Patricia Volonakis Davis’ Neighborhood

Who did you meet this year who had a big impact on your life? Did you reconnect with any old friends? Who was there for you through it all?

It's not a single person, but joining the Fort Collins Ladies Club probably had the biggest impact on my life in 2009, as far as new people go. It's a great group of women of all ages, backgrounds, and interests, and I'm amazed at how quickly we feel at ease with each other. And despite the large membership, there isn't a sense of cliquishness about it. There is always something fun on the calendar, and members just go to whatever strikes their fancy and fits with their schedules and budgets, so we're constantly making new friends.

I did reconnect with some old friends as well. Say what you want about Facebook, but I think it's great. Every now and then I wonder what has happened to somebody I haven't seen or talked to in forever, and most of the time I can find them there. And now that I have a Facebook-friendly phone, I see myself actually staying connected to more of my friends.

Pax, of course, has been there for me all through the year, which was a real rollercoaster ride. And 2010 is promising to be just as hectic and nervewracking. My BFF Shelly has also been there for me whenever the Fates seemed to be conspiring against me. Yay for text-messaging!

I heart sleep.
The last 3 days Ive slept in till noon, noon thirty, and 11 today. I cant remember the last time I've been able to sleep in like that. It's amazing. I guess I'm stocking up on sleep since i HAVE to get up early from now on, cuz I HAVE to be at work early/on time every day.

Went to bingo last night with Original Josh, Replacement Josh, and Ron. We didnt win ugh, and I only had 2 drinks...well, doubles..so 4 in total, only went easy on it cuz I was paying LOL. Paid for Ron's beer as well since it was his bday and got him a free ice cream sundae which he shared with me (=

Apparently the Egyptian and his girl are back together, but she's already gone back to CA.
Mike's gf is in town from DC so i havent heard from him all week.
I invited the dude from the springs to come up and meet me and hang out, but apparently he "doesnt like big crowds and lots of people and noise etc etc make him nervous". Fuck i hate guys like that. Thats not going to work out.
ATC used to say the same thing, and I told him, well we go out, we go to bars and clubs and well there's people there, so if you want to spend time with me, thats what you'll have to put up with. He dealt with it, he doesnt mind now.
I also invited this other dude, but he had his kids this weekend. FUCK it was impossible for me to get laid last night.

So I came home and passed out on the couch with the dog and watched some Deadliest Catch. My bed is full of laundry, and of course, cats sleeping on my clean laundry. Ill finish that all today.

Goddamn these cats have the stinkiest shit right now. Killing me. Sucks because I have a LOT of this food to go thru. argh.

I've gotta put a bra on and go to 7-11 and get a newspaper and some caffeine, and take a DVD over to Ron since I forgot it last night..ehhhh in a few, no rush. 

This is the "before" picture. Practically ALL my shelves look like this! Ah, January...the month that triggers resolutions, good intentions and lots of great plans. Can you guess what I am starting? That is if I can get off this computer and not get distracted by something else. I find that when I tidy up anything with words, I start reading.... :) oh yeah, where was I? Takes forever!

Our storm is over! What an event that was.  I don't think I've ever seen such change in so short  time. Raining, then snowing hard, then ice pellets and back to snow, now it is mild and everything is melting. Wonder what is in store for next week? Crazy weather everywhere!

Gretchen Rubin is someone we can all learn something from. She just published a book called The Happiness Project.  I 'd like to read it. Last year she test drove lots of theories about happiness and this book outlines what she discovered. One of the things I thought was interesting is that "random acts of kindness" don't work. People invariably end up suspicious and nervous. Better to help out a friend in need or help out as opportunities present themselves. Random scares people. Hmmm. Good stuff to ponder.

2009 was quite a year. For me at least, it was a year of adjustment. In January, I had to go back to work and although I was lucky enough to go back 2 days in the office and three at home, it was quite an adjustment for me to split my attention the way working mom's must. Adjusting to motherhood was a surprise. I naively thought that once I had Drew everything would magically fall into place. I wanted him. I tried for him, how could I NOT be ready to be his mother. Well as ready as I was to be Drew's mom, I was not prepared to be his primary care giver. It never occurred to me that though Andrew is very much a part of his life, let's face it, he works in the city, and is away from the house more than he is here. Drew's care falls on me. I also was not prepared to always have a piece of my mind at home. What is he doing? It's 11, is he sleeping? Is he having lunch? Did he eat well? Questions for every second I am away fill my mind. And for me, it was rough to adjust to that guilt. The guilt of not being the one to take care of him 24/7 and the guilt for enjoying my time in the car alone or at work. 

Kelly Kapoor

Hurrah for the sales! Before Xmas I was able to pick up the first three seasons of The Office (US) for a tenner at Asda... that works out at roughly a pound per disc! Madness! The trade-off is that they’re stuffed into crappy cardboard sleeves, but I’m trying to be more Zen and rise above my anxiety about scratches. As the American-accented remake of a much-loved and obsessed-over Britcom, it didn’t get much of a push over here, and the pilot episode is extremely off-putting as an almost line-for-line recreation of the original script. But after the first season the show really starts to stand on its own two feet, and spiral off in strange new directions. There are still echoes of the original story arc in the star-crossed romance of Jim and Pam, but almost everything else seems shiny and new.

Adding even greater value to the boxset is the fact that for every five episodes, there’s about an hour’s worth of deleted scenes. Sometimes they’re simply extended version of things we’ve already seen, but often they contain entirely separate subplots! Apparently the show was cast with improvisation in mind, and all of the writers had a “performance” clause in their contracts too, which really leads to a blurring of the lines between the two camps, and easily explains the excess of hilarity. Overall, I’d say my favourite character is probably Dwight, simply because some of the things he says and does are so insane... especially in the excised material. I’d seen Rainn Wilson in Six Feet Under before, where he was also very good, but his work as Dwight will surely earn him a coveted “lifetime pass”. I especially enjoy the scenes where he exchanges secret looks with Angela, or meets with her in the break room for clandestine conferences, backs turned and faces blank. There’s something rather sweet about their relationship, even when they’re maliciously plotting the downfall of everyone around them. Actually, Angela would also be a strong contender for favourite character, if only because it’s fun to see such a petite and sweet-looking woman being so utterly ruthless and destructive. She provides a great contrast to the more exuberant characters... especially her arch-nemesis, the ditzy, motor--mouthed, celeb-obsessed Kelly Kapoor.

The first time I saw Kaling on-screen was as Paul Rudd's disgruntled ex in The 40-Year Old Virgin... which is a very funny film, and that extended “speed dating” segment works brilliantly as a skit in itself, even if it isn’t a great showcase for her comic talents. Meanwhile, she had already written tons of episodes for The Office, where she also serves as a producer and script editor, on top of appearing as a regular cast member! If I worked in the Scranton branch, I’d probably be most smitten with Pam, because she’s so darn adorable, but Kelly is the cutest character f’sure (especially when she does her Bridget Jones impression). She’d be a serious headache to actually date, and if Ryan weren’t such a dick I might even sympathise with him... but I think she’d be a fun friend to hang out with. Thanks to Mindy/Kelly, we were also treated to a Diwali episode in season three, which made for a nice change of pace from all the Xmas stuff that was on TV. I was particularly bemused by Michael’s ignorance of Indian food since pretty much every supermarket in this country has a selection of pakoras, bhajis and samosas in its “deli” section, and curry has quickly become one of our favourite “national dishes”... which seems to really annoy the bigots who see it as an erosion of our native cultural identity (as if such a thing were immutable, and inherently tied to how bland our food tastes). Michael’s adaptation of Adam Sandler’s “Chanukah Song” was also a nice way to round it all off, I thought... "Don't invite any zombies to a celebration of Diwali!”

Hopefully it won't be too long before I can witness the birth (and inevitable rise to stardom) of Kelly's girl group Subtle Sexuality! 

I wish you all a very good 2010!  May it be brighter than 2009, which was a year of hard lessons for many in this nation.  A few years ago, I tentatively entered online life through Vox.  I discovered quickly that I was able to post poems and receive instantaneous  non-academic feedback, which is of great value to me.  I also reacquainted myself with the arts of photography and sculpture.  That said, I have decided to spend the majority of my creative energies on a new endeavor in the next year.  The book of fairytale poems is still being tortured in layout stage.  When it is available, whether it is published or self-published, I will let you all know.  The next year.....

I have been busy home-schooling my children and struggling to keep up with creating and keeping my domicile clean.  What has been forgotten this past year, is good nutrition.  "What about integrating art into cooking and eating?"  I thought during a long winter's nap.  This makes perfect sense. 

I also had the pleasure of seeing Julie and Julia, which not only made me salivate over the gastronomy, but also provided a spark.  My Julia Child is definitely Gloria Bley Miller, who did for Chinese cooking, what the former did for French cooking.  She brought it, in its authenticity, into American households.  As a teenager, I created sumptuous meals for my family.  Her book is weathered and loved.  Miller was also an artist and an educator.  Her husband, Richard Miller, was a famous sculptor.  I used to imagine their Greenwhich Village house as a refuge from my suburbia, from the pains of ticky-tacky houses.  I laugh at this now, but it was very real to a fourteen-year-old misunderstood artist. 

This year, the year I turn forty, I return to the art of Chinese Cooking.  I am publishing my blog through Salon, so I won't be as much of a presence on Vox.  Please come over to see me!  If you want me to read anything, please send Vox mail to me.  Thanks for a year of warmth and kindness.  I wish you all health and prosperity in 2010!

New Year's Greens

New Year's Greens

Night of Roses

Night of Roses

1 comment

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As of now, I will be blogging over here at my new little internet home, A Banner Year.

I have loved Vox for these three years but some of the practical logistics of the blog were bugging me, like the fact that you can't have multiple authors. (And that you have to name your images -- I hate that.)

Anyway, my new blog is a collaboration between me and my twin sister, Esther. Won't you please come along for the ride? We'd love to have you along! (I have no year-long resolutions; I am all about the monthly resolutions this year and one thing I hope to do -- in January at least -- is blog on a more regular basis.)

In the meantime, I'll be keeping my Vox account and popping back in regularly to stay up-to-date with all the lovely folks I've "met" here.

Happy 2010!