Well, we are here in 'Bama once again. The plane ride was smooth, but the movie was poor. They showed us Matchstick Men. So far we have been able to spend time with Wendy's family, spend time with Melissa's (Wendy's friend) family, and hang out with Shanna, Clay and Elizabeth. Today we are going to hang out with Wendy's dad, and hopefully be able to shoot stuff. That's what I think is the coolest part of Alabama: the shooting. Well, it's about time I go now, I'd hate to have a blog overload. Yet lastly, I thought, when are Steely Dan lyrics more applicable?

They got a name for the winners in the world
And I want a name when I lose
They call Alabama the Crimson Tide
Call me Deacon Blues

Okay, no matter what the color of the terror level, it looks as though we'll be flying to Alabama tonight (I'm up waaay too late). So far our flight hasn't been canceled and is said to be on schedule. So, it's safe to say I'll be home for kwanzaa. Email or call if you'd like to hang out while we're in AL.

Merry Christmas, faithful readers! We hope you have a great holiday. And to you less faithful readers, I suppose we wish the same. ;)

Okay, here's the cheeziest thing I've heard a salesman say to make a sale yet: "My name is Jade--like the stone--but I won't become precious until you become one of my customers." Geez, how does he expect to sell anything reputable with that line?

We got to hang out w/ Ryan last night. It was great, because when Brandon turned on Steely Dan on the way to El Torrito, I had someone in complete agreement that the music was something that dads listen to. We also had fun hanging out. :)

I'm so happy the semester is over, because today is totally a day that I really don't feel like sitting through class. Yay for holidays!

Now we just have to get serious about preparing for Christmas and our trip to Alabama. Buy presents, pack--all of that fun stuff. I was actually just toying with the whole giving up on decorating our place thing before, but now I'm pretty sure it's a reality. The thing is, having a Christmas tree in the house constantly reminds you that Christmas is drawing near. It also makes it obvious that you haven't bought a single gift, because there is nothing beneath it. You have this impulse to clutter the bottom of the tree with gifts. No tree, no impulse, no reminder... Panic at the last minute. Maybe that was the way it was last year as well... Oh, well. Since I can't remember, I'll assume it wasn't.

Okay, so basically I didn't leave the keyboard all weekend. Last night, I went to bed at 2 am and got up at 4:30 am to work on my papers. And guess what? Only my 12 page history paper is completely done! Grrr? Indeed!

There really is a Santa.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...But not at our place. By the looks of it, we probably won't decorate for Christmas this year. We're too busy. We have finals coming up, and since we're leaving for the South the day after Christmas, we wouldn't even be home to take down the decorations until after January 4th. Oh, well. Maybe we'll decorate next year.

Finals are this Tuesday. Luckily, all I have to do is write like crazy. At a minimum, I'll be writing around sixteen pages between now and Tuesday afternoon. The subjects will range from the worldview of the presocratics to the responsibility of the holocaust. Oh, and there will also be some Oedipus Rex in there for good balance. It'll be nice to have a break after this. :)

My uncle died on Monday. The funeral is today, and of course I won't be able to be with my family since I'm pretty much halfway across the country. I think it's starting to set in--the fact that things keep right on changing whether I live at home or not.

I think the weirdest thing will be going home to all the changes that slowly formed throughout the year. Whenever I ask friends or family of news, they speak of how nothing changes in a small town and how boring it is. Yet last year, after being gone from August to January, the tiny changes were enough to surprise me. I'm totally happy out here in California, but it's strange having a long-distance relationship with my friends and family.

So now deodorants are coming out with a new "ultra strong" protection strip. I don't get it. Why isn't the whole deodorant stick made of this stank-fighting substance? And if the stick just has a strip of really strong, useful deodorizing darker green goop, what is the rest of the lighter green stuff made of? Stuff that will let stank through, that's what.

Seth is finally back from maternity leave. It has been six weeks since we've seen him last, but he's in the office now. The good thing is now he probably won't be craving that pickeled ice cream any more.

Tonight we stopped by Starbucks (since Brandon's grandma gave him a gift card) and I found yet another seasonal item that I enjoy. Their gingerbread latte. Very yummy. Brandon got the eggnog latte, which had been highly recommended by a friend of ours, but was by far inferior to my choice of beverage. But since I'm nice, I shared.

Okay, last dream blog, for real this time. Just before I woke up this morning I dreamed I was with some one at church who was going to give me a ride home. I was getting annoyed because I'd been waiting for a while as he arranged some blinking lights, and I finally asked how much longer it would take. "It'll only be a second," he replied, "this is really important." Finally finished, he backed away and said, "Look!" I stared at the blinking lights that perfectly spelled out the word, "Peoria" until I woke.

As soon as Brandon was totally awake I asked what exactly Peoria was. I don't think I've ever even heard of it. Brandon looked it up, and found it's a city--two cities, actually, one Peoria in Arizona and one in Illinois. So I guess we'll have to drive to both see which is more pleasant. That's the city God's calling us to. ;)

I've noticed that each year I dread Christmas a little more, but this year I really do. I haven't even heard more than fifteen minutes of "holiday tunes." I haven't been to the mall since it's been covered with holiday cheer. But already I don't want any of it. I shared the idea with Brandon that perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if Christmas was only every other year. Then perhaps I could take it. The only thing unfair about that would be that some kids born on a non-Christmas year wouldn't have a Christmas until they were a year old or whatever, but at least I wouldn't go insane. Surely I'm not the only one pondering a way out of this.

I mean, I have nothing against some parts of Christmas. I enjoy spending time with family and friends. I love the holiday foods, some of the decorations, the memories and the yearly showing of A Christmas Story. But here's what I hate: going broke spending money on gifts for everyone I know or else they'll be heart-broken. Why can't this gift-giving time come at a time of the year when people actually have an increased amount of money? Like tax return time! I know I don't suddenly have tons of cash to blow on people just so I can get that feeling that's supposed to come when I "give instead of receiving" (and fall further into debt).

Oh well. Maybe I'll get into the "Christmas spirit" after being brainwashed a bit more. I think the standard is 30 minutes of Christmas music and a series of GAP commercials.

· Today we drove to church, and we parked at the across the street, but before we got too far away from our car, some guy told us that he'd have our car towed if we didn't move it. Apparently we weren't allowed to park at the mall. As a result we parked in the parking structure but had to pay money. It isn't fun to have to pay money to park for church.

· When we came home from church I opened the mail. Let me back up. A few weeks ago I had protested a parking ticket. Today I found in the mail that it was repealed with strings attached. They want me to pay a ten-dollar "administrative processing fee." Let me get this straight. If they repealed the ticket, is it not unethical to still make me pay? Now, I would rather pay the ten dollars than the thirty dollars, but it is still wrong to charge me for their own doing. They can just give parking tickets to everyone and still make money from the innocent. If they repeal the citation they should eat any costs that may have concurred because of it. Besides, they receive money from the state as it is, why do they need this supplimental ten dollars? Because they are cheap.

· I also completed my application for the University of California. It took forever and even worked improperly on many different occasions. To give you an idea of just how slow it was, imagine having a 14.4k modem and trying to view Seth's site. Finally I was able to complete the application, though I don't have much confidence that it will get to the right place.

· Later I was summoned to go to the store to get milk—and milk only. I went to Von's because they are on strike and I am ethically bound cross the picket lines, but to my surprise they were completely out of milk. I mean, completely out! They did have some Lactose Free milk. Not wanting to come home empty handed, I bought the milk and the cashiers laughed at me as I was asking if there was a difference in taste between the real stuff and the lactose free kind. The supermarket workers said that I had to come back and tell them how it tasted.

· For dinner we wanted pizza. Papa John's is always the default, but after being on hold for forever, I decided to call Pizza Hut. The girl answered quickly, but she said that they didn't deliver to my address because it was the other Pizza Hut's domain. I quickly told her that the other Pizza Hut is ran by jerks and so I made my order for carry out.

· Then Russ came over and we all watched The Fisher King which made me realize that my life is pretty good compared to the sorry people portrayed in that flick.

· P.S., the Lactose Free milk tastes pretty good—especially when its flavored with chocolate.