This is my last post this year. Jen still has strep, which isn't fair because she just had it earlier this month. I think she must have gotten the strep with my name on it. I told her I'd take it from her if I could, but it just doesn't work that way.
The kids are their usual selves, which means that the house is trashed again and the kitchen floor is sticky. At least the new furniture is holding up okay. I'm very much enjoying sitting in comfy chairs in the living room. That's a good way to ring in the new year - sitting in a comfy chair. You know you're getting old when that sounds appealing. Actually, I'm going to be witnessing Sleepytime Gorilla Museum play in San Francisco, and then going and making noise somewhere in the time honored tradition of the OAC. Noise is good when you can control it. With these words, I leave you until next year.

cds I listened to while noticing that the light I broke a couple of nights ago has been fixed: Barbez "s/t", Agnes Buen Garnas "Draumkvedet", Nina Nastasia "Run to Ruin", Townes Van Zandt "A Gentle Evening with Townes Van Zandt", Lila Downs "Border", and Myshkin's Ruby Warblers "Rosebud Bullets"

The rain has come and (mostly) gone. While it was raining, I was at work facilitating an activity that involved rubber fish, paint, and tissue paper. The paint was smeared on the fish, and then the paper was pressed over it to create a fish print. While hordes of children were involved in doing this, I became aware that many of their parents were incapable of telling the difference between a rubber fish and a real fish. Whenever somebody asked if the fish were real, I replied that real fish would be much stinkier. Whenever a kid with long sleeves reached for the green paint, I played "Greensleeves" on my pennywhistle. Nobody got it. Maybe my rendition was too sloppy.

To bed, to bed.

cds I listened to while appreciating the glistening streets: Kristin Hersh "The Grotto", Townes Van Zandt "A Far Cry From Dead", Lila Downs "Tree of Life", Vig Mihaly "Filmzenek - Tarr Bela filmjeihez", and Sui Vesan "Sui"

The week between Christmas and New Year's Day always seems like it exists outside of time. Nothing much happens. People are on vacation, either physically or mentally, or both. We all talk about the things we would like to get done in January, but don't even entertain the thought of starting them now. We make lists perhaps, but don't actually reference them until after the start of the year. Being busy now would interrupt the death rattle of the old year. We can't have that. Let the year die with a little dignity, and hope that the replacement year will bring better things (although, I can't complain about this year - lots of good things happened).
I'm full of ideas for things I want to accomplish next year, and my procrastinating soul rejoices at the fact that I don't have to do anything until next week.

The last Sunday night/Monday morning of 2003 is cloudy and windy. Leaves skitter down streets, and occasional gusts of wind remind us to pay attention while driving, lest we get blown off course. Rain has been forecast, but is still percolating high above, with only a few drops making it to the ground. The Wall Street Journal is 38 pages, which is about the smallest it has been all year. The wind plays tricks with papers this small, sending them skyward as I throw them. One paper even broke something - a light, I think. Perhaps the customer will complain tomorrow. Perhaps not. Lights in apartment complexes often remain broken for weeks after I break them.

cds I listened to while seeing a lot of the papers I delivered Thursday night still sitting on walkways: Bohren & der Club of Gore "Black Earth", Ecke Yep "Tuva Ensemble", Vera Bila & Kale "Kale Kalore", V/A "Music From the Nonesuch Explorer Series - Africa" (Great horns! I'll have to find some...), and Lila Downs "La Sandunga"

How not to hold small snakes:

The Christmas chaos went well. The kids burrowed into the pile of presents, sending bits of wrapping paper in all directions and exclaiming with delight. Except for The Dickens, who had spent part of the night throwing up and was still feeling unwell as the day dawned. She was so tired that she laid her head down on a pile of presents and rested. Poor girl. She perked up later on though.

Most importantly, Willow and my dad finally met. Willow's stranger anxiety caused her to cry when he held her, but lately she's been crying when anybody besides Jen or myself holds her. She did smile at him from the safety of Jen's arms though.

Many presents were exchanged every which way. The litter of wrapping paper extends across several homes, and the piles of presents are everywhere. Who knows where we're going to put all of the new stuff. Maybe we can put it in the places vacated by all of the presents we gave.

I think I'll go have some of my new candy.

cds I listened to while grumbling about having to deliver papers that nobody is going to read: V/A "Amalia Rodrigues & the History of Fado", Epizod "The Bulgarian God", Paul Chain "Cosmic Wind", Eleni Karaindrou "Trojan Women", and Current Ninety Three "The Seahorse Rears to Oblivion"

Make sure that you shake the tree out really well before bringing it inside and hanging ornaments on it. You don't want this to happen.

This is to be my last entry before Christmas. This is a strange time of year. It's supposed to be a time of togetherness and reflection, but it seems mostly to be a time of consumption. The mall I pass on the way to work was absolutely packed, if the parking garages and lines of cars exiting were anything to go by. The blind rush to buy last minute, obligatory gifts for the people seems to me to be a far cry from the true meaning of the season, and I'm not a christian. (Of course, it's really a pagan holiday, but that's another story...) It's sad that every big holiday in this country has to come with a marketing strategy attached to it.

I'm not saying anything new here. Appreciate your loved ones. Let the yuletide sweep you away.

cds I listened to while throwing papers that most people won't read because they'll be at the malls all day: Lo Jo "Boheme de Cristal", Elend "Winds Devouring Men", Tellu "Suden Aika", and Silver Mountain "Breakin' Chains"

I read in the newspaper about this product called Java log (or Javalog, I forget...) which is essentially compressed coffee grounds and a couple of other ingredients. It burns cleaner than wood, and it's made out of something that people throw away every day (have you ever wondered what percentage of our landfills are coffee grounds?). The only problem is that it is something like $3.99 a log. Who the hell can afford four dollar logs? In order for a product like this to be truly effective in saving trees and reducing pollution, it has to be affordable for the masses.
Well, don't fear, Java Log may only provide heat for the elite, but researchers are even now searching for a more affordable alternative. In my opinion, it is right in front of their eyes. I can see the advertising campaign now: Tired of being left out in the cold? Think heat is only for the elite? Don't despair! Try new Old Sock Log! Made out of the compressed socks of the elite! Here at Old Sock Log headquarters, we steal from the rich to give glorious heat to the common folk. We'll all have a good laugh around the fire as the upper crust complain about their missing socks.

The Christmas counter ticks down. We cleaned and wrapped some more today. I'm glad I haven't gone to any malls. There are lines of cars waiting on the freeway off-ramps near them. I can't imagine having to wait in line to get to a mall. That's sort of like having to wait in line to get punched in the eye. It just doesn't make any sense.

cds I listened to while not waiting in line: The Gathering "Black Light District", Ilgi/Rainis "Speleju Dancoju", Klakki "Lemon River", and Pentagram "Sub-Basement"

I got the python a new water bowl as an early Christmas present, because I felt that he needed one he could actually fit in, should he feel the need to bathe. I even gave him an extra rat.

We spent the weekend preparing for the upcoming holiday in a variety of ways. Jen wrapped lots of presents. I wrapped one or two, but will wait until the last minute to do the rest because some of them haven't been bought yet. I am a firm believer in last minute panic. This is a good way to compress several months worth of labor into a single afternoon. Same amount of work, much less time spent doing it.

While delivering papers tonight, I didn't get pulled over. Instead, I listened to a security guard try to enlist me to sell legal insurance. Very dubious. It sounded like a pyramid scheme to me, but what do I know? I'm just the paperboy.

cds I listened to while trying to do my job in a timely manner: Sol Invictus "Thrones", Ilgi "Seju Veju", Keuhkot "Peruskivi Francon Betonia", Kari "Pilot >>>", and El Monte Aranos "Allied Cooking But Not As You Know It!"

It seems that the police activity I witnessed last night came about due to some sort of gun battle, which left several people wounded. I'm still wondering, considering that the crime scene was near the Evil Burger Restaurant, if it happened due to a disagreement over fast food. "Yo! Gimme dat last fry an' I won't shoot you in duh face!"
What the hell are people thinking? Don't they know that fast food is bad for you?

Tonight, evidently there were no gun battles because the cops were back doing what they do when nothing more interesting is taking place - pulling over the paper delivery people. This is the second time this week! There must be some new cops on the force. Their pink little faces just wrinkle with suspicion as I drive by, so they all come after me, pull me over, and stand around with their thumbs mining their colons as they take their sweet time realizing that I'm just doing my job. Maybe I should get an official hat or something.

Oh, and don't forget the amphibian on your list this holiday season.



Cds I listened to while trying to look as innocent as possible, but failing: Vig Mihaly "Ciganydalok", Paul Chain Experimental Information "Container 47", Nina Nastasia "The Blackened Air", Farlanders "Moments", and Kristeen Young "Meet Miss Young and Her All Boy Band"

There were fast food follies of some sort going on at the Big Evil Hamburger Place on my route tonight. The police had a large section of parking lot taped off, and everything was lit up bright as day. Maybe somebody choked to death on a hamburger. Maybe foul play was involved. On the bright side (pun probably intended) all of the police in the area were busy so I didn't have to worry about being pulled over for looking suspicious.
Above the scene, a misty half-moon ascended, seeming to trail vapor behind it.

I've been including "service request" forms in the newspapers for the last three nights. This allows customers to either rant at me for poor service or tip me for good service. I try to only give them to people who have received good service. This cuts down on the negative vibes, and gives me extra spending money for the holidays. So far I've gotten $35.

cds I listened to while inserting bits of paper inside larger bits of paper: V/A "Na Kosteti Do nebe", V/A "Music from Latvia", Noe Venable "Boots", Iva Bittova "Ne Nehledej", Volcano The Bear "Xvol", and Munadjat Yulchieva & Ensemble Shavkat Mirzaev "s/t"

It's strange what you find under the fungus.



And here's a picture of Nate (looking several years older than he actually is because I can't for the life of me draw while looking at a photograph) that I drew for him for his birthday. Happy birthday Nate!

As we wandered the river banks with our BioSITE kids today, the mid-morning quiet was interrupted by an old homeless man who shouted as he walked along the path by the river. The kids were a bit alarmed, and the more imaginative amongst them quickly decided that he had a gun.
It soon became apparent what he was up to. He was trailed by a number of expectant cats as he walked, like some sort of alternate reality pied piper. He stepped off the trail and put down some bowls of cat food. The cats squabbled as they vied for position. The man resumed his shouting, calling more felines to the feast. All along the river, cats could be seen. We noticed another cluster of cats on the other side, gathered around food that the man had put down earlier.
So, I guess the cats aren't quite feral. Hopefully the fact that they're being regularly fed means that they'll leave the wildlife alone, but knowing cats, I'm sure this won't be the case. It's just another example of how kindness to a few is in fact an unkindness to many.

Spay and neuter your pets, people.

Yesterday (or should I say yesternight?), the slow leak in one of my front tires became a fast leak, so I emptied a can of fix-a-flat into it and got back to work. The puncture must have been pretty big, because
while I worked, my spinning tire was painting the wheel well with liquid, chemical-smelling rubber, so that when I stopped to check on the tire, it was nearly flat again and smelled really nasty to boot. I put some more fix-a-flat in and found a gas station with a working air pump (harder than you'd expect). Today I bought a couple of new tires, because the old ones, in addition to being leaky, were nearly bald.
I know that somewhere, locked in a vault, there is a formula for tires that will last for the entire life of a car and beyond. I curse the whole concept of planned obsolescence.

Tonight, I got pulled over again because I look damn suspicious.

cds I listened to while sneaking around: Dead Raven Choir "Armoured Wolves", Ilgi "Kaza Kapa Debesis", Bittova & Fajt "s/t", Godspeed You! Black Emperor "Yanqui U.X.O.", and Shanghaied & Haunted "Pilgrim Beware"

I'm full of all sorts of ideas about how to change my various bad habits for the new year, most specifically my spending habits, but also lesser concerns like eating and organizing. I don't usually make resolutions at the start of the year, but it seems like a good time to do it after the excesses of the holidays. Of course, the fact that I've managed to max out one of my credit cards adds incentive to shape up. It would be nice to be out of debt some day. We can all dream.

Tomorrow is the last day of BioSITE for the year. There's supposed to be some sort of potluck. mmmm.

cds I listened to while contemplating not buying any more for awhile: Tarantula Hawk "Desert Solitaire", Antony and the Johnsons/Current 93 "Live at Saint Olave's Church", Faerd "s/t", Iva Bittova & Nederlands Blazers Ensemble "Dance of the Vampires", and Sergey Starostin's Vocal Family "Journey"

We went and got a Christmas tree on saturday, but not at one of the scenic tree farms where we usually go, because we're not sure if the van will make it. Nobody in their right minds would want to drive along a hilly freeway with very little shoulder space in a van that has proven its unreliability in such situations in the past, so we ended up at the neighborhood lot, consoling ourselves with the fact that all of their proceeds go to local charities. As we pulled into the parking place, The Dickens looked out the window and asked, "where da punkinpie?" "Punkinpie", as any good translater will tell you, means "pumpkin". The tree lot, like many similar lots, occupies the same corner of the parking lot that the pumpkin patch covered a couple of months ago. The Dickens was nonplussed at the sight of all of the trees sitting where the pumpkins ought to be.
Later, she sang Christmas songs to herself as we decorated. She had a great time until the ornaments ran out, at which point she threw a tantrum that culminated in her biting Jen. Oh, the fickleness of the two year-old.
It's nice to have the tree up. The smell of pine always reminds me of childhood, and how this month seemed to take forever. Now it flashes by so fast that our heads will still be spinning in February. It makes me wonder how fast time will go twenty or thirty years down the line.

cds I listened to while noticing more and more holiday lights, and wondering how many people will regret putting them up when they get their next electricity bill: Iva Bittova & Vladimir Vaclavek "Bile Inferno", Neko Case "Canadian Amp", Tarantula Hawk "Live at KFJC, 7/15/01", Ilgi "Saules Meita", Iva Bittova & Pavel Fajt "Svatba", and Hedningarna "1989 - 2003"

My car starts without suspense now. Of course, it wasn't the battery that was causing the trouble, because batteries are under $100, and subsection 5 of the Auto Repair Shop Rule Book states that "whatever trouble you think you have will in fact turn out to be a more expensive trouble." So now I have a new starter. At least I don't have to worry about being stuck somewhere.

I just noticed that there's an ant walking up my arm. Hold on... Okay, now it's on the floor somewhere. We need more spiders around here.

I thought up a new idea for an art project. First, you get fallen leaves and some scotch tape, and then you tape the leaves all over a car. I tried it out tonight, to see what it would look like. Since my time was limited, I couldn't cover the whole car, which is a shame. My co-worker was somewhat mystified when he walked out to his car and discovered the leaves.

cds I listened to while thinking up new kinds of art: The Angels of Light "We Were Alive!!!", M.Gira "Living '02", Jarboe "Dissected", and Dulce Pontes "O Primeiro Canto"

Slow December day.

The battery in my car is dying, so every time I turn the key in the ignition I'm on the edge of my seat with the suspense of it all. Will the car start? Will it just crank weakly and fail? Who knows? This isn't my favorite kind of suspense.

And damnit, I wish we would all get better. Last year during the holiday season there was enough sickness to last for several years worth of holidays. I can hear Jen coughing in the other room as I type this, and I don't like the fact that Willow is still all clogged up. And... more suspense - will Lexy get strep throat? Indeed, does he already have it? Urgh.

On the bright side, one of the spiders in the bathroom seems to have helped us with our ant problem, if the pile of spider poop under the web is anything to judge by. This may sound like pretty flimsy evidence. After all, the poop could be the remains of some other sort of unfortunate insect. I base my conclusions on the fact that I've never seen anything in the bathroom except ants and spiders. I don't think the spiders are eating each other, therefore they must be eating the ants. Good for them. I always thought it was really optimistic of them to make webs all over the bathroom, but this time it seems to have paid off.

cds I listened to while keeping the car running so I wouldn't have to jump start it: The Nels Cline Singers "Instrumentals", Timesbold "s/t", Steve Von Till "If I Should Fall to the Field", Devendra Banhart "Oh Me Oh My... The Way the Day Goes by the Sun is Setting Dogs are Dreaming Lovesongs of the Christmas Spirit", and M. Gira/D. Matz "What We Did"

Found it near work. Drew it at work.

I got treated to a thunderstorm tonight. I couldn't actually hear the thunder for some reason. Maybe it was too far away. Maybe my music was up too loud. Jen, at home, heard the thunder but didn't see the lightning. We're a perfect match, like two puzzle pieces.

I only had three kids in my BioSITE group today, missing the one who moved to Wisconsin and the one who hasn't turned his homework in for two weeks and was made to stay behind at school as a punishment. Our small group did more photo monitoring. We monitored pigeons, people, cats, egrets, crayfish (the photo in the last post is actually from a couple of months ago, but we took some similar ones today, which I may post at some point), squirrels, water, and plants. The kids all wanted to take pictures of the same things, so we ended up with lots of similar, haphazardly framed, blurry shots of angry crayfish and hunting egrets. I'm still figuring out how to monkey with the pictures on the computers at work, and will post things as I see fit.

Towards the end of the BioSITE day, the leaves started blowing off of the trees, and kept it up for most of the afternoon. Now, as I step out of my car in the driveway, I'm stepping into a pile of leaves. This is good. For me, there's not much that's more aesthetically pleasing than streets covered in leaves. It's even better if they're blowing around.

cds I listened to while getting rained on and not caring: Ring "Great Lonely Mood", Mediaeval Baebes "The Rose", Dorothy Carter "Lonesome Dove", Les Barker "Probably The Best Album Ever Made By Anybody In Our Street", The Mrs Ackroyd Band "Tubular Dogs", Edward Elgar "The Starlight Express suite and King Arthur Suite", and The Iditarod "The River Nektar"

I'm not sure exactly what atmospheric conditions are responsible for the illusion of a ring around the moon, but it sure looks impressive when it happens. I think a thin layer of mist is needed, and the moonlight has to hit it just right, but then again analysing things sometimes takes away their power, so I'll stop. I wonder what omens this type of event gave rise to in ancient times.

Tomorrow is BioSITE, which means not enough sleep. At least they caught the arsonists who lit the school on fire, and all of the kids are back on their own campus. Goodnight.

cds I listened to while staring at the moon: Hans Zimmer & Klaus Badelt "Invincible" soundtrack (Herzog's latest), David Maranha "Noe's Lullaby", Calla "Televise", and Empress "1996 - 1999"

We spent the weekend in various stages of illness. I got off pretty lightly with a bad cold, while Jen got nailed with a case of strep throat. We took Willow to see a doctor because she's been all stuffy and wheezy. Babies just aren't very good at clearing their throats of gunk. She was prescribed an inhaler just in case she has any difficulty breathing. We're hoping that we don't have to use it because the directions say that it has to be held in place over the nose and mouth for two minutes. I'm sure Willow would find this objectionable. While Willow was in seeing this doctor, I was outside with The Dickens, riding up and down in the elevator. The Dickens is now an expert at controlling elevators. After this, she threw a big fit in the waiting room because she didn't want to wait. She even called another small child a "bad baby". That's the foulest insult she knows, taught to her by Nate, and not limited to the young in its application.

Today I didn't get up until 2:00, and spent a good amount of time watching my new Alien DVD box set. Jen joined me. It is rare that we get to just sit on the couch and do nothing. It's a good thing that Willow doesn't let her nasty cough spoil her cheerful disposition. Otherwise we probably wouldn't have been able to get away with being couch potatoes for very long. Now if only we could get a comfortable couch. Ours has a metal bar running across it at lower back level, guaranteed to cripple even the fittest occupant.

cds I listened to while dripping at the nose: Iron & Wine "The Creek Drank the Cradle", Calexico "98-99 Road Map", Shinjuku Thief "The Witch Haven", Dar Williams "The Beauty of the Rain", and Baby Dee "Love's Small Song"

As promised, here's the armadillo. Apparently they jump straight up in the air when startled, which means that sometimes they're actually hitting the car, not the other way around. It's hard for any species, including humans, to adapt to roads. The authorities just clean the humans up more quickly. This poor armadillo was down the street from where we were staying for the whole week.



And here's the Dickens, presenting the face that she reserves for Texan relatives.

It didn't end up taking me much longer than usual to deliver two nights worth of newspapers. Maybe I should start doing this on a regular basis. Who wants to read the Wall St. Journal every day anyway?

At the museum today, just as we were talking about how none of the wall clocks are ever synchronized, the nearest clock fell off the wall, bounced off of a chair and stopped ticking. I found the battery beneath the chair and reinserted it, but the poor clock was even less synchronized than before. I wonder if we have poltergeists.

At home, we are all in various stages of sickness. There's this cough that just won't go away. Willow is goopy and snotty. Jen feels really miserable. The Dickens says her throat hurts. I think we'll lay as low as possible tomorrow.

Between the DVD box sets that Jen and my mom got me for my birthday, I have about 70 hours of viewing time awaiting me. It'll probably take me until my next birthday to watch them all. Happy. I'm also happy with the comfy new shirts that Jen's mom got me. She even threw in a chocolate euro! King sized! (probably to illustrate its new relation to the dollar).

cds I listened to that I would have listened to last night but didn't because of some sort of failure in the paper manufacturing process: Doc Wor Mirran "The Soundtrack of Death", Arkkon "Live - Torino - Italia, 27/02/02", Tara Jane O'neil "TKO", The Black Heart Procession "Amore del Tropico", Low "Canada", Mushroom's Patience "Roma, Wien", and Tarantula Hawk "s/t"

More scribbles.

Okay, the scanner seems to be working now. I poked at it a few times and it sprang back to life. Sometimes I stun even myself with my technical expertise.

Here's the picture that isn't The Dickens. Maybe this is what she'll look like in 20 or 30 years. Maybe not.

The Fates have conspired to give me the night off in honor of my birthday. I arrived at work only to learn that the printing press was experiencing "problems" and that nobody would know anything further until 1:00 am. Hearing this, and not wanting to sit around for hours, I got back in my car and drove home. This meant that Jen and I got to spend some extra time together! Yay! We occasionally talk about me getting a day job so we can share our evenings after the little ones are all in bed (not that they ever all stay asleep at the same time for very long). Tonight was sort of like a sneak preview. I like it. Later, I called my work to see if they had fixed the problem. It turns out that they had experienced some sort of power outage, and had managed to get a generator from somewhere, but there was still no E.T.A. on the papers. A subsequent call informed me that I needn't bother coming in because the papers probably wouldn't get there until 4:00 am. It's just as well. I wasn't looking forward to going back out again, even though the moon is beautiful and the night is crisp and foggy around the edges. Happy birthday to me. The only drawback to this is that I have to double deliver tomorrow night. If it were any other newspaper besides the Wall St. Journal, this wouldn't be too much of a hassle. The problem with the Journal is that each paper has an address label, which means that they have to be kept in order. Since I fold papers while I'm driving, I anticipate that I'll have an organizational nightmare on my hands tomorrow night as I juggle two days' worth of news. I must keep reminding myself that it's the challenges in life that keep us young.

Oh, here's a picture I drew while we were in Sherman. Lexy saw the picture I had drawn of Willow and insisted I draw one of him. It doesn't look like him to me, but he was satisfied with it and showed it to just about everybody. I had no illusions of being able to get Nathan or The Dickens to stand still long enough to draw them, but tried to draw The Dickens anyway (she asked me to). Of course, she only stood still for about two seconds. The rough sketch I had started looked more like an adult. I finished it today during a lull at work, and will post it once we fix the scanner (or buy a new one with our limitless funds).



cd I listened to while driving to and from work: Kemialliset Ystavat "Suurempi Pieni Palatsi"

The end of the year fast approaches. This time of year all attention becomes focused on the holidays. I got a holiday bonus from the museum today, but probably won't get one from my night job, due to the poor economy and miserable subscription numbers. I still have to do a bit of shopping, and knowing me, I'll probably still have shopping to do on the 24th. My volunteer job at Hidden Villa is over for the year, except for the potluck appreciation party coming up next week. I led my last tour of the season on the friday before we went to Texas, and caught a small Ringneck snake, who curled his tail angrily at us. It seems kind of late in the season to be catching snakes. I would think that most sensible reptiles would be laying low in wait for the warmth of spring.
Our BioSITE group visited some of our fire-displaced students in their temporary classroom at a nearby school today. We performed most of the same water tests we normally do, using water transported from the river. It's not quite the same as being there though. On the plus side, the school, which is new, is quite beautiful. It reminded me of an east coast school, with indoor corridors and interesting architecture. On of my fellow facilitators remarked that it looked like a school you would see in a movie. I hope the still-at-large arsonists leave it alone.

cds I listened to while thinking about the holidays: Doc Wor Mirran & Tesendalo "Not Recorded Remixed" and "Phire", Coil "Live Four", The Angels of Light "Everything is Good Here/Please Come Home", Doc Wor Mirran "Pseudo Me, Pseudo You", and Townes Van Zandt "Live at the Old Quarter, Houston, Texas"

I've been enjoying the rain for the last couple of days and nights. The streets are glistening, and the leaves are piling up in yellow drifts.

I have to get up early for BioSITE tomorrow. During the past week, somebody tried to burn down one of the schools where the kids we teach come from. They've been temporarily assigned to other nearby schools, and I think we're visiting one of them tomorrow. Why don't people ever burn down useless things, like Walmart stores or sports stadiums? Why pick on schools?

Oh well. Goodnight.

cds I listened to while sliding on wet leaves: Doc Wor Mirran "Elfengrund", "Momentum 1", "Jingfired", and "Landscape", Current 93 "Live at the Teatro Iberico, Lisbon, Portugal on Saturday 8 February, 2003", Howden - Wakeford "Wormwood", and Greg Weeks "Fire in the Arms of the Sun"

Escalators are fun. We didn't realize this at the time, so The Dickens broadcast her indignation for the whole airport to hear as we left the escalator behind and joined the line of people waiting at the security checkpoint. It is difficult to hold onto a flailing two year old while putting all of your personal belongings on a conveyor belt and submitting to various types of metal detector scrutiny.
Once we cleared security and found our gate, The Dickens calmed down enough to run over to the windows and watch the airplanes (or hairplanes, as she calls them). Outside, a crow watched us from its perch on top of the boarding ramp. So our journey began.

In Texas, I met so many of Jen's relatives that there wasn't much chance to get to know any of them too well. We were picked up at the airport by Jen's cousin Michelle, who can be forgiven for driving an SUV because she lives on a ranch. As we drove through Dallas, I noticed that the competition among boot stores was fierce. Somebody had opened a store called "Boot City" right next to a store named "Boot Town". We left the big city behind and ended up in a more country-ish part of the state, a town named Sherman. Our room at the ranch faced east and there were no curtains on the window. The view was beautiful. At night the horizon was lit up by a band of twinkling building lights. The mornings, which ranged from overcast and foggy to clear, were also beautiful, although on the clear days the sun slapped us awake. As we slept, we were well guarded by a pair of vegetarian dogs. The yard surrounding the house was littered with the remains of their meals - half eaten pears from the tree on the north side of the house.
The boys promptly attacked the air mattress, jumping up and down on it until it sprung a leak. It lowered them gently to the ground overnight. This was the beginning of the trail of destruction they left. Soon, a light fixture, a marble chess board, a plush ball, and a frisbee were added to the list of things that would have to be thrown out.
Most of the relatives were from Jen's dad's side of the family, and we spent most of the time at her paternal grandparent's place eating food cooked by an ever changing assortment of people. The Dickens discovered the delights of rolling pecans down the long, curved driveway. Lexy discovered the delights of chess (which eventually led to the above mentioned chess board destruction), and Nate decided that he didn't like being away from home and spent the majority of the time scowling (except at night, when it turned into whining). Willow got passed around to all of the relatives and wasn't too happy about it.
I really enjoyed getting a chance to see some of the places that Jen had spent her childhood, and meeting the people she had spent it with. This gave me a chance to put faces to a lot of the people I previously had known only through her descriptions and stories. Everybody was really nice, especially her grandparents.
We spent about a day and a half with her maternal grandmother, who has an immaculate house, so of course we spent a lot of time trying to stay one step ahead of the kids. We mostly succeeded, except for the light fixture. I took the three older ones for a walk down the hill to lake Texoma, and we explored a bit before going back. The Dickens wanted to bring back some animal poo we found on the road so she could properly flush it. How thoughtful of her.
Thanksgiving came and went, leaving us satisfyingly stuffed and surrounded by even more people than on previous days. Some other kids had finally arrived (all teenaged or nearly so), which meant that the boys and The Dickens had new people to play with. This gave us a bit of a break.
During the week, in addition to driving an SUV with either Lynard Skynard (requested by The Dickens, and spelled wrong too, I'm sure...) or country music on the stereo, we saw lots of cows, oil wells, a stop sign peppered with bullet holes, and an upside down armadillo (photo soon). How stereotypical.
All of a sudden it was time to go home. The flight back was longer, and The Dickens was mad. When she tired of kicking the seat in front of her, she crawled from one end of the plane to the other. Several times. On the plus side, while I was leaning over her holding her feet so the passenger in front of her wouldn't kill us, I looked out the window and saw the Grand Canyon bathed in the orange glow of the sinking sun. Long shadows stretched eastward.
After we landed, while we waited for the luggage to emerge, I went up and down the escalators with The Dickens, noticing that several other people were doing the similar things with their children. She had a great time, but threw just as big a fit as she had on the journey out when we had to go.
Now it's all sinking into that strange unreality of all vacations as the reality of the daily routine reemerges and takes over. That's why we take photos and write about it. I've left lots of things out, but I'm in the middle of a good book, so perhaps another time I'll write more.

The first cds I listened to after getting back: The Iditarod "The Ghost, The Elf, The Cat and the Angel", Cowboy Junkies "Black Eyed Man", Pinetop Seven "No Breath in the Bellows", Sam Shalabi "On Hashish", Jessica Radcliffe, Lisa Ekstrom, Martin Simpson "Beautiful Darkness"