Alive and Skankin'...

... in the land of Ben Franklin! What's up, everyone? Merry Christmas! I assure you that I have not fallen off the face of the planet. Rather, I've been livin' it up in Philly. And by "livin' it up," I mean "freezing my tush off" and "having my wisdom teeth extracted." Now that I can eat solid food again and sleep through an entire night unmedicated, I figured it was time to update this sucker. Since being home, I've been cleaning my room extensively. Vacuuming under the bed and behind the dresser, going through old clothes, rearranging my desk and closet, etc. I'm going all out this year. I completed my Christmas shopping and wrapping in a single day. I am awesome. I have also been listening to my extensive collection of cassette tapes in order to rediscover old classics to download when I return to the lab. Perhaps the greatest of these "lost gems" has been Aerosmith's album "Pump." For a bunch of old geezers, those guys can churn out the hard rock.

I spent over 6 hours at a holiday part last night with all of my high school friends. When you only see people once a year, there is always so much to talk about. I enjoyed myself --- and the open bar -- immensely. I also concocted a new drink: Ocean Spray cranberry juice topped off with Triple Sec. Mmmmmm, it's soooooo good!

Tomorrow we are having Christmas Eve dinner with some close family friends, one of whom is currently in Air Force flight school. He always has cool stories about those adrenaline-crazed f-ups, I mean servicemen, so it should be a good time. I wish all of my loyal readers a warm and happy holiday, and I look forward to seeing y'all again soon.

Music of the Moment: the "In Utero" album, by Nirvana (the band that helped introduce me to the glories of punk rock. Kurt, I humbly thank you.)