Holiday Recap

I've just realized that I didn't share any of my holiday goings-on.

I went down to California to visit my mom in November for Thanksgiving so my sister and her partner went south for Christmas.  That meant that I was without biological relatives nearby. Instead of  a family Christmas that looked neither exactly like an animated special or National Lampoon Chrismas:

I had two first dates. One was a nice guy but neither of us wants a relationship with the other.  Strangely enough I think he'll be a good friend.  The second I'm still sorting out.  I saw him twice more over Christmas break.  I'm not sure where it's going, or if it's going, but I'll be sure to keep you up to date.

I went to a friend's German Christmas Eve. There were about eight of us, three Germans, including the host.  The food was fantastic.  It was relaxed and I beat Santa home.

Christmas was brunch by E.  He's probably the best friend I've made this year. We met hiking.  We have a ton in common and we "get" each other. He hosted brunch on Christmas day. There was bacon, which in and of itself would make for a great Christmas.  He also made blueberry waffles and an oven omelet (I'd never had one but it was fantastic), there was coffee and egg nog martinis to boot.  Gal and I were the only timely ones but we made the most of it before a few other scragglers made their way over. 
I usually think of myself as good company for myself.  I forgot how the holidays can kind of screw with your head and was very happy that Germaness and E both provided friendly diversions.

Not a lot between Christmas and New Year's.  A snowshoe trip to be mentioned in a future blog.

I was invited to a Seahawks game on Sunday the 30th.  They are the local NFL (American Football) team and were in contention for the playoffs. They won the game and locked a playoff spot.  The games are fun but usually expensive.  We were about two dozen rows from the top of the stadium, or as 25 said, "three rows from God". I wore long underwear under my long underwear. We met another couple, friends of 25's. Pregame drinks were essential and my choice of A Frenchman in Dublin (like an Irish coffee with Irish cream plus courvoisier) was perfect. While the Hawks didn't play as well as they had been, it was really fun.  I suppose they could only keep averaging 50 points per game for so long.

New Year's Eve was a Monday so everyone had to work . . .except me because I'm still between contracts. 25 and I made plans.  We met and taxied to a restaurant in Fremont called 9 Million in Unmarked Bills.  The decor was fun and welcoming.  Our waiter was on top of things and we never waited long. We were surprised to be there in time for happy hour which didn't end until 7.  The food was stellar.  We shared a selection of crostinis, caprese salad, both veal chorizo and buffalo sliders, and diablo prawns with ricotta pancakes. He had a mint julep.  My winterized old-fashioned (with an apple cider reduction) was brilliant. I think we both agreed we would go back again in a heartbeat.

A two block walk down the street to Nectar where we had tickets to see Eldridge Gravy & the Court Supreme.  It was sold out and a small venue anyway.  The music was as good as expected and very upbeat,lively for the holiday.  There was an intermission with belly dancers that were somewhere between Arabic style and Vegas showgirls. The DJ played lots of old school stuff that got the crowd up and going.  I only had two drinks there an was sober the entire evening.  No, I'm not complaining.  I had a wonderful evening all around.



One sidenote - when we were in line to get in to Nectar, a homeless, Native American man was sitting on the sidewalk with a makeshift drum and cup.  He said hello, so I said hello.  He commented that he'd said hello to everyone in line and I was the only one who had taken a few minutes to talk to him.  Inside Nectar, we were bumped in to by a guy who looked like an old Hell's Angel's biker.  By the time he stumbled by we'd noticed him several times and he was fairly sloshed. That considered, he was very nice and seemed to be more lonely than anything.  25's protective shields went up as the Angel went in for a kiss to thank me for keeping an eye on his jacket (electricians union) later, but I think he was harmless.  Both cases made me think that apparently there is something about me that makes me approachable.  Also, why are so many people ignored and discarded by our society? It makes me double up my commitment to volunteer and help where I can, even if it's simply hello and eye contact.