Happy New Year!
Jan. 1st, 2011 06:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
next_to_normalHey, long time no see! It's been a busy week - once again, I need a vacation from my vacation. I am so glad I took this week off from work, but it wasn't exactly the most restful time!
We ended up getting about six inches of snow on Sunday, which torpedoed my plans to go to the Flyers' practice with Megan. Fortunately, I got out of shoveling, because my dad was awake at 5 am (as always) and decided to shovel the whole driveway before my mother and I were even awake. His reasoning? "I was up. What else was there to do?" My mother said, "You could've at least waited until the SUN came up, you know."
I did get to see Megan on Monday and exchange gifts (yay!), and then that night my mom and I went to see This is the Week That Is, which is an annual comedy/improv show about current events and politics and such. Musical + politics = totally up my alley, so this is the third time I've gone. And this year... I was IN the show. They always do a couple of skits where they bring an audience member up on stage. This year, they'd decided they were frustrated with current party politics and were going to start a new outsider political party, so they needed someone to lead it. And they picked me!
It was awesome and hilarious, because they asked me where I live and what I do for a living, and according to my mother, the looks on their faces when I said I was a lobbyist in Washington were like, "OMG this is too good to be true." But then when I told them I lobbied for musicians, I became the only audience member to ever get their own theme music. \o/ My mom (and the cast) said I was great and didn't seem nervous at all. I like to think that my five years spent in drama club were not in vain, lol.
Anyway, Tuesday we drove back to Virginia at the crack of dawn and came home to a slightly traumatized Chelsea. She saw my dad come in the door first, and she hissed at him! She's only ever hissed at Patches! Fortunately, he interpreted it as her being a good little watch cat, scaring away strangers. :) She was all clingy as usual - she doesn't like it when I go away for several days at a time, and you can tell she missed me because she actually slept under the covers in bed with me. Usually she just lays on top. But I gave her a catnip toy and all was forgiven. (Adorable pictures forthcoming, as soon as my camera charges.)
Chelsea is, of course, much smarter than Patches, who got the same toy, but seemed to have no idea what to do with it. Patches did like the toy my mother got for her, but for some bizarre reason, she only played with it when no one was watching. We'd hear the ball going around the track, but when we went to investigate, as soon as she spotted us, she'd immediately stop. This led to several instances of us hiding behind doors or around corners, peeking out to see her playing with it, and then ducking back around so she wouldn't see us, hands over our mouths to keep from laughing out loud. :)
While my parents were here, we went to see the White House Christmas tree (kinda ugly - my mom said it looks like it's wearing a giant condom, lol) and ZooLights at the National Zoo (unimpressive, but I'm a bit spoiled by Longwood Gardens). We also had to take a ride around to see neighborhoods where I've seen condo listings, and of course we all like the most expensive one best.
This is already a bit long, so I'll save Kelly's and my wild adventures for tomorrow - again, hopefully with pictures! (Kelly, send me the ones you took on New Year's Eve and I'll post them up!)
We ended up getting about six inches of snow on Sunday, which torpedoed my plans to go to the Flyers' practice with Megan. Fortunately, I got out of shoveling, because my dad was awake at 5 am (as always) and decided to shovel the whole driveway before my mother and I were even awake. His reasoning? "I was up. What else was there to do?" My mother said, "You could've at least waited until the SUN came up, you know."
I did get to see Megan on Monday and exchange gifts (yay!), and then that night my mom and I went to see This is the Week That Is, which is an annual comedy/improv show about current events and politics and such. Musical + politics = totally up my alley, so this is the third time I've gone. And this year... I was IN the show. They always do a couple of skits where they bring an audience member up on stage. This year, they'd decided they were frustrated with current party politics and were going to start a new outsider political party, so they needed someone to lead it. And they picked me!
It was awesome and hilarious, because they asked me where I live and what I do for a living, and according to my mother, the looks on their faces when I said I was a lobbyist in Washington were like, "OMG this is too good to be true." But then when I told them I lobbied for musicians, I became the only audience member to ever get their own theme music. \o/ My mom (and the cast) said I was great and didn't seem nervous at all. I like to think that my five years spent in drama club were not in vain, lol.
Anyway, Tuesday we drove back to Virginia at the crack of dawn and came home to a slightly traumatized Chelsea. She saw my dad come in the door first, and she hissed at him! She's only ever hissed at Patches! Fortunately, he interpreted it as her being a good little watch cat, scaring away strangers. :) She was all clingy as usual - she doesn't like it when I go away for several days at a time, and you can tell she missed me because she actually slept under the covers in bed with me. Usually she just lays on top. But I gave her a catnip toy and all was forgiven. (Adorable pictures forthcoming, as soon as my camera charges.)
Chelsea is, of course, much smarter than Patches, who got the same toy, but seemed to have no idea what to do with it. Patches did like the toy my mother got for her, but for some bizarre reason, she only played with it when no one was watching. We'd hear the ball going around the track, but when we went to investigate, as soon as she spotted us, she'd immediately stop. This led to several instances of us hiding behind doors or around corners, peeking out to see her playing with it, and then ducking back around so she wouldn't see us, hands over our mouths to keep from laughing out loud. :)
While my parents were here, we went to see the White House Christmas tree (kinda ugly - my mom said it looks like it's wearing a giant condom, lol) and ZooLights at the National Zoo (unimpressive, but I'm a bit spoiled by Longwood Gardens). We also had to take a ride around to see neighborhoods where I've seen condo listings, and of course we all like the most expensive one best.
This is already a bit long, so I'll save Kelly's and my wild adventures for tomorrow - again, hopefully with pictures! (Kelly, send me the ones you took on New Year's Eve and I'll post them up!)
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Date: Jan. 2nd, 2011 01:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Jan. 2nd, 2011 01:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Jan. 2nd, 2011 02:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Jan. 2nd, 2011 10:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Jan. 2nd, 2011 02:21 am (UTC)The White House Christmas tree is indeed incredibly ugly. What were they thinking with that netting?
Did you go to Longwood this year? My family always went to see the lights when we lived in Philly. (We also went to Longwood in the spring and lots of other times. I have very fond memories of the place.)
I'm glad Chelsea wasn't too pissed at you for going away. If I'm gone for more than a day, Nadja tends to take revenge by trashing the place. Nothing too extreme, though—just enough to let me know she didn't appreciate me leaving her behind.
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Date: Jan. 2nd, 2011 10:25 pm (UTC)No, I didn't go to Longwood this year. In fact, I haven't been in years - probably not since I last lived at home full-time - but now I know there's no substitute. :)
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Date: Jan. 4th, 2011 02:19 am (UTC)Ha, when I worked at the zoo, we joked that we only knew how to talk to people while holding an owl (or other animal). Funny how people will back away from you as you forget you're holding a snake.
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Date: Jan. 6th, 2011 02:23 am (UTC)(Speaking of animals, the mouse in my office is back! I am considering a "bring your cat to work day.")
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Date: Jan. 2nd, 2011 11:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Jan. 3rd, 2011 03:33 am (UTC)