If anyone’s actually still reading this after my nearly week-long break from updates, thank you and welcome back…

I did Thanksgiving at ma & pa’s in Cambria, CA: land of boutiques, overpriced useless antiques and fine dining (read: “small portions and high prices”).

But the fact that we spent more time at home than on the ‘town’ meant I was almost able to forget where I was. My lovely Aunt Kathy provided the color commentary. No significant family feuds erupted, and pa managed to keep the shop-talk to a bare minimum.

Friday I managed to capture the Sippy & Old Guzzler show at Fred’s on beautiful digital audio, along with a cache of video clips which I eventually plan on compiling into a music video… Eventually. Thanks to Jimmy & Julie for letting me record, and for putting on a great show.

And mega-thanks to David for hosting me in San Francisco Saturday and Sunday. I’ve lost almost all of my Anti-SanFran bitterness over the past month, thanks to him. Granted, there are still some definate reasons for me to avoid the City, but for now, it has a certain claim on my affections which have tamed my dislike for the place. I plan to return often now, at least so long as he’ll tolerate my company…

Unfortunately, the weather was not kind to me, and I’ve managed to score yet another bug. As far as site updates go, I’m on hiatus with most of the non-personal sections, at least until I acquire my video-capture/edit hardware. And I’m probably waiting until after New Years for that.

Fixing the archives to work with this site (and with Dreamweaver, linked style sheets and templates, as opposed to my old hand-coded journal) is quite the major task. It also makes me realize how fast my personality can change. The archives of my web journal are probably the longest-surviving journal I’ve kept in my life. And the oldest is only 2 years old…

Looks like two years ago I was a lot more dramatic about everything… And here I am one of the least dramatic people I know, so at this rate, soon I’ll be witnessing murder in the street and fail to find any significance in it.

There’s a turkey in the oven. I’m celebrating Thanksgiving with my husband today, since I’ll be with my parents for the actual date. The menu includes my garlic mashed potatoes (which I’m very snobbish about), a green bean casserole,David’s cranberry relish, biscuits, and stuffin’. Yum. Hope I can handle it twice in a week.

As my close friends and my hubby already know, this will be the last holiday in which I allow my parents to exclude my spouse from the event. I thought that after a couple years things would change, but they still want me to play the fraud, to talk on the phone as if my husband doesn’t exist, to visit them alone as if I’ve no preferred companions, and to avoid conversational references to my domestic life at all times…

It has to end at some point. I’m getting tired of allowing them to love a fraud rather than their real son. I honestly don’t understand what kind of comfort they could be getting from it…

That’s the dancing type of skank. A very happy Thanksgiving to all. I only wish I could have spent it with you…

The event was tolerable. My family is coming around ever so slowly, methinks… Followed on Friday by some foiled attempts at shopping, and a wonderful evening with Let’s Go Bowling. Captured once again in digital sound.

Tired, and ready for bed after a late-night jaunt to Taco Bell wiith my sister to replenish the calories burned off from the skankin.

Upon waking, I finish laundry and head to the hills for one more night with the family. After which, I will head home and leave behind this final reminder that I should never have had to choose between one side of my family and another this weekend. Sorry for leaving you alone all weekend baby. It won’t happen again…

It’s been a harsh week. 12-hour days and 7-hour nights and I’m just pooped. Luckily it should be a short(er) day today, after which I schmooze for a short period at the annual office holiday party. Pizza and beer may not sit all that well with me, though, as my strenuous schedule has caused my diet to suffer. About 2 servings of vegitables so far this week and about 10 of various animal fats. I’m feeling salads and soups will have to dominate the weekend…

OK, and maybe a burger… With extra tomato and lettuce…

Beyond that, I guess I’ve little else to say. Except that i’m feeling very Xmasy lately, and will most likely be making David help me decorate this weekend. Yum.

Now I remember why it was so hard to keep this journal going before: If I’m as swamped in my day-to-day now as I feel, I can only imagine how much worse it’s going to get when I start attending SFSU late next month…

As a recap ion the Thanksgiving debacle: My parents are very warm, wonderful people. However, they have an incredibly difficult time understanding the idea that the choice of mate of their offspring neither reflects on them personally nor on their performance as parents. They are steadfastly convinced that my choice of spouse is something that, if ever revealed to their friends and neighbors (at least the one or two who don’t already know) will permanently tarnish their image in the eyes of the world. Thus, they refuse exposure to said spouse.

I really honestly love my parents. I think their close, loving upbringing gave me many of the positive traits and abilities I possess today. They did not pluck my feathers while teaching me to fly, as so many parents seem to do in our stiflinig world of today. I only wish that they could be proud of their son, as their son, and not just prefer parts of that son…

So for now, my holidays will be on the “split” system: luckily, we only really celebrate 3: Independence Day, Thanksgiving and Xmas. So the rotate should be easy, and I’ll continue to visit often for non-holiday events… It’s gonna make me feel like a Jehovah’s Witness…

I need coffee…

Don’t forget to buy me a Xmas present…

David & I got most of our shopping done last night. I may have a little make-up to do this weekend. Friday afternoon we head off to Fresno for the sort-of family component of my Xmas: I get to visit my sister for her birthday, and drop off gifts for the parents. Possibly a visit with my Aunt Kathy. We’ll have to skip the party at my Uncle Allen’s, as I’m sure my parents would not be receptive to it…

Gawd, this time of year makes me wish I had parents more like my hubby’s…

Fall is the best time of year. Not only is the California fall mildly cool and predictable (an important factor when you live in the Bay Area, where “climate control” is considered insulting to the environment), but Starbucks starts rolling out seasonal latte flavors. It starts slow with such things as the Pumpkin Spice latte and culminates with the best coffee drink ever invented: the Gingerbread latte. Alas, we all know that the holidays are over when the cups turn white and the smell of ginger and cinnimon no longer fills the coffeehouse…

For all of you fellow heathen Holiday lovers out there, please send me your address so that I can send you a Xmas card. Even if I already had your address, please send it to me again at mark at monstrouslyoffensive dot com.

Don’t worry about ever receiving anything else or being sent porn or anything - I never use postal mail for anything but this annual tradition, and thus am quite likely to lose your address before the next holiday season arrives.