Hey Again

I need to get this going again, for mental health reasons among others. Haven't been able to drag myself to write anything, anywhere lately. Having put so much into this the last two years, I feel somewhat obligated to continue.

There is little in the way of "big news" to report. The most interesting thing going on, or at least on the horizon, presently is my sister Gretchen moving over my way. She landed a tech coordinator position with the Ypsilanti schools, quite a juicy post, I guess, with an 8 figure budget and a staff of ten. Though I haven't stayed really close to my family since I finished college (and I wasn't all that close to start with), I'm actually looking forward to having her close by. It will be someone else (all right, scratch that--just someone) to get together with, talk to. Maybe water our garden when we go on vacation.

Had the annual family Christmas party in Kalamazoo last Saturday, which went OK. The trip included the mandatory stop at the Dark Horse Brewery in Marshall. Their tap room is possibly my favorite bar in the world--good beer, and maybe the most welcoming and laid back atmosphere of any drinkery I know. Well worn, but clean, it occupies a shed behind a party store. Unpretentious and, whenever we're travelling across southern Michigan, irresistable. The two guys who started it began brewing in their dorm room at my undergrad alma mater. I'll bet nobody wanted to miss their keggers.

As I said, the party was fine, but the food offerings were weird. Usually at these things, we get some pizzas or a party sub or something, though only after grazing for an hour or so on junk food and cookies. This year, my sister decided to skip the entree "since we always fill up on snacks anyway." This seems like erring in the wrong direction. But from our bunch, not unsurprising. I come from a clan of world-class snackers. Growing up, I assumed that Seyfert's potato chips and Oreos were staple foods. Yet we also went on periodic health food kicks. Given my schizoid dietary upbringing, there's really nothing shocking about me being a semi-vegetarian who craves wild game.

May the holidays bring you the repast you most crave.