One Christmas Eve when I was around four or five years old, I was very sick.  There was no way I couldn’t be amongst the action of the party, so Mom had me lay down on the sofa in the living room.  Sure enough, I got sicker, and I ended up barfing on the floor right by where everyone was standing, which I remember being totally gross.

It wasn’t long thereafter that I ended up in my parents’ bed, which was by far the most comfortable spot to rest in the whole house.  At the time, it was one of those heated water beds, straight out of the early 1980s.  I remember sleeping soundly for a long while, but, of course, in adult-time it was just a few hours.

Eventually, someone came into the bedroom to wake and bring me into the living room.  All that was left of the big party was just my immediate family: Mom, Dad, and my three sisters.  Everyone had already opened their presents; they didn’t include me because they wanted to let me rest as long as possible.

So, there I was this little four or five year old boy, surrounded by his family, opening all of his gifts by himself on Christmas Eve.  The only present that I remember getting that year was a mechanical car racing game.  It was super cool, and something that my friends and I played for many years to come.

I have many other fond Christmas memories, but this is honestly the earliest one that I can remember, and by far the sweetest one of them all.  For as sick as I was, my family made it very special to me, and, for that and many other reasons, I am thankful that I still have them in my life.

Merry Chtistmas, everyone!  You are all in my thoughts.

This is one of the quality, low-cost bourbons on the market. Sadly, this is the only picture I took while in Louisville.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to return to Indianapolis because I-65 had been closed, but, thankfully, it opened up early Sunday. I made my way home and was able to capture a shot of the water near State Road 11 between Columbus and Seymour.

It looks like a lake to me!

My sympathies go out to everyone who’s affected by this. I know a co-worker of mine who’s entire house is ruined from the flood, but she and her children were evacuated safely.

Saturday was a family day, for the most part. It was my nephew Jake’s 17 birthday and the whole family got together for it. My sister and brother-in-law from Louisville even brought their parrot for the party.

After we sang “Happy Birthday!” and ate ice cream cake, I took Jake to Fry’s up on 96th Street to buy him a new keyboard and mouse for his new computer that we built a few weeks ago. This set was the replace the old, nasty set he had been using.

Saturday night was also a good time. After working a bunch in the afternoon, I met up with my friend Pete for some late dinner at the Old Point Tavern. After sharing a huge plate of nachos and downing a few mixed drinks, we did the obvious thing and went over to the homo bar — to drink some more, of course.

I ran into all kinds of people I knew. What I don’t remember, for sure, is the reason why I was in a face-slapping contest with my friend Carlos. Oh well!

The rest of my weekend was mostly work and sleep, which seem to cancel each other out, as far as I’m concerned.

It was just like any other Thanksgiving, but we were missing some people this year: Grandma, Uncle Tom, and cousins Chuckie and Steve. This were definitely missed.

On Friday, I took my nephews to see the Circle of Lights in downtown.

The office where I work is right on Monument Circle. The doors to the office were opened up for employees to bring family and friends to the event, and spend time indoors away from the cold. It was nice and fun to see.

Does everyone have their shopping done, yet?

What about you?

Go figure, right?

So, yeah, my weekend was good, otherwise.

Lisa, Jim, and Rey came up from Louisville to see some of the Fringe Festival on Saturday. The one show we all really enjoyed was Stand-Up Monkey Poet by Matt Panesh from Manchester, England. Everyone found his performance to be intelligent, witty, and hilarious.

YouTube: Matt Panesh – Monkey Poet, Live @ the Royal Exchange Theatre

After the Louisville crew headed home, I spent a bunch of time with Andy P. and Laura. Whenever I spend time with them, I’m reminded how much of a great couple they make, and it makes me a bit jealous; however, I adore them both and look forward to their wedding in November.

Last — but not least — I got to spend a lot of time with Daniel. His primary reason for visiting Indiana was to see his family, but he took spare time Friday night and Sunday to spend time with yours truly. I’m glad he made time to hang out because I probably won’t get to see him again until November.

As for my weekend, Lisa, Jim, and some other folks are coming in to Indianapolis tomorrow to attend the Fringe Festival. No idea what we’ll see, but the beauty of the Fringe is that you can figure out when you’re there and be spontaneous.

Daniel is coming into town this weekend. I’ll be seeing twice, actually: tonight and Sunday. I haven’t seen him since June, so I’m very excited to spend some time with him.

Preparations are underway for the upcoming concert on Thursday, to kickoff the 2007 NFL season. The show will feature Faith Hill and Kelly Clarkson, and will be free to the public.

It’s going to be right on the south side of the monument, and it starts right at 5:00 PM, so I haven’t decided if I’m going to work from home and avoid everything, or if I’ll go to the office and watch the festivities from above.

Friday night, I went with Tony and Jason to see Dos Fallopia: Desperate Spuddwives at the Phoenix Theatre. It was put on by Lisa Koch and Peggy Platt, a local comedy duo, and made up almost entirely of several clever parodies, including a performance by Heartwood Mac — a combination of Heart and Fleetwood Mac. The entire second act was a reprise of their roles as a Judds-like country music duo called The Spudds.

Afterwards, the three of us made our way to the 501 for drinks, but the crowd was terrible (terribly old, actually) and I decided to go home after about an hour.

On Saturday, I went to a going away party for Andy and Lou. This was my last chance to see them before they departed for Southern California. I got to the party and there really wasn’t much happening — mostly just a bunch of big gay guys sitting around talking — but pizza arrived and that was good, and stuff.

After the party, I met up with Aaron and Doug for dinner. We had the usual meal at Thai Cafe, which was fabulous. I always love eating there. I had yum tofu, spring rolls, and panang curry. Mmm! I feel your jealousy all the way over here.

After dinner, we went back to Aaron and Doug’s and watched Hot Fuzz. This is the movie put out recently by the guys who did Shaun of the Dead. It’s very funny and clever, and dark in many silly ways.

Today was a bit more chill, comprising primarily of brunch, laundry, cleaning around the house, and taking my nephew Jake to see The Simpsons Movie. I’ve already seen it, but Jake wanted someone to take him, so I went ahead and did that. I’m such a good uncle.

We saw Alfred Hitchcock’s Dial M For Murder at the Louisville Palace. I like this film so much that it might very well be my favorite Hitchcock movie ever.

I had a good time at the Bastille Day Party. It was hosted by Michelle and Pascale, who are a lesbian couple that work in my brother-in-law’s department at the university. Lots of interesting people.

We also saw Sicko, on Sunday, before I came back home. It was pretty emotional at times, especially since it deals with life and death situations. Regardless of your political views, you wouldn’t be human if you didn’t come away from this documentary with some level of disgust for the American health care system.

Photo Set: Bastille Day Party – 2007-07-21

I managed to catch the finale on my camera.

Something must not have gone quite as planned at the end since the fireworks petered off for no reason. None-the-less, it was a success, and was by far the best view I’ve had in a long time. Picture link below.

Photo Set: 4th of July Fireworks – 2007