Vanna’s Neighborhood

I've spent the past two days in a hardcore vegetative state, recovering from the Christmas festivities. It has been delightful.

• The movie "Enchanted" is damn enchanting. So winsome and charming with the fairytale hooha and the princess saving her prince. I kinda loved it.
• However, I also watched "My Fair Lady" and it kinda bugged me. The whole "what good is a woman" bullshit didn't sit well with me. I'm considering it dropping it from the best musicals ever list (which includes Singin' in the Rain; Funny Face; West Side Story; Moulin Rouge; and the TV show Glee).
• For Christmas I bought these flashing penguin lights. They are adorable and apparently sound activated. Things that will turn on the lights: Coughing, laughing, opening a can of Diet Coke with Lime. Things that don't turn on the lights: Whistling (though this does get both the cats to come down stairs); singing John Mellencamp songs.
• Whoever decided that something called a "fruit and nut caramel" would be a good idea to put in a box of chocolates should be kicked in the fruit and/or nuts.
• I have to read two books this week to make my RP2009 goal of 56 books. One of the books I'm in the midst of is a graphic novel, I'd think this would be a sure thing but the thing is a doorstop.
  
• Tuesday is Musical Night at Supergenius HQ where Jaycie, Max, and I will be watching Funny Face and all three High School Musicals while eating Chinese Food and drinking hot cocoa. Try not to be jealous.
• For Christmas I got a cheese grater and an electric pencil sharpener -- two things I really wanted.
• Also I conned Ericka into giving me a William Shakespeare action figure. Sweet.
• Finally, two more posts and I win this challenge. Double sweet!
  

It's not a very bad cold. In fact it's one of the milder illnesses I can remember... My sinuses are about 40% stuffed up. My throat is just vaguely scratchy. I'm more tired and achey than usual, but not by much. Nonetheless I am taking the cue and lounging on my couch for the 2nd day in a row, swaddled in blankets, books, and handkerchiefs.

Sometimes when I'm sick I will do a juice & tea fast for the day - to keep myself hydrated and let my body concentrate on killing the virus, rather than digesting complicated foods. So today I've had emergen-c, water, yerba mate, and vegetable juice. And I really must not be all that sick, because I am STARVING. I think I will get some extra-spicy thai food for dinner.

And then perhaps I will watch the Dr. Who xmas special AGAIN! I can't believe it's the 2nd-to-last episode starring David Tennant.

I got a copy of The Talented Miss Highsmith for xmas (Patricia Highsmith's new biography). It's sort of fascinating, especially considering that the author seems to hold a certain amount of (justified) disdain for Highsmith. Apparently she was a racist and anti-Semite. Her personal life was chaotic, despite her solipsistic tendencies (it is even referred to on the inner flap as a "Pandora's Box"). She was an obsessive list-maker and left behind 8,000 pages of journals when she died. Her life is a rich territory. Still, this bio is a bit cumbersome... Mostly I'm interested in reading about writers' writing habits.

Being sick is dull. More tea!

In February 2010 we will contest the 10th annual Karaoke to the Death X, and I intend to take home the trophy and enshrine myself in the pantheon of KttD greats. It will be an uphill climb. As often discussed, I have a number of things going against me.

The first, and most difficult obstacle I have to overcome, is my unvarnished enjoyment of attention, good or bad. Your typical modern KttD winner is a tone-deaf introvert who despises being the center of attention. These natural champions have an uncomfortable and displeasing stage presence that simply can't be faked. Hotrod has famously ridden this trait to two KttD championships in the modern era, an historic accomplishment. I go into the competition understanding that I'm going to have to triumph despite my comparative ease on stage.

But KttD is first and foremost a bad singing contest, so being at ease on stage -- while not optimal -- is not a deal breaker. In the singing department, my greatest asset is a powerful voice (easily the loudest in the field) that can be strained to vulgar frequencies given the "right" song. When I won KttD it was the happy marriage of this powerful instrument and Chicago's warbling "If You Leave Me Now" that propelled me ahead of the competition.

Since my victory in KttD V, I have never again factored in the voting, nor have I ever been a factor in the final voting. Part of this can be attributed to a significant, tournament-wide upswing in the overall level of competition, but I think a bigger factor has been my inability to find that perfect song to match my voice.

So I'm going a different direction this year. In the past, I typically shot for bad songs that I secretly loved (If You Leave Me Now, How Deep is Your Love, More Than a Feelin', etc.) but now I'm looking for songs that I wholeheartedly despise. I think this is the key to help me find my muse. Below is the current leader in the clubhouse.

A couple of hours ago, I got home from my annual December tour of the flyovers.  Here are a few of the highlights:

• I kicked my sister's ass at Rummikub.  It's mostly a game of chance, so it's not as satisfying as a Scrabble victory.  But the important thing is that I won.  A lot.
• I watched Elf as I wrapped presents for the unknownth year in a row.  It was weird that I wasn't wrapping presents on Christmas Eve this year.
• I met up with a friend from high school I haven't seen in at least ten years, and maybe since graduation.  That was good.
  
• My ploy to buy the love of my nieces and nephews through cool Christmas presents continues apace.
• I went to see Up in the Air by myself on Christmas Eve.  That was a little ironic, but I enjoyed it anyway.
• I'm sick and tired of coming home sick and tired.  I'll settle for just tired if my sister agrees not to bring sick kids from here on out.
  

It's been a weird year. I put together my photo "yearbook" in iPhoto yesterday and titled it: The Waiting Area; 2009 never happened. Because that's what this year has felt like. Limbo. I don't know if this feeling is specific to the year - will things suddenly start moving again when I peel open this year's wall calendar from my uncle? Probably not. But that's what we always hope for, right? That the new year will change something, and we can simply leave behind the things we don't want.

Picture 22

But despite its weirdness, things of course did happen in 2009 (and will presumably continue to do so for the next week or so...) Here are some of my favorites:

1. President Barack Obama. Although I'm a bit non-plussed with the Copenhagen agreement, I am still SO GLAD he got elected. I trust him to make good decisions even if I may not agree 100% of the time, and it has been a long time since I trusted a president. I think I felt pretty good about Jimmy Carter when I was 6.
2. Expanded unemployment benefits. If this money weren't available I would likely be homeless by now. That may sound a bit dramatic, but I have now joined the ranks of those just a couple of steps from financial disaster, and once you're on that ledge it's easy to slip off of it.
3. Infinite Summer. I joined the ranks of David Foster Wallace fans who read or re-read Infinite Jest over the summer. I'm glad I finally read it, but it really needs a 2nd or 3rd reading...
4. I went to San Francisco and finally met Patty, Laurel, Deborah, and karen. It felt like I've known them for years! I'm still kind of amazed by the connections I've made through Vox. It doesn't seem to happen anywhere else on the interwebs...
5. My cousin bought a lake house. It's more of a "cabin" really... but it is a place I can stay on Lake Coeur d'Alene in the summertime for free.
   
6. The birth of anemone. I don't really know where it will go at this point, but it has been an adventure planting the seed.
7. I've made progress on my memoir and other writing projects. Not nearly as much progress as I wanted to make... but everything slows down in Limbo.
8. I'm getting used to a healthier, simpler lifestyle. More cooking, less eating out, and simpler meals to boot. Less compulsive buying, or spending money on things like haircuts. It's really kind of nice.
   
9. I was able to wean myself off antidepressants without major setbacks.

Here are a few spreads from my "yearbook"...

Picture 27

Picture 26

Picture 25

Picture 24

Picture 23

My favorite Christmas Carol is "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman." It is probably no coincidence that this is also the only actual Christmas carol mentioned by name in "A Christmas Carol." The Christmas in my head is a decidedly English affair, and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen strikes me as the most English of carols.

I got a yen to hear my favorite Christmas song earlier today, so I headed on over to iTunes to buy myself a copy. I was hoping for a version sung by fat, jolly English baritone types, possibly with an orchestra. This is what I got.

Tidings of comfort and joy

2 comments

Nothing reminds you of all your weird single-person-who-lives-alone quirks like having a guest for an extended period of time. Kelli's here for the holidays and I pity her having to deal with me. I sing. A lot.

Every once in awhile I remember that someone else is here and I feel like this:

I decided to stay in Seattle for the holiday after much hemming and hawing and then more hemming and a little waffling. I feel bad about it. I would like to see most of my relatives, but not in conditions that are hostile to sanity. So I'll be spending a quiet week in (and out of) my quiet apartment. Here's what I plan to do:

• Catch up on laundry
• Read Proust, Rorty, and Murdoch
• Write my year/ decade - end lists, analyses, etc.
• Find some new music to listen to
• Clean the bird cage
• Vacuum
• Go to a movie (which one? dunno)
• Watch the 2 Netflix I've had for 6 weeks
• Re-order my Netfilx queue
• Send a holiday letter to my uncle Phil in Sweden
• Drink some brandy & eggnog
• Do yoga
• Sell some books
• Make a mix CD to give to friends
• Plan a quick trip to Portland next week
• Go to my ex-husband's xmas-eve punch party
• Go for a run or 3
• Make myself a nice meal
• Figure out what I'm doing with my life

Well, that last one may extend past this week...