Rock-Chalk Jayhawk!

It's basketball season, again! I love college basketball. I miss my season tickets. It was one of my many sacrifices in returning to school. Boo hoo! One of my generous professors donated a game to a needy PhD student - ME! I took Kenyon to his first college basketball game. He wasn't aware of all the rule changes, etc in college basketball. He played b-ball in high school and he's watched NBA games. It was surprise to him that there are two periods rather than four quarters and some of the calls are different - such as what constitutes a foul, etc. We had a great time. I was so happy to be in Allen Fieldhouse for a game. The other games have been watched from the comfort of my bedroom in solitude. When I yelled at the TV, I felt kind of silly all alone in my apartment. It's a whole lot better yelling with a crowd of thousands.

bacteria...

I carry my camera just about everywhere. My friend Angela calls me "the historian" because I take pictures of everything. Kenyon gets fed up with the camera some times. He usually says something like, "do you really need a picture of that?," why do you have to always pull out the camera?," or "baby, I really don't want to take a picture right now." We went to dinner the other night in Lawrence before attending a Jayhawk basketball game. Lawrence is a college town. I thought it would be fun to take Kenyon to one of the college hotspots - a KU institution - Johnny's Tavern. Kenyon went in to the bathroom to wash his hands and decided it wasn't a hygenic place to eat. Why? The bathroom was a mess. He heard on TV that 9 million Americans die annually due to bacteria. Surprise, surprise - he wanted the camera to take a picture. I thought I would share.

Yo quero Taco Bell...

Do you remember the little chihuahua dog in the Taco Bell commercials a few years ago?

Well, I had a celebrity sighting. I ran into this little chihuahua (in doll form) in one of the oddest places. Where? The Santa Fe Cathedral nativity scene. Baby Jesus was missing - he'd been kidnapped. In his place was the Taco Bell chihuahua. How unexpected!

Christmas Day

It is Christmas Day and I'm sitting in an airport. I am on my way from New Mexico to Kansas City. This was my first trip home for Christmas in five years. In the eight years I've lived in Kansas it is my second Christmas at home...hard to believe but true. Kenyon accompanied me. He got to see the places where I grew up and participate in some of the traditions. One major Christmas tradition is the Canyon Road faralito walk. Canyon Road is the art district in Santa Fe. The City shuts the road down to vehicular traffic and the citizens walk the streets in festive wear singing Christmas songs around campfires. The galleries are decorated with lights and faralitos. This year my family wore Santa hats so we could spot each other in the crowd. It is a Christmas tradition I love and I was happy to be a part of it this year.

This is a photo of one of the decorated buildings from our walk. Unique. Isn't it?

Christmas Carol(ing)

Saturday was my first weekend without studying in months. It was nice to wake up without an agenda and mile-long to-do list to greet me. In the afternoon Kenyon and I went to see the Christmas Carol at the Missouri Repertory theatre. Over the years, I've been to this show twice before with my friend Elaine. It is a great production of this holiday classic. Very festive and appropriate for the holiday. They had Christmas carolers singing in the lobby before and after the show just beside a giant Christmas tree. A few short hours after the Christmas Carol, Kenyon and I attended a Christmas cantata featuring Gamil Sidhom (married to my good friend Yasmine). This was a big event for Gamil - an Egyptian native, this was his first singing event in the USA. He used to sing opera and in the choir in his home country. The other thing that made this event significant, it was not in the Orthodox church. For both cultural and religious reasons this was a big deal. Kenyon and I were part of a small cheering section for Gamil, with Yasmine sitting by our side. These Christmas caroling events definitely got me in the spirit of Christmas. Merry Christmas to all...