Deck the Wha?

I peered out of my tryptophan haze yesterday and realized that people were decorating for Christmas.

I know many Jewish families that have decorated their houses for Christmas, but mine was never one of them. My parents have a collection of menorahs and they stay out all year round on a sideboard in their dining room -- that's the extent of their holiday decor. My apartment building hasn't done anything in the lobby just yet, but I noticed that some of my neighbors have begun to decorate their windows. And I saw that there are other buildings on our street that are, as one would say, "decked out".

Baffled as to how everyone seemed to know that this was the time to start putting up Christmas decor, I posed the following question on Twitter: "When do ppl decide that it's time to put up their Xmas decor? Pls educate the Jewish girl"

The responses I received were varied, amusing and, in some cases, insightful:

"ASAP after Turkey Day is the normal goya [sic] tradition"
"usually 1 or 2 days after Thanksgiving = )"
"When kids beg you long enough, when you have a free weekend or whatever time was YOUR family tradition. ie: No fixed time"
"Whenever mom says"
"in my neighborhood it was the week before thanksgiving. I prefer after thanksgiving."
"When I feel like I have the patience to wrestle with the Christmas lights."
"we just leave it up all year...goes well with the siding"    
"when my kids were little, we used to put up the tree after thanksgiving dinner. we are supposed to put it up 1st day of advent"


Okay, so either there is some rhyme and reason to when Christmas decor goes up - or there is none at all. But this is the time when everyone decorates, so I feel a little less out of the loop.

Dark and Stormy

Inspired by a post that my friend Ali had written on her blog, I'd written a lengthy description of one of my neighbors. But my need for repeated editing has left it in draft form.

So, I'll take this opportunity to introduce you, fair reader, to my new cat, Stormy:

I adopted him yesterday! He came with that name, and I decided its short for Dark And Stormy. He's about a year and a half old, and so far has been very shy; he's found creative hiding places all over my small apartment and seems to find my overstuffed closet the best place of all. (He went back into that particular hidey-hole after this photo was taken.) But he did decide to be social around 5am, which was appreciated.... even if it was 2 hours before my alarm clock went off.

Another List

- Sometimes I miss the routine of school. This does not, however, mean that I have any inclination to get more than those four funky letters that are already after my last name. (Thanks Gtown!)

- List-making has always been a comforting exercise for me. It's part of the way my mind works, and it helps my ADD/OCD mind relax... a little.

- There are times when I still worry about what people think about me. As evidenced by my malicious self-editing and difficulty writing openly here, in a space about which I repeatedly say "no one reads this". (In contrast, I write pretty much whatever I want on Twitter.)

- Things I've been considering: Getting a cat, jailbreaking my iPhone, getting another piercing, chopping my hair. At the moment, the status of these items are as follows: I'm not ready to take care of anything other than myself right now; I don't know how much I'll benefit from that (and possibly void my warranty); the piercing I'm considering would be better done in warmer weather; and I chopped my hair just over a month ago, so I need to actually let it grow some more first.

- I really do have a closet full of nothing to wear.

In a Fog

I've tried to write an update several times today [and am now finally re-writing and re-editing and publishing this several days later], but am finding myself distracted, frustrated, overwhelmed, and constantly censoring myself. How much should I share? Why should I bother? I mean, who reads this anyhow?

Life has been crazy for me lately. There have been some overwhelming events in my personal life that I just can't seem to bring myself to write about at this moment...

I'm keeping busy at work and spending time with friends. Sleeping. Bonding with my parents and sister. Generally trying to take care of myself.

Women + Smoking = BAD

Is Smoking Tougher on Women?
Research suggests they're more susceptible to dangers of tobacco

By Kathleen Doheny
HealthDay Reporter

Women may be more vulnerable than men to the carcinogens and other noxious substances in cigarette smoke, a growing body of research suggests.

In one study of nearly 700 people with lung cancer, Swiss experts found that women tended to be younger when they received the diagnosis, even though they smoked less than the men who developed lung cancer.

In another study, researchers from Harvard University and the University of Bergen in Norway evaluated more than 950 men and women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), known to be linked to smoking. The result: The women with COPD were younger when they got the diagnosis and had smoked less than the men with the respiratory ailment.

"Maybe women are more susceptible to the lung-damaging effects of smoking," said Dr. Inga-Cecilie Soerheim, a visiting research fellow at Harvard and a researcher at the University of Bergen, who led the COPD study. She presented the findings in May at the American Thoracic Society's annual conference.

In fact, several other studies in the past 20 years have suggested that female smokers may be more susceptible to lung cancer than male smokers.

And Soerheim and her colleague, Dr. Dawn L. DeMeo, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, found that, in 2000, the number of women dying from COPD surpassed the number of men, although the researchers aren't sure why....

 

Quote of the Day

“I finally realized that being grateful to my body was key to giving more love to myself.”
~ Oprah Winfrery

My Weekend: A List

I'd started this long, meandering and ever-so-slightly emo post about how lovely the fall weather was in DC, how it didn't compare to the beauty of New England, yet still made me nostalgic for that time and place..... but I was putting myself to sleep writing it, so I couldn't imagine anyone actually wanting to read it (even if it's just me, a few weeks from now, browsing through my own scribbles).

Instead, I present a semi-complete list of my weekend's activities:

1. Driving for approximately four hours in the rain on Friday evening to pick up my sister from Dulles airport, drive her to our parent's in the 'burbs, then drive back into the city, pick up my boyfriend at work and take us home for the evening.  
   
2. Dressing up with my sister on Saturday evening, with a bottle of iced-tea flavored vodka nearby, for her (first of several) birthday celebration.
3. Cursing the torrential rain and my sudden lack of umbrellas.
   
4. Unintentionally, and ridiculously, sliding around (and falling down) on the lovely wood floors at my boyfriend's apartment, because my boots had no traction. 
5. Texting and Twittering with various friends - including some who were at the party - about the party.
   
6. Hostessing until 2am, at which point I fell asleep fully clothed.
   
7. Having a late brunch with my sister over the Washington Post and mimosas.
   
8. Going out to dinner with my family on Sunday night.

I now realize that what I've written are mostly food, alcohol, sleep and/or family related activities. Perhaps enjoyable weekends require a few of these elements in order to be successful.  The crappy weather, maybe not so much, but the rest -- wonderful friends, quality time with family, copious amounts of food and drink -- help make my world go 'round.