a very stacey christmas

My family made this a very Stacey Christmas this year...here are the presents before, looking very festive and happy in their wrapping:


And here they are after they've been opened...you'll notice a theme [click on the pic to see it in more detail]:


And now for some choice close-ups. Look for the duster, the skull safety pin, the camo-skull purse, the skull lock and keys, and more. And don't miss the incongruous but very lovely pastel pearl earrings...they really made me smile as I opened them in the midst of the skully goodness.




And now a close-up of the most random bit of Christmas spirit:


I love my family. They know me well.

[you can also see the pics on flickr]

christmas spirit

christmas spirit,
originally uploaded by tiredcynic.

My Christmas, courtesy of my parents. The packages are taunting me...Christmas morning feels so far away.

Love you, Mom and Dad...

gimme gimme

Traveled down to Santa Cruz last night to see "Me First and the Gimme Gimmes" with Jen, with a stop at Sestri's for a surprise party for her friend Deb [weird synchronicity: I've had tickets to this concert for a while now, and three days before, Jen gets the invite to the party literally 2.5 miles away from the club where the band was playing].

Some highlights of my night:

* getting lost on the way to the restaurant
* very good Lemon-cello Drop
* the mangled cake
* someone fixing the cake
* the cake now saying "Happy Birthday Delorah" [instead of "Deborah"]
* playing with confetti
* meeting Sherri [I have no idea how to spell her name]
* Sherri joining us for the concert
* realizing that the club was the same place I saw "Men at Work" with Susy so many years ago
* the opening band, "Starving Millionaires"
* the second bad suxxOred!!
* Vic, Andrew, BirthdayBoy
* "You're my girlfriend!"
* Jagermeister shots [ugh]
* nice ego boosting from a 24-year-old cutie
* looking good for a 31-year-old
* dancing to the Gimmes [when they were actually playing, and not bantering]
* "Someone here has a high protein diet!!"
* paranoid Andy Dick trying to light up
* the entertaining mosh pit
* stopping in a parking lot to pull out the leftovers
* my car's freeze warning beeping at us on the way home
* the incredibly looooong stretch of 85
* getting home after 1am

And most of all:

* getting to spend time with Jen

flickr is cracking me up

How cool is this?? Flickr has added a couple of holiday easter eggs to their site...add a note to your photo with either "ho ho ho hat" or "ho ho ho beard" as the text, save it, and [[poof]]!! Instant holiday fun!

Check out here and here for examples... :^)

connecting

Today was a day of connections. One of those days when you feel a part of the world, and for some reason seem to be interacting with it more than usual. When people make eye contact, say 'hello', smile more than usual, when for some reason, you are making more of an effort than you normally do, and yet it comes easily and isn't an effort at all.

There were the sweet and slightly wacky instant messages from my dad to start the day with a smile. Then came the webcam and quick chat with Steve [with Tash and Max looking on]. The time spent at the Cartoon Art Museum, chatting away with Dave, Greg, and Liz. The email from John [aka "JNL" or "John - Not Locke"] with the update on his dad [happily, he finally had his bypass after too many delays and complications, and seems to be doing as well as can be expected]. The incredibly sweet Swiss man at Rite-Aid, shopping for toiletries because his suitcase had been lost by the airline. Even the homeless man in San Francisco, who thanked me for having a sense of humor [his sign asked for money for the "United Negro Pizza Fund", and I couldn't help but smile], and who forgave me for not having any spare change on me [one drawback of a plastic society: not as much ready cash]...even that was a connection. Sending text messages to my mom and dad made me feel closer to them. And in just a bit, I'm going to go write my weekly letter to my Aunt Essie, keeping that connection across the miles.

It's hard to turn the page on a day like today, especially when I am feeling the lack of those connections in the workaday world. In a way, though, it makes me treasure them all the more...they are that much more special. Life is all about connections...it's what makes it all worthwhile.

support your local comic artist

support your local comic artist,
originally uploaded by tiredcynic.

Spent the afternoon at the SF Cartoon Art Museum, chatting with Dave Kellett of "Sheldon" fame [www.sheldoncomics.com]. I had a great time, got excellent recommendations for other comics to read, bought his first book and got it signed, and came away with two original sketches. I already had his second book [the special Author's Edition, limited to 250 copies and with cool sketches in the front], and he was gracious enough to personalize it for me.

If you haven't checked out Sheldon yet, I highly recommend...it's one of my favorites. And if you get the chance, go see Dave at one of his personal appearances...it's worth it.

[And those two people in the back are Greg and Liz...check them out at www.reallifecomics.com. I'm rapidly getting hooked on that one too.]

AN UPDATE!

I framed the sketches, and man do they look nice...check them out! [clicky-clicky for biggy-biggy]

Sheldon and Arthur

Gramps and Flaco

And here is Zena checking out the sketches...as you can tell by the motion blur, she is giving them a very enthusiastic nod:

In fact, she loved them so much that she *insisted* on posing with them...what a ham.

Late night update...Pepper also approves!

[You can also check the pics out at Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tiredcynic]

Thank you, Dave, for sharing your time and talent...it was a blast. And seriously...if you or Greg need a roadie for ComicCon07, I'm there. :^)