Holidays, New Year, an so on

I've been neglectful with my blog. Terrible of me, right? Yeah, well, I'm okay with it.

At the moment, I'm killing time for the next couple of days. That is, I'll be working on my thesis and a project for my little on-the-side gig with the National Center for Alcohol and Substance Abuse... so I have work to do, but it's nothing compared to what I had to deal with during finals. Hence, my absence from the blogging world. Okay, I might have been able to spare a few moments, but in the end, it hurt just to think about being in front of my computer. Besides, my trip to Texas for the holidays has proven entertaining enough to keep the computer well at bay. Now, however, I suppose it's time to return to the grind. It's been about a week since I've done any kind of real work, which still doesn't feel like enough of a break from all this, but yes, I think I can muster the courage to hurl myself back into the frey.

We'll be in Texas for two more days, and then we're headed back to New York. John is kicking and screaming (on the inside, of course) to get back to NYC, and I can't say I'm too far off from those senttiments myself. It's been fantastic to see family and friends, of course, and much of it has been relaxed. These trips, however, are never without their stress. Family gatherings are what they are, and often become troublesome in their own right. Friends love us, but there are enough of them to see that we start feeling like pinballs at the end of a day filled with visits. In the end, you risk upsetting one or two people because you didn't visit with them enough (or at all), which leaves you feeling bad about your efforts. And yet, what the hell can one do? Whatever happened to compassionate friends who understand the fact that you're stretched thin as it is, and that it's not meant to be a personal slight if you didn't get a chance to see them? Besides, when was the last time any of them flew up to New York? As soon as that particular question crosses my mind, I start feeling less guilty about all the people I haven't had a chance to see this time around. I mean, there are some people who haven't the means to visit, and likely would if they could, but there are the others who could manage it and simply don't. John and I are doing what we can to see those friends who are legitimately unable to see us in New York. As for the rest... nyeh.

For anyone who's been wondering, Christmas was fine. We did two family shindigs... one with one branch of John's family on Christmas Eve, and the other with the other branch of John's family on Christmas day. We also got together with friends and did some slightly less formal celebrating, gift exchanging, and so on, but we were all so exhausted at that point that I fear we were all far less energetic that we'd all hoped. Everything was quite enjoyable, though, so no complaints from me. For New Year's, we went to a restaurant and club which opened in Addison in December... two of our friends are part owners... and we had a fantastic time bringing in the new year on a nice little discount (which could have been a little better, guys... sorry, but we did come all the way from New York, and you did make it sound like it was a no-strings invitation... love you forever, though). Here is a taste of my New Year's celebration, by the way, despite the fact that everything's so dark... guess a proper camera would have done better than my not-exactly-functional camera phone:

John, ever the default designated driver

(weirdo non-drinker), had his fun nonetheless.

Chuck behaved beautifully,
even when scary girls felt the
need to talk to him.







Jynxy was also happy to be there,
despite appearances.







As for me, I was just fine.