The best and the worst of international travel (suck it, Air Canada)
Okay, so it was quite the month. Football (my home state of Virginia didn't fare well, I'm afraid, but my other home state of Georgia whupped up), holidays (among my Christmas gifts were a Chris Cooley Redskins jersey, Deluxe Scrabble, and an acre of Guatemalan rainforest), politics (other people go to parties to watch the caucas results come in, right)... But out of a whole month (more than a month, really), what was good and/or bad enough to make the list?
What's good (for the, what, five-week period ending 1/4):
- the overwhelming generosity of my family, for whom I'm unspeakably grateful (Aww...)
- London at Christmastime. That was the big trip, and it was gorgeous, and incredibly cold, and gorgeous, and fun and exciting, and gorgeous. If there's interest, I'll post a few pictures; if there's none, I might post some anyway, because when you have your own blog, you get to do stuff like that.
- shrimp scampi, cheese grits, asparagus, standing rib roast, green beans amandine, sourdough rolls, more cheese grits, pork loin, collard greens, more cheese grits, black-eyed peas, cucumber salad
- inexplicably not waking up ten pounds heavy on January 2 after all of that
- chili on a cold night
- Barack Obama in the Iowa caucases (back off, ladies, I saw him first. Um, except for you, Michelle. Obviously)
- scarf-and-hat weather
- friendly faces at the airport. After the ordeal of my return trip from Toronto (details to follow), as I crested the escalator and turned to haul ass to the baggage claim and start my long drive home, I heard my name... from my dad. He and Mom had driven up from Columbus to meet me at the Atlanta airport simply because they knew I'd been traveling for 42 hours and might appreciate a hug and a nice dinner. Which I did. More than I can possibly express.
- the 2008 Sugar Bowl - Georgia 41, Hawaii 10; Mark Richt, even hotter when he's kind of evil
- a chance to sleep in after a month of busy Saturdays
What's bad:
- 36 hours, showerless, in the Toronto airport during a blizzard. I suspect that that one was equally bad for everyone around me.
- re-entering the dating scene after a breakup
- my cholesterol level after holiday eats (one can safely assume)
- mince pies
I'm going to throw you something a little bit different in this month of newness. Josh has a theory that a Friday Random Ten might have powers to predict the success of the coming weekend. Could a Random Twelve be asked to predict an entire year?
Let's see:
January: Dave Matthews Band, "Pay for What You Get"
February: Shirley Bassey, "The Lady's a Tramp"
Promising...
March: Aqualung, "Something to Believe In"
April: Jeff Buckley, "Hallelujah"
Better...
May: Franz Schubert, "Abschied D957" from Schwanengesang
June: Kula Shaker, "Magic Theatre"
July: Kay Starr, "All By Myself"
Hold on, there.
August: Groove Armada, "Edge Hill"
September: Sarah McLachland, "Angel"
October: N.W.A., "Gangsta Gangsta"
Abort! Abort!
November: Day One, "Bedroom Dancing"
December: Lo Fidelity Allstars, "Will I Get Out of Jail"
Great. See if I do that again.
How about you? It's been a while; what was good and bad for you this season? Your year of random music?
No comments:
Post a Comment