i’d just like to take this opportunity to state firmly and unquestionably that no, i’m not dead. i guess i should have mentioned i was going to boston for xmas or something, because if one were to judge by the contents of my inbox it’s apparently a sign of my tragic and untimely end that i didn’t update the site for a few days. let me clarify the boston thing, incidentally - when i say boston what i mean is my parents’ house in a rural area slightly north of the city, where there is no computer, much less any kind of net connection. so you understand my situation. do we all feel better now? i’m so glad.

in other news, the whole familial-holiday-gathering thing was remarkably and refreshingly unstressful this year. my grandparents elected to skip the big dinner at my aunt’s house, given that my grandfather is recently out of the hospital because of an anurism, and as my mother is away that meant there were just seven of us: my father, two cousins, brother, aunt, and uncle. i enjoy all of their company, and the feast my aunt prepared was nothing short of legendary. there were more courses than i for one was prepared to count, each more delectable than the last. plus, how can i not adore a pack of relatives who consider the life of a professional farter to be ideal dinner table conversation? when my cousin peter, a french major at middlebury who’s graduating this year, pointed out that his name is the french verb ‘to fart’, that sparked a discussion of a character known as ‘la petomaine’, who, according to my brother, was a professional farter capapble of blowing out a candle from twelve feet away. my father backs him up on this. apparently, he died farting on stage. “that’s tragic, yet beautiful,” noted my cousin edith.

yesterday, before catching my train, i spent some time with my friend becky, who i hadn’t seen in well over a year, and her boyfriend mike. she came over and we caught up over tea, and decided that she has to come and visit me. i left midday to catch my train back to penn station, but had time to do a little shopping in harvard square before i did so. it’s a little depressing how that place has changed - the square, being very near harvard as it is and not far from a couple of other colleges, was always sort of a mecca for the young and interesting in boston and cambridge. it’s gotten very tourist-centric, however, and the funky little stores that you couldn’t find anywhere else are slowly being replaced by entities like abercrombie and fitch, the gap, and pacific sunwear. it’s sad. i’ve been spending time there for nearly ten years now, and i suppose i’m just sort of missing what it once was. nonetheless, it’s still fun and just about the only place i know of in this country where you can buy tango.