I totally and completely hate exams. Well any tests for that matter, but exams are seriously killers. I have now written 44 pages of notes, and thats only for one class. How am I gonna cope with two more! Beats the shit outta me that’s for sure. At least one of them is math. Math has always been easy. Its definitely the programming and the HTML exams that are gonna fuck me over. AHHHH! This is totally gonna ruin my Christmas if I fail these. And the would be epically bad cause this Christmas break is planned to be fantabulous! I’ll be visiting my sister and brother-in-law up until my birthday on the 27th, then I’ll be going to Tone’s house for the New Year’s party of the century! I can’t wait. Its gonna seriously rock. But first I gotta live through the worst three days of my life; 12/9, 12/17 & 12/21. Wish me luck peeps, I will most def need it.

At your New Year’s Event this year, look outstanding in Sherri Hill’s 2226! This short sexy dress is fun and holiday appropriate!

 
You’ll light up the night in silvery disco ball magic. Hand sewn silver paiettes swirl over your curves on the way to the sexy short hemline. Utterly dazzling and so much fun!
Visit our website for more wonderful dresses for your upcoming events: itsinhergenes.com

Few starters are simpler than this one!

Simply chill a plate.

Next, top it with some mixed greens.  Any salad greens will work but an assortment is desirable for an interesting mingling of flavors.

Slice a Fuyu persimmon and decorate the greens with those brightly colored slim slices.

Dot the persimmon with crumbles (or globs as we call them in my kitchen) of chevre (goat cheese).

Lastly, sprinkle the plate with some homemade (or store bought, if you must) candied pecans.

The result is an inviting and colorful first course, filled with flavor and good nutrition.  At the last minute, before serving, drizzle any type of citrus vinaigrette (or for New Years, use a high quality champagne vinaigrette) over the top and serve chilled!

Happy Holidays!

Happy November New Year from Punks in Hats

November New Year’s Big Adventure

New Year’s is one of those holidays that I dread. I never know what I’m going to do and I rarely venture into the heart of the beast, Times Square, to celebrate a new year at all. I’ve done it a couple of times, once when I worked as a cater-waiter for a Millennium Party in 2000 and once when friends stayed at the Bryant Park Hotel and we walked over to view the festivities from a comfortable distance on a side street. I didn’t see the ball drop live in either case, and it was fine by me.

This year, when it was announced that Green Day was going to be the special guest of “New Year’s with Carson Daly ‘live from’ Times Square,” I immediately made mental plans to be there to watch the ball drop and hope to hear the song “21st Century Breakdown” ring in not only a new year, but a new decade as well.

And then the other ball dropped: Green Day was not actually playing live from the Square, but live from Los Angeles. Oh well, shit happens, back to Square One of doing nothing for the night.

At the same time, a live concert was announced from Los Angeles that took place this past Monday, November 23, live from Nokia Plaza in downtown LA. A small outdoor concert, presumably with footage from this show, was being used for the New Year’s special. I really wanted to head to California to attend, but I’ve been so blessed (’cause I’m not cursed) in traveling this year that it seemed impossible for me to do it.

A friend demanded that I come out some how, but I couldn’t see my way clear to do it. I knew the night would be special if I could make it, but alas, it just wasn’t working out that way.

Pee Wee Herman’s Big Adventure

But then I remembered one of my credos from this year: the Lushie Gods are good. I sent out mental waves of Lushdom and the Wednesday before the show, I decided to head to LA, which depended on a number of factors: flight, car, places to crash. I set the wheels in motion for all of the above and then went off to see a remastered version of “Pee Wee Herman’s Big Adventure,” introduced by Tim Burton, at the current retrospective of Burton’s films and artwork at MoMA. (Thanks, David and Melody!!)

I’ve never been a huge fan of “Pee Wee Herman’s Big Adventure,” but I remember it fondly as a film that brings a lot of happiness and joy into lives as well as a positive philosophy of keeping your inner child close to you. Pee Wee may have been super jealous of his bike, but he learned along the way that if you are yourself and seek to open your heart for something you care about, you’ll find your bike again and will meet some crazy and fantastic people as well as Large Marge, along the way.

When I walked out of the film with my friends, I was in a happy mood. I called my friend who could get me a special rate (practically free) on an airline to California and confirmed to meet him the next day for it. I called other friends to double check that I could stay with them, and by Saturday, I was on a flight to Los Angeles.

Riverside, California, 1977

As a Midwesterner and Eastcoaster, I’ve always made fun of California, especially since I suffered greatly in that State back when I was a kid. Riverside, 1977, when Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours and the song, “Go Your Own Way,” was the rage hit of the day, my mother and I traveled to the Golden State to visit my nephew, my ex-brother-in-law, and his new wife. We had driven from Phoenix through the desert and landed at my brother-in-law’s pretty ranch house with the swimming pool and the dog kennel in the backyard. He had been a dog trainer during the Vietnam War and continued this line of work when he got out. There were two beautiful Doberman Pinschers, a miniature blue Pinscher, and in the kennel itself, a pair of Alaskan Huskies with their brand-new litter of green and blue-eyed fluffy Husky puppies. I was a kid in California heaven, escaping the misery of my hometown, Detroit, and would not have despised California until I returned in 2003 if it were not for an incident that clouded my brain about Cali for a good many years to come.

We had gone to Disneyland for the day and it was pretty much a mindfuck of my mother not letting me ride on anything that “looked” dangerous, so we didn’t go on very many rides. A fire had also broken out in the Haunted House, so I didn’t get to go in there as well. It was a disappointing day at the park, and as we headed back to my relatives’ place, all I could think of was playing with the Husky puppies to ease my crappy Disney Big Adventure.

When we finally got back to the house, I ran to the kennel and got a most horrible shock: one of the puppies was dead with a massive hole in its head and a rock laying beside his motionless body. Needless to say, this 13-year-old girl freaked the hell out.

My ex-brother-in-law and his backyard neighbors apparently didn’t like each other. My brother-in-law was Black and his wife was White and while there may have been other issues going on between the neighbors as well (my ex-brother-in-law was a Vietnam vet, after all), it seemed to me that in 1970’s California, mixed-race marriage was an issue that caused asshole children to throw rocks at puppies in an attempt to kill them. Because, y’know, it’s all the puppy’s’ fault and shit. My California dreams were completely dashed by the entire day’s incidents and I had nightmares of dead puppies and being trapped in haunted houses for years afterward. To this day when anyone mentions Riverside, I recoil with disgust and horror.

Los Angeles, 2003

Flash forward to my next encounter with California, in 2003. I had gotten a project archivist job with the Newport Jazz Festival and I headed out to Los Angeles in order to survey hundreds of Festival videotapes that were stuck in a warehouse in the City of Industry and arranged to ship them to New York. I was also attending the Society of American Archivists conference in Century City and visiting some college actor friends who had moved out there years before. My visit was picture perfect and wonderful and I even managed to miss the gigantic blackout that happened that year on the East Coast. My visit occurred at the same time as the two-country and multi-state Black Out of 2003, which knocked out power to the entire Great Lakes and Northeast regions on both sides of the border. I watched it all from the comfort of my hotel room and then got in my car to visit friends. It was a most excellent trip.

Berkeley and Crockett, 2009

My next visits to California, to Berkeley and Los Angeles this year, were equally as enjoyable as 2003, but luckily no blackouts this time, either from power failures or alcohol. I came out to Berkeley to see Green Day’s American Idiot musical and visit some long-lost friends who had moved to the Bay area years ago. While I had mixed feelings about the show itself, I did quite enjoy American Idiot and loved seeing old friends and making a few new ones that I hope will be around for years to come. I even got to unexpectedly go to Toot’s in Crockett, CA, to try and catch the 12-piece band, the Mystic Knights of the Cobra, but we missed the show and ended up hanging out until the small hours of the night instead.

Mystic Knights of the Cobra on Creepy KOFY Movietime

(The El Camino riff in the above video was chanted by the FBHT in London earlier this year. Go COBRAS!)

Los Angeles, 2009

My recent visit to celebrate New Year’s in November was equally enjoyable. I flew in on Saturday, arrived at 6:30 PM, stayed on my friend’s couch for two days, visited another friend who I hadn’t seen since 2005, and just had an amazing time with people that I love.

Fun in California, In Johnny Goldstein's Convertible, Los Angeles, November 22, 2009

Rachel True and Tanya doing like the old days and hanging on the couch

After two days, I headed to downtown L.A. where I met up with East Bay friends. We hung at our hotel for a while and then marched to Nokia Plaza to see Green Day perform an hour-long show that consisted of so many old and wonderful songs of theirs that I thought my head would explode. I unfortunately didn’t end up being close to the stage at all, but I was hanging with some pretty cool people, including a friend who, like me, was one of the few people around us that actually knew the words to these wonderful and vibrant tunes from the 1990s that the Boys were drumming up on stage.

It was heaven.

There were three highlights of the show for me, not in any particular order. First, the people I hung out with all day are some of the funniest, liveliest, and craziest people I have ever met, and I’ve hung with many fun, live, and crazy people in my life. Thank you for a wonderful time! The second highlight is that I FINALLY GOT TO HEAR TRE SING “DOMINATED LOVE SLAVE” LIVE, as he and Billie switched up guitar and mic for drums, and I literally had a grin on my face that could not be wiped off for anything in the world. The third highlight of the night is that I actually got to meet Billie and Tre and had a short conversation with Billie and an even shorter one with Tre. I stuck out my hand to both of them with a simple, “Hi, I’m Tanya,” and they both responded with handshakes back, “Hi, I’m Billie,” and “Hi, my name is Tre.”

Me and some dude

Needless to say, even if my phone got shut off for a bit due to this trip, it was a mighty fine time, and a Happy New Year’s in November with California Dreams was had by all.

Thank you, California.

I know that visiting California and living there are actually two different things, but seriously, I’ve come to the conclusion that I would rather live with beautiful mountain ranges, fruit falling from trees, bushes that smell pretty and sunshine then the cold hard reality of New York. Mind you, I love New York and I have lived here for a number of years, but I’m tired of the climate, the scene, the lack of creativity that has engulfed my life here since 1985. I’m ready for a new big adventure in a broke State, sailing out my years on a porch, looking at burning mountains with the ever-present notion of shifting earth under my feet rather than my cold, hard, and beloved Brooklyn.

I never thought I’d say it, but in the next five years, I’m moving to California. It’s always good to dream.

I wish everyone their own Big Adventure and a Happy New Year!

Nokia Plaza Setlist – Show and Soundcheck, November 23, 2009

Nokia Plaza Concert (GDA):
1. Know Your Enemy
2. East Jesus Nowhere
3. Burnout
4. Coming Clean
5. 2000 Light Years Away
6. Welcome To Paradise
7. Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?
8. Dominated Love Slave
9. Holiday
10. Murder City
11. Christie Road
12. Going To Pasalacqua
13. Disappearing Boy
14. Are We The Waiting
15. St. Jimmy
16.21 Guns
17. American Eulogy
18. Minority
19. Last Night On Earth

Nokia Plaza Soundcheck (GDA):
Maria
Murder City
I Want You to Want Me – Cheap Trick
St Jimmy
Coming Clean
Having a Blast
Burnout
Sassafrass Roots (First time ever played live or since it came out, according to my brief conversation with Billie Joe)
Nice Guys Finish Last
Pulling Teeth – Acoustic
Stairway to Heaven
Gilligan’s Island theme song
Favorite Son
American Eulogy
I Fought the Law

Charlize Theron's Dior: couture that almost outshines her kindness (but not quite)

I was recently awed by In Style’s list of Hollywood female powerhouses who are quickly approaching a birthday with forty-one candles aglow (keeping in mind, always an extra for good luck).  It seems that as I have grown, the women whom I once revered and who demand attention just by being, well, pretty, are becoming a wrinkle in time (but without the ghastly skin creases, thank you Botox.)

It has been proffered that forty is the new thirty.  Does that make twenty the new ten?  I certainly hope not, because that awkward stage of my identity was defined by oversized flannels (older brother’s hand-me-downs by my demand), high top basketball sneakers (the days when physical activity meant the playground, not monotonous movements on a robotic machine), and oval glasses that compete with Harry Potter’s signature specs.  Though since the wizard series didn’t yet exist, perhaps it was my profound influence that stylized J.K. Rowlings’ cash character. 

As the acclaimed magazine explained, it’s not that the big four-oh is overtaking the biddies of the industry.  Women are simply evolving, becoming more radiant as sand slips through the hourglass.  That fact doesn’t detract from the refreshing air that surrounds Tinseltown’s tots. 

Men have been doing it for centuries, getting reputedly handsomer with age as does Oscar de la Renta haute-couture. George Clooney started the revolution, Brad Pitt is confirming it, but now, it’s the Charlize Therons who are putting young Hollywood to shame.  Vintage is the new youth.

Radiance.  It’s the word I want to embody come New Years in skin and style.  With so many Oscar worthy roles that portray the exact opposite of the luminous adjective, Charlize Theron has certainly morphed from beast to beauty cyclically over the course of her career.  In moments such as this, it’s a matter of material.  A dress with a natural shimmer, like the black and gold one shoulder body hugger by Torn by Ronny Kobo instantly reflects upon a flawless complexion.  Retro chic even in flats, Charlize Theron’s renovation of an old Hollywood allure proves that a shimmer can carry you into tomorrow and well into that now enticing decade, no matter how near or far it may be.

Peppermint Mochas are BACK!

I woke up full this morning, my stomach is hanging out over my pajama pants and I have 24 emails in my inbox advertising Black Friday deals at various online stores.

Yup, it’s officially Holiday Season!

While Halloween is my all-time favorite holiday of the year, there is something about the time from Thanksgiving to New Year’s that makes me blissfully happy. Sure, it could be the sheer amount of sugar that is pumping through my bloodstream right now (I ate pumpkin pie and brownies and cookies and apple crisp for dessert last night), but everything about this time of year makes me wanna run and dance and sing… and shop. Seriously, the people making those commercials should get a raise because they work on me every. single. time.

I know I’m not the only one out there who ate until they wanted to barf last night is head-over-heels in love with the holiday season, so this week I asked the CollegeCandy writers to share their favorite things about this time of year.

What do you love most about the holidays (and yes, “getting presents” is a totally acceptable answer).

Ricki – University of Michigan: The holiday music.  It is impossible to get in my car without becoming cheerful.

Ness – Sheridan: My favorite thing about the holiday season is sleeping until (after) noon, and not feeling guilty for missing class. Ah, how I love you Christmas break.

Nina – Michigan State University: I actually really love buying presents for other people. I don’t care that I’m spending inordinate amounts of money when it comes to people I love!

Teresa – UCSD: Hearing cheesy holiday music at the mall. It never gets old!

Kendra  – University of Pittsburgh: My favorite thing about the holiday season is having marathon movie binges with my older sister. There’s nothing better than being rooted to the couch and watching Disney classics, several seasons of Weeds, and every Zac Efron movie ever made while my parents bustle around getting the house ready for guests.

Elizabeth – UC Berkeley: My favorite thing about the holidays is listening to Bing Crosby’s “A White Christmas” without people thinking I’m crazy.

Sarabeth – University of Texas: My favorite thing is the amazing desserts that come out around this time. Eggnog milkshake? Peppermint brownies? Yes please!

Jackelyn – San Francisco State University: Honestly? My favorite thing is knowing that we get ridiculously long and deserving breaks off from school. Oh, that and all the gorgeous lights that everyone puts up!

Thu – USC: Knowing that I will soon wipe everything that I have learned (if anything) over the past few months from my mind and not have to think about school for a while.

Alex K – Lakehead University: My favorite thing about the holidays are holiday movies! Elf, The Santa Clause, even those claymation specials from like 100 years ago! I love it all!

Zahra – Northwestern University: I love that holiday season, for me, is the best of both worlds since I’m from Miami: presents, Christmas music, holiday food, etc. AND an uninterrupted month of lying on the beach.

Carly – Grinnell: I love being with my family around the holidays! Call me old-fashioned, but that warm, fuzzy feeling of being near them makes me so happy.

Lauren – University of Michigan: Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is you” on replay. For 6 weeks straight.

Brithny – Duke: Shopping for clothes that won’t fit until February, but OK with it because dinner feasts provide a legit excuse to pull out the elastic-banded sweatpants for now.

Leah – Ryerson University: Seeing my family for the first time in four months is definitely the highlight for me!

Erica – Kent State University:  Eggnog, hands down.

Katie – Michigan State University:  Sleep. I’m dead serious. I could care less about the food and presents – sleep is what makes my holidays so precious.

Maddie – Tufts: Cranberry bliss bars from Starbucks… sooo good. And being home to devour all my moms cooking. Better whip out the spandex…

Rosie – Duke: My favorite thing is going home to a real mall where I can go shopping all I want on my parents’ expense… and  then run back to school before they get the bill.

Kari – Florida State: I love the Christmas-Carol-only radio stations! It severely diminishes my road rage. Also, all the fun charities and parties that come with the holiday season. Getting to see adorable little kids play with fraternity boy- Santas, then later doing shots with said Santas? Sign me up!

Elise – Stanford: Red cups from Starbucks! Cinnamon flavored everything! Christmas music blasting. No classes!

Desiree – Columbia: Christmas carols are a big, big part of the season for me. As soon as Thanksgiving is over, I put on my “Merry Christmas, Baby” playlist. It’s an eclectic mix of about 120 songs, with selections from everyone from the Jackson 5 to a group playing traditional Turkish instruments. My top picks? Christmas with the Rat Pack and Little Drummer Boy by Jimi Hendrix. I crank up the jams, put on the same Santa hat I’ve had since the 4th grade, and deck the halls.

Happy Black Friday!!!!! If you are not from the U.S., it is just like Boxing Day in Canada.

For the Maze, I can’t really explain it so here’s the map.

Step 1: Go to the Ski Village

Step 2: Click the Red Button

Step3: Click the Red Button to show the Map.

The Map will look like this:

How to get the Yeti Costume:

Step1: You will need to find the end of the maze

Step 2: Go inside and it will look like this

Step 3: Walk over to the Big Bin That Says Prize

How to Get the Blue Pom Pom Toque:

Go to the Ski Hill

Click on the Big Bin That Says Free

This should come up, Click “Yes” and you now have this item.

New Sleds

Snow And Sports Catalog Cheats:

Click the Green Penguin’s Face for the Green Hockey Jersey

Click The Lime Green Penguin’s Face for the Green Goalie Gear

Click the word Ice in Ice Skating for the White Pom Poms

Snowshoe tracks in Algonquin Park near Algonquin Log Cabin Lodge

As promised in last week’s post, we’ve got some great ideas for New Year’s Eve this week: a family New Year’s Eve in Niagara Falls, elegant dining north of Toronto and in our nation’s capital and an Algonquin Park wilderness adventure complete with a log cabin lodge stay.

The Americana Conference Resort & Spa in Niagara Falls has “Family Spectacular” – non-stop New Year’s Eve fun for the whole family. It’s a big hit every year with an all-you-can-eat buffet and lots of entertainment like The Smudge Fundaes and the Zero Gravity Circus. More info here.

Water bucket and wave pool at the Americana in Niagara Falls

The Americana also has one- and two-night packages with the new Rink at the Brink. The one-night package includes tickets to the Rink at the Brink which is right by the falls, passes to Americana’s Waves Indoor Waterpark as well as your accommodation. Two night packages are the same except they’ve added a $50 meal voucher for the in-house restaurant and Waves snack bar.

Check out Tourism Niagara for more news on Rink at the Brink and other things to do in the Niagara region.

Holiday decorations at the Millcroft Inn and Spa

In the Caledon Hills, 45 minutes northwest of Toronto, the Millcroft Inn and Spa will ring in the new year with its “New Year’s Eve Gala Getaway”. You get two nights at the inn, a welcome reception on December 30th and then a three-course dinner from their a la carte menu. On December 31st there’s a Country Continental Breakfast Buffet, an Al fresco Lunch (on the Pinnacle or wedding garden, weather permitting).  The New Year’s Eve Gala Dinner has live entertainment with the Brenda Lewis Jazz Band, festive party favours and a champagne toast at midnight. January 1st starts with a light breakfast buffet. But if you sleep in, you can catch the New Year’s Day Brunch a little later.

Gratuities on food and beverages are included. This package starts at $299 CAD per person, per night (plus taxes, based on double occupancy and a two night stay, subject to availability). Valid December 30-31, 2009.

To get in touch with the Millcroft, call them at 1-800-383-3976 or check them out on the web. Also see the post we did on them last August and some comments about their food from last week.

Brookstreet’s four-diamond Perspectives Restaurant

The elegant Brookstreet Hotel might be the way to go in Ottawa. It has a seven course New Year’s Eve dinner planned. The food at Brookstreet is exceptional (CAA four-diamond rating for both hotel and restaurant) and the place has a real contemporary feel. You can get late night seating times for dinner priced at $149.95 per person and, if you decide t0 make a night of it, they’ll throw in a room for $99/double occupancy. Taxes and gratuities are extra. Personally, I have my eye on the 850 square foot Master Suite with Jacuzzi and balcony, but I haven’t called for a price on that yet. There are a lot of package options at this time of year, so check out the website for details and pricing.

The Algonquin Log Cabin

This next New Year’s Eve idea combines a log cabin stay in the Canadian wilderness with traditional Canadian winter activities. The place is Algonquin Log Cabin near Algonquin Park. Nothing beats a jump in the snow fresh out of this lodge’s wood-fired sauna! But hey, that’s just my opinion. If you want black dresses and high-heels on New Year’s Eve, you may prefer the Brookstreet or the Millcroft.

“Snowshoeing, Torch Lit Skating and Backcountry Skiing” are planned from December 31, 2009 to January 2, 2010 at Algonquin Log Cabin. This spectacular split log lodge with its huge fieldstone fireplace is on a lake bordering Algonquin. In winter, the park is a land of frozen lakes, waist-deep snow, and lots of crisp clear air.

Accommodation at the lodge is double occupancy with shared indoor washrooms, as well as a sauna and shower cabin. Group size is limited to 12 guests and two guides who prepare all the meals. After an invigorating day on the trail, it’s the perfect place to hang out. This New Year’s Eve getaway is priced at $475 per person. Add-on activities include ice fishing and dogsledding. Return transportation from Toronto is available for $175 per person. See the website for further details.

My Thoughts and Wishes to All for the Coming Year: Happy Holidays!

Remember the time you drove all night
Just to meet me in the morning
And I thought it was strange you said everything changed
You felt as if you’d just woke up
And you said “this is the first day of my life
I’m glad I didn’t die before I met you
But now I don’t care I could go anywhere with you
And I’d probably be happy”

-Bright Eyes

Bright Eyes: First Day Of My Life

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Last Thursday night, I was sitting at my little desk in my little classroom that I use twice a week at our sister school. It was break-time, and I was grading papers. The classroom door was open, and Keith, an Irish gentleman who’s been teaching over here forever, leaned in.

“Ah, I almost forgot,” he said. “You’re American. Happy Thanksgiving.”

I sat back and had to think for a second. Was it Thanksgiving? I hadn’t become completely oblivious to life back home, had I? Were the Cowboys playing at 5 am the following morning? No, no they weren’t. It wasn’t Thanksgiving. That was next week. I related this all to Keith, but thanked him nonetheless for his charming well-wishes.

And then it hit me. No, this wasn’t American Thanksgiving – next Thursday was; but next Thursday would be the same as this Thursday – I’d be teaching English all day, eating rice or noodles when I got the chance, and coming home exhausted. And when it actually was Thanksgiving, Keith would probably pop his head in the door and extend his well-wishes again, and I’d be pretty sad that I was sitting in my little desk in my little classroom, instead of eating turkey, laughing with my family, watching football, and playing games.

I fully realized when I signed up for this adventure that homesickness would be part of the toll. And every so often since I landed here in July, I have gotten a bit homesick. It never lasts very long – maybe an afternoon or a whole day; certainly nothing emotionally crippling. But as summer has turned into fall, I have started to get that little twinge a bit more often. Seasons are changing back home (and here, to a far lesser extent, weather-wise), and I guess subconsciously I’m fully realizing that I’m gonna be away from home for a good long while. I do love this time of year back home, too. I miss taking walks with Bonzo in the crisp autumn air; miss being a 3-hour drive from my mom and my childhood home; miss going to the State Fair – there’s something magical about eating corny dogs, playing corny games, riding rides, and perusing booths selling everything from shampoo to the Sham-Wow; I miss playing with my friends, and watching football at normal hours.

And I miss the holidays. I love the holidays. I love Thanksgiving – the cool air outside, exchanging stories and laughing with my family, watching football, playing games, and, of course, the food. My God, the food. Taiwan’s fare is okay, but it’s got nothing on turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Sweet Jesus, I’d teach one of my classes completely improper English for a whole semester just to have Thanksgiving with my family. “Teacher like the Thanksgiving much a lot.”

And Christmas. Due to financial reasons, I won’t be coming home for Christmas or New Years – my 30th birthday, by the way – either. Now before we go blaming Phyllis and her bloodthirsty zeal for my money, it’s not all her fault. Certainly, she made it impossible for me to return to the states; but I don’t think coming home was a great idea, money-wise, to begin with. Plus, I mean, I’m living in Southeast Asia, and flights to Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, the Philippines, China, and Japan are super cheap here. I’ll actually be in Thailand over Christmas and New Years. So that’s cool.

But still, I’ll miss the holidays. I’m an incredibly nostalgic human. I get this entirely from my father. He loved Christmas. Absolutely loved it. And so do I. I’m a huge Christmas dork, and I don’t mind the world knowing it. I love Christmas decorations; I love Christmas trees and Christmas carols; I love Christmas lights and secretly harbor ill will for any house that does not display them. I’m just a nerd like that. I love the BFC (Boeglin Family Christmas); I love having Christmas Eve at our house, and I love Christmas Day with my mom’s side of the family. Christmas this year is going to be tough. I’m going to miss my mom and sister – not to mention the rest of my family and all my friends back home – more than I ever have before. But again, I knew this came with the territory of living overseas.

But still. I’m in Taiwan. I’m living in Southeast Asia. And I will be in Thailand for Christmas. So that’s pretty damn cool.

And so, here I am, on the night of the fourth Thursday in November. In America, it’s Thanksgiving. Here, it’s a Thursday. I taught all day and made myself a grilled chicken salad for dinner. It wasn’t a bad day by any means, but still, today I am homesick.

But it is Thanksgiving, and by nature, I’m not the brooding sort. So despite my homesickness, let me count the numerous things for which I am incredibly thankful.

I’m thankful for my health. I’m a month away from 30 years old; I have had periods in my life where I’ve drunk too much and other periods where I haven’t worked out enough. Sometimes those periods have coincided. And yet somehow, I’m doing quite well.

I’m thankful for making myself come on this adventure. There aren’t a whole lot of Americans who can say they picked up and moved to Southeast Asia. I’m glad I have. It’s been an adventure so far, and the adventure’s really only in its infancy. I can’t wait for everything else I get to do and see while I’m here.

I’m thankful for my kids at school. Every day, their exuberance, their desire to have fun, and their laughs make me smile. Despite the fact that they regularly test my patience and wear me the hell out day after day, I have never once come home upset that I’m their teacher.

And, I’m eternally thankful for my family and friends back home. There are way too many to try to list here by name; but all of you, please know that I think of you all the time, and that those thoughts usually end with a big smile. I miss you all dearly, and that’s the main reason why I’m homesick today.

In a way, I’m truly thankful to be homesick.

Please, have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone.
Thank you for indulging me.

There’s a million things for me to be thankful for today and everyday. I know I’m especially thankful for my parents, sister, boyfriend Scott and my numerous friends stateside and abroad, as well as the many people I’ve been able to re-connect with and get to know via Facebook and Twitter. The encouragement and support has been incredible, and I’m extremely grateful to have such awesome clients and a great circle of friends I consider my family! 

So to celebrate this wonderful day of thanks, I’ve been launching a very cool project that will go from now through March 31, 2010! Each time you book a family, child or couples session, $35 of each creative fee will go to the Children’s Therapy Center of the Quad Cities. The $35 is equivalent to one child receiving 15 minutes of therapy. This is part of a unique partnership I’ve had with this organization, which serves more than 100 children every year in providing speech, occupational, physical and feeding therapies for kids in Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois. 

Best of all, everyone who participates in this project – Celebrate Your Child 2010 Photo Charity – gets a complimentary 5×7 print and 10% off any large print (16×20 and larger). 

So start thinking ahead – Christmas, your birthday, family reunions, a new baby, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day… Get a quality experience with images you’ll love for years and – at the same time – contribute to a worthy, top-notch organization that has been around in the community for more than 50 years! If you’ve always wanted custom lifestyle photography, this is THE perfect opportunity to do so. 

All you have to do is email me to schedule your session at shuva@accentphotographics.com, and I will provide you with more detailed information. Thanks and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Hello All,

Well it’s the Holiday Season and you know what that means… Lots of shopping, going to parties, and the hustle and bustle of the season. I don’t mean to be Scrooge but here are some very important safety tips to keep you safe for the Holiday Season.

• Being on your PHONE IS NOT SAFE!!! It is a huge distraction when you are distracted that is a great time for MR. BAD GUY to ATTACK you.
• REMEMBER where you parked your car and AVOID using your KEY LESS ENTRY to find your car. This is a great way to let Mr. Bad Guy where you are at and how to plan his attack.
• If you are out enjoying some HOLIDAY BEVERAGES keep your INTAKE LOW and remember to keep track of your drink. It is very easy for someone to slip something into your drink. Also drink lots of water and eat consistantly this will help you moderate your alcohol levels.

I hope that these help to keep you and your loved ones safe. We have ongoing Self-Defense classes on going during the holidays!!! Not only will they help you to be safe they can also help you avoid adding any extra holiday goodies to your waistline.

Happy Holidays,

Shawn

Ok, well maybe hate is too strong a word.  Let’s just say I don’t look forward to the holidays anyway.  Specifically the trilogy we call Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Years, (TCN) that are slapped together the last two months of the year.  I am skeptical and jaded against several holidays anyway.  Most seem to have double meanings, in that its partial religious and partial if not mostly marketing. 

Look at Easter for instance.   I grew up simultaneously thinking it was about the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ and a time for bunnies and egg hunting.  The same can be said for Christmas.  Don’t even get me started on that one.  Thanksgiving can’t get over with without stores opening up in anticipation of Black Friday and loads of shoppers coming to spend a lot of grip!

Speaking of Thanksgiving; It has its own set of issues as it inaccurately tells of a relationship between pilgrims and Native Americans.  They talk about Native Americans helping the Pilgrims, but they don’t tell of the massacre and land grab the Pilgrims put down on them in return.  With the amount of turkeys being sacrificed on one day, it shows how much it’s commercialized too. ****Side Note: Will someone please explain what this whole mess of the president pardoning a turkey is about?

I tend to get into holidays like Veteran’s Day or Memorial Day, or something like these.  I mean they are jaded too in that they do have Memorial Day sales in department stores.  But they tend to have less.  Labor Day is pretty straight forward.  It celebrates the workers of the nation.  And what the heck, if one wants to enjoy some savings at JC Penny’s for their hard-earned dollars who can argue with that?

Martin Luther King Day is almost a joke!  As much as I think we should have it for I truly believe MLK is the greatest American ever produced, the talk of dreaming and speeches is sickening.   It’s more memorial and legend than it is substance.  Take the good with the bad I guess.  But we, (black folk who want to deify King as a messiah who could do no wrong – and white folk who wish to use the dream message while eliminating the more meatier pieces of his words that challenged American white supremacy and classism at its core therefore rendering King a toothless lion) have basterdized Kings legacy as far as I’m concerned.  But I digress.

Valentines Day is a funny one to me.  Flower prices soar to astronomical proportion leading up to February 14 as men scramble and come up off them dollars to buy those roses and chocolate.  If you have a woman and she’s into that stuff, you can forget it!  Come off that grip or cancel Xmas cause if she feels dissed and can’t brag to her friends about what you did, there won’t be any presents for you under her tree!  I’m just saying.

I’m not a total Scrooge about this mind you.  But I’ve always had my anti-establishment rebellious streak too when it comes to holidays.  When I was a child and thought that Jesus was born on December 25th, I honestly didn’t care as much about presents.  I didn’t turn down any either.  But I did make a point of saying, “Happy Birthday Jesus!” when I woke up that morning before running for the living room.  As I recall I think I just thought us kids had the benefit of getting some presents on the slide.   I didn’t believe in Santa Clause too long cause I couldn’t figure how dude could hit all the houses all around the world in one night.  Just couldn’t wrap my brain around that.  All possible illusions were put to rest when I heard my mother and then step father sneaking in the crib at 3:30 in the morning setting up my race track.  I wasn’t disappointed at all.  More so relieved that I wasn’t crazy. 

One other reason why I hate the holidays, (specifically the TCN trilogy) is because these holidays interrupt my otherwise action packed distractions layered lifestyle of mine.  Most of my adult life I have struggled some with loneliness, depression, anxiety and stress.  But I work hard and I work a lot.  Therefore I am able to busy myself meandering with the important and the mundane.  If it ain’t one thing to do it’s another.   Going from one side of town to another to work or head to the coffee shop to jot some thoughts or view Delonte West free-styling in a KFC drive-through about buying $50 worth of chicken after a weed burn can keep one’s mind off his troubles.

I remember one year-long ago.  I was driving on a Thanksgiving afternoon to pick something up from Walgreens.   As I drove down the street I noticed how everything in the world has seemed to stop.  Here it was broad daylight in the middle of a metropolitan city, during the week no less, and there were hardly any cars on the street.   My neighborhood looked like a ghost town.  Subconsciously I noticed the trees too.  There were no leaves.  Only traces of dead one laying on the streets and along the curbs.  Nothing was growing outside.  Nature seemed to be hibernating and the chill of the air cause me to cover myself so that the cold couldn’t attack me as it was the rest of nature.  That’s when it hit me.  “Damn!”, I thought.  These are the thoughts that flowed through my mind as I assessed the situation.

I have no place to go.  No place to hide.

 I knew instinctively that I was not in a good place.  I felt lonely, and empty.  I had no distractions to keep me busy and occupied.  I never even realized how much I was hurting or missing.  But here it was face to face now.

Whatever you really feel, wherever you really are, whatever state you are in for real, is always revealed during this time of year.  It’s unavoidable.

So there I was.  I knew it.  Nothing I could do about it either.  And Monday can’t get here fast enough.

For the most part nowadays I tend to look at holidays as an opportunity for me to rest.  To take a load off and maybe sleep in a bit.  I do see redeeming qualities with some of these holidays as they do give us time to reflect from busy lives and have a reason to stop, look, and hopefully listen to others.   To realize that family is important and that there is a season of giving.  Traditions can be a good thing when looked at properly.  And these holiday traditions tend to give those fortunate opportunity to take stock of the many present blessings.  For the lonely, the depressed, the homeless, the destitute, it’s often a not so gentle reminder of the bold and true reality of their lives.

And these are the reasons why I hate or rather don’t always look forward to the holidays.

Project “End 2009 with a bang”

Week 1 (of 6)

I received a comment from Shae Bynes, the author of the article that inspired this project, about my original post. Part of the comment made me question the number of goals I was focusing on:

You have a LOT of things written down here to accomplish by end of the year. I don’t know how much of this is NEW activity/habits vs. continuing what you’re already doing (e.g. the personal finance, service, health items) but it seems like a lot of new habits and stuff to focus on in a mere 6 weeks.

I re-thought my list and I think Shae’s comment about trying to do too much in a short period of time is true in this case. So, I decided to cut back on the number of goals I will work on the rest of this year. Here is the new list of goals I have for the last 5 weeks of the year.

• Health – lose 15 pounds
• Family & Friends – Finally send thank you cards to everyone who attended my birthday party in April (I know – it’s horrible)
• Relationship with God – attend church every Sunday for the rest of the year

Update #1

Health

No Comment. (I had a few small victories, they just weren’t on the scale) 

Family & Friends

No progress yet

Relationship with God

I actually went to church this past Sunday!!! It was a great day to return, the church just had a Men’s Encounter. It was encouraging hearing the testimony of so many men who took a few days out of their life to have an encounter with God.

I know it’s a little early. Actually not really because New Year’s always seems to creep up to us faster than we would like, but…

Can’t believe this year is almost history. For those of you who speak, write, teach, or perform on a weekly basis, you’re all too aware of the toll weekly preps and production takes on the mind, emotions, and body. We joke around New Community that Sunday happens every three days.

At New Community, the remaining five weeks of the year will look like this:

This Sunday Clay Stevens, our creative arts pastor, will wrap up our series through Philippians called Tickled.

On December 6, I start a two-part series called Wishing & Waiting.

We’ll have our Sunday morning Christmas services, Simple Christmas, at 9:15 & 11:00am, December 20, and our Christmas Eve services, Simple Christmas Eve, at 5:00 & 6:30pm, December 24.

Then beginning December 27, we’ll launch into a two-week New Year’s series called, The End. The Beginning.

And finally on January 10 we begin what I think will be the best series of the year. It’s called…sorry, you’ll have to wait a couple of weeks for this one (smile emoticon).

If you live in northeastern North Carolina or southeastern Virginia, we hope you’ll join us during December. It will change your life!

bloody beetroots – new album – 8th december. WHAT!

i can’t wait to catch them on new years…this is just going to be insane