Traditionally, we stick to traditions.

The standard Garcia Christmas is chock-full of traditions. These start sometime after I arrive back from school and go until Dec. 26th.

In general, the tree is up but not decorated. This has turned into a yearly event at which time mom and I decorate with ornaments that span the ages and play all the holiday cds we own. Personal favorites include the League of Decency's A Swingin' Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas, and VH1's The Big 80's Christmas. We really like our Christmas music...really.

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, you are so frea-kin' beau-ti-ful!

On Christmas Eve, we venture to our grandparents' condo, along with our O'Halloran kin, for caroling and seafood gumbo. That's right...caroling...in south Florida. We go from building to building in the complex singing all the Christmas tunes we can muster. Deck the Halls is sung while on route to the next group of people in their pastel pink and plaster structure, that was obvious made within the last 15 years, to accommodate the ever-growing population of those we call "Snow Birds", permanent or otherwise. This is always ended with a trip into the last building to catch a glimpse of the train and surrounding mini-town where the mini-people enjoy their own Christmas day, everyday, of the holiday season.

Caroling isn't complete without looking like a shepherd -- this century or ones past.

The night before Christmas is when last minute gifts are wrapped and stockings are stuffed. And I suppose that doesn't necessarily count as our tradition, but something about that time between singing and the ripping of paper, sitting in the glow of the Christmas tree, with hushed voices for those who have retired early, and Mitch Miller singing about catching his mom kissing Sandy Claws -- well, that time is ours. And sometime during that period, the number of presents under the tree doubles, or at least seems to double, because the tree we see the next morning is so obviously not the one we were left with the night before.

Uncle Gerry: "Must...catch...every...reaction...on...tape."

Christmas morning starts around 9AM, when grandma and grandpa come over after church and Aunt Sarah and Uncle Bruce drive down from Sarasota. The rest of us heathens finish catching Zzz's and get prepared for the first of two feasts that day: The Breakfast Feast. Presents are unwrapped and everyone begins tinkering with their new toys, all the while having the Chipmunks sing of holiday glee. And then the napping sets in. It's around noon when people start to feel the effects of being up late the night before and so there are at least three people who end up napping for a good couple of hours.

He was always the sleepy child.

Later on, lets say 4PM, dinner begins which is really just Thanksgiving redux but who doesn't love the occasionally thrown-in ham and cranberry jelly with the ring of the can still intact? It's after this feast that the Christmas music starts again, people mill around, and slowly the lights dim, the music softens, games get played, and we are enveloped by the glow of the Christmas tree with it's wonderful array of colored and white lights and ornaments of past and present.

Cousin dogs sit and wait for what is coming to them -- sit and wait for their fair share.

Traditionally, we stick to traditions.

But not this Christmas.

With Andrew getting married in April and a changing of jobs in the O'Halloran household, holiday travel became a financial impossibility. I'm sure everyone has been feeling the crunch this year.

Our family was also hit with the loss of my Uncle Bruce just this past May from cancer. This was the first Christmas without him for everyone, but especially my Aunt Sarah. Having been in a somewhat similar position when my father died, I knew that I didn't want to force my aunt into holiday cheer as that pissed me off something fierce the Christmas following his death...and any of the first holidays for that matter.

So caroling was out, so was seafood gumbo, and without any young kids in the house the number of presents was drastically reduced. This was actually a blessing as I entered the holiday season with a negative balance and wouldn't have been able to contribute much to the ceremonial destruction of wrapping paper.

Instead, Christmas Eve was spent with Mike (Mom's squeeze) and his family at his house where we gorged on hamburgers, drinks, and were generally merry. When we got back to our house, Andrew, Alan, mom, and I proceeded to watch GI Joe PSA's and the Sealab episode about the Feast of Alvis. Yes, that is how this family rolls.

Nothing brings families together quite like YouTube.

Christmas morning mom made one of the best breakfasts a college student could ask for complete with biscuits and sausage gravy, eggs, tater tots, and much more. We then proceeded to open gifts and cards and everything was done by 10:30. I was pooped. And I had only been up for two hours.

Andrew was the passer of gifts.

After a wonderful nap, we headed to grandma and grandpa's for our Christmas dinner feast which consisted purely of Italian food. And, dear lord, everything was delicious. There was not one bad item of food on my plate. In keeping with the Italian theme, I had made lemon gelato the night before that, despite using a fairly jacked-up recipe, turned out pretty nicely.

Nom nom nom

That's quite the growth grandpa has developed...

And so Christmas is over. And although I was not wholly convinced that the holiday would be delightful due to the changes in people present and the numerous alterations to the norm, it was a wonderful holiday. There are people who are no longer here that we all miss dearly, but what I learned this Christmas is that breaking from traditions, from routines, does not mean that they are forgotten. You are not leaving those people behind by changing the way in which you celebrate. If anything, you are bringing those people closer to you by preserving the memories you once had and allowing that time to stay sacred in your mind.

Because this Christmas was different, and it only makes sense to have celebrated it in a different way.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and see you in the New Year!

-Bonnie

P.S. This Christmas was also made brilliant by the fact that I was able to catch the Doctor Who Christmas Special before the clock struck midnight. Wahoo!

I'm thinking I want....

...to get another tattoo...

...and I think I want Brandon at Fine Art for Life to design it...

...and I'm thinking I want it to look like this...

...oh wait, it's already done!

My Thanksgiving with Jason Mraz

Ok, not really.

Ken and I drove up to North Carolina for Thanksgiving and were met by his parents, his brother, and the cold. 

Boating? On Thanksgiving? In North Carolina??

It was a great Thanksgiving – lots of good food and conversation. And the scenery there is simply beautiful.

Ken and I were both amazed with just how quiet it could be at night. When we arrived, we instinctively locked the car door and could hear the echo for an astoundingly long time. In Tallahassee, the noise simply swallows the small squawk of the Fit.   

Dark

On Friday we drove across state lines to Richmond, VA. This is where the older of my younger brothers was born and also the location of my first concert at the tender age of 3 (it was John Prine if you’re curious).

Richmond: In all it’s overcast glory. 

Friday marked my second concert in Richmond: Jason Mraz.

He was playing a special acoustic set with much of his family in the balcony watching. This was the farthest I have ever traveled for a concert (14 hours!) and I would do it again in a heartbeat. His opening act was delightful – Lisa Hannigan. She had a great voice and had such an amazing presence on stage.  

Jason and Toca, doing it and doing it and doing it swell.

 

It was a great show though there was a particularly obnoxious, drunk couple right behind me causing a bit of commotion. I finally turned around and just asked them to be quiet – I don’t mind a bit of chatter at a concert but if you’re deliberately impeding other people from enjoying a concert, it is time to chill out. And at JASON MRAZ! I mean, seriously? How could you have anything but happy, positive vibes to share?

He didn’t play some of his more rockin’ -- rockin’? No, that doesn’t seem right…but the phrase is lost on me…-- tunes (read: Butterfly, Dynamo of Volition, Clockwatching) and those are the kinds of songs that I think would be most interesting to hear acoustically. They are songs that seem as though they would present a real challenge to Mr. A-Z … and who doesn’t love a challenge?

Jason Mraz: Man of Many Faces

 

I also saw the concert by myself. I mean, I shared the experience with the many, many people there but I had no one who knew me, who I knew, who could bounce the jokes and joy and know their timing and mine.

This was most evident when we were told to sing a lyric to someone we didn’t know and follow that with singing to someone we came with.

Every little thing is gonna be alright.

I raised my hands to the sky, sang to the heavens, and let the words fall on me.

And every little thing WAS all right.

And every little thing IS all right.

And so overall, the concert was a complete blast and I’m so incredibly lucky to have seen him in action again.

And I cannot wait to see him again (preferably with my mother or with Patrick).

And now I wait for the semester to come to a close.

-Bonnie

p.s. I didn’t know where to mention this but I was uber-amused with the fact that he started the concert with the song “Tonight, Not Again”. Not only is it my favorite but it’s funny to think of how bored he must get sometimes playing the same songs over and over again – probably best noted with the look he gave Toca right before they started to play “I’m Yours”.

p.p.s. All photos for the holiday can be found here and a video of him singing “Winter Wonderland” that I took with my little ol’ camera can be found here.

"I'm not depressed so much as I am paralyzed with HOPE!"

I don't mean to brag. But I met Maria *F-ing* Bamford last Friday.

I had been waiting and waiting and waiting for this show and somehow managed to even get Ken to come along for the ride. A buddy of ours, Mike, and his girlfriend were also there so we all got to sit together and talk. It had been awhile so it was nice to catch up.

We're pretty in that "special" way.

The show was fantastic! She did use a few jokes that I had heard before but I think that there is a real difference when it comes to hearing comedy and actually getting to see it live. For those of you who aren't familiar with Bamford's act, check out the video below.

And so now you can see why I dig it so much -- I feel like she's just as random as I am and still freaking hilarious!

Our prom dates should be here any second!

And so that was my Friday night and it rocked. Hanging out with old friends, meeting one of the funniest ladies in the world, generally having a swell time. Also, she was wearing heels so I don't know if she was actually taller than me -- though most people are.

And now I pack and clean for the trip to North Carolina that begins in three hours.

I couldn't be less ready if I tried.

-Bonnie

Tragically Truant

That would be me.

Two weeks ago my Dell of four (and almost a half!) years bit the dust.

Just....gone....adios...

So now I type upon my new MacBook. And while I miss the Dell...I do love this sexy little machine! And I will be loving it for awhile since it cost so damn much. 

Oh technology.

The semester is coming to a close and with it comes the end-of-the-year business of grading, finals, and worried students. 

I have many worried students.

I also have my own final to worry about (herpetology) which promises to be interesting considering the amount of specimens there are to know.

I will rock it. And you.

I've seen some pretty good films lately so hopefully I'll get around to writing some reviews. I'll have plenty of time (theoretically) over Thanksgiving which I am spending with Ken and his parents in North Carolina.

I also get to see Jason Mraz while I'm there.

And that's all I got right now -- about to go teach so there isn't a whole lot more I can say.

Pick a movie (below) and I'll write something about it soonish.

Quantum of Solace

Rock 'n Rolla

Role Models

LOVE YOU ALL -- EVEN THOSE I HAVEN'T MET!

-Bonnie

Opeth and Ben Kweller

Two artists who may never be mentioned in the same post, ever again.

A few weeks ago, Ken, Marc (Ken's buddy), and I went to go see a metal show. Opeth is the one metal band Ken listens to that I can actually stand and actually enjoy so we drove to Orlando's House of Blues and watched metal god, Mikael Akerfeldt, and his crew rock our faces off. You can check their music out on their myspace page (linked above) but you have been warned of the metal-osity and I cannot be responsible for you not liking it. A wise man once said "Metal is an acquired taste, and most people don't like eating nails."

The boys were SUPER STOKED after the concert.
And TOTALLY READY for the long drive home.

Now as for last Wednesday....

I FINALLY got to see Ben Kweller in concert! I've been listening to him for a few years now ever since he was introduced to me by a musician friend of days past. His opener wasn't bad either -- an Aussie by the name of Whitley. Ben Kweller is an indie rocker who has now taken a turn towards more bluesy, folksy, boot-stompin' sounds and I still totally dig it. They came through Club Downunder which was great because I hadn't been to a show there in a good long while. And I got to go with one of my new grad school friends, Helen, who is also a Kweller fan.

Ben and the boys rocking.

As an encore, they covered "Heart of Gold" which was just amazing and I managed to get it all recorded -- mainly so I could show my brother, Andrew, but why not share it with all you beautiful people too!





Next up is comedian Maria Bamford. She's performing here in Tallahassee in a few weeks and I couldn't BE more excited.

Sorry for the lack of updates, life has been a little crazier than usual. Hopefully more to come!

Signing Off,
Bonnie

P.S. GO VOTE!

"That was quick." "Yeah, everybody could shot."

Wow, is it Tuesday already?

Let's see what's been going on...

*Ken and I celebrated 3 years with Bone Fish, wine, and a diamond necklace!

Face-eating is a must.

*Teaching, teaching, teaching -- my kids have their midterm tomorrow so some of them are getting mighty spooked.

*Trying to nail down the "Big Question" for my thesis. I think I may take a turn towards fossilized and extant salamanders but nothing is for certain yet. I need to do a whole LOT more reading to get up to speed in the literature.

Courtesy indianaherp on Flickr.

*I'm heading to the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology conference tomorrow. It's being held in Cleveland this year so I'll be heading up to Atlanta tonight to catch the flight tomorrow. And to see Aunt Peg!

*Saw Appaloosa and was pleasantly surprised. Wasn't sure what to expect with a western and Renee Zellweger (ugh, cannot stand her) but I thought it was pretty damn good.

*Went on a herpetology trip on Sunday which was ridiculously fun. Got to play in the dirt AND pick up slimy things! Double AWESOME!

Supa Sweet!

Anyway, waiting around for my office hours to finish, then I need to drop my labmate Paul at the airport and pick up some bloodworms for the salamanders (which are my new pets -- don't think I mentioned that).

After that I'm Atlanta-bound!
-Bonster

Nearly 3 Years Ago...

I met this kid.

Together, we became the unstoppable duo of Konnie, or Benneth, or Kennie, or Bonneth.

Whatever the celeb-name mash-up style, we rock.

On the 9th, we'll be celebrating three years. And although we have had our ups and downs, we are, right now, very much in love.

Funny enough, of our multiple anniversary gifts, we both gave each other stuffed animals/dieties.

Ken found Fievel Mousekewitz online and snagged him.

He is replacing the original that was ripped from my childhood far too soon.

And I crocheted my first stuffed being! A diety in fact!

For the nerd who's stolen my heart, I crafted an H.P. Lovecraft elder god, Cthulhu.

I'm glad to have found him, and from all accounts, the feeling is mutual.

*le sigh*

But I swear to God, if one more person asks me if we're gonna get married, I'm gonna scream.

What I Did Last Saturday

I work in an awesome lab.  Example from Saturday: Trip to St. Augustine Alligator Farm

That's right -- I got to  manhandle alligators and crocodiles from around the world!

It was pretty fun, too, except at one point where I was sitting on the back of an alligator that decided to thrash around a bit. That's when I realized that I probably wasn't big enough to be sitting on the back of that alligator....heh....I still have all my fingers though!

And I was deemed worthy the title of DANGER RANGER!

The trip made Sunday seem really boring since all I had to do was grade papers :(

Since that trip, I've just been teaching and learning -- learning and teaching.

Oh! I also called the Supervisor of Elections back home and got my absentee ballot sent up here. The more I hear Sarah Palin open her mouth, the more I realize I have to vote.

Interpret that last statement how you will.

And now I leave you with NERD ROCK!

ADIOS!

-BONICITA!

Tuesdays, Tuesdays, Tuesdays

Tuesdays are odd.

For me.

Much of this day is focused on my duties with the class I teach.

I go to their lecture.

I hold their office hours.

I make their weekly quizzes.

Which makes the day sort of lazy except that I know I have other things I should be doing.

Because Wednesdays I'm back to the grind of my classes where I have just as many responsibilities.

I have Quantitative Methods.

I have a paper that should have been read for reading group.

I have Herpatology and its corresponding lab (Salamander ID quiz TOMORROW!).

Ambyostoma mexicana

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm tired.

-Bonster

What does he know, and how long will he know it?

First day of office hours. My prediction: no one comes

This always baffled me as an undergrad. I went to office hours a lot -- granted the TA or professor seemed like they knew what they were doing. But when I talk to others the general consensus is that office hours are a waste of time.

If someone can help you learn, how could that possibly be a waste of time.

The more I'm on campus and seeing students "learn", the more I have to agree with the professor I'm TA-ing for: students view education as a sport.

"My observations suggest that there is another metaphor that describes your mode of operation more closely," I said, "and that is sports. When you play a sport, your preparation reaches a crescendo just before a match (exam). If you win the match (exam), you get points (grades) in proportion to your placement. You keep track of those points, strategizing about how to get more next time. The match leaves no residue other than the points. At the end of college, you enter the working world with your overall standing (grade-point average) and little more. Your approach is certainly effective in getting the points that get you through college, but it is poor when it comes to getting an actual education."

Taken from "Just Scoring Points" by Walter Tschinkel. Published in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

It's just sort of sad. I mean, you're paying for the education -- don't you want to actually remember it??

I'm not completely naive, however, I do realize that some TA's/professors are a little off-putting in their attitudes towards their students. Many also have terrible attitudes towards the educational system but don't strive to change the problem starting with their own class.

I'm just striving to be different.

Still no students since when I started. They have a little under an hour left to come before I get on with my day outside of this office. I'm a little under the weather so I'd like to just crawl into my bed and read my papers instead of staying here.

Oh and the title for this post comes from this New Yorker cartoon (gotta love 'em!) courtesy of Frank Cotham. Too true, too true.

-Bonnie

I keep my life on a heavy rotation

HOWDY!

Well, yesterday marked my second day teaching. The board looked like this:

Click for larger spongy information

So far the semester isn't bad -- it's just tiring. I feel like it's hard to get everything done.

I'm at the office everyday from 8AM to sometimes 8:30PM (given the day) which makes sleeping all that more glorious.

In news that's completely different, my iPod broke about a month, month and a half ago. Because of this I've actually been using the cd player in my car and listening to the same six albums. I would recommend picking up any of these six if you're looking for some new tune-age. Excellent stuff.

Mr. Bungle - California

Bushwalla - Autodidactical, Freestyle, and Radical

Foo Fighters - Echos, Silence, Patience, and Grace

Hedwig and the Angry Inch soundtrack

Kenna - Make Sure They See My Face

Jason Mraz - We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things

And when I'm not in my car I've been listening to LOTS of youtube videos and artist pages on myspace. Some of these artists include:

John Houx
 

John Prine 

The Makepeace Brothers

Anyway, just wanted to share those musical nuggets with you all.

I'm also working on a few crochet projects so hopefully I'll finish them before Christmas. Ha!

Peace out!

-Bonster

What my future holds

So this is what my schedule looks like.

My goodness.

Somewhere in there, I'm also suppose to have a life. Oh, and do research.

The black text are classes I'm taking and the red text corresponds to labs I'm teaching/having to attend for said labs/pre-lab set-ups. I also have a reading group that has yet to be scheduled as well as a few weekend trips for my Quantitative Methods course.

And as you can see from the time stamp in the corner, I have a class starting within the hour.

I will miss you all.
-Bonicita

And now for something completely different...

Ok! So! Got back to Tallahassee about a week ago(?) and have been in a TA workshop all week. We were told, quite a bit, that we shouldn't date our students. I bet some bozo is still going to do it.

I'm actually sitting in my office right now because there is no internet at Ken's yet and I have a meeting at 2 for the lab I'll be instructing. We'll be picking times for the labs so my next post may be happy or it may be downright sad.

The raw diet was not for me. I know that. I think I'll just focus on eating healthy -- that'll be quite the change.

I got to visit Fredo and his gang for a bit which was nice. Those kids are growing up way too fast!

A special welcome to Jenny! She's my cousin living in Germany and from the sounds of it, I need to send her kid a dino shirt PRONTO!

And now to share some fotos from here and there and everywhere in between.

A perfectly curled Mocha.

Ninja Toby -- Too Fast for You

My nephew lookin' super cute!

A blanket I just finished for Ken. Took forever!

Ok, well. Meeting starting soon so I'll try to update later.

See ya!
-Bonnie

I've decided to stop counting the days.

Sorry this post has been a long time coming. The internet went out at the house I'm staying in so I've been checking email whilst at the home of Toby and Mocha (I'm totally stealing internet from the cafe next door).

Toby and Mocha. Adorable.

The other night (Tuesday?) I had dinner with some of my family and brought over the raw pomegranate cheesecake con strawberries. And it was a resounding success! Everyone seemed to really enjoy it and my uncle wants it for his next birthday! Haha! I thought that it was tasty, maybe a bit too sweet, but I was glad I could share it with people. Eating it all by myself would have been so so BAD.

It was great seeing my cousin, too. I haven't seen her in YEARS! That's right, years. I'll get to hang out with her a little bit on Sunday before she heads back to school but it's just been too damn long.

YUMMY! And RAW!

She had just gotten back from Mexico, where she was doing mission work. I have so much respect for her. She's the type of person that makes you want to find that spiritual center in yourself but doesn't get pushy -- and believe me, I've met enough people trying to convert me.

Sadly, my career as a luchadora was short lived.

Our "goofy" pose. We do it well.

On Wednesday nothing really eventful went on. Talked to Fredo some more. He gave me some supplements: one system detox, one total heart, and one total parasite --which are in my lungs, apparently. I also had dinner with Jonathan (a friend through Aunt Peg) and his sister at the Flying Biscuit which was delightful. It was nice to get out of the house and to talk to different people.

Thursday was a bit of a wash. Dereck was suppose to get home but ended up having his flight cancelled so I didn't do much of anything. I hung out with the cats A LOT so I got caught up on The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Project Runway. I get addicted to TV pretty fast -- especially when I can watch it on YouTube.

It looks like I'll be staying on this raw/vegetarian diet for at least another two weeks. I need to be on a raw diet for the intestinal cleanse and then it's probably best that I ease back into eating other foods -- thus the vegetarian aspect.

And Patrick, the water was clear at the beginning but it would have changed colors even without my feet being in there. What comes out are the black flecks and white film. It has to do with "science" and "electrons" which you'd think I'd be good at explaining -- but I'm not. All I know is that I get the treatments for free and that is a big perk of having your brother be a total wellness professional.

Alright, sorry this is short. I gotta get back to Dereck and Tim's so I can clean house a bit before he gets home. Cheers!
-Bonnilla