Sunday, December 31, 2006

Holiday Jam 2006

Dated December 29th, 2006

You’re probably wondering where I’ve been all this time. Well, to tell you the truth, I’ve been WAY outta town. Allow me to explain:

On the Seventeenth, me and the family headed out to Louisiana for the holidays. And everywhere in between while we were at it. We got into Los Angeles to visit my sister and spend the night at her place at 1:00 am. She was going to have her official Christmas with her boyfriend in the Sudan. We’ve been told that she will be safe from any violence and whatnot, but she hasn’t been able to stay in contact with us in that region. As I write this, I still don’t know if anyone’s spoken to her, but she’ll come through, I’m sure. She’s Superwoman.

I wasn’t feeling too well the day we were meant to hang out with her, but nonetheless we opened presents that night and still had fun. Got some new clothes. Not that I didn’t have enough clothing on this trip, but it was greatly appreciated. She and her roommates have an HD TV set. Totally unfair. We don’t have one. But I guess we’ll have to get one of those soon.

Next stop was visiting my Uncle Steve in Texas. I’ve spent more hours in the car during this trip than an illegal immigrant works during a month. Bad joke, I know. But at least we got to listen to “Zorro” by Isabel Allende on CD. Uncle Steve is still as good as ever to visit, as well as talk to about religion and philosophy and jam with on the guitar until one in the morning. Awesome visit.

Next was the Bounds residence in Arkansas. The Bounds are a family we’ve kept in touch with since we moved out of New Orleans some odd 17 years ago. They weren’t in New Orleans when the flood hit, but their house got flooded and they pretty much lost everything. Amazing that they’ve been able to relocate and make the best of their lives after such a disaster. And we got to help them set up their new Christmas present too: a brand new HD TV. We don’t have one, but I guess we’ll have to get one of those soon. Hmm. Have I said that already?

Anyway, a really fun part of this trip has been bringing my film class shorts to show everyone, but I never imagine I’d be seeing them on an HD TV screen. The pride was intense. People loved’em. I’ve never been quite so proud of my work in a long time. Once again, I would like to thank everyone who I worked with this semester for putting so much dedication into their work. You know who you are and you deserve all the credit you can get.

Finally, we reached Alexandria, Louisiana for the big visit to the Sullivan clan. Had an excellent time with last minute shopping and the present openings on Christmas Eve. Would have done it on Christmas Day if we could have all gotten together, but had a terrific time together. I got a mini guitar amp from my brother that I can’t wait to hook up and test. I got my mom a rechargeable battery kit, but it turns out she has no use for it as she’s not much of a user of trinkets that need AAs. Truly embarrassing. But then again, I got “Grease” on DVD for the family. Watching that was good fun, of course.

One particular night, we went over to my uncle’s house down there for desert. I got to show them all my short films on their fairly new HD TV set. We don’t have one, but I guess we’ll have to get one soon (It’s funny, I swear I’ve said that before.) They didn’t seem quite as amazed, but they did agree to make copies for other people in the family. I’ve also given them a copy of some songs I wrote for Lauren on her birthday. They loved’em. I gotta get those copyrighted. ^_^

I also got to see my cousin’s new house. She got married several years ago and she and her husband just moved into this new house. Now they’ve told us all that she’s gonna have a kid! I’m so excited, I’m gonna be an uncle! And I’m sure that they’re kid will just love mommy and daddy’s HD TV screen…

Say it together now: WE DON’T HAVE ONE, BUT I GUESS WE’LL HAVE TO GET ONE SOON!

In any case, we played Cranium at their house and their little dog Harley practically licked me to death. Good times indeed.

Now comes to the bad news. One, our family car had a little trouble crossing the country and had to get repaired. We’d planned to be out of there on the day after Christmas. We were wrong. If that’s not bad enough, my aunt’s mother is dying. They didn’t let her out of the hospital even for Christmas, but I guess that’s for the best. And if that’s not bad enough, My own grandfather back in Marin County has just been diagnosed with lung cancer and has God only knows how much more time too live. Which is why we’ve got to get home as soon as possible. You ever cried or seen anyone else cry on Christmas Day? It’s not a fun thing, I can guarantee you. But the day after that wasn’t too bad though. We got to go see “Night at the Musem” (Which was a visually stunning film that must be seen at least for it’s beauty) and buy a ton of fireworks to play with on New Years.

In any case, We’re headed home as I write this on my dad’s laptop which he’s so generously let me borrow. We finished up listening to “Zorro” and I’ll have to say that Isabel Allende’s version of “Zorro” is highly romanticized, cinematic, tragic, action packed and highly recommended. We started on the ever popular “Eragon,” but we won’t be finishing that on our last day getting home. No matter how entrancing it is for a fantasy novel. Guess I’ll have to wait for the movie.

In any case, I’ve got a lot of things to do again over this so-called vacation which I’ve needed so much. Gotta plan for another music video, gotta make a list of folks to keep in touch with, gotta update my website, gotta make DVDs. You better believe it. Business never ends.

Happy New Year! Oh and by the way. About Saddam being sentenced to death. I’m going to dinner with Lauren to celebrate after that happens.

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