So 07 drifts away like soap in a bath tub. So what was it all about? Still figuring that out but here are a list of high points, low points and points in between:

Best meal: Still Jen's authentic St Pat's day dinner, yum.

Most memorable moment: Actress in my Marin play tossing script at me during dress exclaiming "I MAY call line" well she did NOTHING but call line.

Best surprise: That I made a good decision under duress, in moving into my new place. I did this completely on my own, had a good gut feeling, did my research, dove in. And it seems to be a good thing for me. True at my age it shouldn't be a shock I made a good decision but let's face it, it still is surprising.

Best Movie: Juno, best Play: Gem of the Ocean at Ashland, Best Happy Hour: Hawgs at San Jose.

If I think of more I will post

So this is Christmas...

I have Oscar Peterson's holiday CD on, he passed today. It's one of my fav CD's very gentle. I tend to play it first too, cause it's so soothing. Here's a salute to the greatness.

Merry Christmas one and all.

Ok, so I finished my Mamet esque piece:
here

It took a different turn, now it's Rick Roma as the Father figure from
Old Yeller and so the kid is still his own person. Rick is just out of place.

Happy Christmas everyone! God bless us everyone!

I really am in good cheer but I keep getting skit ideas that are well...dark humor. For instance after seeing the one man show at San Jose Rep
I kept imaging a skit where an actor comes out on stage and starts performing a very heart warming Christmas show, as he did. But then cut to voice over as he and it's the actors inner thoughts, which are both drunken and less than cheery "What a bunch of losers, what they can't afford REAL fur?" Stuff like that. Also I am working on my Mamet short for ACT contest which keeps running through my mind. A Rick Roma, ala Glen Garry doing a scene from Old Yeller where he and the kid talk about having to shoot the dog. But they talk in Mamet speak, like "did you shoot the dog" "yes I did" "did you think about it first" "I thought" "Thinking doesn't mean it happened, but you did shoot the dog?" "yes, he's shot, with these bare hands on a trigger" Stuff like that.

Anyways, hope to get back to real cheer. ...but that's doubtful as I am me, and this IS cheer!

What a semester...


One of our grad students finally said it to me "This was a tough semester on you" Well it was a tough semester, why you ask? Well I think the cheating was a big part, a particular fond memory is telling one of the students who sent in an identical file as his friend's "Don't EVER do that again" Wow, how profound. I am just one of those wise crones now. But he proceeded to tell me he didn't KNOW it was forboden. Maybe he didn't...am I being too lenient? I was thinking of steroid scandal. Yes well if everyone is doing it, does that make it LESS wrong? Are ethics becoming a relative term? Something you aim for , but you gotta survive? Is character something for people who can't afford anything more? I am baffled completely. But cheating
is becoming more and more regular at our center. In small forms, to larger. Part of it is more people are coming from outside Computer Science so their backgrounds are different. Part of it is one key class is written in java and people don't want to bother to learn it anymore. Java is out of favor now, just like hang on to those dated clothes so too will computer languages come back into fashion, everyone is learning C++ now cause of Google. Is it me or is part of Google's success merely the name? It sounds cool to say Google, yahoo is too well...Yahooey.

Anyways, well still unwinding from it all. Sigh.

Not a tough guy

This is my cat Sam. I put on his reindeer ears and got a few shots. He's a very sweet cat, and not a tough guy at all. Like today he went outside for a bit, and I went out to get him and sure enough I found him with a small group of cats looking like he was about to get his ass kicked. I call him the Rockford of Cats, ok if you are under 40 you probably have no idea what that means. James Garner was Jim Rockford on TV in the 70s, he was a private I who would always get his ass kicked, but prevail in the end due to being really more genuine than his adversaries.

I realize something, I just LOVE To make fun of things. I hope not in a mean sense. but more of like pompous silly human tricks. So glad to hear that the Mamet contest
is back at ACT. You do a play in style of Mamet, I did this years ago and it was later read
by another group. Anyways, so what shall it be folks, Tony Roma as a tree sitter at Berkeley?
American Buffalo guys as sensitivity trainers? Gosh will the fun never end... I'll post it here.

it takes me awhile to decide which holiday cookie I am going to make. I do a different one each year...so drum roll this year it's....
peanut butter balls. I am just a peanut butter fan lately so that fit.
Anyways, it sounds lovely. So will make them and also I just ordered 5 pounds of organic mandarin oranges from the Berkeley Organics food coop the students run over at Sproul. That will be my gifts this year, no landfill additions, no more crap purchased, just good food put together with love for dear friends.

Ah...relief.

Well we passed a key deadline at work today. So it's not like I have the "good life" now but it does mean it's like the rock quarry is cleared away and we can start the hydrolics. Sigh.

It's official...

Me is Sleepy, as opposed to sneezie or grumpy. Although I could be grumpy if I tried...

Anyways, TGIF.

Of Rosemary Trees et al

Well finished my holiday decorations after taking several hours to decide between the rosemary tree or the little pine. I went with Rosemary cause I love that smell . Isn't this a great blog moment? Now you know how long it too me to pick a live tree? And that I picked the rosemary?

What else? Long week coming to close. Painfully long with semester ending.

Oh and I have several holiday plans already, yippee!:
Christmas Day going to movie and then to my place for Champagne and small gathering, still trying to figure out what movie..any suggestions?

Dec 23rd Bishops Wife at Stanford theater! Yay, making it to Stanford this year!





Going to see This Wonderful Life at San Jose rep, the illustrious Dan Hiatt playing all parts.
It's hiliarious I wanted to go to their holiday show all along but all my intellectual snob friends (I love you but you know who you are...) poo pooed the notion of going to holiday show. NOW that they know it's Hiatt doing a one man show they are more into it. So what a compliment to Mr Hiatt, he broke the "intelletual ceiling.

It's hectic, it's the end of semester...

So I got thrust from the cushy birth of my long weekend into madness at work.
End of semester rush for students. Tension, long lines etc. Well this too shall pass...

Oh and on another note, apparently I am now the new version of the NASCAR Dad in the voting block, single women may sway election

Long Weekends Journey into No More...

Ah it's over. I take my sighs and commute back to work. But it was great. I need more break but I will settle for the scraps I just got.

Yesterday I went to see of all things Enchanted
the new Disney-esque movie. Hey it was fun, refreshing and didn't take itself too seriously, for instance during musical numbers it added humor such as Prince Charming getting slammed into by a herd of bikers in Central Park. I laughed out loud many times, also something funny about an innocent getting stuck in cynical world. I would honestly recommend it highly. Note that even intellectual publications such as NY times are giving it thumbs up.

Of Oil Spills And Christmas:

Yesterday I took a walk around Albany bulb and met several oil spill workers, guys who work for environmental companies, one from Illinois. That's not why we went on the walk... but it happened upon us. So they are basically outdoor clean up for hire. Great guys, and it's amazing they are literally just using rags wiping off rocks, not anything special. One young guy who had been spending time doing clean up at Steel mills lately.

Anyways, on another note...got into holiday cheer. Sent out cards, put my tree up and well...let the good times roll. Not sure what got into me, but I felt like it. We also saw the tree lighting ceremony over downtown here at Pt Richmond, very sweet with carolers etc.

The mellow sweetness of pumpkin pie off a prison spoon is something you will never forget.

Chris in the Morning, Northern Exposure

Had my perfect meal yesterday and then walked around Jack London sq. Later headed home and watched Planes Trains and Automobiles as I do every year. And caught the Thanksgiving episode of Northern Exposure, with the above quote. Chris feels lost on Thanksgiving and realizes he misses the "joint". A nice twist on the usual "it's all bad" theme of such things.

If winter is slumber and spring is birth, and summer is life, then autumn rounds out to be reflection. It's a time of year when the leaves are down and the harvest is in and the perennials are gone. Mother Earth just closed up the drapes on another year and it's time to reflect on what's come before.

More Chris, Northern Exposure, Thanksgiving, 1992

Also had the above quote, which I love. I do find this time of year a reflection time. I think that's one reason I end up sending a holiday letter to friends. I kind of want to sum things up.

Santa just cleared out from the parade, it's now officially Holiday season.

Well I have moved over to Google blog, I mean I have moved everything why not my e-world? Plus G is taking over the world, why fight it.

Off for turkey, laughs and fun soon. Gobble Gobble...