The Holidays (I refuse to put Christ back into Christmas, because I don't think most who want to do this give a shit about changing the capitalist hegemony surrounding the holiday, ok, sorry, ranting) were really nice for us. We had a short Christmas celebration, just Leah and I prior to actual Christmas, in which we exchanged our gifts, talked, and relaxed before our traveling started. Also, Blackberry the bunny was present, she drank the water out of the tree, licked the carpet, and hated her Christmas outfit. We had a little vest for her, but she was really not a fan and did everything she could to pull it off - making for very cute pictures.
After our little celebration, we took a long trip up to Rochester, NY the next morning and stayed for a few days with Leah's friends Jess and Darren. They have a nice little apartment in Rochester (or a suburb of it?) and have cute cats, which I liked until they started to have a cat battle on our bed in the middle of the night. Well, we both still liked them, but at the time were a bit startled. On the Eve, we went to Brockport for a tradition of Leah and her high school friends, a breakfast at a good restaurant called The Millhouse. It was nice to talk and meet some of her friends from her pre-Ryan life. We spent the rest of the day with her cousins and friends from when she lived in Rochester whilst I finished at Houghton, and eventually went to a simple Eve service, ending up at Leah's grandparents for another traditional celebration with family. Late that night we proceeded to Leah's parents house in Holley and slept over, to awake on the 25th for the gift exchanging and cinnamon buns. After all this we played the newly acquired (by Leah's younger brother and sister) Nintendo Wii and had a dinner celebration. We left the next day for CT.
We spent about one day back in CT and got some new coats with some of the gifts we received (surprisingly difficult to find companies that don't make their coats in sweatshops, or I should clarify - subcontract their production out to those who use sweatshops, the easy way to say "we don't use any sweatshops! What our contractors do is their business." From now on all rants will be in parentheses) all the previous was why I have never had a winter coat, but anyhow I found one made by a trade union in Mexico paid 150% of a living wage and given health benefits.
The day after we returned, we made another trip to first my parent's house ad then to my grandparents in East Hampton, Long Island, NY. I really like EH in the winter, all of the filthy rich robbers aren't there and the place takes on a bit more normal vibe. We spent a nice time there, although my cousin Matthew, who is usually the life of the party was off in the Gulf of Mexico on an oil tanker (I'll reserve comment here). We spent new years there and then returned home once again.
Back at home in New Haven we wait to begin our jobs again, Leah at the Yale Repertory Theatre and as a family assistant locally and Ryan as a Video Tech for the Yale Instructional Technology Group. I (Ryan) am also looking forward to my second semester at Yale Divinity School - and being halfway through my degree! Our friends from Queens, Matt and Emily are coming in this weekend and we look forward to homemade sushi and drinks of the alcoholic persuasion (I still look over my shoulder for Houghton Student Life enforcers when I say it), Wooster st. pizza, adventures in eating, and general friend time. Hope all of your Holidays went really well.
Ryan and Leah.
