Sooo much to post. Let’s see. I just got back from a whirlwind trip to Houston to see the musical Wicked, which I *really* enjoyed. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen an original musical production with 1) hummable tunes and 2) a feel good story. Most of the good stuff lately has been either a revival or the stage-ification of a successful movie musical. My faith has been somewhat restored. The weekend was a lot of fun, but left me feeling frazzled — I didn’t get home until 10:30 last night and haven’t had time to reset yet!!

We went to two museums while we were there: the Houston Museum of Fine Art to see the Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibit of French masters (1800-1920) which are temporarily housed in Houston and not going anywhere else. And then we went to the Museum of Natural History to see an exhibit on Imperial Rome. The former was one of those things I felt like I should see, although I wasn’t feeling particularly inspired to go. It’s funny. The impressionists, realists, pointillists … you’ve seen their work your whole life, in art books, popular culture, countless calendars, address books, mouse pads, note cards … the list goes on and on. So when you experience them in real life, for the most part, it is underwhelming. Just hard to process that this time the canvases are real, not posters on a doctor’s office wall. The big things I notice are the textures, and sometimes, the intensity. I love oil painting as a medium. The element of texture in art is something I really respond to, and seeing these works in person I can get much more of a sense of the layering and the … landscape of the work itself, the hills and valleys of its surface. As for the intensity … sometimes especially in the works of Van Gogh and Cezanne (at least for me) it’s the colors, and with Van Gogh, there’s raw emotion that punches you in the face as soon as you look at the canvas, at least his later works. Not something I could live with. But also not something you can get from a poster print.

The Imperial Rome exhibit wasn’t everything I hoped it would be, but then, I’m not sure exactly what I was hoping for, so that’s probably not a fair statement. There were a lot of household goods, a reconstructed banquet room, along with the standard assortment of busts, statuary, coins, jewelry. They had itty-bitty fingers. I know that’s a profound thing to walk away with. What really is striking to me when I read about Imperial Rome are the marked similarities between US culture and Rome at its height. Since we all know how THAT ended, it’s thought-provoking. I actually know someone whose history teacher in high school lined notable events in the US against a time line of Rome. It is amazing how much of it lines up. Scary stuff…

Other news … let’s see. Thirty Happened. And know what? It isn’t bad at all. I finally figured out what it was that was so terrifying about it for me. It wasn’t the turning thirty. It was what thirty represents. The next five years promise a lot of *major* change in my life. Possibilities include: taking my career to a management phase, Stv going to graduate school to get his PhD, children … I’m sure I could think of a few more, but those are the major players at the moment. And turning thirty makes me look at those things and know that they’re coming in the very near future. It’s scary. For now, I’m taking things one decision at a time — any more than that and I’ll drive myself crazy. We’re still waiting to hear back from UT. Stv had his interviews there about two weeks ago. So we’re holding out for the thumbs up/down. Please say a little prayer for him … heck, while you’re at it, say one for us both!

I have book I have to read for work that I still haven’t finished. Unfortunately, for this kind of thing there are no cliff notes. So more updates later.

I promise. Really!

So the summer trip to Hawaii is goingto be a no-go, sadly. STV’s parents have one of those timeshare condo things, and we were going to try to use it with two of our other friends (another girlfriend who is turning 30 this year and her husband). We were all excited and started planning, and when we finally settled on where we wanted to stay (there was lots of debate about which island to do), the condo folks … well, they didn’t quite laugh at us on the phone, but they informed us that every single place in Hawaii is booked for … probably the next couple of years. So. Strike that, we’re now back to square one. I’m quite disappointed, as I’d really love to see it. I just have to have faith that I’ll get there one of these days!

We still intend to go SOMEwhere. It think northern california is looking most likely at this time. I’ve never been there and there’s plenty to do. When I first started thinking about doing this trip, I wanted someplace more “exotic,” but my expectations have changed substantially and I think it could be fun. At this rate, I refuse to believe I’m going on ANY trip until something is actually booked…

So I’ve just discovered another pod-widget that is a really neat concept. It’s PodCityGuides: Austin. An entire little city guide with maps, restaurant/club listings, etc. that you can upload to your iPod. There’s versions for mobiles and whatnot as well. But since the nano is so tiny, it would make it all uber portable. But since the nano is so tiny … would it actually end up being usable?

Jo has finally come forth with a release date for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — July 21, 2007.

You can preorder now on Amazon.com.

You can read all about it on CNN.

More on my thoughts for this book later. I’m excited to have a release date, as much as it saddens me to see the end of the ride for these characters. But curiosity has to be the prevailing reaction on my end…

What’s yours?

I post this partially for you, gentle reader, and much more for myself. I am fascinated by typography and I know a fair number of fonts on sight, but I’m abysmal at tracking down someone else’s perfect font for the perfect application. I’m in the process of researching some motifs and fonts for a Serenity-oriented website, and late last summer I stumbled across these fabulous articles by RickMacMerk.
Adventures in Font Matching: Joss Whedon’s Firefly
Adventures in Font Matching: More of Joss Whedon’s Firefly
Really entertaining and informative reading, if you’re willing to at least lighly embrace your inner font geek. Exactly what I needed for this project, and I was delighted to discover part two. Thanks, Rick!

Hmmm. 2007. Hopefully it will be known as something other than The Year I Turned Thirty. Resolutions, you ask? I dunno.

The past two years, I’ve resolved to do something active and different that I’ve never tried before. And thus far, I’ve been successful. I’ve learned to surf, tried snowboarding, and gotten myself in shape in the process. That was part of the point, but I’ve personally found it much easier to do when I’m focused on a goal that is more specific than “get in shape.”

This year, I’m considering making the Danskin Triathalon my resolution. I’m really intimidated by triathalons. I’ve only just this past Fall done my first 5k. As with snowboarding, though, the amount of $$$ I have to pony up to achieve this resolution is daunting.

Thirty terrifies me. I keep thinking it will be better once I get past it, once I wake up the day after my birthday and I don’t have a saggy bootie and arthritic hands and a solid head of gray hair. It’s irrational, but aging is at the top of my list of things that I fear, and that fear is uncomfortably exposed these days.

I also think I’m going to make it a resolution to reach out and find people that I’ve lost touch with over the past decade since I graduated from high school. Some not even that far in the past — girls who left activities, bridesmaids I just don’t see, old roommies. The part that is so hard for me is the staying in touch. The getting in touch part is easy. At least, easier, though that too can be daunting when it comes to the moment of, “Hi, what have you been up to the last ten years?”

So now the end is really in sight, because the final Harry Potter book has a name:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Thanks for the tip, dad! Story below…

J.K. Rowling’s Next Book Titled
‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’
By JEFFREY A. TRACHTENBERG
December 21, 2006 10:05 a.m.

Scholastic Corp., the U.S. publisher of the Harry Potter series, said today that J.K. Rowling’s next book will be titled “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”

The novel will be the seventh and final volume in the series. It is not known when Ms. Rowling will deliver her manuscript.

Ms. Rowling’s last novel, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” was her most successful book in the U.S., according to Kyle Good, a spokeswoman for Scholastic. There are currently 13.5 million hardcovers and two million paperback copies of that title in print in the U.S.

Ms. Rowling is one of the few authors in the world whose novels are factored into its publisher’s total corporate sales and earnings by Wall Street analysts. This week Scholastic reported a 12% gain in fiscal second-quarter profit. Net income in the quarter ended Nov. 30 was $75.1 million, or $1.75 a share, up from $66.9 million, or $1.58 a share. Revenue rose 5.6% to $735.5 million. The publisher projected full-year earnings per share of $1.55 to $1.85, but that could change if Ms. Rowling delivers her book within the fiscal year.

Altogether there are an estimated 120 million hardcover and paperback copies of Ms. Rowling’s six Harry Potter novels in print in the U.S.

This time of year gets me all warm and fuzzy about my Irish heritage for some strange reason. Now that I have a house, I’m running rampant, already planning what I really want to do for next year. Lots of holly, the triple candle in every window, family and friends, visiting on St. Stephen’s day … I know I sound cheesy, but there are some really lovely customs that I’d like to bring to my home someday.

In my web meanderings on the subject, I came across a page on how to say season’s greetings in Irish. I actually tried taking Gaelic once, and it completely melted my brain. The pronunciation is unlike anything else I’ve ever seen. The letters LOOK familiar,but they’re essentially not. It’s really beautiful, and I should try it again, but after a few short weeks of attempting it, I’m completely awed and intimidated.

When I was a kid, there was an Irish-American family who lived down the street who kept candles in all the windows throughout the holidays. I thought it was so beautiful, those twinkly little lights and the green wreaths and boughs (even though I couldn’t stand their son, but that’s neither here nor there). So I got some cheapie battery-powered single candles for my street-facing windows at Target tonight. Not the end look … but hey, it’s the thought, right?

Again in the web meanderings, I found several pages on Irish Christmas customs, but here are one or two that are pretty good summaries. In case you’re curious.

So as he tends to do, my dad, bought me the iPod I mentioned on my blog for Christmas. I am so VERY VERY excited!! New toy! It’s cute and tiny and shiny and mine all mine!!

*happy dance*

It’s funny, because it makes me scared to blog about cool gadgetry, for fear it will show up on my doorstep. And then I feel guilty when I overcome the fear and blog about it anyway, because I’m worried dad will think it’s because I expect it to appear.

The ironic thing is, dad had the iPod sent to my house, but Apple remembered my old apartment address from three and a half years ago and sent the package there instead. Oops. So he had to tell me, and then yesterday there was a scavenger hunt for the gift. I found it, and gleefully called him, and THEN he announced that my mother doesn’t want me to have it yet because then there will be nothing under the tree for me, and that the pair of them are in negotiations on the subject. So as excited as I am, in my attempt to be a good daughter the cute little gift-wrapped iPod is sitting forlornly under my own tree, and it is KILLING me not to play with it.

May your problems always be as happy as mine.

I’m now well into the start of my holiday season and already feeling like I’ve been mowed over by Santa’s sleigh. It’s that kind of tired and strung out where it is all fun stuff, but there’s just too much of it!

We went caroling last night with a big group of old singing friends up and down Congress Avenue as part of the Holiday Stroll. It was a blast! I had fun in many ways. It was great to have the opportuinty to sing with so many of my old Madrigal Dinner buddies. I miss singing a lot, and I miss them even more. Plus, there’s something about caroling that makes people stop and smile and listen for a bit. Some even sing along. It’s a great feeling to bring that to people. We even had a very enthusiastic homeless fan who requested Jingle Bells, got impatient and started urging us to SING already, and then gave us a very loud “THANK YOU WE LOVE YOU GUYS” when we were done. It was great. Even walking down the street we got to make people smile, since we were hard to miss with ten people in santa hats.

Stv’s parents were here this weekend and it was great to see them. They are my first official house guests. Yay! We threw a big dinner party for them, and for my parents as well. It was the first dinner party for more than four people that Stv and I had ever done. It went … acceptably. I’d never tried making a roast anything before, and it took twice as long as the recipe said it would. Of course, I didn’t put a lid on it, and I’m figuring that was the problem. But I’m paranoid about putting lids on things if the recipe doesn’t specifically say to do so. I’m obviously one of those kids who would fail the “write instructions to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich” assignment. So the roast took forever and my fridge rendered my tart crust unworkable, with no time to thaw it out, so there was a storebought tart for dessert. And my broccoli gratin wasn’t bubbly enough for my taste. But the potatoes were good. Anyway. No one complained, there was wine and merriment, so I’ll basically call our first ever dinner party a success. It was fun and I hope to have a few more in the future.