12.8.98

    Man, am I worked today.

    I went to a kickboxing class yesterday after dog-walking. It was a great class but my hamstrings are killing me and my calves hurt. I'm pleased with myself for going and doing the workout, though. It's been hard to get my butt in the gym for anything. The challenge will be to do it three times a week.

    The muscles in my back are aching, too. I think that's from the punches that I did yesterday but having undisciplined dogs yank me around today didn't help either.

    So, the Christmas holidays are upon us. T. and I are getting a tree this weekend and we're also buying lights and tinsel. We don't have much in the way of Christmas ornaments. I have a Marvin the Martian ornament that Chelsea gave me a couple years ago and I guess that's it. I have lots of ornaments at my parents' house but I won't be seeing them before the holidays.

    This is our first Christmas together. We've been together for Thanksgiving and New Years before but never for Christmas. I'm looking forward to it. It's because of T. that I actually like Christmas.

    I used to hate it. My family was always so tense around Christmas time. As I got older the approach of the holidays became filled with dread for me. I'm sure I wasn't the only one.

    T. really gets into the spirit of things. He likes buying gifts and giving gifts and I think he especially likes receiving gifts. He used to have a Christmas web page when he was in college. It was pretty good with all the fun stories like "Gift of the Magi" and "A Star Trek Christmas." I wish he still had it.

    I get a little frustrated at Christmas time. I like buying people gifts but I get all stressed about whether they are going to like them or not. I put a lot of thought into the gifts I buy. Of course, this year I'm pretty broke. I have several people that need to pay me for work right now. That doesn't even include The Vigorous Idiot. T. has apparently already bought me some gifts. That just makes me feel so behind in the game. Christmas is coming too fast. Hold it back!

    Did you notice the Santa Claus I put on the front page? He's pretty cute.

    Last Saturday, T. and I officially entered the mundane world of adults by going to his office Christmas party.

    We dressed up and got liquored up and buddied up to various higher-ups. I actually had a good time but probably got too tipsy. Luckily, I was able to surround myself with other drunkards thus making myself appear less drunk.

    At least, that's what I'd like to think.

    T.'s company is huge and they rented out The Ebell and there were at least six bars set up. However, not all the bartenders were so knowledgeable and they had a limited supply at each station. So, I made the rounds until I found a good one. His name was Doug and he made me two Tequila Sunrises and two Cosmopolitans with what he had on hand. I learned that he was a bartender for the catering company on the weekends and during the week he tends bar at a sushi restaurant in West Hollywood. I couldn't resist and asked him what else he did.

    *beat*

    "I'm an actor," he replied.

    I may have clapped my hands I was so drunk with giddiness (or maybe that was giddy with drunkenness). I haven't met any waiter/waitress/model/actor/chauffers yet. That has to be the quintessential L.A. experience. I think it may have been Mary Tyler Moore who said, "I may be the only girl to have gone to Hollywood to be a waitress but ending up acting because all the waitressing jobs were taken."

    Hmmm... maybe I need to try that avenue.

    "I'm a web developer but what I really want to do is act."

    A holiday recipe for you: How to Cook a Turkey.