I have very mixed feelings about New Years. On the one hand, I don't think that it's the best idea to focus too heavily on one day. I mean, really, it's just one out of 364. I feel the same way about birthdays and holidays. And, at the same time, I am ridiculously obsessed with birthdays and holidays. I think that it's important to take time during the year to see where you've come from and see where you're heading and take stock of whether or not you're where you want to be. If that seems a bit hypocritical to you, it's because it is... That's why I said that I had mixed feelings, silly!

But, I don't believe that New Years Eve has to be the funnest night of the year. That's what halloween is for! :P

That said, I did have a blast and a half on New Years. Ok, first of all I wore this little number:



I gotta say, it went over very well. Highlights of the evening include:

1. Some guy who spent a good half hour explaining why I was so hot... right down to the curve of my face and the way that my haircut frames it.
2. The seven foot tall guy who cleared a path for me through the dance floor when I was trying to get outside saying "you're too pretty to have to struggle like this."
3. The fact that I can't remember how many people I danced with.

I have never felt like I was one of the pretty girls. I was always the girl sitting off to the side making snide remarks about the pretty girls and secretly wishing that she could be one of them. I think that my years spent as an ugly duckling gave me a much better personality and I definitely prefer to be less glamorous and more interesting. Still, it sure was nice to spend an evening feeling like the belle of the ball. Even if it was just the Long Island Iced Tea talking.

Note to self: New Years resolutions to stop drinking aren't supposed to start on New Years Eve. Thanks to Erin for pointing that one out.

So this is the new year
And I have no resolutions
For self assigned penance
For problems with easy solutions
-- Death Cab For Cutie

My new year resolutions:

1. Stick up for myself more
2. Drink less
3. Throw more sexy parties

Today I rediscovered the joys of paying a total stranger to massage your feet. Oh yeah, and I guess I got my toenails painted too.

(reposted from my posting on chirographum.net)

So, my mom's side of the family went to Jamaica for Christmas (that would be; my mom, my sisters, my sister's boyfriend, my step-dad, my step-granddad, my step-aunt and my uncle, my step-brother and my step-sister). My step-granddad rented a villa and they all sat around and drank margharitas and went snorkelling and got contact highs because they were in fucking Jamaica.

I stayed in Boston and worked with disadvantaged youth and shovelled my dad's sidewalk when it snowed. But I'm not bitter. No, not I. Who needs a tropical vacation when you get to take the Red Line to work everyday?

I probably should be a better person and not be so amused by the travel nightmare that was my sisters' trip back home... but they went to fucking Jamaica and all they brought me back was a stupid keychain/bottle opener with a Jamaican flag on it. So screw them.

So, yeah, they were supposed to fly in on Sunday night. As some of you may recall (if you were around for our lovely New England weather), there was a particularly nasty snow storm on Sunday night. It was so nasty, in fact, that in the aftermath of it, I got a snow day on Monday. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

My sisters almost had to go to Philadelphia, because the weather was just brutal. Their plane was circling the city while the air traffic controllers decided whether to send them to Rhode Island (too much snow there too), Philadelphia (they only had ten more minutes to hover or they wouldn't have enough fuel to get there) or to land in Boston. I guess they tossed a coin or something and they decided to land in Boston... but my sisters said it was the scariest landing that they had ever been through and right after that they closed the airport tighter than the fists of whoever it was that decided to not give me a Christmas bonus this year.

My sisters called me from the plane to tell me that they had landed and my dad and I headed out into the storm. It took us forever to get out of the snowbank that the Volvo was lodged in. Then we drove to the Mass Pike at a stately speed of about 3 miles an hour, fishtailing merrily along the way. On the Pike, we were able to increase our speed to an unbelievably fast 20 mph, thanks to the work of the brave DPW snow plow drivers. We passed a row of them on the on ramp and I saluted them all saying "god bless you plow boys." I don't think that they heard me though, because they were too busy coating the roads with 7,0124 metrics tons of salt.

Well, then we show up to the airport and I see that the baggage claims area is full of an inordinate amount of unhappy people. And there are slightly more of them than usual. But, among the cranky masses, I see no signs of my sisters. That struck me as being seriously odd, seeing as how it took approximately 17 (give or take about 16) hours to get there. I called my sisters up (god bless cell phones) and they told me "we're still on the plane."

Still on the plane? Still on the plane!?!
Still on the plane!?!?!

I know that all the sky caps are pretty disgruntled this time of year, watching people fly off to exotic destinations and having to stay in Boston. I myself am highly disgruntled, and I don't have to carry heavy suitcases for a living. But c'mon... how long does it take to get off of a plane?

It can all be summed up like this:

1. The airport was completely shut down, so every single gate had a plane sitting at it.
2. None of the planes could go anywhere until they were de-iced
3. None of the planes could be de-iced because a dumptruck overturned, blocking their entrance to the de-icing area
4. The driver of said dumptruck probably got fired.
5. What the hell kind of name is dumptruck?
6. My sisters sat on a plane that had not one but two screaming babies on it in full view of a gate that they could not get off at for over an hour
   
   ... and finally...
   
   
7. There was a snow plow driver going back and forth next to their plane, not plowing anything and (presumably) cackling evilly as he did it

I did my best to keep their spirits up by sending them pictures (god bless camera phones) of me and my dad stretching our legs out in the baggage claim area. For some reason, they didn't appreciate my efforts, and they sent me back a picture of my sister Christina giving us the finger. So we sent them a picture of my Dad shaking his fist and snarling. I have a weird ass family.

In an attempt to show them that it could be worse... I also told them about all of the packs of baggy-eyed travellers who were stuck in Logan for the night. They had all been reduced to roaming the terminal in search of a semi-private place to curl up on top of their luggage and nap. There were entire families (screaming baby included) huddled together for warmth. There were businessmen lying on USAirways issued cots playing solitaire on their laptops. There was one unfortunate soul who was curled up beneath the ticket counter in the vain hope that sleeping there might get him home sooner. There were not a lot of smiles in the airport.

My sisters finally got off of the plane. (Miraculously) All of their luggage got off of the plane as well. We drove them home at a daring 23 mph. I woke up the next morning to the exciting news that (for the first time in 6 years) I had a snow day.

I guess it's not so bad that I stayed in Boston...

By Vicki's request...


Three names you go by:
Hope
Hopers
Hopeamarope

Three screennames you have:
hoperdoper
boredway8
that's it (for now)

Three things you like about yourself:
My insane sense of humor
My compassion
My rack

Three things you hate/dislike about yourself:
My tendency to be oversensitive
My inability to keep my room neat
My waistline

Parts of your heritage:
English and German

Three things that scare you:
Losing the people that I love
Boys with no necks
Heights

Three of your everyday essentials:
sunshine
caffeine
crack

Three things you are wearing right now:
Hello Kitty pyjamas
orange underwear
South Boston Boys and Girls Club fleece

Three of your favorite bands/artists:
Death Cab For Cutie
Bad Religion
Rasputina

Three of your favorite songs (at the moment):
Old 97's - Question
The Pogues - Fairytale of New York
Johnny Cash - Sunday Morning Coming Down


Three Things You Want to Try in the Next 12 Months:
Starting my own web design business
Making my own handbags
Writing a book of short stories

Three things you want in a relationship:
Friendship
Snuggles
Stupid jokes

Two truths and a lie:
My favorite Christmas present this year was a coat.
Sometimes I get dressed in front of an open window.
I love my job.

Three physical aspects you find attractive:
Cute smiles.
Good posture.
Lean physiques.


Three things you just can't do:
Drive stick.
Keep my room clean.
Stop talking.

Three of your favorite hobbies:
Playin the Gee-tar.
Sewing.
Messin around with Photoshop.

Three careers you're considering:
Computer Consultant.
Rock Star.
Astronaut.

Three places you want to go on vacation:
Back to Nepal.
Puerto Rico.
Guadeloupe.

Three kids' names:
Eliza Beth
April
Amy

Three things you want to do before you die:
Sell a thousand records.
Publish my own book.
Host Saturday Night Live.

Three people who I'd like to take this quiz:
Santa Claus
The Tooth Fairy
The Easter Bunny