Christmas 2009

I had a quiet Christmas weekend. There was nothing to do at work, with half our department gone. So, I left around noon on Thursday and did some quick grocery shopping before heading home. (I am astonished that roast beef is now almost $10/pound!)

As a kid, I clearly recall awakening early on Christmas morning, running downstairs, and eagerly anticipating the rest of the family waking up so we could open our presents. My father was usually up around the same time as I. By nature, we are both early risers. This year, to my surprise, we slept in until nearly 9am. Even Mason kept quiet.

Santa's li'l helper

Danny and I exchanged presents – my first present to him was some Caribou Coffee (Danny is a major coffee drinker), and I also bought him some clothes and assorted goodies. Danny bought me Star Trek and Wizard of Oz blu-rays, a wall calendar, and stocking stuffers. From my dad and stepmom, I got a reed diffuser. It was Mason who got the most booty, and he will be taken care of in the toys & treats department for quite some time.

Danny models his flannel

Danny was planning on making dinner in the slow cooker, so I took us out to IHOP for breakfast. It was rather busy there. All the stores around it were closed of course. Most of the rest of the day was quiet since Danny had to work the graveyard shift that night.

Much of the rest of the weekend involved Danny and me getting up to date with Lost and Dexter. Not very Christmas-y shows. We also did some minor rearranging of furniture to create a kind of breakfast nook and open up some counter space in the kitchen.

This morning, I woke up to a snowy driveway, and couldn’t start my snow blower. So, Danny and I shoveled the driveway the old fashioned way.

Merry Christmas

True then. True now

“Let me warn you, and let me warn the Nation, against the smooth evasion which says: ‘Of course we believe all these things; we believe in Social Security; we believe in work for the unemployed; we believe in saving homes. Cross our hearts and hope to die, we believe in all these things; but we do not like the way the present Administration is doing them. Just turn them over to us. We will do all of them - we will do more of them - we will do them better; and, most important of all, the doing of them will not cost anybody anything.’”

-Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1936.

2009 - Year of the Wingnuts

Blue people

Saturday, Danny & I went to see Avatar at the Capitol Theater. This was our second trip to the newly refurbished theater and our first look inside the fabulous main auditorium. I was less impressed with the film itself. Yes, there are stunning GCI visuals. But the story itself is a ham-handed allegory about America’s genocide against Native American Indians. (Even to the extent that the natives are called Na’vi, and speak a language that sounds like the Navajo language.) Dances with Wolves is far preferable for that kind of film. Avatar was worth seeing once, just for the eye candy, but not worth seeing again.

After the movie, we headed to the Big Egg for an afternoon breakfast. Cleveland has made a great splash over the last decade with the explosion in haute cuisine restaurants. But I have a fondness for greasy spoons like the Big Egg.

Danny had to work second-shift on Sunday, so I headed to several malls for once last dose of retail hell to get a few last items. I’m very glad my Christmas shopping is over & done with.

This morning, we took Mason to the vet, where he was given his updated shots and a perfect bill of health.

Vacation in Puerto Rico - final entry

Saturday – December 12, 2009

Neither Danny nor I slept much Friday night. Travelling makes me tense – worrying about getting to the airplane on time and knowing in advance about the hassles to be endured. We awakened early, had breakfast, and said our goodbyes to Gladys and her wonderful staff.

By the time we left Passion Fruit, we were a half-hour ahead of schedule. We didn’t encounter much traffic, but ran into a super-slow gas pump at one gas station. One big complaint I have about Puerto Rico is that most gas pumps there do not have built-in credit card machines, which means you have to go into the station, throw down your money, fill up, then go back into the gas station and get your change – if any. What can I say? I’m a spoiled Gringo.

As mentioned in a prior post, San Juan has a great airport. But the airline workers are as annoying and useless as in any city. The check-in desk for United was understaffed, and after a USDA check to make sure we weren’t carrying any diseased snails in our luggage, we waited an eternity in line for our boarding passes.


Our flight, including the long wait at Dulles for our connection, was uneventful. After getting home to drop off our luggage and turn the heat back up (I had set it at 50* for the trip, cold enough to save money, but warm enough to keep the pipes from freezing), we headed to Mark’s house to pick up Mason and Valdo. Mason was his usual loving self, signaling his joy at seeing us by jumping on us and emitting hypersonic whimpers. I was unable to judge Valdo’s reaction. Danny and I had a wonderful time in Puerto Rico, but it was great to be home.

Vacation in Puerto Rico - 6

Friday – December 11, 2009

Danny & I did not have much planned for Friday. We had purchased so much stuff over the last several days, carrying it home would have been impossible. So, we headed to the local post office, only to find that it didn’t open until 10am. With some time to kill, we went to the local K-mart – another example of American corporatism encroaching upon Puerto Rico. Finally, as 10am approached, we headed back to the post office. Puerto Rico is served by the USPS, if served is the right word – as the service is every bit as bad as on the mainland. Long lines, not enough clerks, it’s the same all over. We shipped much of what we bought in Puerto Rico, and even some of our laundry. This left us with plenty of room in our bags for the items, mainly alcoholic, we were planning to buy in the duty free shop at the airport.

After getting back to the B&B, we changed clothes and took a short walk to Seven Seas beach. There was a loud gathering of young servicemen near the entrance, so Danny and I headed down the beach to a deserted section for some peace & quiet. Smarting a bit from Wednesday’s sunburn, I set our beach towels under a tree and relaxed while watching the waves and contemplating my return to cold weather. That evening, on Gladys’ advice, we headed to Ely’s Place, a small gay bar in the kiosks of Luquillo. The kiosks are an early version of a strip mall, sandwiched between the highway and the beach: Mostly restaurants, fast food joints, and stores selling convenience items. Ely’s, like the other kiosks, is mostly open to the air.

 
Much has been brought up about homophobia in Puerto Rico lately, particularly in light of the brutal murder of a gay teen in November. Yet, here was a place that was obviously gay oriented, playing gay associated music (like The Village People), and with rainbow items everywhere in sight - and there were no gangs of youths driving by, shouting obscenities from their vehicle (as I once witnessed in Boston), there were no strange looks from pedestrians - only the usual Puerto Rican scene of people chatting with each other in Spanglish, drinking beer and enjoying themselves. While I don’t want to downplay that homophobia exists in Puerto Rico, it’s really no worse there than in a good many places on the American mainland. Another aspect of gay life in Puerto Rico is how gay men and lesbians commingle with each other. This is in contrast to the schism that exists between gay men and lesbians on the mainland. All too often, it seems as if same-sex loving men and women only come together for political purposes.

Danny and I sat at a table near the jukebox and enjoyed our drinks and food (Ely’s has a kitchen). To my horror, Danny ordered a Coors beer. I pretended to ignore his selection while chatting with the locals and petting the stray dogs that frequent the kiosks.
On the whole, this was a fun, active trip. Danny and I have already decided to return next December, and hopefully we’ll bring along some friends as well.