I'll Be There

I gained 3 pounds over my Thanksgiving holiday. What did you gain (or lose, if you hurled after eating way too much food)? Aside from that, my time home was wonderful, relaxing, and made me wish Christmas was sooner so I could go home again.

I hate that my updates are sparser than they used to be, but that's because I don't have the calm, carefree leisure time at Children's Hospital that I did at Boston University. I'm constantly working, man! It sucks! Not really, but I do wish I could have a chance to check my Gmail once in a while during the day.

So! Since our last adventure recap, I've seen two of my friends (both from kickball, one of them my 6'3" captain) perform in Needham Community Theater's production of Titanic: The Musical. The audience didn't really start laughing at anything until after the boat hit the iceberg--before that, none of the jokes hit home because we were all just waiting for that one "Oh, shit!" scene at the end of Act I. It made me want to go home immediately and watch good 'ole Kate and Leo. The next day, Saturday, Yuval and I journeyed to the Newton Juried Crafts Fair, which we discovered was less of a crafts fair and more of a really expensive way to fund the apathy of rich, bored, somewhat artistic Newtonians. We left after about 15 minutes.

In exciting news, I won a raffle! The Hospital had their own craft fair a couple weeks ago, and there was a raffle where all the proceeds went to the Employee Emergency Assistance Fund. A good cause, so I bought 4 $3 tickets for $10 (because I'm a sucker for a deal). And I won one of the prizes I put in two tickets for! "A Night In Coolidge Corner" includes 1 night's stay for 2 at the Courtyard Mariott (including parking and breakfast), tickets to the Coolidge Corner Theater, and dinner at The Fireplace restaurant. Go me! Yuval and I are using this to celebrate our 1 year anniversary in mid-December, which is why I bid on it in the first place. :o)

November 24th was my last Chinese class until the next semester. We had a test that I was freaked out for, but it turned out to be less of a "test" and more an "assessment of our abilities." I really want to continue and take the Level 2 class, but I don't have the money right now. I'm hoping my parents will chip in half as a Christmas present to me. If not, Yuval's offering to make me a loan. At least it'll be more secure than the loans that are sinking this economy these days!

And speaking of the economy (officially in recession, did you hear?), here's my Christmas Wish List:

1) Microsoft Zune 30GB
2) 3 new bras
3) MST3K: The Movie
4) The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass
5) Avatar the Last Airbender: Season 3
6) Fables: War and Pieces (Volume 11) by Bill Willingham
7) Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara by James Gurney
8) Suzhou River directed by Ye Lou
9) Shark Week: 20th Anniversary Collection

Let's hope my family decides to get me some things off this list. Dad rolls his eyes at my Wish Lists because they're always "full of books and DVD's and stuff" (said in a very condescending tone). He thinks that's boring and dumb. But these are the kinds of things I have to talk myself into buying because they're not essentials! Well, except for the bras. But I never buy myself new good ones because I get sticker shock from looking at them! So I feel perfectly justified in putting them on my list.

Thanksgiving week was a two day week for me. Hurray! I headed home on the morning of the 26th, and came back in the afternoon on the 30th. I almost had to come back on flight Monday morning leaving Cincinnati at 7am: my flight to JFK aiport in NYC was cancelled, which meant I wouldn't be making my connecting flight to Boston. I got put on standby for a 1:15pm direct to Boston, though, and luckily got a seat (in the exit row, no less!).

So I ended up getting back to Boston about 3 hours earlier than my original itinerary had planned. Which meant that Yuval and I had time to meet his parents and his sister, Tamar, for dinner at Daikanyama (our fave sushi place of all time) in Lexington. Delicious, free sushi--there's nothing better after a day of traveling. I then proceeded to re-arrange the furniture in my apartment (with Yuval's help) to open up some more space and make it less dorm-like. Now I just have to figure out where to put the new computer desk that I'm going to get...

The temperatures are having some mood swings, but the trend is generally turning colder. No snow yet, though we may get some flurries this weekend. The Immunology Division holiday party (which I planned!) is this Saturday night, and I'm actually looking forward to it. Catered Lebanese food, karaoke, dance contests, and free wine will be present, and my 63-year old Lebanese boss is starting off the karaoke with his rendition of "Oops...I Did It Again." Which, by itself, makes going to the party worth it.

Read
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

Seen
Australia
Don't Mess With The Zohan
House (Season 4)