It's been a while! So much has happened since the last post!

• I survived the Christmas season. I did precisely what I had said I'd do. I ate cookies, drank the nog, sang some carols, all the usual, but...

...what made this Christmas different was that I named the things I didn't like about it, and I changed them. Yeah, it was annoying to watch blatant hypocrisy in the name of all that is good and holy, and yeah, I was bitter and snarky, but, there were definite highlights and advantages to the season. I got to spend some excellent time with friends and family I rarely get to see. Visiting with people who make me feel sane was a good reminder of what I hold close. If you're one of those people, and for some reason are reading this blog, THANK YOU! You restored me, mind and soul.

I also just plunged myself head-on into the Christmas goop... I think one of the things I was most dreading was the Christmas Eve service at my parent's church. Every Christmas, its more of the same thing... contrived and for the most part uneducated conjectures on the significance of christmas... Always, this service exists as a confluence of worn-out carols, patriarchal and exclusive scripture readings, the kinds of inspirational chain letter stories you usually delete from your inbox before reading, and this year, a special Youtube photo essay with Josh Groban wailing something about the meaning of life... (this is my perspective, and having had a part in this community for years, feel like I can say these things... I'm sure Josh Groban Youtube photoessays really bring inspiration to some people... I just like to be critical.), like the ones before, I survived only with the help of Sarah (long time, and similarly disenchanted friend) at my side, writing sarcastic comments on bulletins, but alas, for the first time I presented something from me. I wanted to contribute to this ritual, and I sang "Dona Nobis Pacem" in a three-part round. Sarah played the djembe, and I gave an introspective and heartfelt, introduction. All in all, I felt addressing an audience with a call to peace was justice... I felt a part of something, even if the message wasn't welcome in the midst of their normal rigomaral, I needed to say it. God, I needed to hear it!!! Constant self-preservation is a bitch. I should leave...