happy christmas

i've decided that for right now "a hard rain's a gonna fall" is my favorite dylan song. i hope that sits alright with everybody. i'm up here in stanwood for a lovely christmas (i hope everybody had a blessed one) and gearing up for my trip to the southland. i get in friday night and am staying for a few days, so everybody put your best face forward. the seahawks are heading straight for the superbowl and i've realized just in time to get on board. i think that as long as you publicly proclaim your allegiance to a team before the post-season your can be classified as a true fan. it worked with the eagles last year and i'll be a monkey's great uncle if i'm gonna let my hometown team lose it in the playoffs without me! let's just remember that a certain high school flame of mine is currently a seagal if anybody needs any corroborating evidence. i still can't watch batman returns without a little pinch of regret. then again it's hard to watch any movie or really do anything nowadays without the possibility of that happening. now then, it has been a good year. i am happy to say that i'm moving up the world. i recently got news that i'll be changing posts at Freeman's, becoming a cataloguer/deparment assistant to english & continental furniture and dec arts dept with the goal of learning as much as possible in the next year or so in order to move into general appraisals. i'll also be able to take classes and that sort of thing, as well as have my neon light sale (lookup artkraft strauss sign co.) in may. all very good things. it also means more trips to nyc this next year, which prompts a sidenote: around 9 difficult but charming months ago i believe i announced from this great mountaintop that nyc was the new garbage day (a lot of noise and always leaving something behind). let's put this in perspective. the night before that i had survived three or four damaging arguments with my then girlfriend only to get kicked out of her apt in brooklyn at 2 am. i still made it to my appointment on time (look up artkraft strauss sign co.) only to find my colleague failed to show up because of the impending blizzard (neurosis), which was the whole reason i was in nyc that weekend anyway, which begs the question could it all have been avoided? the ipod battery died shortly thereafter and i was stuck on a long too quiet trainride back to my adopted city, short a girlfriend and a great deal of dignity (ain't life a bitch). back to the point then. i've been through a great deal in nyc of late (there's another little story about new year's eve and wilco and champange/gin which i will leave out) at any rate i have since rekindled my infatuation with said great city of the world. in october i had a pleasurable ride on the forbes yacht around new york harbor, a stranger in a strange land, drinking wine, smoking cigars looking at the fair city in a different light. it's probably not the city's fault! but i'm not sure who to blame. i must leave something to think about for this next year.

now then, i recommend watching steve mcqueen movies: the great inferno(right title?) bullit, etc.. also "don't look now" for anyone who hasn't seen it. i mean it.

christmas eve someone i know was given lincoln logs as a gift. AMAZING!

my nephew jonathon is now 18 months old and has quite an attitude. he owns the place. i also have the pleasure of announcing that the hagglunds (sister and brother-in-law) are expecting again with a date set for the 4th of july. very exciting! sidenote: there was a time when i was ashamed to use exclamation points in the body of anything i was writing. not anymore!!

anybody read any good books lately?

i am also happy to welcome emily and micah to my home away from home. they arrived a few weeks ago in good condition. i believe they have found an apt in west philadelphia, which is a good, recently come-up neighborhood around the colleges, and i believe very accesible to me, i am glad to have them on my side of the scene.

also, the new drink is sho chu. my japanese friend June (the husband to Michele whom i work with) has the stuff imported from his family. it's a working class japanese drink to be enjoyed over ice. be careful, it's a little like whiskey but you just wouldn't think so. i enjoyed a little bit of pain the other day because of it.

i am looking forward to the time i'll spend with you and to a great party saturday night. we shall be the firecrackers! i have now run out of steam. i must go anyway, i'm gonna go shoot guns with sheriff ben my brother-in-law. everybody relax who can and i'll see yal soon

love -brent