fun with photo booth

apple has this fun program on their new computers called photo booth. if you go to their stores you can try it out. there are lots of effects to choose from, including one that looks like fun house mirrors. oooooohhhhh....

a new kind of christmas

this was my first christmas without both parents present. i wasn't sure what to expect and i worried it wouldn't feel much like christmas at all, but with the help of my "extended" family this christmas was actually very special. christmas eve was spent mostly at mom's house with pierce and bob. the four of us went to midnight mass where we met up with farhan and roohi. after singing all my favorite christmas hymns (including all the harmonies... i was that girl...) i left church feeling very christmas-y indeed. christmas morning i made an apple tart with over-the-phone tutelage from dad, and i also talked to my brother stephen who was skiing out west... rather, i sang our favorite raffi christmas song to him :) mom made an amazing christmas lunch and we were joined by farhan, roohi and bob. farhan and roohi brought a delicious pakistani dessert that was like creamy sweet spaghetti with dates. mmm. bob and i then left to pick up his sister christine and her boyfriend ben who popped into town for dinner with bob's uncle bob, granddad paul, and others (deborah, jack and liz). deborah too fixed an awesome meal, paul recited a LOT of poetry from memory (very impressive), and the rest of us recited a few things or jammed a bit. a talent show of sorts. new christmas tradition? uncle bob bought us all books and made very personal selections. i can now add kipling's kim to my reading list. bob now has a copy of machiavelli's prince, which is convenient since i'll be revisiting machiavelli this term for class. it's nice when you can talk homework with your beau. so pictured are farhan, roohi, mom and pierce at lunch... ben on drums and jack on guitar after dinner... and bob with christine and the family robotic pet. good times.

merry christmas

Luke 2:1-20

The Birth of Jesus

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

how not to do secret santa

i hope this doesn't offend mike...

my team at work decided to do secret santa, emphasis on secret. the object was to give someone a gift WITHOUT being detected. apparently mike drew my name out of the santa hat. he went through great lengths to hide his identity. he posted clues in public places leading me to the gift (which was in the mail room) so as not to get caught putting it in my office. smart. but he gave me something that he and i actually bought together at an after christmas sale last year. not smart if you're trying to be secretive. nice try, santa boy.

most technologically advanced prosthetic arm in the universe

maybe you've heard about the bionic arm. basically, this prosthetic arm is able to send and receive messages to/from your brain and thus move and grip, etc. much like a real arm would. part human, part robot, all awesome. here is a pic of the most technologically advanced prosthetic arm in the universe that my friend bob is working on. he may actually be leading up the project, or else his work friends tell me that to impress me. what's important to note is the object the hand is gripping. that is one beautiful baseball. genuine italian leather. perhaps purchased from hamilton robbins, your one stop shop (in lexington at least) for distinctive gifts and design scruples?

cousin christmas

every year for as long as i can remember, the cousins on my mom's side of the family have drawn names to see which cousin they will get a christmas gift for. it's fun because we're actually a pretty close knit group, even now that we're spread out across the states. this year i drew erin (the ballerina on the right) and i'm having fun remembering what gifts thrilled me the most at her age. suggestions? i remember liking really crafty things. i could get a set of 30 markers and my imagination would run wild. i never got too excited about the apple and orange santa would put in my stocking. filler.

midnight train

friday night bob and i took an 11 hour train down to charleston for a wedding. it was awesome. we got a sleep car with bunk beds and a toilet and sink and luggage compartment. the space efficiency was amazing! i got the top bunk, which drops down from the ceiling. we even ate dinner with a stranger in the dining car. i highly recommend this method of travel. bob looks like he's about to explode with excitement...

preceptorial bliss

preceptorial = the elective class lauren take's at st. john's each term.

johnnies had two good reasons to celebrate last night. 1) precep papers were due. this is the biggest paper of the term (and the only grade in that particular kind of class), so the end-of-term frenzy is now over. still one week of school, but the vibe is much more chill post paper. 2) we received our precep assignments for next term (those of us that are returning). this is like bid day, if you're familiar with the greek system. a few weeks ago i got a list of electives and ranked my choices 1 to 6. last night the magic envelope in my school mail box revealed the following: "you have been assigned to the spring 2007 preceptorial on montesquieu's persian letters and the spirit of the laws." i'm psyched. this was my first choice because the tutor is supposed to be awesome, montesquieu has influenced other writers i enjoy and it'll be a good way to practice my french in preparation for benin.

mom's b-day

*dunnunununuh* they say it's your birthday! *dunnunununuh* it's my birthday too, yeah!! mom loves to sing the beatles on her b-day, which was saturday. my brothers stephen and pierce came in town for some quality time (and roof fixing... thank goodness for boys). we had a progressive celebration in locust point... dinner at hull street blues cafe, dessert at bob's, libations at jp's. we laughed a lot... as always.

pazo

anna's beau jason is in town (from australia) so we decided to have a girls' (plus boyfriends) night at pazo. yummmm. we had a ton of great spanish food... though i think the boys would probably disagree with the term "ton" since i've never heard a guy say he's full after eating at a tapas restaurant. just look at this classy group of chicas. we stopped by anna's later, where various people had left halloween paraphernalia from last month's costume party. like this viking hat. good times. i'm going to be sad when anna moves to australia next month.