Monday, December 15, 2008

Happy F'in' Christmas

"What the hell have they been doing? It's been over a month since the last blog entry. Maybe they got arrested at that protest. Good God, I told him to settle for domestic partnership. What the hell were they thinking?"

Well, no we didn't get arrested. The California Supreme Court did take up the cases seeking to overturn Proposition 8, and there should be some kind of decision next March. Until then, Steve and I are thinking positive and assuming that our marriage is legally intact and viable in the State of California.

So now for a kind of whirlwind update of what's been going on since the rally downtown on Nov. 15.

For Thanksgiving, we went up to the moms' (or, existentially, the mom's) for Thanksgiving. Sister Kittie did all the cooking, and we had a lovely dinner with Steve and myself and Kittie and David and my mom and Bob Waltz, who is a longtime theater friend of the family from San Luis Obispo.

Steve and I stayed at the Shelter Cove Inn, which is just north of Pismo Beach, right on the ocean. We had grand unobstructed ocean views from the room, since the bluff outside our window was a wildlife santuary. Our first morning there, we woke up to two Peregrin Falcons flying over the bluff looking for mousey goodies and such to eat.

Aunt Kit was not in attendance for Thanksgiving, since she had fallen a few weeks earlier and broken her back. OUCH. Sister Kittie had taken her to the emergency room, and she had spent the last several weeks in hospital, having been transferred to a care home for her physical therapy. On Thanksgiving evening, we all went down and visited her. Her roommates were a dotty wailing woman who made no sense at all (I thought she had visitors, but she was just making noises to herself) and a deaf woman who has taken advantage of her affliction by using it to shut out the rest of the world. Not the best roomies, by a longshot, but hopefully she'll be in more amenable surroundings sometime soon. We all wish her the best.

The time with Mom and Sister Kittie and her husband Dave was really nice. I have been up there a couple times this year, but Steve, since he hasn't had vacation time yet this year, had not. So this was his first chance to meet the new dog, Goldie, who is a real sweetheart. After Alfie and Annie (who were both kind of damaged goods when it comes to the pet department), it's nice to have such a true-blue doggie buddy watching over the moms' house. Although I'm sure she'd be an absolute pushover for a burglar with a steak.

The first week in December, there was another cutback at The Reporter, and about a third of the remaining staff was laid off. Luckily, I was not among them. The editor told me, in fact, that my name was not actively brought up as a potential cut. I'm beginning to thing I'm indispensable, but that's not a wise thing to assume. Lesley, my best buddy on the copy desk, was laid off, even though I consider her one of the most comptent of the copy editors.

It took a couple of days to get over the shock of losing so many coworkers ($1.8 million worth in salary). At some point, I decided that, since I was blessed with employment, I should spend as freely as possible this holiday season, and that's how I started my shopping.

I spent a whopping $60 to create a garland for over the dining room window. I spent $50 on wrapping paper and ribbons. (While at the store, I ran across these giant ornaments; they're actually a deposit box for toy donations for the holidays.)

In the interim, I got a picture of cat Buddy sleeping with his Elf and Teddy Bear buddies. We also spent a weekend (and then some) putting up and decorating the Christmas tree. It's an artificial tree, and on its last legs. We went down to Stats (a local decoration place here in Pasadena) to get the makings for the garland, and took a look at some very nice artificial trees which lookoed almost real...and cost about $500 for a six-footer. That expense, I'm afraid, will have to wait until next holiday season: That employed I am not.

So this is probably the last blog I will be writing for the rest of the year. A Happy Hannukah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa and all the best in the new year. After throwing our shoes at Bush (I did as soon as I was given the idea, but they only got across the living room and nowhere near Washington, D.C.), things can only rise.

So I can say I feel truly blessed this holiday season: This year, I got to marry the man that I love; a thing I thought would never happen. And although there are lots of narrow-minded people out there trying to take that away, the light of the fact shines as brightly as ever. Equality is only a matter of time and perseverance. And the love doesn't change, no matter how it's enveloped by social status. And there is so much hope just waiting to explode into change this next year, I am eager to see what happens once the carbunkle Bush is gone from our capital forever.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!