Christmas spirit

Today after a lunch with a group of colleagues, we rushed back to the newsroom, hoping there would be left-over cookies from last night's company party. But the left-over food and goodies were gone after they were set out for the masses around noon.

Strangely, though, two of my pals at work found two cookies each on their desks (they have an in with the executive assistant who organized last night's soiree).

One of the guys knew just how badly I wanted a left-over cookie, so he gave me one of his. He let me have the red cookie, because he thought it was girly.

Alas, there you have a prime example of the Christmas spirit.

***I'm leave for home tomorrow night and hope I won't be around a computer until Wednesday.

Happy Holidays!

This is what I do

Many of this blog's readers -- who are nearest and dearest to me -- know what I do but don't really understand it. They know I'm a journalist, but think I only fact check, edit stories or act like gopher in the newsroom.

The thing is, I actually report and write articles. Here are a few links to things I care about:

www.ire.org (organization I belong to)
www.poynter.org (a daily must-read for journos)
http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/ (the latest on reporter casualties)
www.slate.com (a cool news site)

Happy reading!

Sweet tooth

I haven't been to my hometown in five months, which is a long time for me. Until now, the longest time I had been away from Tracy was when I spent just over four months in Thailand.

I most look forward to seeing family. And I can't wait for the reprieve from this hectic life, and for once, I'm happy to return to the simplicity, slower pace (although the time will fly by since I want to be home) and lack of anonymity. Yes, I'm from the kind of town where everybody know's your name.

I'll get to see grandmas, cousins, aunts and uncles, my mom and sister and her boyfriend, and Ben's family. It'll be a family-packed four days, which is what the holidays are all about -- being around the people you love.

And as much as I love seeing relatives, I really really can't wait for the Christmas cookies. I'm one of those 23-year-olds who acts like a kid at this time of year. I can't say no to the sweet trays. Tonight, I indulged in two BIG sugar cookies smothered in a delicate frosting and paid for it later with a belly ache. I ate one tree and some odd-shaped sugary goodness.

We usually can see our family throughout the year, but Christmas cookies make an appearance but one time. We have to enjoy them while we can, and I certainly will enjoy them. During a building-wide gathering today, I also managed to pick up two cookies. They were nothing to brag about, but one had red sprinkles and the other was some kind of ginger treat, a hallmark of Christmastime.

I know my family gatherings will have many goodies to offer: homemade caramels, rice krispy balls filled with marshmellow and caramel (my personal favorite treat, which should really be around all year long), those wreaths with the cinnamon candies, probably some assortment of cookies that an aunt picked up at a cookie exchange.

OK, I'll stop now. I'm getting hungry. Should have snuck a few cookies home.

Spontaneity

I'm not particularly spontaneous. A case in point, I had already planned this weekend by Thursday.

Finish Christmas shopping. Go to a movie (maybe). Cook hamburger. Sleep in. Get hot chocolate. Attend Mass.

My plans changed around 3 p.m. on Friday. Ben called and asked me to come to New York City. By 4:30 p.m. I had bought a bus ticket. I left work around 7. And I was on a bus by 8.

I was frazzled when I finally rolled into town in the wee hours Saturday. The bus almost left without me on Friday, the bus was filled with people who snored or talked too load and my planned weekend turned into one of unknown events.

But as I write this, the end of the weekend is drawing near. I'm sitting in candle light with my fiance, watching Christmas movies and enjoying the glow of white lights on a real Christmas tree. Oh, and I'm on my third hot chocolate of the weekend.

Being spontaneous isn't all that bad.

And a word from Ben....

If you thought that putting a rock on Brady's hand was a good enough Christmas present, apparently not, I still got Brady a rockin' hot pink nano iPod. I rock.

Back to Brady...

OK, he rocks.

The lure of the tube

I've found myself coming home, parking myself at my desk or on my futon and staring at the TV.

Most week nights, I don't pay attention to the shows. I just like the noise. It's comforting. But on Wednesday nights I'm a fan of The Biggest Loser (the two-hour finale was tonight) and Medium. On Thursdays, my heart belongs to NBC until 9 p.m. Then no one can pry me away from the TV for ABC's Grey's Anatomy. And on weekends, if I'm in Washington, I watch endless movies. Oh, I usually watch an hour of Sex in the City between 11 p.m. and midnight as I drift to sleep. I guess I shouldn't leave out NBC news at 7 p.m., follwed by the very guilty pleasure, Access Hollywood.

I wonder if this is my life. Go to work, exercise and then partake in mindless activity (except for reading the New Yorker during commercials) when I get home. During college, at least senior year, I only watched Grey's Anatomy. That was it. I admit watching TV for 10 minutes here and there while eating breakfast and supper back then. But I spent maybe two hours max each week glued to the tube.

I was busier.

Nowadays, my social calendar is wide open. I don't have the same ties here as I do back home. I'm not going to school full time and working full time, either.

I can find solace in my schedule picking up again. I have to report and write around 45 committee staffer profiles between January and March for a book.

Then maybe it'll be back to a one-entree entertainment menu of Gray's Anatomy, and maybe a soap opera or two while I'm at the gym.


***By the way, this is the 100th post. I don't have any champagne, otherwise I would celebrate.

Roaches, Sen. Clinton and a job evaluation

I'm not one to interpret dreams, though I usually wonder what prompted them. Here's a recap of odd dreams I had over the weekend.

Friday night:
--My dream was filled with cockroaches. I dreamt that they were crawling all over my kitchen. This dream really wasn't that far from reality. Except that the roaches in my kitchen are smaller and march in fewer numbers.

Sunday night:
--I was sitting by Sen. Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton. I only talked to Hillary, who was very pleasant and invited me to play piano for her and other senators on Capitol Hill. She mentioned something about free drinks and me not having to pay for anything. I can't help but wonder if the buzz surrounding the '08 presidential contendors has invaded my brain. What's next? Dreaming about Obama?
--I was in a parking lot with my boss, who was pacing. He was fairly serious, though it's hard to be certain. He asked me if I liked my job. And we got into this conversation about whether I was working hard. No doubt this dream was the result of an hour-long conversation with my friend, Britt, about our jobs and journalism in general.

Have any of you had weird dreams lately?

Best shopping treat ever

Should your holiday shopping take you to a mall, I suggest you stop at Auntie Annie's (a pretzel shop). Yesterday, I ate cinnamon sugar sticks. They were so good that I licked my fingers. In public.

Shop your heart out, but don't forget the sticks.

All I want for Christmas

TO GET RID OF ROACHES

Tonight I did a little research, since pest control is unable to permanently remove them from my residence. The solutions aren't revolutionary, but I am going to attach the how-to guide to a letter I plan on sending management. I identified the roach here. I also learned really gross facts about these bacteria-carrying pests, which has motivated me to take more aggressive action (i.e. the letter).

I've heard it's impossible to get rid of them, but I don't think a tenant who pays over $1,100 in rent per month should have to see roaches or find any evidence of their presence.

If anyone who has experienced roaches, please leave suggestions on what to do about them.

Sugar High

At 5 p.m. I got an unusual assignment. Go to the National Christmas Tree lighting in front of the White House. Stat. I was momentarily confused, unsure what kind of last-minute reporting was expected of me. Well, nothing. I was only expected to go to the lighting and enjoy it. I did. And I appreciated the good will of my boss.

Albeit, I was cold at the lighting. Very cold. I was an idiot today and went to work sockless. What can I say? It was a very balmy morning, and I didn't have any socks that would work with my outfit. I didn't know the wind chill would be 36 degrees by 5 p.m. So there I stood in the not-so-balmy weather for an hour -- sockless. It's hard to care about fashion when you're cold.

I topped off the festive experience with a trip to Borders. I got a caramel apple cider and a snickerdoodle cookie (the best cookie there is) for the walk back to work. I'm thinking of it as an early supper, although a very sugar-injected meal. I'm feeling mild jitters.

Staying Put

For the first time in five weeks, I will spend the weekend in the district. I hesitate to write that I'll be staying home. I don't consider this bug-infested apartment that hasn't been cleaned between at least three or four tenants my home. And I don't particularly like to be confined to this 400-square-feet pad for an entire weekend.

But I need a rest from my usual whirlwind trips to New York City. I'll miss the city, and most of all, my fiance. I must say, though, last weekend was one of the best in New York City. Ben and I met current and former Daily peeps (photos to come). Although I paid for it the next day with a sour stomach, I wish the night and weekend would have lasted longer.

Anyway, I have a long to-do list for this weekend, and I look forward to checking off each item:
--get real food from Giant Foods (I especially want hamburger for my fave taco salads) and cook an actual meal
--bake sugar cookies
--finish Christmas shopping
--drink caramel apple cider while shopping
--flirt with the idea of going to the movie theater by myself (gasp!) for the first time
--clean this disgusting apartment, as in scrub the place
--do laundry
--attempt a long run

Stay tuned, but I may make one more trip to the Big Apple before the month ends.

Random news (or not quite news) flashes:
--Within two blocks of my apartment tonight, two drivers blatantly ignored red lights. I thought about recording their license plates and calling the police. Jerks.
--The cool, dry weather remniscent of winter has finally arrived, and my static hair proves it!