After Hiatus

Immense apologies to assuage my guilt. I knew I would probably blog little over the Christmas holiday, and that was the case.  What I didn't expect, and now feel slightly guilty for, was the nearly month and a half after Christmas in which I blogged once. A quick recap with other bits to follow later.

I arrived in Seattle in the evening of the 22nd of December.  It never really felt like Christmas in the earlier parts of December here because it's just too warm. I was also so busy doing all the same things I always do that it didn't feel particularly holiday-y. We went from the airport to my favorite Mexican food restaurant, La Bamba. I had craved their enchiladas for months and they did not disappoint. The next two days were filled with last minute shopping and wrapping. Christmas was just as it should be with stockings as my favorite part.  I received gifts from my mom and sister that were more perfect than if I had picked them out myself.  They got me things i hadn't even thought to ask for!  The most used item so far is a fantastic Marmot windbreaker.  I've probably worn it 90% of the days since I left Seattle. Nearly every photo of me from my holidays after Seattle have that jacket in them.  The most "me" gift is probably the Grape Ne-Hi bottle cap necklace from Jen.  It's a reference to my inane worship of the TV series M*A*S*H.

New Year's Eve in my family has always been a mellow affair.  It's usually watching TV or a movie until close to midnight, then watching the Space Needle fireworks show on TV and crashing out about 1230 or 1am.  I can count on one hand the number of NYE parties I've ever been to.  This year my sister and I went to her friends house.  We hung out there, talking and drinking until about 11pm.  Then a drive up to her place on Cap Hill to arrive just in time to stand outside with a fantastic view of the fireworks live.  The only thing missing was that when they show the fireworks on TV they are synchronized to music and we didn't have the music.  Instead we were freezing, surrounded by two dozen people who were undoubtedly drunker than we were.  After the show a guy standing next to me wished me happy New Year and mentioned that he'd always wanted to burst into a round of Auld Lang Syne, so I did.  We laughed and hummed through most of it because who really knows more than "should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind. . . . . . .Auld Lang Syne". (for history and lyrics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auld_Lang_Syne).  Looking back, I am happy to report that I can cross "spontaneously into song with group of strangers" off my bucket list (I should make one of those one of these days).  Memorable moments are never regrettable.

January was nice and quiet.  I shopped, ate, spent lots of time with my family, saw people who mean a lot to me, hung out with my dog, general normal nothingness. I have few friends that are still in the Seattle area, or few I'm still in touch with. I saw even fewer of those, but enjoyed it all the same. I lost track of the days and was not at all fussed about it.  After exactly three weeks at home, I packed and headed to Hong Kong via Vancouver.  The flight was quite nice surprisingly. We were delayed leaving Vancouver and I was dismayed at my middle seat assignment.  After I'd made a request for a window seat and received a "we'll see what we can do" response I wasn't hopeful.  I ate my lunch and then found out there were vouchers because of the delay.  Shaping up to be one of those days.  BUT WAIT!!  It was near boarding time and I heard the agent tell a man they were moving him to another seat because the electronics in that seat were broken (no headphones, no reading light).  I piped up and said I'd take his seat (a window) since I had my own ipod and reading light.  Little did I know until I boarded, that it was also an emergency row/bulkhead seat.  I had the window with about three feet of open space in front of me!!  AAANNNDDDD there wasn't anyone in the middle seat!  I could've waltzed in the space available!  The flight attendants apologized and showed me how to work the lights above that were mean for them but once redirected were perfect for reading.  Almost as good as an upgrade to business class. Almost.

In the spirit of keeping these blogs a reasonable length, and so I will have lots to write about over the next weeks, I will stop here.  Tomorrow's episode will be Hong Kong hijinks. Stay tuned or get re-tuned I suppose.