survived the boston slog.

ups
1. snow! two feet of fresh powder.
2. happy grandma revelling in her new bling on her 80th birthday. mama did a great job planning the fete.
3. my team. fabulous, fun, patient, excellent travelling partner, patient, patient, and more fun.
4. vacation from my vacation.
5. lobster. lots of it.
6. scallops. lots of them.
7. starbucks peppermint mochas.
8. seeing steph.
9. being at the empire state building with my team and dr. janet reno pooty pootwell.
10. family. for better or for worse.
11. ice skating at rockefeller with the toe-up ice.
12. cupcakes from magnolia bakery. Y-U-U-U-U-U-U-U-M.
13. my sister. she is fun.
14. my brother. muckmuck.
15. my other brother. looks threatening and sends the little cousins fleeing.
16. patient papa.
17. time with my little cousins. very cute and very needy.
18. my family being on their best behavior with hideyo and giving dubious compliments like "he doesn't look japanese" and "he's good looking enough to date."
19. free-flowing booze.
20. sticking it to the man and eating as much garbage as i please.

downs
1. family drama about every damn thing under the sun.
2. perpetual shouting.
3. sniping, backbiting, backstabbing, gossiping, and all general bitching.
4. crazy mama.
5. being forced to spend an additional day in boston and missing new year's eve in ca.
6. TOO LONG.
7. my team leaving early.
8. being stuck without my team to field all embarrassing and coy questions about rings, banquets, summer weddings, and other tasteless brouhaha.
9. cold. intense quantities of cold.
10. really bizarre christmas presents a la plush brocade tree ornaments that say "love" on them and a heart-shaped red-and-white rhinestone-edged picture frame with the explanation of "well, you're in love, right?" God help us.

heaving a sigh of relief
1. FINALLY getting back to california.
2. being at baylight.
3. the quiet of my own home.
4. being with my buddies and getting ready to celebrate jaz and pangsta's marriage!
5. that my team knows me and has seen that i'm a flipping headcase and isn't tired of ME yet.
6. double meet'n greet with new bz's: booboo's and o's.
7. new year's dinner with hideyo's family. his grandpa is so cute.
8. being "invited" home to cook dinner for my family, who will surely starve without my mom around.
9. getting a chance to check email and read people's blogs again.
10. finding that my dell powercord somehow got chewed up and is now unuseable. if anyone has a spare one for a dell inspiron 5100, you'll get hero rights.

the future
1. babies: little sanchez, little asbury, little kim, lotsa littles period whaaaaaaat.
2. going back to school: surviving the rest of the semester, privilege of working with the illustrious greg lance, planning second semester. it makes me want to hurl.
3. going back to an every-other-week-blah-blah schedule with my team. i've been so spoiled. the very thought makes me want to hurl.
4. seeing what God will do with me in 2005 and where He will take me.
5. spending quality time with my hot kitchenaid stand mixer making goodies.
6. ALIAS premiere! waaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
7. wedding tour 2005: promises to be ... full, to say the least.
8. who knows? mystery. but a good one.