Back.

So I guess I ought to catch up a bit. Just rolled in from Chicago by car about ten hours ago. T came back with us, thank god. That meant I got to sleep in between driving shifts.
Christmas was as usual: fun with the b.h.'s parents, way too many gifts, working until the last minute and then hitting the road. Rolled into Chicago late on the 23rd (after an uneventful trip), ate pizza, slept, and went to family parties on both Xmas eve and Xmas proper. No children at either to speak of, but my aunt and uncle have a 5 month old puppy. She's half dachsund and half chihuahua (I prolly didn't spell that right, but you get the idea). Awesome. Made me miss my boys, though. The family is well and as insane as ever. It was nice to see everybody, even if it's a little like being in a foreign country. My godfather still thinks I live "with a bunch of hillbillies"--hilarious considering that I am surrounded by half million dollar homes and some of my family is a bit red of neck themselves. Whatever. I usually laugh and ask them about the weather.
So everyone was far too generous there as well. I am set for books for the next year or so, and I got an Edward Gorey planner, which I need to go start filling up ASAP. I really love Amazon wish lists.
My dad is now semi-retired, so rather than running off to work before we were up every day, we got to have coffee and wrestle the crosswords together. It was much fun. Also, thanks to Jamie I discovered the wonders of fruitcake. Holy frijoles. My mom and I had to be restrained so we wouldn't end up drunk at breakfast.
I am hoping to take T to yoga class on Tuesday. The instructor I prefer is rather... esoteric I believe is the term one might use. One might also choose "crazy, but in the really fun way." The guy is just hilarious, and it makes me happy.
So tonight we're headed to Atlanta to see Centro-matic open up for the Drive-By Truckers. Much as I loathe the drive (and Atlanta in general, and frat boy Trucker fans in particular), we have a shoe to return. That's another story for another day.

Exhausted.

I just finished making:
-peppermint marshmallows (no, I did not buy marshmallows and dip them in peppermint- I went all Martha Stewart on that shit and made them myself. They are not as pretty as Martha makes them, but what the hell.
-chocolate espresso rounds (most of them burned, but the good ones are really good).
-orange ginger cookies (dough's done but will be baked tomorrow, as I am simply too tired to deal right now).
-chocolate covered butter mints.
-chocolate dipped pretzels.

Tomorrow, date nut bars, coconut cookies, and my extra special, Total instead of Rice Krispies so they look like holly when you dye 'em green and put cinnamon candies on marshmallow treats. Ahh, the holidays.

Feeling a bit trepidatious about the Xmas party tomorrow night. It's not like my co-workers need an excuse to get drunk and annoy the shit out of me, but now they have one.

Slacker.

I have been incredibly lax lately in my blogging, and I wish that I could say, this time, that I have been far too busy- working on my thesis, or feeding the homeless, or developing a new theory of somethingorother that was going to change the course of human history. Alas, these things are simply not true. In fact, I have been hard pressed to even pick up a book in the past couple of weeks, preferring instead to recieve my entertainment via magazine articles and -gasp- television. It really is a good thing that we don't have cable, and are therefore unable to recieve any channels at all, because in my weaker moments I am prone to lying on the couch for hours on end, taking in whatever trash is available. That trash has mostly been in the form of The Sopranos recently, so i don't feel all that bad about it.
Work has been okay, mostly. Last Wednesday was magnificent, though, thanks to the guys in Centro-Matic. Will even did the toaster dance for us. Having these guys play reminds us all why we do what we do. One good wednesday can erase weeks of shite jam bands and crap metal wannabes. Likewise, one night of serving bartenders, waiters, and similar professional drinkers makes up for the hordes of mouth-breathing, no-tipping redneck jackasses and frat boys that we see on a fairly regular basis.
On that note, many people have asked if we are upset that the bar can't be open this year on New Year's Eve because of the draconian Blue Laws (don't ask--just know that it's all about Jesus). The answer is a resounding NO. I actually dtest working on NYE, because as every bartender knows, it is ametuer night--the one night of the year when virtually everyone feels the need to go out and get drunk and clebrate... well, celebrate not ever going anywhere or knowing how to deal with people, apparently, because every jackass and his toothless cousin is out pounding drinks and looking to score, and this invariably leads to more fights and broken glasses and urinals being ripped from the wall than the whole rest of the year put together. So do I regret not being able to work that night? Hells no. In fact, I'll even THANK Jesus for the opportunity to stay home. This year the b.h. and I are considering going to Atlanta to see Centro-Matic open for the Drive-By Truckers, but we haven't made a definite plan. Mostly that's because I hate Atlanta and as much as I can appreciate what the Truckers do, I am not fond of the aforementioned drooling jackass masses, and they'll have more than their share. We may be returning from Chicago on the 30th with our friend T, but that will depend on whether or not he can escape his corporate hell for a few days. I am crossing my fingers.

Sold.

I'm not the first to say it, and surely I won't be the last:

Best. Bond. Ever.

And now, it's Sunday. Back to my pajamas.

Party Like It's 1989.

So the other night we had an industrial band play. I've seen them before, and it's not my thing, but they're really nice people, so I was okay. I was in a pretty good mood, in fact. My favorite customer was a young, gay, goth guy who bore a remarkable resemblance to Elrond from the LOTR movies. By the end of the night, he was so drunk that he tried to close his tab several times, and he was slurring in the most lispy and hilarious voice. It was very amusing. I did get fucked by a stripper. She was crazy and drunk when she got there, and proceeded to order and down a number of shots in less than an hour. After buying several rounds for her and her friends, she tipped me like five percent. Ugh. Ridiculous. Fortunately her co-workers made up for her.
The best part of the night? Ten minutes after the smoke machine started (yes, they had a smoke machine)I took a quick break to skip to the loo, and it was like An AMerican Werewolf in the Ladies' Room. The way the HVAC system works in our building, the air near the stage gets sucked into the air return and spit directly in there. Warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and filled with fog on Industrial Night. Fantastic. Wish we had room for a tub in there.

Relief.

Finished the class. Got new power cord for the laptop. Additionally, I have sent my Christmas cards and done most of the shopping for my holiday baking. I have done almost no reading and almost no writing lately, but I am working on getting back to both.

Have put aside the Shakespeare book for now. Back to old reliable Terry Pratchett, as my brain couldn't handle much more. Got Eric Kraft after reading a recommendation on McSweeney's. It's interesting so far, but not really grabbing me yet.

Thought after such a long absence I would have more to say, but it turns out I am much more excited about the baking than I realized.