Sunny SD

Hello from San Diego!

We are just beginning to recover from the MASSIVE FLOODS following approximately FOUR DAYS of LIGHT RAIN!!!
"SAN DIEGO (AP) — The National Weather Service says more than an inch of rain has fallen in San Diego as Christmas shoppers battled flooding in the parking lot of a major mall.
Meteorologist Tina Stall says parts of the Fashion Valley Mall parking lot flooded Tuesday.
The weather service says 2 inches of rain have fallen in San Diego since Friday, more than half of that on Tuesday. The five-day total exceeds the county's December average."
TWO INCHES. Why is everything flooding? Because San Diego manholes are water-tight and we DON'T HAVE GUTTERS. We're really just asking for it. Also, palm trees loooove to take down electric cables. This is why I moved.

In other news, yesterday I watched a cool documentary about the North Korean Mass Games, with some sweet footage of gymnastic choreography.

Super cool and kind of scary. There really is no media access in that country. I would love the dear leader too. And damn those six-year-olds can do some backflipzzz....

I also stole some books from Romain to read, I like them all - I'm reading them all at once like one chapter of each at a time, which is less confusing and more schizophrenic, in that I keep thinking that all of these book are TOTALLY TALKING ABOUT THE SAME THING MAN, it's like....CITIES and EMPIRE and IDEOLOGY and SURVIVAL mannnn....but not really:
1) Law in a Lawless Land: Diary of a Limpieza in Colombia - Michael Taussig
2) The Secret Life of Saeed: the pessoptimist - Emile Habiby
3) Invisible Cities - Italo Calvino

I remember trying to read a book by Italo Calvino at the beginning of freshman year but then giving up because he kept using the 2nd person and that pissed me THE FUCK off:
Italo: You are reading this book. Perhaps you are sitting in an easy chair, next to a fire....
Rose: OMG I hate you so much.
Italo: You take a sip of cognac....A woman walks through a snowstorm in the novel you read. Perhaps it is a hailstorm...
Rose: FUCK YOU. *returns book to frost* *drinks alcohol*

Also, when I return to Boston, I will be choreographing UMass Lowell's production of Rent with my old high school friend and now-director Mary Plant-Thomas. I'm getting paid a tiny amount which I'm pretty sure makes me a professional choreographer. Sweet! I'm also taking a piece I choreographed in the fall to ACDF (American College Dance Festival) at Keene State College in New Hapshire in March, so that'll be cool. It is the one with lots of screaming and LIVE LIVE LIVE bananas. So that's what I'm doing this spring. Also grad school. Haha. Gonna be a busy semester...

Merry Christmukkah.

Blue Eyed Babies

Quick post (because I agree with Carmella that a revival is necessary!) Here are a few cute pics of my niece and nephew, including Hannah's first school picture! And a picture of me and my new (well newish) manboy. Happy Holidays everyone!






Now i'm off to make cinnamon roll cheesecake and kahlua cake cookies :)

friends! we need to revive this baby!

Hello loooves! I am sad that we have fallen off the wagon in terms of this blog. Luckily, I still talk to most of you all regularly so I know you're alive and well, but some of you I haven't heard from in ages! Let's get back to it, ladies and gent!

I am writing to you from the deep south, lovely Nashville, TN. Maybe going to stop by Cookeville and visit Rachey's brother this weekend, and then onward to stay with a friend in central Kentucky for a few days.

I'm going to be back in western Mass dec 9th (for Jess' bday!). Hopefully many of you can make it to the Valley for wine and cheese which is that Friday night...

Otherwise, not much else is going on. I've been bouncing around a lot since leaving the Vineyard in late October. NYC, a train halfway across the country to Minneapolis, a lovely stay with the amazing and wonderful Sammy Jo Ellingson! She was a great host, by the way, (duh) and you should all go visit her! seriously! Sioux Falls is cool too. Has an... interesting reggae scene... heheh. She even took me to the Little House on the Prairie, which was awesome but it was too cold to get out of the car and explore. Oh well, maybe next time I travel to the Artic, I'll go in the summertime!

Speaking of summer, I'm headed southbound this winter to the land where it is eternally summer: Ecuador! After the holidays, my mom and I will travel to the Andes and through the rainforest for 2 weeks, and then I'm staying on 3 weeks after she leaves to work for the same nonprofit I worked with before - replanting the rainforest! I am beyond excited... I have been wanting to go back ever since I spent time there 3 1/2 years ago! And when Delta gave me TWO $400 travel vouchers last week after messing up my return trip from South Dakota.... well, I just knew it was a sign!

I hope you are well and healthy and happy! and that everyone had a joyous Thanksgiving with your loved ones. I got to spend my Thanksgiving cooing over the newest addition to our family, the sweet tiny little Camila! tiny fingers! tiny toes! tiny everything! (although, I am cautious of the fact that last time I was home, I was super enthralled by this flock of tiny kittens we had running around the house. and this time, well they weren't so tiny anymore. and therefore, less appealing :/ its the sad truth, folks.)

lots of love!! Carmella