Holiday Roundup

Another holiday season has come and gone and, remarkably, I’m still standing.

Megan and I started the holidays out with a trip to Chicago to take in the sights and get away for a weekend together. We decided to take the “Megabus,” a bus service that runs throughout the Midwest and offers round trip tickets for as little as $1 (our tickets were $16 each, round trip). Though our trips were admirably inexpensive, our rides were beset by annoying co-riders on the way down (woman with 7 rowdy children) and the way back (the singing gospel sisters). This was the second time I dragged Megan on a protracted bus ride, the first being our trip to New York, and I imagine this will be the last (she was sick on the way up and down and six hours of screaming ladies in your ear is enough to drive anyone crazy). Chicago, however, was brilliant; the city was very nicely decorated and we had a terrific time touring the art museum, strolling through Millennium Park, and indulging in Chicago’s culinary delights, most notably deep dish pizza. The only downer of the trip was that we were unable to meet up with my friend Bill due to cell phone communication problems; hopefully things work out better next time. (photos from the Chicago trip)

After our trip, Megs and I mostly worked and tried to finish our Christmas shopping. I’ve been working fairly long hours at the office and have been putting significant hours into Phil and my pet project, Dancekast, so shopping and decorating time has been hard to come by. On Saturday, Megs packed up and headed for De Forest, Wisconsin, which left me to finish up any miscellaneous tasks around the house before heading out to Brooklyn Park to join my family.

This year’s family Christmas festivities were another page from our usual celebration recipe: Christmas Eve at my mom’s side, Christmas Day in Canon Falls with my father’s side. Overall, things went very well on both visits, meaning I was able to get some quality jokes in on both occasions and avoided spilling wine on any furniture or party attendees (unlike Thanksgiving – sorry John!). My highlight gift of the season on the giving side were tickets to Chicago at the Ordway for my folks; I think they’ll really enjoy them and it was nice to thank them for all the support and help they’ve given me over the past year. My highlight on the receiving side was a new GPS unit from my parents, something I have been lusting after for a good while now.

Hope everybody had a safe and happy Christmas celebration this year and that Santa left you what you all wanted.

With much love and wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

Franky J