Holidaze

My week-long Thanksgiving vacation in Mississippi produced three major results:

1. I spent more money than I intended to spend.
2. I had more fun than the past as dictated was possible.
3. I (naturally) gained more weight than I was prepared to gain.

This trip was Vincy's first opportunity to meet my family, and the expected result of mutual adoration was realized in short order. I have it that it's just easy to meet my parents. My father once said, "If you love her, we'll love her. If you break up with her, we'll just be nice to her." Vincy was walking down a street already paved with success, but the fact that she's open-minded, inspiring, and conversational certainly works to her advantage.

{As an aside, I remember when I never used to have girlfriend parent problems. Parents always loved me! That was, at least, until I started dating Chinese girls. Out of hand dismissal based on race is something I had mainly considered a relic of the past -- my parents' era -- but I've since learned that the women I've been attracted to lately risk running afoul of their family's good graces by dating me.}

My Thanksgiving break did nothing if it didn't heighten my anticipation for winter break in a few weeks. I'll have roughly two weeks to myself with no plans to travel and no other person to keep entertained. No offense to Vincy on that last bit, but all too often I find that the default context for "you're free and I'm free" in a relationship is "we should do something together." That viewpoint can turn into a nightmare for someone managing as many open loops as I am right now. I view completion as an access to personal growth, and I stand to be crushed by my current stack of outstanding projects.

In addition to plenty of QT, I'll be taking on the following:

• Master Cleanse [link] from December 8 to December 17
• Finish Assassin's Creed 2 [link] on Xbox 360
• Finish Shadow Complex [link] on Xbox 360
• Play and finish Uncharted 2 [link] on PlayStation 3
• Finish Power Up [link]
• Finish Opening Up [link]
• Compose two new original songs
• Daily dog walks
• Replace my front door assembly and screen door

This is just thinking out loud, though ... some of these projects don't require much to complete (i.e., sit down or stand up and do them), but others require something more than just budgeting time. Completing projects of that ilk carries a far more pronounced cathartic effect than consuming media.

To that point, I suppose an accomplished vacation is precisely what I want driving me into the new year.