Christmas wrap-up

Well my prediction of being able to post a blog on Monday seems to have fallen a bit short. I had started this one then, but I never did get around to finishing it. I was interrupted by a trip to a pet store to look at a ball python, which somehow resulted in Deirdre and I returning from there with a pair of Betas...and yet P. (Deirdre's brother) didn't get his python...I'm still not sure how that happened? But what the hell, they are cute, the python was as well, but we found mites on it, so it's getting treated before it will be taken home.

As I said in my earlier posts, this was going to be the first Christmas that I was spending away from family. Admittedly I'm not the only one to be away from home for the holidays, and unlike some of my friends, at least I am able to spend it in a country where they speak the same language...well unless I go far enough south...I still have no idea what that guy said to me in the hotel in New Orleans (and I speak English and French)!

I was also fortunate enough to spend the time with my girlfriend (oh her good news is finally posted on her blog) and her family. And just to remind you, she is the second eldest of 12 kids. Now I thought I was used to big family Christmases, after all my father's side of the family gets together every year for Christmas and we are about 16 or so those nights. But it just doesn't compare to being in a room with 12 siblings. The way that they interact is really quite different from how my brother and I do. I guess it's due to the ability to form alliances, rather than fair 1-on-1 fights. But beyond that there was a really fun playfulness among everyone, even the father, who can seem a bit reserved and almost seemingly strict, yet will be more than willing to throw a ball of wrapping paper at any of the kids. One of the most surprising things was how often gifts were simply thrown across the room to their final destination. I don't mean a light toss from one end of the couch to the other, I mean an over-hand lob over part of the tree, a couple of the smaller kids and right into the hands of the target sitting in a chair. More stunning still, not a single one was dropped. These kids have some of the best catching skills I have ever seen...though that may come from the fact that I have yet to spend any amount of time over there and not see a couple of them throwing things at each other. So I guess the good catching skills are more of a survival trait in that family. Either way, it was great fun to be there.

The morning however started with Deirdre and I digging into our stockings and exchanging presents. So did I get her diamonds? Of course not, though I love her I think that giving that after 3 months of dating would be a bit premature...and not to mention far too expensive. What I did give her however was a pair of earrings from the Weisman museum which is on campus. Along with a lotus shaped candle/incense holder from Vietnam (through Ten Thousand Villages). And tonight we will be going to see Le Petit Prince at the Jeune Lune Theater.

Deirdre's wonderful gifts to me included the latest Al Franken book a couple of sudoku books. I don't know if this is a new craze or not, but Deirdre just recently introduced me to it. These puzzles are fun and ridiculously addicting, so now I have a about 400 or so to do, I figure that should last me a month, maybe two at most. She had also remembered that I had mentioned that though I enjoy art I have little to no knowledge of the different styles and what distinguishes them. So I now have a nice little book that will walk me through all the various artistic styles. And of course since I'm a science geek she was kind enough to get me "The Third Chimpanzee" a book on the evolution of man. But probably the coolest gift is the membership to the Science Museum of Minnesota. It's such a cool gift and something I never would have thought of, but something I will certainly use. Of course she was smart enough to make it a dual membership, so I can drag her along.

So I think I was wrong earlier, the best gift wasn't the Science Museum membership, the best gift was that I was able to spend Christmas with Deirdre. She is so wonderful and so much fun to be with, I don't think I would have wanted to spend this Christmas any other way.