Have a New Year!

What's so Happy about a New Year? Is it the starting over factor? The chance to right wrongs? The clean slate? It's just another day, really. You could easily make all the same mistakes and dumbass errors that you made, oh say, yesterday. Why is one day so significant? Yeah there's that whole changing the year thing. Big whoopty-doo. I forget to remember about that for at least 5 months after it happens anyway. Besides, the year, just like age and everything else, is just a number, really. So the Happy part of the New Year probably lies in booze, drinking and drunkenness. Resolutions aren't happy. They're unrealistic promises you make to yourself-- and probably others-- that you had no intention of doing or sticking to at any other time of the year. But because the year is changing, and the sparkly crystal ball is dropping in New York City, and Dick Clark is ... well he's in bed because he's getting old (finally), we make all these promises that we do try to keep. For a few weeks at least. And then we just slip back into our old, familiar patterns. Because that's what we as humans do. So why don't we just wish people to simply have a GOOD new year? It's going to happen anyway. And if it ends up being happy, well, then that's even better for you, and everyone else around you. As for me, I definitely want to have a good new year. But I'm not going to change every last thing about myself or devise some schematic "master plan" to make sure that my happiness is insured. Hell, that's too much work. I would rather just continue being a good friend, being honest with myself and others, finding the good in situations rather than the bad (this is sometimes hard to do), and enjoying every single day that I have on this Earth. And when things don't go my way, having the right to pitch a bitch and whine about it until it does. Because, gentle readers, that's what life is all about. So Have a Good... Great... ok fine.. WONDERFUL New Year. That is my wish for all of you. And I hope you have fun tonight, whatever it is you may be doing. As for me, I'm going to be getting all gussied up in my Tuxedo and going to a swanky party. Hey, I may not have a date, and may not find a hunky, rich bachelor to connect with, but dammit, I'm gonna look GOOD. Oh, and be very grateful that this was my New Year's post. I was going to outline every single thing that happened in 2004. But I got bored writing it. And surely if I got bored writing it, you were going to be bored reading it. I'm always thinking of you. You're welcome. With love, Rick

Retraction/Take Action

A couple of days ago, I wrote in a post about Nate Berkus and a friend, who were visiting Phuket in Thailand and were involved in the horrible Tsunami. I used the situation to playfully suggest that Mr. Berkus was my "future husband" and it "serves him right" for going on vacation with a 'friend.' In looking back on my post for that day, and realizing that, at the time, nobody really knew of the magnitude or the gravity of the situation in South Asia, I regret making those comments simply to make a joke, no matter how light-hearted it was meant to be. In fact, I have since learned that Mr. Berkus is missing a friend after the devastation. I couldn't wish that kind of ill will on my worst enemy. Therefore I apologize if at any time that comment was taken offensively by anyone who may have read it. This retraction and apology was not at all prompted by anyone or anything, other than me re-reading the post and realizing that I was in error. My apologies as well to Mr. Berkus and his friends and family. This is no time to be making a joke or making light of such situations. Since I'm feeling this way, I would like to place some links here that connect readers to ways that they can donate money or find out more information about the Tsunami and its victims. I have no idea what the impact may be, or if my doing this will help at all, but in light of the situation, any amount of help, helps. To donate to the American Red Cross, you can visit Amazon.com and make a donation. The money goes 100% to the Red Cross to provide food, water and also to get victims returned safely home, among many other things. Visit http://www.amazon.com and click on the American Red Cross logo on the splash page. There are many blogs about the tragedy, and blogs that list information resources. I will list those here: http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com/ http://tsunamimissing.blogspot.com/ http://tsunamihelpneeded.blogspot.com/ http://opinion.paifamily.com/index.php?p=1134 To donate directly to the International Red Cross: http://redcross.org

Depressing Day

For a time when there should be so much joy, it sure has been dreary lately. Terrible news on the TV. The disaster in Asia is just going to get worse. It's heartbreaking. I can't imagine what those people are going through. And the people visiting, just enjoying time away from the hubub and insanity of life. Destroyed in seconds. Buses, cars, windows, chairs, children, people. Washed away faster than anyone could imagine. TV and the news media, in their infinite need to imbibe us with the details over and over again, are again inundating us with images, sounds, words and sights that we are sure to never forget. Much as they did on 9/11. We should be wishing each other "Happy New Year." We should be enjoying our Christmas presents and reveling in the wonder of "The Season." And God has delivered to us this. To remind us that yep, he's still the Boss. But why, God, did you have to do it to these people? Why these good people, who did nothing more than live their daily lives in peace and harmony? These people whose sole existence is to enjoy the fruits of this Earth and the glorious place they lived? All this, swept away in one huge wave. Yeah I know, you work in mysterious ways. I've heard it before. But sometimes your mystery bewilders me. And yet we go on. I'm still going to my New Year's Eve party on Friday night (alone). We'll ring in the new year with champagne and well-wishes. And hopefully a kiss from a handsome stranger. Maybe God can work some mysterious ways in my favor for once. Ya think?

Aw Phucket

Aren't you glad you aren't in Thailand? What a horrific scene. I can't imagine what those people are going through. My future husband, Nate Berkus was there. I'm sure you knew that, because he's been on just about every single news channel talking about it for the last couple days. (He's such a media whore.) At least he's safe. That's what he gets for vacationing with a "friend". In fact, I was watching Fox News, which I am not that oft to do, yesterday morning. And they said they were going to talk to Nate Berkus. Although they mispronounced his name in some odd way that I can't quite remember. Fair and balanced maybe, but for cryin' out loud, get the name right, folks. Anyway, they get Nate on the phone and he starts going on about the devestation and how tragic it was. And the news anchor says something to the effect of "They are saying that 22,000 people have died." And Nate says "That's less than Howard Stern's listening audience" And Mr. Fox News says "And we'll move on from here." And Nate.. or "Nate" hangs up the phone. Some people will do anything for a joke.

Christmastime is was here

Christmastime was here Gifts and food and cheer I'm not sad, In fact I'm glad It's done for one more year. Money's all been spent (Glad I paid the rent) All so I Could go and buy Everyone a present. Family time this year Made me cringe in fear Dad was mad Cause sister had Arrived past 3, oh dear. But all else aside There's no one who died We still employed That Christmas joy From somewhere deep inside All apologies to Vince Guaraldi and Charles Schulz. So yes, it's all over. And nobody died. That's always a good thing. The verse about my sister and my father is quite true. Since dad is housebound due to his Diabetes, he can't go out for Christmas Eve celebrations anymore. So he has to sit at home and wait for us to return from my Aunt's house with food and gifts for him. We always bring him his food as soon as it's ready, but he has to wait for the gifts until we get home for the night. And of course, we never get home fast enough to satisfy him. Eventually a phone call will be made to my Aunt's house, complaining that he's waited long enough-- get home now. For the last few years, we would come home from my Aunt's and then open gifts with him that night. This year we decided to wait until Christmas day. That's usually no problem either, as long as we do the gift opening in the morning. But this year, we decided it didn't make sense for my sister and her husband to come at the butt-crack of dawn all the way from Round Lake (45 minutes away) to open presents, sit around all day long and wait until dinnertime, have dinner, and then leave. So we decided to have them come at 3, open gifts, then eat dinner. BIG MISTAKE. My father, who was never adept at displaying anything resembling patience (I highly doubt that this particular virtue was even bestowed upon him at birth), proceeded to WHINE to my mother and I about the fact that HE couldn't open his Christmas presents on Christmas morning, just because my sister wasn't there. And since this was HIS house and HE owned it, he could do what he wanted to do. So he demanded to open at least some of his presents. Now mind you. My father is 66 years old. That's right folks, this nearly 70 year old man was whining and throwing a tantrum about his Christmas presents. It's frustrating, embarrassing and, not to mention, downright annoying. But if we don't cave in to his demands, he will nag and nag about it until we want to pull the hair directly out our heads. So we cave. Over and over again. Dear readers, please understand that I do love my father very much. But as time progresses, I can only take visits with him in smaller and smaller doses. And the rest of the family feels the same way as I. My Aunt (his sister) was supposed to make an appearance today but never showed up. My Uncle (his brother, the priest), who has the most patience of all three of them, showed up for dinner. Nobody else came to visit him. It's truly a depressing situation. And it causes the entire family a lot of stress. But we deal with it the best we can. And while sometimes our caving to his whining only exacerbates the problem, it's the only way we can enjoy peace and quiet. For at least a few moments. Growing old is not fun for members of my family. It makes me extremely sad to witness this. I try as hard as I can to put on a happy face and make things at least appear alright. If I didn't have my mom and her positive mental outlook, I don't know how I could survive these gatherings. How she puts up with my father, I have absolutely no idea. I mean, I visit for a couple days and I can go home to relative peace and quiet. She lives with the nagging, the whining and the bitching and moaning EVERY SINGLE DAY. I've said it before, I'll say it again. There some mighty big wings waiting for her up in Heaven.

Merry Christmas To All

Well the gifts are all wrapped, the cards are all sent, and the big day is about to happen. So at this time, I want to send this wish to all of you on this wonderful holiday. Enjoy. Happy Holidays! Rick

Cards and Letters

When I first moved out of my parents' house, I couldn't wait to write Christmas Cards. I got my list together, wrote them all out, addressed them, stamped them and sent them on their merry way. Three weeks before Christmas. I felt like Suzy Homemaker. The next year I joined the Chorus. That cut a week out of my process. Yet I still faithfully wrote, addressed, stamped and sent every single card. My third year in Chicago, I joined the throngs of people who added a Christmas Letter to their cards. I found a cute set of stationery that matched the cards I was sending, chose an equally cute font, and wrote away. I kept it short and sweet. But the writing, printing, and folding of those letters added time. I didn't quite get everyone's cards out that year. I felt bad, but what could I do? They were late by about a week. Oh well, Happy New Year. The next year, I took a picture of my previous year's Christmas Tree and designed the letter around it. I printed out a ton of letters. I sent maybe 10 cards. The following year, I bought cards, but didn't write a letter. I did buy some cute stationery, but decided at the last minute that I didn't have time to compose anything. I wrote some out and put names on them. And they sat in the card boxes for a full year. So this year, I was on a mission. I picked up some nice cards at the store. I wrote out my messages and addressed the envelopes. I'm almost done. I can't believe it. I'm actually going to send Christmas Cards this year. As insane as my holiday has been, I'M GONNA DO IT! I guess I got my motivation back. We'll see what happens tomorrow. Want a card? Send me your address. You might just get one! Merry Christmas everybody!

Motivation = 0

I'm exhausted. I don't want to work. I don't want to shop. I'm tired of parties. I just want to sleep. And eat. And sleep some more. And maybe have sex once in a lifetime. Is that too much to ask? The holidays are wearing on me. I finally did some shopping after work last night. Yeah it wasn't so bad, but I still have a couple more things to get. I'm really not motivated enough to get them. But I will. Work is a drag, too. Everyone's taking vacations and it seems like all we are doing is sitting there creating work to do. Hell, next Monday, out of a department of over 15 people, I am one of maybe 6 that will actually be IN the office. I'm sensing a long lunch ahead of me. Or hopefully an early end to the day. That'd be a novel idea. It's a struggle just to get dressed. As the sun rises and light filters into the room, I don't notice that it's morning and I have to get up; I enjoy how warm the sun makes the room feel and snuggle up under the covers and want to sleep more. Is that wrong? Is that nuts of me? Yet here I am, freshly showered and brushing my teeth (I'm quite talented at multi-tasking; you'd be amazed.) I'm forcing myself to go out in the bitter cold and transport myself to a desk for 8 hours, under unforgiving fluorescent lighting and confining ergonomic conditions. Yup, that's my job in a nutshell. So I hope that your day goes well. Joy to the world.

The Rainbow Arch strikes again

But this time it's HILARIOUS http://www.rainbow.arch.scriptmania.com/rainbow_tv_episode.html Thank you, David.

It's colder than...

DAMN it's cold outside tonight! It's colder than.. ...A witch's tit.... ...my ex's heart... (OK, not really... ) ...a penguin's patootie... ...a Minnesota summer... ...Donald Rumsfeld's personality... ...George Bush's brain.... NOW do you believe me how cold it is out there???? Can you think of any others?

It's colder than...

DAMN it's cold outside tonight! It's colder than.. ...A witch's tit.... ...my ex's heart... (OK, not really... ) ...a penguin's patootie... ...a Minnesota summer... ...Donald Rumsfeld's personality... ...George Bush's brain.... NOW do you believe me how cold it is out there???? Can you think of any others?

The Party's Over

Tonight was my annual Holiday/Birthday party. After a good month's worth of preparation, the fact that it's now over is somewhat of a letdown, but also a major relief. No more do I have to worry about how much I have to spend on groceries (FAR too much), who is coming (I would venture to guess that close to 80 people came through my place tonight), or whether I would run out of food or drink (I didn't, but damn the Vodka didn't last long!) The party started at 8PM and the last people left at about 1:45 AM. All told, I would have to say that it was a smashing success. And a lot of fun. The thing I like about the group of people I call friends is that no matter what the configuration, or what the setting, there is never a worry that people will get along or be able to socialize. Everyone is extremely friendly, warm and fun to be around. As a host, it lifts a huge burden off my shoulders because I can just enjoy the party and my friends' company. That's one of the beautiful things about being in a Chorus-- or two Choruses for that matter. While there's always something that we all have in common, we also truly like each other. Sure there's a few tiffs here and there, and maybe this person doesn't care for that person, but generally there's always someone else that you like and can strike up a conversation with. It's really an awesome thing to witness, even after having been a member for over six years. Not to mention the fact that, on the whole, chorus boys are pretty neat party-goers. I wish I had pictures to share. I charged up my camera batteries and everything, but I didn't pick it up once. Sorry about that. I was having too much fun. Oh well. It's over. Now I have dishes to do. I'll see you in a couple days. :)

I'm OK, How Are You?

My ankle debacle is still causing me pain, but I'm tooling around just fine. Thanks for your suggestions and well-wishes. (I had no vicodin so vodka had to do, Palochi.) My annual Holiday Party is this Friday. I've spent the week shopping, cooking, shopping, cleaning, shopping and cooking. I'll be serving homemade meatballs in sauce with crusty Italian (OK French, it's easier to find) bread, two different sets of homemade cookies and many, many drinks and goodies. I did most of the shopping yesterday, with the rest arriving via Peapod Friday morning. God bless Peapod. Luckily I have the temporary roommate (my ex) to help me with cleaning and carrying groceries up the stairs. I actually started my Christmas shopping as well. Everyone wants gift cards this year. Boring, I know, but hey, it makes my life a helluva lot easier. Especially since Dominick's, a local grocery chain, sells gift cards for just about everyone under the sun (including Sears, where for some reason everyone wants their gift cards to be from this year. Hey, saves me from having to actually go to the store!) So am I bad that I bought their Sears gift cards at a grocery store, or are they bad for wanting Sears gift cards at all? Or does it matter? Or does anyone really care at all? Yeah, that's it... who cares. My mom wants something from Crate & Barrel. No problem. I'm always happy to pay them a visit. I worked for them for 3 years before I started my current job. Man I miss that discount. :) Dad wants cologne or DVD's. Yes, my father, who never leaves the house, loves to wear cologne. In fact, he has an entire routine built around his colognes. One that would rival the most OCD person in the entire world. He has one bottle of cologne for each day of the week. He marks each one with a piece of medical tape with the word "Mon" "Tue" Wed" and so on, with the name of the cologne underneath. Because sometimes he transfers the cologne from the bottle it's in (if it's a splash bottle) into the one he keeps for that day (because it has a screw-off spray cap.) Then he puts it in the bathroom medicine cabinet for easy access with the medical tape label facing outward. I am not making this up. My dad does stuff like this all the time. And he's been doing it for years, even before he became housebound. He also has a box of Kleenex next to his chair. There's nothing odd about this, until you turn it upside down. There, written among the marketing patter about Kleenex's virtue as an excellent facial tissue, is every single phone number he should know, written in black ink. I imagine that every time he gets a new box of Kleenex (not Puffs, KLEENEX), he dutifully transfers each and every one of those numbers, in between viewings of Days of our Lives and The Westerns Channel. So I need to get my father cologne. He says he's out of Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. I haven't a clue which ones those were, so I hope to Heaven I don't duplicate Wednesday or Monday. Wish me luck.

Oh What Fun It Is To...

... twist your ankle and fall flat on your ass in the freezing cold! Yup. That's just what I did tonight, after the Slickers cabaret show. I'd just got done getting a bite with one of the members. I got out of his car and stepped onto the curb. When I stepped off, the pavement was uneven. I misjudged and down I went. I think it's going to be ok. Sure it hurts, but I can move it in all directions, and can put weight on it without screaming in pain. I have it propped up with an ACE bandage on it now and have it on ice. No swelling... so that's a good sign. But I know it's gonna hurt like a mothaf***er tomorrow. Just what I needed. ARRRGH!

How did you get here?

Welcome and thanks to...

The person who found RcktRamblings by searching "Really fucked up websites"

The other person who found RcktRamblings by searching "Pictures of ladies smoking Virginia Slims"

I hope you found what you were looking for! Welcome!!

It's all over!

The chorus show is all done. The stage has been struck, and the endlessly memorized music has begun already to fade from our memories. But the applause and the cheers and the laughter... still loud and clear. It was an amazing show, and a wonderful weekend. Well worth the blood, sweat and tears that we put into these things. It's a funny thing, these chorus shows. You spend 3-4 months preparing everything, rehearsing the music, going every week and sitting in (usually) the same spot, singing the songs, taking an occasional break, and then either going home or maybe out to the bar for a drink and pizza afterward. In all that time, when you have a group of 150+ guys, you tend to stick with your small group of friends. Either that or you only chat and kibbitz with those around you in your same section. You don't really get a chance to see who else is out there. Sure, they publish a roster that has faces and names of every chorus member. But that's a lot of faces and names. And sometimes people don't take the greatest pictures (as hard as I try, being the one that takes their pictures.) So you don't really get to see what they really look like unless you truly meet them in person. Except when the show moves to the theater. Then it's an all-bets-are-off situation. Suddenly, you notice that really cute guy in the bass section. You know the one. Definitely a little bit older than you, but WOW... very attractive. And DAMN does he look great in those jeans. (This is a rehearsal mind you, not a performance. Bear with me.) And what a nice smile. Where has he been for the last four months? You know his name, because you have seen the roster. But you've never really talked to him before. Yet suddenly, without warning, he approaches you and asks you about your recently failed hard drive. Without flinching, you strike up a conversation with him, as if you've talked to him all during the prep period. The flirtation has begun. Suddenly you realize that he's entering and exiting on the same side of the risers as you. Oh great! More chatting and flirting opportunities. Perfect! More words are exchanged. Flash that smile. There you go. He gives one back. Nice. Cut to showtime. Opening night. You're dressed in your white shirt and red tie, he in his white shirt and yellow tie. He comes up to you and wishes you good luck. You do the same, and give him a nice hug. He's a new member, so before the opening performance, he and the rest of the new members are given a token of appreciation for surviving sticking around through the prep period. You congratulate him as well and give him a little peck on the cheek. Day two, Matinee. More chitchat and flirting. You say good luck before walking on stage. Another friendly hug. How sweet it is. Day two, end of the late show. It's all over. The crowds are dispersing. You meet Mr. Adorable and congratulate him on completing his first show. You ask if he enjoyed himself and he says "absolutely, I loved it." Party time. You hope he shows up and he does. He looks great. And so do you, of course. It's now or never. Gotta see where this is going. So you finally get a chance to pull him aside and talk about more than just chorus and hard drives and how great he looks in jeans. (OK you don't mention that, but I'm just checking to see if you're still with me here.) He's getting ready to go home. He has his jacket on. You express your disappointment, but make sure to invite him to your holiday party the following week. He accepts, and you feel a twinge of excitement. Until he mentions that "The guy he is dating" is taking too long to get ready to go. "Um... excuse me... Who was that again?" He tells you, and you know who it is. In fact, you had seen them together but didn't get the connection. Suddenly it all comes clear. He says they're not terribly serious just yet, but they'd been dating since September. Great. Just my your luck.

I say it's my birthday

34 years ago, my mom had a baby boy. I was born at about 5:00 AM Central Standard Time. I was my parents' first born. They had only been married for 5 years at the time. I was named after my father. Richard Louis Aiello Junior. My middle name was that of my paternal grandfather. My mom was 26 years old at the time. My dad was 32. I was born Ceasarean Section. There were complications while trying to perform natural childbirth which prompted this. I am told I had a "cone head" for a while because of this. (Laugh if you want to. Go ahead. I dare you.) After the (then) customary weeklong stay in the hospital, I came home to live with my parents, where I stayed for 27 years before moving out on my own. My parents still live in that house, and I still sleep in that same bedroom when I come to visit. I grew up a predominantly happy child. There were rough times, of course. But I had wonderful, loving, yet stern parents. They helped shape who I am today. I am forever grateful for their constant love, guidance and support throughout these 34 years. Wow. 34 years. That's a long time. And yet I still feel so young. I guess age really is just a number.

Hell Week- 4 Down, 2 To Go

Opening night was tonight, and the show went off absolutely beautifully. I'm happy to say that after day four of "Hell Week," I'm almost sad to see it end. HA! OK I will admit, I like singing with the Chicago Gay Men's Chorus. A lot. I really enjoy being with the guys and I especially enjoy the experience of making music. It just takes up a lot of time and energy. I'm certainly willing to put forth that effort, seeing as how I've been doing it for the last 7 years (including this year.) What I have learned, however, is that I need to know when to say "when" and step back from it occasionally for my own health - mental and physical. I joined the chorus for the Holiday show of 1998. There are three shows per season- Holiday, Spring and Pride. The year I joined, I dropped out of the Spring show, but starting with the following Pride show, I had done every single show up until the spring show of 2003, when I finally decided it was time for a break. I won't go that long without a break again. It just isn't good for me, when there are so many other things I should be taking the time to do in my life. In fact, I've already decided that I will not do this season's Pride show. I am also going to probably quit the Windy City Slickers. Permanently. I like most of the people that I work with in that group, but aside from having more solo opportunities (since it's such a small group), I don't feel challenged enough by the repertoire; and quite frankly, I don't find the experience as fulfilling as the experience I continually have with the Chicago Gay Men's Chorus. As I mentioned a while back, there are a few things I want to accomplish in my life, and in the next year, I plan on making many of these things happen. One thing in particular that I am going to concentrate on making happen is to buy my own place. I really feel that it is time for me to start taking the next step in life. That means taking control of everything-- my time, my money and my ability to budget both. I have a lot of work to do, and I can't do it if my time is spent running from here to there all the time. Something's gotta give. So those are the things that have been running around inside my head for the last week. And I would assume that they will continue to run around and gain some momentum as the weeks progress. For once in my life, I can honestly say that I have some true goals. It's a bit scary, and yet exciting as well. I'm turning 34 years old this Sunday. Time is not waiting for me. I can't expect anyone-or anything-else to, either.

Welcome to Hell (Week)

I'm plum in the middle of the phenomenon known to all chorus boys as "Hell Week" right now. I don't get a night off until... next Monday. Yuk. So if I am not all that frequent with my posts, you'll know why. In the meantime, hope you are all keeping well (Get well, Pua!) and staying out of trouble. (Har har.) Off to work. (Couldn't I have the next three weeks off? Please?????)

A Note of Love to the Blogventioneers

Oh how I wish I could have been in New York City this weekend. It would have been great to have met Aaron and Patrick and Hot Toddy and Tuna Girl and Wayne and Mak and Tin Man and... Oh the list could go on and on and on. I did get a drunk dial, but I WASN'T HOME! (Thank you to Tuna Girl and.. someone else... the message cut out before you could identify yourself! I thought I gave y'all my cell phone number. I guess not. Poop.) I did, however, talk to Aaron and Patrick at Aaron's place after the festivities were over. I'm not sure if they remember our conversation, but we did talk. :) (I have to add, Patrick is one sexy mofo... his blog pix do NOT do him justice. :) And after seeing all the pictures and pictures and pictures and (more) pictures.... I want to host a Blogvention in Chicago. (Hear that, Palochi, NoFo, Mickey, Andy and any other Midwest-area bloggers?) In the springtime, when it's nice out, of course. Because you all look like so much fun... I really want to meet you all now. Every. Single. One. So start saving your pennies. Pua, this means you too. :)

Christmas Songs - My Favorites

With the tree going up and the decorating still going in in Casa de Ricardo, there's a lot of Christmas spirit to be had. The last couple of days I've been ripping all of my Christmas CD's onto my computer (since I had lost all of my MP3's in the big crash), and I've been enjoying the wonderful sounds of Christmas while getting into the spirit. There are always a few Christmas songs that I just can't go without hearing once, twice, or five-hundred times a season. They are just simply my favorites, and I don't ever get sick of hearing them. So here are some of my all-time favorite Christmas songs, by the specific artists. See if your favorites made the cut! (in no particular order) 1. The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You) - Nat (King) Cole 2. Ave Maria - The Carpenters 3. I Saw Three Ships - Mantovani 4. Still, Still, Still - Mannheim Steamroller 5. White Christmas - Bing Crosby 6. Merry Christmas Darling - The Carpenters 7. I Believe In Father Christmas - Greg Lake 8. Happy Christmas (War Is Over) - John Lennon 9. Wonderful Christmastime - Paul McCartney 10. Sleigh Ride - Boston Pops (Arthur Fiedler) 11. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - The Pretenders 12. The Twelve Days of Christmas - The Muppets with John Denver (Ba dum bum bum) 13. Little Jack Frost (Get Lost) - Chicago Gay Men's Chorus (featuring Rick Aiello) (Yeah, I had to include it. :) 14. Little Drummer Boy - Harry Simeone Chorale 15. What Child Is This? - Vanessa Williams 16. Christmas Time Is Here - Vincent Guaraldi Trio (From A Charlie Brown Christmas) 17. Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee 18. Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms (NOT Hall & Oates. I like them but I loathe their version!) 19. O Holy Night - Johnny Mathis 20. White Christmas - The Drifters 21. Let it Snow! - Doris Day 22. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town - The Carpenters (The version they recorded in 1974, very jazzy and cool.) 23. Blue Christmas - Elvis Presley As I'm sure you could imagine, this list could go on forever, but this is a good sample of the ones I would say are my definite favorites. Of course, I pretty much like anything by The Carpenters... something about their Christmas albums just always puts me in the spirit right away. But there you have it. My favorites. What are some of yours?

O Christmas Tree

Isn't it pretty?

I'm Back

I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth. Honest. I am back... finally well and almost back in service on my computer, too. It took a while though. I went to the doctor on Tuesday and she recommended I stay home from work for two more days. That would make over one full week since I spent a full day at my desk at work. Sure I was up for the rest, but I hadn't been off for that long since my vacation in July. But hey... you saw my schedule a few days ago. I figured I might as well take the rest. I also decided to drop out of the Slickers show. I had already missed two Tuesday rehearsals due to being sick, and was going to miss all of the Technical rehearsals as well. It just didn't make sense for me to work myself up about those shows when, quite frankly, I needed to NOT be worked up about anything right now. The directors understood, my health comes first. I'm going to see the show on Saturday night, though. I figure if I can't be in it, the least I can do is see it. I am still going to be in the CGMC show, though. I went to rehearsal on Sunday (and to an optional "Tutti" rehearsal tonight) and I gotta tell you, CGMC is sounding incredible these days. I am really proud of the music we are making and how well we are making it. So if you're in the Chicago area and have a few bucks to spare, stop by the Athenaeum Theatre on either the 10th or 11th and check us out. (You can also check CGMC's site for show information if you so desire.) Pitch over. Let's see... oh... yes... there is another development in things as of late. See, my ex-boyfriend has moved back to the Chicago area permanently after a long time of 'finding himself' and spending time in California after we broke up. There is a long story in the making here, but let's just sum it up by saying that when we broke up in early 2002, it was not because of anything I did (or that he did to me.) He had some issues that he had to deal with and he went away to deal with them. In the meantime, I tried to remain faithful and loyal to him, but eventually I knew he wasn't going to be coming back anytime soon. He left in October of 2001, and by February 2002, we were through. I really loved this guy at the time, and I still care about him enough to want the best for him. But aside from that, there is nothing left of the romantic sort for him. Lots of events and eye-opening admissions from him have made me realize that he is definitely not the right person for me. However, he was my first true boyfriend that I really and truly fell in love with. So, as I have already said, I really care about him and want the best for him. OK ANYWAY. He has been living with his mom for the past few months while looking for a job in the Chicago area. He recently finally found a job and is now ready to start making a move back into the area. So he Emailed me the other day, saying he needed a place to stay. He will pay me $100 a week ($200 up front) and the rest once he gets his first paycheck. In the meantime he will look for a studio so he can get himself back on track on his own. OK are you following me here? I care about him. I want him to succeed. at the same time, I need the money. So I am letting him move in for a while. He will be here on Sunday. Hey I can use the help setting up for my party, right? ;) There is a lot more to this story than I am telling right here, but I don't want to go into it all right now. I am very guarded (and will remain so while he is here) about this... so I will just have to wait and see. There will be a lot of discussions when he gets here. In the meantime, I have an apartment to decorate. I started it last night and got all the boxes unpacked and knick-knacks out. The tree decorations are waiting for the tree to decorate. I just have to go find one now. So Christmas is a-coming. At least I won't be spending each day alone. For what that is worth.