 
 

language problem

Watched The 40 Year Old Virgin last week. For the most part it lived up to the hype and managed to be raunchy with a side order of sweet. The closing sequence had me laughing all the way through and caused an ohrwurm of epic proportions over the past few days. (Let the sun shine indeed!)

One thing did bug me. As I may've mentioned, we're living with the parentals right now, and they watched it with us. As much as my 30-something self realizes that she's a mature woman and very capable of handling herself, I really wanted to smack the screen at certain moments and tell the actors to stop swearing in front of my Mom. Language people!

Labels: dose of mikey, linkage, random review

* posted by me at 12:07 PM

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2007-12-10 
 

cold art

Took advantage of free admission at the ICA yesterday to check it out. The new building is impressive, but a bit too imposing for my tastes. (Mind you, it was cold and dreary yesterday which will bring everything down a notch or two. There's also the fact that the neighborhood around the building consists of beaten up parking lots and construction which don't do much for the overall ambience.)

The collection itself is a bit smaller than I'd thought it would be given the size of the building, but interesting enough. I am glad I had a chance to see the original cramped space the ICA occupied back in the day. Because of that, I have a greater appreciation of how just how much more they can display in the new space. (No way they could've had any of the installations back in the old building.)

We attempted to walk the path around the edge of the harbor, but the wind and cold pushed us back before we'd made it too far. Should be quite a nice walk in a different season.

Labels: boston, dose of mikey, linkage, random review

* posted by me at 11:13 AM

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2007-12-03 
 

i hab a code

Woke up this morning with a stuffed up head and an achy feeling throughout my body. There's snow on the ground, but it's raining now and every thing's slushy.

Ahhhh....New England!

On a happier note, before the sickness descended upon me, we had a really nice weekend. Caught up with M and little J on Friday out in JP. So funny to watch G playing with him. Little kids always see a kindred spirit when they meet G! Spent Friday night with C and K just hanging out. (Very nice to be able to do that instead of cramming them into a weeklong vacation like we have in the recent past.)

Then to complete the sister act that started with lunch on Friday, we spent Saturday evening getting a tour of K's new house and got to know her husband S a bit better. (the last time we met there was too many other folk around to really have a good conversation) Long story short: He's a solid guy and I'm glad she found him. Looking forward to hanging out there again in the near future.

Then yesterday we got to see the Daniel Webster Estate where Dude and Dudette are getting married next year. The Victorian Christmas was a bit over the top for me, but the building itself and the society restoring it are incredible. It's going to be a really nice place for the ceremony/reception.

Now I am sick. Still, must venture out to finalize the car insurance stuff today. SO many steps. I find it a bit annoying that getting the car registered/insured in MA has been one of the hardest things we've had to do. I mean c'mon! All those people who worry about the a national license system invading their privacy have obviously not spent much time standing in line trying to get the DMV from different states to talk to each other. This is not the most computer savvy agency folks.

Labels: dose of mikey, linkage

* posted by me at 9:59 AM

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