Belated Gobble Gobble Wishes!

Just wanted to wish ya'll belated Happy Thanksgiving wishes! Though many do not celebrate the true meaning of this holiday, namely the Native Americans, (really, why celebrate the slaughter of your own people by the white conquerors?), it's always nice to get a day off of work and school to spend time with family. I hope that you took the time to remember and appreciate the many blessings you have. Yes, we shouldn't take this ONE day out of the year to do so...we should be thankful EVERYDAY! In any case, whatever and however you celebrated this day, hope you were able to spend it with your loved ones.

Redeye Flight

Left da city late Wednesday night for a redeye back to MN just in time to celebrate with hubby. Surprisingly, the airports weren't so terrible! Maybe it was because I was flying out so late or maybe I just missed the chaos of flying out on the day before Thanksgiving, aka, the most busiest time of the year to fly. To be on the safe side, I got to the airport more than two hours before my flight. The flight itself was alright. Since I had a helluva day at school, all I wanted to do was close my eyes and sleep. Not too much turbulence, thank goodness, but the couple that I sat next to were interesting, to say the least. I'm not one to really eavesdrop on people's conversations, but if ya'll are talking loud, well, it just can't be helped, yes? The couple that sat next to me were Middle Eastern and not to be so stereotypical, I was somewhat expecting them to speak with an accent. They were probably born and raised here, but what surprised me the most was that if you closed your eyes and heard them talk, the only thing I pictured was a young, white couple. Not to say that this is a bad thing! It's just that you rarely hear people of color use words such as "jolly" while slapping their thigh and laughing. If we're talking about jolly old St. Nicholas, then fine..but they weren't. All I'm trying to say is that for they sounded whiter than the typical white man! Is that mean? Aiya. Hey...when you're taking a redeye after a long ass day of dealing with uncooperative 3rd graders, anything and everything will seem amusing. End of story.

Turkey Day

As is the tradition, hubby prepared Thanksgiving dinner. While he was busy slaving away in the kitchen, I started decorating the house for Christmas. I have to say that I am quite disappointed with myself. Usually BY Thanksgiving, I have all of my Christmas cards addressed, stamped, and ready to go. I like to get them out of the way because I know that immediately after Turkey Day, the craziness of the Christmas holidays set in. Unfortunately, I did not complete that goal and again, I am bummed at myself for not being on top of things. In any case, Thanksgiving dinner was yum...here was the menu that hubby prepared:

turkey
ham
mashed potatoes and gravy (from scratch!)
stuffing
corn
pumpkin pie (for him!)
french silk pie (for moi!)

After stuffing our faces in to keep us content for the time being, we ventured out to the movie theaters to watch "Rent." I have been looking forward to this for some time now. We had actually gone to see the Broadway production of "Rent" back in 1999 in da city, but for some reason, I don't remember being so impressed by it. But it's like how when the movie of "Phantom of the Opera" came out, I was totally impressed! Okay, the phantom didn't have the strongest of voices out there, but watching the film/musical made me understand it in a totally different level. Perhaps seeing "Phantom" on stage is just a different experience and maybe sometimes the singers are a tad overly operatic in the sense that I can't even understand what they're singing about. Yah I got the gist of the story, but seeing the storyline on film made a lot of sense in parts where I might've been cloudy on. The same with "Rent," I almost forgot what the storyline was about. Not only was it a story of 8 friends living in New York, but it's really how their lives are connected and the many struggles they deal with. To me, it's a very REAL story. It deals with HIV positive people, strip club dancers, drag queens, lesbians, song writers, and film makers. It deals with drugs, sex, social injustice, and politics. While it is a whole other side of a community that many choose to ignore, hate, fear, disrespect, and misunderstand, the movie touches upon the human side that we should always see...that there is more to people than what can be seen on the outside. In all honesty, I was surprised that "Rent" was being shown out here in good ole' conservative Midwest...but very glad that it is just the same. If you're looking for a good movie to watch this Thanksgiving weekend, check out "Rent." And oh yes, don't forget to bring the tissue!

Winter Wonderland

After watching "Rent" last night, we were still in the mood to watch another movie so we popped in "The Polar Express." If ya'll haven't seen it, I recommend it! It has a really good message about believing and it's just the perfect thing to get you into the Christmas spirit. By the time we headed to bed, it was about 2:30am-ish. We were woken up by this annoyingly loud scraping noise and hubby asked, "Are those the snow plowers?" We both got out of bed and went to the window and wouldn't you know it? It was snowing! Everything covered in white looked so beautiful...and cold. Winter has arrived! I did get a chance to go out 'cuz I wanted to take a pic with my camera phone..and for that minute or so that we were out there, all I can say is BRRRRRRRRRRRRR! The wind chill is about 6 degrees and again, while it looks pretty and wintery, it's not as romantic as it looks. Plus, it's a major bitch if you have to travel in it! As I write this, the snow is still falling. According to hubby, we probably have received about 4 inches so far. It's still coming down and all I could say is, damn..."...and so it begins..."

Birthday Shout-Outs

Just wanted to send some birthday wishes to sista-friend, RyceGirlie! I haven't seen her in a while and we've been meaning to have a walk-n-talk about Lake Merced forever. We figure, if we can get a good workout while catching up on each other's life, then yah, let's go for it! Well girlfriend, I hope that we get to catch up real soon...hope you have a wonderful day today, girl- Happy Birthday!