and we didn't even get to play strip dreidel

Large parties are strange and shifting creatures. A shoddy facade of flawless entertainment must be put up, decorations adjusted, nibbles refreshed, fights broken up, and entertainment perpetually moving throughout the party. Heaven forfend a guest might have to perform a task such as being allowed to throw their own coats on the bed or dispose of their flat pop cups in the way they see fit. Children and hosts must be on hand at all times to serve their patrons.
All right, so the party wasn't that bad. It's still a bit of a shift to go from "go ahead Rachel, try the tiny meatball snacks and put your feet up on the sofa" to "stop talking to your uncle and go take some old person's coat NOW NOW NOW."
Luckily, having a guest of one's own tends to excuse one from most forms of hard labor. I managed to scarper off into the bedroom with Boyd not too late into the party, where I read to her from "Johnny the Homicidal Maniac" comics. We also managed to pass the time discussing Biff's lousy home life, Sherlock Holmes meets Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, and were-panthers. (Are there any blaxsploitation films about were-animals at all? There must be. Please tell me there is at least one, otherwise I may just have to rent some blaxsploitation films myself and then write one.)
Gift swap was successful. Boyd got me an omnibus copy of the Hitchhiker's Trilogy, which was then passed around the party for a few rounds before it settled with me via my wacky Aunt Barbie. She also managed to procure what appears to be two pounds of pistachios for me, even tho she does not like pistachios. I think that's either a sign of love or just general awesomeness.
(By the way, pinglederry: The only Talk my dad gave me involved the necessity of vacuuming the carpet, which I proceeded to do so for a ridiculous amount of time because it's difficult manhandling a vacuum up and down stairs. Bah. As though anybody would have had the foresight to place tiny quiche crumbs on the stairs.)

"She-Devil" happened to be on TV afterwards. I have very fond memories of this movie. When Mom and Dad were in the process of divvying up everything after the divorce, and Dad had just started carrying on with Darlene, Mom used to rent this from the library and watch it all the time. ...actually, a disturbing amount of the time. At least twice per week.

*

Woke up very late, went for a walk on the frozen lake, ruminated. December 21st to the 25th is supposed to be the darkest time of the year, when the Cow of Night eats the Egg of the Sun and digests it in her belly for a few days before shitting it back out. Or maybe it's Helios mourning for his stupid son who burned down his entire village. Or maybe it's just the natural tilting of the Earth combined with the unfortunate practice of Daylight Savings Time.
At least I'm going to have a lot of time to...do...stuff. Not that I particularly feel like doing anything. The UNREMITTING DARK AND COMPLETE ABSENCE OF ANY LIFE THAT IS NOT IN A COMA tends to get one down. I just feel terribly sluggish and uninspired. Granted, that may also be because of the ten pounds of potato fat running through my veins at the moment.
We're going down to Ohio for Christmas, to visit Mom's family. Uncles and aunts and baby cousins and such. I'm actually looking forward to this, since it means I'll get to fill my backpack with books and just read the whole time there, instead of running around in the kitchen doing things or running last-minute errands. (Well, also I'll get to see my very low-key relatives and the energetic child, none of them I have actually talked to for a few years. Mostly, though, my mom's family just kind of sits around and is quiet, or they play board games. I am very, very OK with this.)

Dad gave out Chanukah presents for Brian and I tonight. I got some clothes and such. More importantly, I got "Back to the Future" on DVD. All three movies. WHOOT, particularly because the tapes Brian got me from that garage sale last year have lousy tracking, and it's only a matter of time before a VCR gets highly offended and eats them.

Planning to try to get my sleeping patterns back on something corresponding to diurnal time. As in, waking up before the sun actually sets. Unless Dad magically decides to take a day off and hang out with me tomorrow, I will probably be languishing on the sofa online all day hoping someone will talk to me. Doesn't get much done, of course, but what else am I going to do?

oh god please just let the damn snow melt already. is Rachel gonna have to sacrifice a bitch to make the sun come back?