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Journal (The Ember Update)

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Sunday, November 26 [Actually posted December 12]

Thanksgiving and Anya's 2nd

Kevin and I hosted Thanksgiving for both his and my families this year (his parents, my mom, brother Robert, his girlfriend Tobie and daughter Anya). I cooked for two days:

• 10-pointer venison pot roast
• roast turkey
• 50-clove garlic mashed potatoes and turnips
• onion-cranberry compote
• autumn vegetable roast
• stuffing

Everyone else brought what they were supposed to and dinner was actually ready on time! We had way too much food. Kevin's mom and dad spent the night and we went window shopping in historic Winchester the next day.

My neice Anya's second birthday fell on Saturday, and she's now 2' 11" tall, putting her in the 95th percentile in terms of size. Tobie held a big bash at her house with family and friends. I did face and body painting for most of the kids and a few adults. Unfortunately I left my back-up camera at home (I still haven't gotten a replacement lens for my digital SLR).

Fur Ball Decompression

Our friend Jill invited us to a "decompression" (party after a burner event, in this case Burning Man), so we made a big batch of our heirloom tomato mint salsa and dressed up. Revelers mainly hailed from the DC Burners email list, which I recently joined. As seems to be the case with all Burner parties we attend, this one had it going on. The dance floor rocked for hours. Click on any photo below to see more:

I finally got to meet Michael Enn Sirvet at this party. He'd welcomed me to the DCBurner's list and we'd had a nice exchange via email, mainly about the sculptures featured on his web site. He's a talented guy! Kevin and I went to see a show he had at Gallery Plan B (which happens to be less than two blocks from where I used to live) and I was quite impressed. I look forward to following his artistic endeavors.

Wednesday, November 15 [Actually posted December 8 and 12]

The Republicans got a well-deserved beating in the elections!

Massage or Computers?

Well, I finally did it … I graduated from massage therapy school last Wednesday. Yay! I should be eligible to take the national certification exam in about a month. I'll wait 'til I've studied enough to feel ready, but I hear the cumulative final we had to pass to graduate is harder than the national exam. I'm still giving occasional massages in Front Royal, at home and at people's houses, but I have yet to look for more sustaining massage work.

To complicate my plans of getting away from the computer 50 hours a week, I've had a plethora of freelance web work … and Google has been back in touch with me wanting to "reopen discussion about opportunities." They actually contacted me first back in August (I told them I was unavailable) and then a second time last week.

I interviewed with Google 4 years ago while I lived in CA, and it was the most interesting interview I've ever had (thanks and hi Bay!). Google is one of the few corporations I would actually consider working for at this point, and I've learned they have locations in Reston, Herndon and Washington DC. But they would really like me to consider moving back to CA, which isn't in the cards right now, and there aren't presently any local openings which meet my qualifications. The funny thing is, Google also hires massage therapists! So while the chances of working for Google still seem slim, I have two skills that could possibly get me in the door.

And speaking of California, they say everything's bigger in Texas, but don't believe it! Here's a photo of our burner friend Joyce in front of her house (she's since bought another house and moved). We visited for a week in CA right after Burning Man 2006, maybe I'll get a few photos of our CA travels posted sometime.

Plato's Symposium

TV Tom moved into a house and had a costume party to celebrate ("come dressed as your favorite Greek Philosopher, Renaissance Humanist, or Pagan Deity — or simply wear a toga"). I went as Sol, the Norse goddess of the sun. Kevin wore a shiny red and gold silk costume (but we never quite pinned down his character). Click on any photo below to see more:

Meet Harvey

We got a new kitty! Harvey's from the animal shelter (just like Playa), is about 6 months old and is a seriously cuddly purring machine. He's golden brown with dark stripes (and spots on his belly) so he's kinda like a little tiger. We named him in part for Larry Harvey (the founder of Burning Man), partly for a 6' invisible rabbit, and Harvey is also a family name for both Kevin and me. Playa is naturally a little jealous, but Harvey loves other cats and is already trying to endear himself. Playa has finished growing up and is a talented little killer despite the small sleigh bell we put on her collar, so at this point we couldn't control her weight even if we wanted to (short of banishing her permanently to the indoors, which she would hate). Kevin also wants to get a dog, specifically a Sheltie, but he has to find the right one first…

Awful Cute

A couple weeks ago Kevin and I went to our friend Rich Potter's first ever art opening at the New Deal Cafe. We made a special effort because he wrote, "This is what I've done with that cartoon you let me draw in your happy cabin book. ... I have you to thank." From Rich's art web site:

Professional physical comedian Rich Potter returns to his roots of expression from the days before he had an audience. Strongly influenced by Basil Wolverton, R. Crumb, and his heroes of Mad magazine, Rich brings the beauty of ugliness from the cartoon world onto the walls of the New Deal Café Art Gallery. […]

The title of this show is "Be What You Are: A Visual Essay of Awful Cuteness" starring Sneltram F. Whittaker, a creature bursting from his subconscious.

I liked pretty much every piece I saw, enough to promise to buy one particular painting once I've sold my Beetle. Using a rather crappy disposable camera that had been sitting around awhile, we only got one good photo, and it happens to be of me with a painting in the background ... oh well. If you want to read and see more, check out Andy's account.

Friday, November 3 [Actually posted December 8]

Kevin Gets Birthday Speckling

The Greaseman is alive and well in Washington DC. A few weeks ago we met the Greaseman's producer, Jill (who is becoming a good friend), and while I've never particularly been a fan, Kevin's enjoyed listening since the 1980's. Well the Grease is back in this area on AM radio (WMET 1160), and for Kevin's birthday Jill had Grease call Kevin ("Twist") to wish him a happy birthday. Here's the audio clip (MP3, 2.5MB):

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