catching up

*sigh*

I’d been without power for about 20 hours, but my upstairs neighbors, who had power in some rooms, were kind enough to run me an extension cord so I could power those things which I deemed to be most important. That, of course, meant my computer (except this morning when it meant my coffee grinder), and I was nearly finished with a longish post when suddenly my lights turned on and the computer turned off. So, of course, I lost the post. But the power seems to now be restored to the entire house, and I think they’re done messing with the fuse box, so with any luck I will be able to make it through this post without losing it. I don’t have the energy/patience to recreate it in its entirety, though, so you’re going to get the abridged version.

I’ve posted pictures of my family decorating my grandmother’s Christmas tree, and some older pictures of one of my cats.

I had an excellent Christmas. I hope you did, too. My immediate family tried some new approaches this year, designed to minimize consumerism and maximize recipient satisfaction, which worked out well. My best gift was that my mother cleaned and repaired my favorite winter coat, which was in need of both. Well, that and the iPod Nano I got from my aunt, who wasn’t bound by the same restrictions as the immediate family. Really, though, I genuinely wanted everything I got, which is a great feeling, and there’s been none of that post-Christmas “Crap, what do I do with this?” dread. Also, I asked for mechanical pencil lead and earplugs, both of which I ran out of a couple of weeks before Christmas. Waiting for them made me enjoy receiving them so much that they might also be near the top of the list of favorite gifts. Perhaps instant gratification really isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Moving on….

On Friday I went with Biff and some others to see chesterattic play the Abbey Bar at ABC, which was a good time. Matt, one of the Abbey bartenders, should be visited often and tipped well.

I should probably disclose that chesterattic’s drummer is of my circle of friends, but the music, which they describe as “NuJazz”, was really good, and I don’t think I’m being biased. I feel like I’ve been listening to a lot of jazz lately, but it’s really just been two events at McDaniel and Friday night. But that’s three more jazz events than normal, and it’s kind of growing on me. That doesn’t mean that I can begin to describe chesterattic in any meaningful way, so if you’re curious you should just check them out for yourself.

In addition to hearing the band, I met Fred Otteson, who plays bass for the group (and is the father of drummer and friend Erik Otteson) and writes a Dillsburg blog for PennLive. It’s not entirely Dillsburg, but it is Dillsburg-centric, and is miraculously interesting, given its focus.

I also ran into several friends who I haven’t seen in years, and had a chance to do a little bit of catching up with them. That was better than any music could ever be.

…

I think there was even more in the original post, but I don’t remember what it was, and I’m sure you’ve heard enough. Oh! I just remembered. Just this: the new year is one of the few holidays I really feel motivated to celebrate, but I don’t think I have ever, in my life, or at least not since earliest adolescence, had a really good New Year’s Eve, or at least not one worthy of the year I hope to have. What’s up with that?