new year’s!

but of course christmas before that. quick trip home this year since jessica couldn’t join me and i didn’t want to leave her behind for too long (aww, we’re so attached to each other aren’t we?). but even though it was short it was packed with goodness. christmas with the family including lots of nice gifts — my pile of books and dvds has grown and now i’ve got a few games i can’t wait to play, and that’s not all! — plenty of good food, and all the relatives. that part’s always fun because it’s so nice to spend a day with all the folks i don’t get to see enough.

then the rest of the weekend was spent mostly at home on the couch. i plowed through some reading, watched the last USC game of the season (woo, take that emerald nut bowl!), and checked off my three must-have meals for every trip back to chicagoland: deep dish stuffed pizza, white castle burgers, and an italian beef sandwhich. mmm, indulgent.

also, i saw avatar with my dad. lots of talk around this movie and i haven’t decided if i’m going to write a full review on under culture or not, but i will say this: i was expecting not to like it that much and just be wowed by the visuals, and i enjoyed it much more than just on that level. despite how silly the ads may make it look with all the cavorting blue people and walking robots and such, it’s definitely worth the trip. i may even go back in a few weeks to see it on full IMAX instead of just regular-size digital 3D like i did the first time.

now we’re about to head off to a night of drinking and dancing with friends for new years eve at club bootie. i suppose some resolution-type things are in order as per custom on the blog here, but that can wait until after the night of partying.