Happy Thingy!

Whatever you are celebrating (or cursing) today, I hope you're having a good time. Light some candles, play with some kids, eat way too much food and watch 20-year old Christmas specials 'til you feel like barfing. What could be more Christmassy than a thick stack of syrup-drenched waffles? To quote a certain claymation dinosaur...

I have several recent and mostly non holiday-related reports for you: I am now a professional musician (by only the tiniest stretch of the imagination), stinky water feels really good, not buying Christmas presents is a soul-freeing and joyous exercise, and dry heat still sucks no matter what anyone else tells you.

This photo is how I looked on Saturday night; I feel it really doesn't look like me at all, which is supported by the fact that two people who know me were at the party and didn't recognize me without my glasses and with all that makeup and other stuff on my head. The occasion was someone's 50th birthday, and two other members of my dance troupe and I were hired as part of the entertainment that night. Since I am in no way good enough to do a solo dance, I just dressed up and played back-up drumbeats while my troupe mates danced some ethnic-y belly dance numbers. There were also three other drummers and a guitarist, all of whom were real professionals. I feel honored that they let me play along with them, and I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed myself. I so very much miss making music with other people. And I even got paid a little bit, which makes me a professional musician, right? Ha. I know that's somewhat of an exaggeration, but it's true enough that it gives my mom bragging rights so she can tout her daughter's successes to all her friends...

Sunday night, Alegra alerted me to the fact that there are hot springs in Jacumba, and that she was going there on Monday and I should go, too. I agreed that this was a fine idea, so yesterday morning four of us set out in her car to the high desert. Jacumba is a quaint (they have sundries! Doesn't that make it quaint?) little town in the mountains just before you drop down that long grade on the 8 freeway. The hot springs turned out to be merely warm on this occasion, but it was a great little place to hang out. Although stinky. The sign on the door to the hot tub claimed that it was "40% sulphur water." It certainly smelled like it, but were the contents of that tub really 40% sulphur? Wouldn't that kill you? Maybe they meant that the mineral content was 40% sulphur. Honestly, I wouldn't know enough about it either way. At any rate, it felt great. The water itself felt weirdly slippery, and it coated our silver jewelry with a changing rainbow of tarnishes, but it was extremely relaxing. We met a middle-aged couple who were originally from Croatia, but now live in Vista. They were both very sweet, excellent conversationalists, and experienced travelers and hikers as well. We all really enjoyed their company, and they may even come to visit me sometime at the brewery. The other guests were a bit more quirky, but that just fit the general atmosphere of the place. The decor was a mix of Mexican pottery, country antiques, giant fake flowers and weird plywood dioramas. But what else would you expect from a spa whose signage looks more well-suited to a cheap all-night diner? It was still a very enjoyable experience-- and the ivy-covered walkway was pretty cool.

After the stinky hot tub, Alegra and Diane and I walked out to the pool and laid out in the sun like lizards on the warm concrete. I actually got too hot, but it felt good compared to the chill of the shade. I had my beach towel draped over my face most of the time, and I noticed the most beautiful phenomenon. When I pushed the towel close to my eyes, the sunlight through the fabric made these shimmery circles of light appear and quiver like ethereal blue and green sequins, like fish scales, like I'm not sure what kind of gorgeous dancing light-refracting underwater-looking phenomenon. I really can't explain it any way that does it any justice at all but it was truly mesmerizing. As a consolation for my inability to convey just how beautiful that was, here's a cleavage shot for you. Alegra felt that my blog isn't sexy enough...

I spent the day today (after visiting all the kitties I am babysitting over the holidays) up at my brother's in-laws' house. I had a fine time, as I usually do. Carmen always cooks enough food to feed the entire state of Arizona, and I did my part to try and help diminish the mountains of edibles, but I don't think I made much of an impact. I came home with a bunch of cookies and these really yummy things that Mona made out of figs, feta cheese, and fresh basil. The small amount of time I spent there not eating I filled with watching the latest Pirates of the Caribbean debacle with Gracie, playing Scrabble, petting the hyper puppydogs, watching Emmy being ridiculously cute, and playing Guitar Hero or whatever that video game is called with Zach. It's actually pretty darn entertaining, as long as you don't really know how to play guitar already. Ken kept complaining that it was messing him up because he was trying to play along with the music. Huh. I think it was a case of sour grapes because I apparently have better eye-hand coordination than him. And my avatar was cuter.

Today was truly a fine day. The only thing that besmirched my mirthful mood was the weather. The Santa Ana winds are in town, and it's hot and dry. Blech. Hot at Christmas! This is just wrong. And the dryness makes it so much more unbearable--I don't care what all those people say about "dry heat!" What's good about your skin itching and your hair being all staticky and shocking innocent animals when you try to pet them? I do agree that summer in the south is a terrible and oppressive thing, having been briefly exposed a few times to the unbreathable, cloying air of North Carolina in August. But just because too much moisture and heat are so nasty doesn't mean in any way that by providing the opposite extreme of humidity that you are making an improvement. They both suck! And heat of any kind is just wrong at Christmas--unless you live in New Zealand. End of rant. To cheer you up a bit, here is the Albert Einstein action figure I discovered at Kiki's house the other day. I thought he'd look more authentic in sepia tones. Isn't he great? He's even holding a tiny piece of chalk so you can pretend to have him scribble quantum physics equations on your wall.
Happy Christmakwanzukkahsolsticeeid thingy to you!