My cousin was successfully married on Saturday. The event was fun and a bit weird, totally their style though. I still need someone to explain to me why "Benny and the Jets" was their exit wedding/enter reception song. My favorite part of the reception was the milk fountain surrounded by plates of cookies. The cups for the milk were wide and short enough to dunk the cookies, too.

It was nice to be home and see various family and friends. For anyone in the Baton Rouge area, I highly recommend The Strand downtown for delicious pastries, chocolates, and teas. I understand the coffees are also amazing. My family and I did a high tea there, and everything they served was delicious. Ru and her uncle were also there, so I got to visit with them between courses. We have made plans to visit The Strand again when I am home for Christmas to sample more delicious items.

I met up with Ru and her boyfriend, Stelly, the next day to see Where the Wild Things Are. It was a really great movie. I especially enjoyed how they did the scene when Max leaves the island. (Note: I don't consider this a spoiler since the book has been out for decades.) There were less than 10 kids in the theater which I understand since the movie was marketed to adults. However, I think kids would enjoy it.

Brooke and I had an awesome time at the Maryland Renaissance Festival yesterday despite both of us forgetting our cameras. Oops. When we moved up here, the renfaire outfit I had disappeared into the ether, so I had been meaning to get another one for a while. I just hadn't gotten out to a renfest until yesterday. I bought a great outfit with a corset, chemise, and skirt. Once the shop assistant got me all laced up, she looked me up and down and said "Yeah, you're keeping this." I looked in the mirror and completely agreed. The corset is reversible, too, so I have one solid black side for more piratey ensembles and one cream and blue side for more sedate attire. I intended to wear my awesome new outfit when I volunteer at Boo at the Zoo (trick-or-treating at the zoo after hours for kids) and probably to the Greenwich Village Halloween parade when we visit Natalie and Judith in New York. I'm not sure about NYC yet because I don't know how much room it will take in the suitcase, and I'm not bringing an extra large suitcase just for the costume.

Another highlight of the day was chocolate-covered cheesecake on a stick. It is, as it sounds, a slice of delicious cheesecake dipped in delicious chocolate and skewered so as to be easily consumed without the use of utensils. Omnomnom.

Comment and get five questions of your very own to hug and squeeze and call them George.

Courtesy of the lovely modillian:

1. Have you ever dyed your hair pink? Ever wanted to dye your hair some unnatural color?
I had hot pink streaks in grad school. I didn't maintain them because I didn't feel like spending the money, but I loved how they looked. Every now and then I think about doing something in blue or purple though.

2. What is the best restaurant in your city? How is it the best?
It really depends on what kind of food you want. Italian Cafe is the best for Italian food. Their tomato sauce is amazing. Matuba's is my favorite for sushi. They have awesome Alaska rolls. Old Ebbitt's is more expensive, thus reserved for when parents are around to pay for it, but it has the best upscale Americana food.

3. If a knick-knack-paddywhacked, would you give a dog a bone or send him rolling home?
I don't take that kind of sass. That dog is rolling home.

4. When you're sporting a red hat and wearing purple and sitting in a rocking chair at the ripe age of 80, what do you want to look back on your life and feel proud to have accomplished?
I don't want to have ever stopped going and moving and doing.

5. Let's say next year there will be another Star Trek movie with the same cast as this year's movie and they're rooting about in the universe in the 23rd century. Who would you most like to see in a role/cameo and why?
I want Shatner and Patrick Stewart to both have ~1 second, uncredited crowd cameos to watch the internet explode with fanboys trying to figure out whether they're actually in it or not.

1. Ell's awesome Un-Valentine party.
I met some of shrieking_ell's awesome friends and their awesome kid. We had a great time drinking while watching Empire Strikes Back, The Big Lebowski, and Buckaroo Bonzai. I think I need repeated viewings to get what the hell was going on with Buckaroo Bonzai owing to the effects of Jeff Goldblum in chaps and lots of rum.

2. Coraline in 3D.
Unfortunately you can't see it in 3D anymore because the stupid Jonas Brothers concert movie took over all the 3D screens a couple weeks ago. The movie was very awesome with an appropriately creepy soundtrack. There were some large differences from the book, but they added to the story.

3. NSO's Prokofiev, Ravel, and Stravinsky concert.
The National Symphony Orchestra periodically has ticket specials for only $20. I was thinking about going to their Prokofiev, Ravel, and Stravinsky concert but wasn't sure if it would be worth the effort. Then I read an interview with the composer for Coraline. He mentioned Prokofiev and Stravinsky as being two of his favorite composers. This totally sealed the deal for me as I loved the Coraline soundtrack. The concert was incredible. The audience gave a standing ovation after each piece, and the piano soloist for the Prokofiev concerto had 3 curtain calls. She was really amazing. I need to make a point of going to the theater more often.

4. Mom's visit.
Mom and I started the sightseeing with a visit to the newly restored American History Museum. It was not as awesome as I remembered the previous incarnation being. Needs more First Ladies and pop culture stuff. Then we went next door to the Natural History Museum. They have recently opened a new section called the Ocean Hall which has many interesting specimens (by that I mean totally freaking creepy looking) from various ocean depths. The large replica of a whale that hangs from the ceiling is especially impressive. We went through the Butterfly Garden after, and Mom had a butterfly land on her pant leg. Now Mom, Dad, and I have each had a butterfly land on us. Last we enjoyed a special exhibit on orchids. The exhibit room was full of hundreds of flowers and smelled wonderful. Unfortunately we had come too late to hear the Smithsonian’s horticulturist speak (I didn't even know the Smithsonian had a horticulturist. I can't imagine there was much competition for the job.), but it was really cool seeing all the different colors orchids come in. Pretty much anything in the purple-red-orange-yellow-green spectrum was an option.

The next day we spent 5 hours at the Newseum, and we would have stayed longer if we’d sat through all the different films they show. They have newspaper front pages from as far back as the 1200s all the way through a daily changing display of current front pages from newspapers around the country. After the Newseum, we went to the Wax Museum. They have several figures of presidential figures, including President Obama in a mock Oval Office. The most interesting part was the video about how the figures are created. Over 200 measurements of the subject are taken while the subject is in the pose the figure will be displayed in. They use make up artists and hair stylists to match the subject’s skin and hair colors as closely as possible. When the final figure is assembled, each strand of hair is inserted one at a time. It takes weeks to create each figure in the museum.

We had a pretty heavy snow here which kept Mom an extra day. We didn’t mind since we played board games and baked cookies. The only annoying part was getting through to the airline to change Mom's flight. We were on the phone for over two hours, most of the time spent on hold passing the phone back and forth so no one's arm went numb.

5. Hafla.
My belly dance school has a hafla (party) mid way through the session to give the students a chance to perform for each other in a casual environment. No one is required to go (except the teachers), and you don't have to perform even if you do go. Each teacher choreographs a short dance for each of her classes, so there were about 20 performances total. It was fun, but our performance was so short that it almost seemed pointless. I know they wanted all the classes to have time for a short dance while also having time for open dancing, but I think we could have danced for a little more than 1 minute. My teacher said I did a really good job and that I have great control over my hip movements.

6. Pi Day Party March 14.
As some of you already know, Brooke and I are hosting a Pi Day party on Saturday, March 14 at our apartment. There will be wii gaming, pies, and costumes. I promise I will not make anyone do math! Costumes are encouraged but not required. If you do wear a costume, it should be of the geek/nerd/dorktastic variety. I will be dressed as Hypatia, the first female mathematician, which basically means I will have a bed sheet awkwardly wrapped around my person to simulate a toga. Please feel free to bring guests, but please let me know. I don't want to run out of food and/or drinks. Email me at jrho.jrho at gmail dot com if you need my address and/or phone number.

ETA: I uploaded pictures from Mom's trip here.

Lot 1: Last Friday, I met up with some hilarious women from the Shapely Prose website. After I went to a bar with one of the women and her husband to hear accordion bands. This is possibly more awesome than it sounds, but I doubt it. The opening act was a sword swallower and a fire eater. They were really entertaining. Unfortunately I hadn't worn good shoes for standing long periods of time, and I was really tired, so I left during the first band's set. They were comprised of an accordion, a violin, a stand-up bass, and a drum kit. I really need to find out what their website it because I really want to buy one of their cds.

Lot 2: The results of the 2007 Census of Agriculture were officially released on Wednesday. We all went to the auditorium for the official announcement by the Secretary of Agriculture who was kind of an ass and booked it out of the auditorium as soon as he gave his talk. He was out the door before our director finished thanking him for being there. Before the talks started though, there was the national anthem with associated video hilarity. An image of a waving flag faded in and out with various pictures of heterosexual, same race couples with small children. There was one image of a crop field and one image of a carefully multicultural group of children, but no images of livestock, Hispanics, teenagers, single people, couples without children, vehicles, or water. From this my coworker and I have determined that these people and things are unamerican. It was really hard to keep our laughter muffled once the still shot of fireworks came up.

Lot 3: One of the surveys I work puts out a monthly publication with results from the previous month's survey. I got an email yesterday saying there would be a small party with cake and punch next week because we had put out 12 consecutive monthly publications without issuing any corrections. That's right; we didn't screw up for one year. There was no such announcement last year which leads me to believe we did not manage a full error-free year in 2007. I'm planning on taking full credit for this since I fully took over this project from my coworker January of last year. Not that I have anything to do with the publication, but I have decided my mere presence has clearly made the difference.

Lot 4: I had major baking plans for this weekend, so I went to the grocery early this morning to get my ingredients. Upon returning to my apartment, I noticed a downed power line next to my building which I immediately reported to the non-emergency number for police/fire department. I also told my apartment manager that I had already called it in and asked for someone to come put a barrier around the live end of the wire because it was in the playground next to my building. The firemen got there before anyone could do that, but it turned out not to be an issue. It wasn't actually a power line; it was a phone line. The fireman was really nice about explaining how to tell the difference between the lines and didn't make me feel stupid for thinking the phone line was a power line. (Note: The power lines are on top of the poles and not directly touching the wood. Phone lines are bolted to the pole and are black. Cable lines are bolted to the pole and are, around here, green. The more you know.) They just coiled it up and tied it to the pole before calling the phone company to come fix it. I told the manager what had happened and to expect people coming to say their phones were dead. He was extremely profuse in his thanks, maybe we'll get a discount on rent next month. (Probably not, but it would be nice)

Lot 5: I did lots of baking today. All new recipes I got from a thread on Shapely Prose, and they all 3 turned out fantastic.
( Chai Shortbread )

( Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake )

( Beef and Cornbread Casserole )

In an attempt to start the year off right, I continue my streak of getting sick after Christmas. Bleh. I'm doing much better than I was, but the drive back up to Virginia starting tomorrow probably won't be much fun. I will be ok as long as it doesn't last as long as the drive down did. We expected a 17-18 hour drive. It took 22. The trip home has been lots of fun though. I got to see everyone I wanted, eat pretty much everything I missed, and spent a few days in Mobile with SHC people. I'm mostly ready to go back to work on Monday, but I will definitely miss the 60 and 70 degree weather I've been enjoying the past two weeks. Christmas day was warm enough for t-shirts. I don't want to go back to coats and hats and scarves and layers.

In any case, I hope that everyone's holidays went well and that you all have a better 2009 than you did 2008.

Sunday night Brooke and I met up with our friend, Toni, for her birthday at a jazz club in DC. Sunday is Open Mike Night, and they had some really good musicians. Toni did a really good job singing "My Funny Valentine." Owing to the lateness of the party and a bit too much wine, I went into work late on Monday. Since Monday was the first day without Boss, everyone had decided to slack off a bit, too. Current rumor is that New Boss will be picked on December 5, and one of the people in the field is a front runner. We shall see.

Tuesday I got to help judge a cookie competition at work. Such hard work, but I willingly sacrificed my time for a worthy cause. One coworker submitted Pepperidge Farm Milanos for his entry. He got a special last place mention for bringing the cookies to work still in the packaging and claiming they were homemade.

A few days ago, Brooke and I made a fascinating discovery. We can order pizza through our Tivo. This technology is new and intriguing. Perhaps we will test it out this weekend and give a status report later.

We bought our bus tickets to go visit Natalie and Judith in New York for Thanksgiving. It's $40 roundtrip, and the bus has wifi. We're going up Thanksgiving morning and coming back that Sunday afternoon. Toni has said she might also be in NYC at Thanksgiving, so we might all get to hang out for the first time in years.

Lastly and most awesomely, Brooke and I have tickets for the Inauguration. Yes, it's public, and anyone can stand along the parade route, but there is a sectioned off area for the actual swearing in that will require tickets to enter. I am so excited!