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12-26-09 // 11:59 am if I have weaknesses don't let them blind me now NP: a nicely mellow-groovy Paul Simon playlist I assembled over the summer when I had houseguests Oh man, weirdest dreams ever last night. I dreamt I was on a tour of some sparsely populated Kansas county's county seat with a friend and his girlfriend, the tour included a bunch of time in this impossibly ornate courthouse. And then I was on a bus or tram or something, talking to my maternal grandmother, but she was young. I'm not sure if I'd traveled back in time or if she'd traveled forward, but I was astonished and intrigued to converse with her and see her in her 20s without her knowing that I was actually her grandson from the future. (?) Then I was in a gigantic mall/parking structure/hotel thing, trying to find my way out? I think? What the hell. I know recounting dreams is boring and doesn't necessarily make sense or translate, but this one was so odd that I wanted to write it down. I'm growing out my becoming-traditional winter beard. It finally felt like time. So I'm currently enjoying about a week's worth of growth, I'm digging that half-bristly, half-soft feel, the beginning of a barrier against the cold, and the awesome wintertime feeling of beard + scarves + sweaters. Ahh. Christmas was proper. Slept in a bit, woke up to big, fat, fluffy snowflakes and a cutting wind. Fueled up on coffee and cereal and did a three mile walk before coming home to a hot shower. Proper. Went to my dad's side around lunchtime, as is the tradition. As previously mentioned, I don't really have much in common with them, and it's more a gathering to be endured than overtly enjoyed, but I gotta say, this year was pretty bearable. Went over to my aunt's house in the evening for my mom's side's traditional Xmas night gathering -- a roaring fire, lots of laughs and pictures, tons of cookies, a little Bailey's on the rocks. So spiritually illuminating on such a dark, cold, midwinter's night. Love it! Came home and it was like 10 at night, and I was still all kinds of awake/not ready to just call it a day. So I hit up the Bleeding Deacon with a friend, it was damn awesome. We walked down there through the howling, icy wind and had some pints, I played the hell out of their awesome jukebox, found and appropriated an awesome green scarf at closing time, and just had a total blast. Great conversation, nicely hopping scene, lots of fit hipster ladies. I think I may have tipsily and adamantly declared that in 2010 if I'm going to meet a woman, that if it's going to happen for me, it's going to be in that pub. Which sounds weird, but it's got all the checklist items covered: attracts people who like good beer and vegetarian food (they have veggie and pro-meat menus), has cute hipster/indie rock women, is a haven for Anglophiles, music fans, and folks similarly in tune with the south side ethos that drives me. It's gonna be nice once the weather gets warmer again, when the springtime rolls around and stirs my blood in the annual way, and to walk the mile or so down there and read a book in the back garden some evenings after work. Anyway, I was up last night till the unheard of for me hour of 3:30am, now I'm up and mildly hangovery-tired, but in a good way. I'm smiling and a bit worn out and about ready to put a pot of coffee on. It's Boxing Day and I have absolutely zero I have to do today. No chores, no obligations, nothing. I can sit round in a hoodie all day lazing on the couch, I can do anything or nothing, I can skip my workout and waste the day if I please. Which I normally never do, but the freedom to do so if I feel it today is so liberating. I'm normally so busy (truthfully, I prefer to stay busy) that this is a grand present. Tomorrow it's back to "normal," the gym, watching what I eat, proper sleeping hours, etc. But today I'm reveling in my well-earned break from routine.
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