the ocean

Another nice Thanksgiving is now in the books. My mom and I went out to see my sister and her family for the actual day. I've never been a person for whom the sight of a giant bird carcass is especially thrilling, but I do enjoy carbs, so I did just fine. The kids had a great time not eating anything but rolls from the Thanksgiving column and instead insisting on (1) chili and (2) a mashed up burrito. My nephew told me I'm the funniest guy he knows, though, so he definitely had me in his pocket. Of course, it's unlikely that he knows Dane Cook personally.

We also completed what has become the enormous task of putting up our holiday decorations. Or, well, Ian completed it and I tried to appear helpful without actually helping very much. I'm not big on standing outside when it's cold, actually. But we now have an exterior staircase and two trees that are very much decked out, along with our indoor decor. The light-up wreath kept detaching itself from the brick wall, so it will be brightening up its original packaging as it heads back to the manufacturer. I can't help but feel there's a children's book in there somewhere.

There was also ceremonial viewing of entertainment. We watched King Richard with my mother, which was entertaining. Will Smith did not sounds nearly as much like Foghorn Leghorn as the commercials had led me to fear. And it was definitely not a puff piece, or at least not a successful one if it was trying to be, because I wanted to smack his character about 39% of the time. But violence never solves anything, of course, except defense contractors' need to pay dividends to shareholders. Ian and I also went to see Eternals, which I liked way more than I had been led to believe I would. I frankly always enjoy watching Angelina Jolie hit on people, and the vast majority of the cast has highly symmetrical features. Yes, there was the usual Marvel nonsense about magic robots and such, but it seemed somehow slightly less ridiculous this time? Although it was about half an hour too long. Every movie is about half an hour too long now.

So stuff has been happening while I was endlessly posting about Portugal, I guess. Mostly work and television related:

-- We're officially required to go in to the office once a week now! This is a huge sacrifice, obviously, but they make it work by bribing us with snack foods. 

-- I saw my boss in person for the first time since the pandemic. He looks the same. I've put on twenty pounds of athletic muscle, of course.

-- We watched one episode of Squid Game to see what all the fuss was about. I loved the bizarre English dubbing, but could do without all the random murder. Not sure if we will watch another.

-- We watched the first season of PEN15 and enjoyed it. Maya's drum solo was one for the ages.

-- Like much of gay and female America, we were captivated by Jen Shah's arrest on Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. Crime does pay, at least in terms of quality television.

-- Just to prove we are still able to function in society, we also had dinner with friends and did '90s karaoke in their basement. I chose the subtle and important Joan Osborne classis, "What If God Was One of Us?"

So life goes on, even if it is not quite as photogenic.

Or From Britiande, maybe? That's where my phone says we were. Regardless, it was a winery in the Douro wine valley.

The bride and groom. And the stunning room where the wedding dinner was. And where I had one of the best soups I've ever had. And I've had soups, believe me.

The hall where the reception was. The DJ kicked the evening off by playing "Mambo Number Five," I am not kidding. Is any could really a "Mambo Number Five" couple?