Putting a wrap on my Christmas week.

What can I say about Christmas? I'm not going to lie, and I apologize in advance to any of my family who ends up reading this, because it's not their fault, but Christmas kind of blew. It all started with Amtrak. We took Amtrak this year because we took Greyhound last year and it was crowded, stressful, and disorganized. We decided Amtrak would be better. I never thought I would say this, but Amtrak made Greyhound look like a shining example of efficient transit.

(This gave the lady across from me a laugh, at least. Glad I could entertain...)

I'm not going to go into too many details, because I'm sure they are boring, but here's a quick summary. We leave the station at 6:30, about a half hour behind schedule. No biggie. The train was extra slow. Still, no biggie. The train broke down in the middle of nowhere between Aurora (as in Wayne's World, party time, excellent) and Mendota (yeah, I'd never heard of it either), Illinois. Biggie.

(Ah, Mendota, my nemesis...picture taken on the way back. What you can't see is me shaking my fist at the city.)

First, they say they're going to try to get us to Mendota and bus us the rest of the way. I call my family. They tell me that we're going to be towed back to Chicago, given a new engine, and start the trip all over again. I don't believe them, that sounds absurd, considering we were already three hours into a trip that was supposed to be 2.5. The train starts going backwards. Finally they tell us that indeed, we're going back to Chicago. We arrive back at around midnight. Roughly half of the passengers decide to get off and give up.

I ask my family if we should just stay in Chicago. They say no. They will all be very upset, especially my cousin. They have a ton of stuff planned for us to do while we're there. I ask them if they want to go back to their house, it may be a while. Nope, the roads are icy and they live an hour away from the train station. They will go to an all-night diner and eat pie. We finally get moving again. Amtrak says we will not be making all of the stops again, we will stop in Mendota and all stops after that. We don't stop in Mendota. We don't stop in Princeton (the next stop after that). Three girls in front of us get a phone call from relatives who have been waiting for them in Princeton for over six hours saying they just saw the train go by. Girls throw fit (understandably). Girls pace back and forth in cabin yelling into phone and calling Amtrak attendant all sorts of lovely names. They get off at the next stop (about 30 miles past Princeton). I hope they got a free ticket or something.

(Also taken on the way back...not at 3am obviously)

Finally arrive in Galesburg at 3am. Get back to aunt and uncle's house about 4:20. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. Wake up around 10am, do Christmas presents, eat. I am deprived of coffee and sleepy still, so I am probably very grumpy. Try to help cook, don't do much. Eat more. Kind of a blur.

The day after Christmas we saw Valkyrie. Really, truly, honestly, surprisingly good. I HATE me some Crazy Cruise usually, but even he was good in this one. Here's where I have a confession to make. I did not pay attention in History class. I don't watch the History Channel. I don't care to know all that much about the past. I am interested in science, science fiction, literature, poetry, writing, politics, technology, weather, food, travel, psychology, astronomy, even math, but never did I care about history. I blew it off. I did my AP American History final report on British music of the 90s (hey, she said we could pick ANYTHING). So, here goes. I had no idea how Hitler died and I think I liked the movie more because of this. Is that sad? I thought maybe he was killed in the bombing. The way they filmed it was brilliant, never letting on one way or another until the phone call. Score one for stupidity and willful ignorance (and let it be known I'm not usually a fan of either)!

So yeah, we saw that and then...nothing...well, I popped into CVS for a second to buy shampoo and coffee and a few other things. Then we actually went out for coffee, which was good. I got to use the internet for a few minutes. I paid some bills. Thrilling.

(Coffee shop #1)

We went out for coffee once more on Saturday and stopped at Hallmark to get discounted wrapping paper and ornaments. We watched Pirates 3 and Transformers, both of which I'd already seen.

And that's it. I was there for almost four days. I didn't get to see my cousin's pictures from Germany. I didn't get to show them my pictures from the past year (the whole reason I brought my laptop, really...because they only have dial-up, so I knew I couldn't go online). The cousin seemed really meh about us being there. I'm sure some of that had to do with the fact that she had to sleep on the couch due to the four guests (other uncle and grandpa were there as well) and her boyfriend was in Florida, texting her a bunch. When I was 16 I would have been over it too. I always thought I could be the wise and fun older cousin from the big city, though. The one with tons of knowledge and experience to share, since she's an only child. Thing is, she doesn't really need advice or someone to rant to or any of that because she's totally level-headed, beautiful and brilliant. Hmph. Figures.

Anyway, we left on Sunday. Our train was delayed about 2.5 hours from the start. We got back a little late, but nothing as confusing and annoying as the way out there. I was just ready to be home. It was nice having the Christmas tree and the big feast of yummy food (including lots of vegetarian options), the wrapped presents in the morning and the family get-together feel. I love them all, but it was so quiet. I would go nuts. I guess I'm so used to "tons of things to do" meaning literally that.

There was also a little tension, as usual, because my aunt and my mother dislike each other immensely. When I'm around, she tries to get me on her side, I suppose. "I've tried...she just hates me. I don't know how to talk to her. She mocks me when she calls. She got married and didn't tell me," etc. For the record, when my mom got married, she didn't tell me either...so I don't think it was her trying to be mean. She's just unique.

So from my trip I've learned a few things: I am not an Amtrak fan. I am not the cool cousin I thought I might one day be. Life without the internet is almost unbearable. I have a wonderful boyfriend willing to put up with almost anything, and for that I am very lucky. I am thankful that my mom moved my brother and I to Florida when I was a child. I don't know how I would have turned out if I'd stayed in Iowa, but I like the way things are and wouldn't want to change them. My uncle makes the best margaritas in the world and they are, at times, a saving grace. My grandpa is maybe the coolest grandpa on the planet because he just gets it. He sees the ridiculousness of it all and I love that. Life in the Midwest, for some, completely revolves around the weather and that sucks. I want to spend next Christmas in Florida. In the warm.

On a completely random note...THE DOLPHINS ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS! No, not just in the playoffs, they won their division. If you know anything about football and how hideous they were last year (and for years before that), you know how huge this is. I am so damn happy!

Happy 2009!!!

Delicious!

I really want to write about the concert last night. Honestly, I don't know what to say about it yet though, so it will wait until tomorrow. For now, just know that it was awesome. And pictures are up...I've been pimping them all over, so they're easily accessible.

Instead of posting an attempt at a concert review, tonight I will shoot for something easier. I will describe the yummy dinner I just had. There is a restaurant called Big Bowl here...as far as I know there are only two locations in Chicago. I went there for my birthday in July and fell in love with the food and drinks so much so that I crave it constantly.

Today, a friend from college called me and said that she would be in town for the night and asked if the boyfriend and I would like to go to dinner. I'm always game for some good company and excellent cuisine (that I don't have to cook), so we went to Big Bowl because it was convenient and something a bit different. To start off, I ordered a pomegranate sangria because there is nothing I love better than a fruity wine (though Blue Moon comes close). She ordered something that I probably would not have been adventurous enough to order: a Thai herb mojito, featuring gin, fresh lemon grass, mint, cilantro, and a pinch of Thai chile. It was odd and tasty, and I would recommend it to anyone who's not afraid of a little something different.

For dinner, I stuck to the same thing I got the last time I was there...and the time before that: the yellow curry vegetable with tofu, bok choy, green beans, seasonal vegetables, and a coconut curry sauce.

It was heaven, as usual. Sweet and creamy with a hint of spice going down. I often have major objections to my boyfriend's play-it-safe-and-order-the-same-thing-every-time routine at restaurants, but I honestly don't think that anything else can compare to this, so I will continue to eat it again and again and again until I no longer have access to it.

It was a lovely evening with flawless food and interesting conversation. It was nice seeing a friendly face from Tallahassee as well. It's funny how fast the years go, isn't it? I feel like no time has passed at all, when it has already been a year and a half since I moved. As much as I rag on Facebook, it has the amazing ability to make me believe I'm just as connected to everyone as I always was. I almost feel like I know more about people's lives now than I did when I saw them every day. It's kind of awesome when you think about it.

Random thought for the day: I don't care where I live, I only want to feel passionately about it. I see friends, writers, poets, musicians, and strangers that are connected to their physical location in a way I've never experienced. It is their city, and everyone else is only a visitor. A lot of my life has been spent daydreaming of escaping my current locale for a more exciting, exotic one. This is why I made myself travel. Even if I was afraid...even if I had no one to go with...I traveled all that my meager wages would allow. Now I feel like I am smack in the middle of the excitement, but I can't seem to make it my own. I'm working on it. I'm slower than most at truly letting people in, so perhaps I'm the same about places. I appreciate the things that Chicago has allowed me to do more than I can possibly put into words. It's almost surreal. Still, I sometimes find myself yearning for more. Ungrateful or insightful? Only time will tell.

This tune pretty much sums up how I've always felt on the subject. Yes, I suppose I was occasionally a bummer of a kid. It's probably one of the main reasons I loved them oh so much back in the day and continue to love them now: