Photographic Accompaniment

Not to overload anyone's google reader, but here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving till now.

Me with my Thanksgiving pie.

My brother and me watching some Fightin' Texas Aggie football.

KP and me in front of the giant chicken car.

The snow on our street.

Thanksgiving et al.

Now that we are well into December and Thanksgiving is long gone, I think it pressing I finally post on my Thanksgiving holiday and some very important events that have transpired since then. I’ve put this post off for a while and it’s a bit on the long side, but I’m justifying it with my last post being so short.

First, Thanksgiving. I made the trek home for Thanksgiving via Detroit. Why airlines have me fly north to go south is beyond me. I did eventually make it to Houston and had a wonderful time with family and friends. Thanksgiving was at my parents’ new place this year. The house is considerably smaller than previous homes we have lived in, and there were some concerns about everyone fitting. Fortunately, the weather was beautiful and warm enough for many of us to sit outside. My brother and I along with a few cousins foxund ourselves at the kid table again this year. Twenty-four and still a kid…I guess there are worse things.

The meal itself was fantastic. I love Thanksgiving mainly for the food. We do it potluck style and each year certain foods make an appearance, without which it really wouldn’t be Thanksgiving. My personal favorite is my dad’s cornbread dressing. This year, my dad roasted the turkey (which was amazing, no surprises there), my brother made mashed potatoes, and I baked an apple pie. So American of me. It was nice being here to celebrate with everyone. Last year I was in Toulouse and prepared the entire meal for my host family, a grand total of 10. I loved sharing the holiday with them and wouldn’t have had it any other way, but I confess the whole thing wore me out.

My brother and I skipped out early this year to drive up to College Station for the A&M vs tu game. It was my first game back in Aggieland since I graduated and I was excited to be back. I’ve always been fond of football. It’s really the only sport I understand, having sat through so many seasons in high school and then in college. But there is something truly great about Aggie Football played in Kyle Field and I’ve missed that. So in tribute to the 12^th Man, here’s a little gem of a video I took while at the game:

Other Thanksgiving highlights include attending “Gloworama,” the art car parade in downtown Houston. For those not from Houston, an art car is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a car that’s been creatively decorated. This year’s favorites included a car converted into an opera singer’s head, a car which shot huge flames high into the air, and a giant chicken that clucked as it moved down the street. My mom’s got an in with the art car crowd and we had VIP access the whole night. My first time to be a VIP anywhere and it was at an art car parade. I aim high, ladies and gentlemen.

Since Thanksgiving, there have been a few happenings which demand mention. First, we got our first snow of the season! It was my first time to wake up in my own bed to find snow blanketing the ground. In my opinion, the whole thing was very exciting but my roommates found it less so. Second, I finished my first semester of graduate school with the completion of a 20 page final paper. Currently, I’m bracing myself for next semester – I’m taking classes in Archive Administration, History of the Book (printing presses, print culture, and books’ importance), and France’s first empire (Napoleon). I’m looking forward to the courses, but it will be a lot of work. Third, my dear friend KP is transferring to DC the first week of January. I wrote of her visit in an earlier post but failed to mention part of her visit included a long talk with her company’s Arlington office. Apparently, it went well and they want her there! My plan to slowly convince all my friends to move to DC is taking form!

Pitfalls of Distraction

It is only when I am knee deep in a paper that I decide I should really spend more time memorizing poetry. Or that my blog has been horribly neglected. Or even that the kitchen floor should be scrubbed, and there is no time to waste. I find I have all sorts of convictions and passions, new things to learn, and more books to read when a large assignment is at hand.

Perhaps it's a fault or maybe only natural, but I choose to take it as a sign I should invest my time more wisely. No, not that memorizing John Donne is more important than my paper on gender trends in historiography (even if it might be slightly more interesting), but that there are plenty of things in life that really are a waste (countless hours on facebook, mindless tv watching...) and I can better manage that time.

But at this point, all these new found interests have to go on the back burner until noon on Monday, then I am free to pursue them at will.... oh, and catch up on my facebook, and tv, and... more procrastination, the false friend that it is. Leads you along and stabs you in the back each time. et tu Brute?



PS. Thanksgiving post is on hold until I have squeezed every nuance of gender trends out of my brain, or Monday afternoon hits, either way I'll be finished with my class.