Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Winter

I would say that the last three weeks of break were the laziest ever, what with all the decadent, hedonistic lounging and chocolate-eating I did--let me tell you, nothing beats a Christmas day lying on the couch eating Kit-Kats and reading Asterix comics--but since hours of watching DVRed episodes of Flight of the Conchords and or playing Rock Band with my brother were always punctuated by actual physical activity--running, cross-country skiing, downhill skiing, swimming, rock climbing, you name it--I suppose I have to concede that this break was only almost the laziest ever.

Judging by the amount of schoolwork I did, though, this break certainly claims the title: with a nightmare semester looming in front of me (four classes for credit, two research jobs, one independent research project, two conferences to attend and one to host, and orals in May), I chose to milk the Christmas holiday for all the relaxation it was worth instead of doing what I can to be ready for the academic maelstrom of the next four months. And so I lazed and lounged, spent entire days cooking (sugar cookies, key lime cookies, vanilla layer cake, pumpkin soup, honey green beans, roasted red pepper salad, salmon and saffron rice, squash chili, bean and beef chili, and four different failed-but-still-delicious attempts at my favorite Chinese restaurant dish, The Green Beans of Love and Happiness), and saw as many East Coast friends as I could, a goal that necessitated an impromptu trip to New York City to party--or, okay, to bond with takeout and chocolate chip cookies and an action movie and then party--on New Year's Eve with my cousin Guber, who needs to start blogging again. Guber, do you hear me? BLOG.

Not that I've been the best blogger ever, these past few weeks, but, sorry, hanging out with family and friends and Boston's dear old Citgo sign, all the while trying to stay warm in a frigid Boston December, takes all the time and energy I have. Now that I'm back home and enjoying a mild and sunny Berkeley January, though, maybe I'll stop being lazy and start writing again. Maybe. In any case, many happy returns of 2009 to one and all!

8 comments:

emily said...

Oh, dear. We'd better pow-wow soon before you become entirely engulfed!

Glad you had a nice break.

Grandma Jan said...

You're back! Good luck with your upcoming BEAR of a semester. Love you!

Margaret Proffitt said...

We're glad you're blogging again. Sounds like an awesome winter break.

daine said...

I suppose that schedule might lead me to forgive you for promising to come visit me in January and then flaking. Oh well, I did get Alea and KE to come, and we are expecting a full house for AWP in February. I guess I can take a rain check for after this semester some time.

When did you become such a foodie? Petra? The person who mocked me for having food on my shelves (ok, maybe I did go overboard, spending more on food than rent, but still, you did mock me) and who ate tuna with curry powder three times a week is cooking salmon with saffron rice? I hereby challenge you to a bake-off next time you can make it to Chicago.

Petra said...

Daine:

I became a foodie when I moved to the Bay Area, of course--it's what everyone does. As for the bakeoff, well, let me just say that I am spending my evening tonight baking homemade Thin Mints. BRING. IT. ON.

Heidi said...

"four classes for credit, two research jobs, one independent research project, two conferences to attend and one to host, and orals in May"

...

::Picasso's "Guernica" + Primordial Scream is my face right now::

annie (the annilygreen one) said...

i'm still stuck on asterix comics. i knew i loved your family. i can't wait for my family to move back here so i can stealthily remove their collection and relocate it to my house.

Katie said...

I deeply approve of your title. And my break was quite similar to yours, although my next semester won't be quite nearly so jam-packed as all that.

And I've been on a cooking spree, too. I think I've allowed my roommates to have unrealistic dinner expectations, because nothing I've attempted has gone awry . . .

Boy, will they be sad when I revert back to my standards of 20-minute soup and a variety of pasta dishes . . .