Christmas Eve Boomeranging

We go to the park to try out Sean's boomerang that's been hanging on our wall forever, and a real Aussie sees us tossing it around and he promptly struts over to show us how it's done.

<--- (Viveka (sister) throwing the boomerang.)

[Read with Aussie accent/twang/brogue] "You hold it on an angle like this, and you have to feel where the wind is coming from, and then you throw it against the wind on a 30 to 35 degree angle, like this." Swwwoosssh.
(Australian guy, facing camera, talking to Sean, back towards camera) -->

What are the chances that we'd get a personal boomerang training session with an Australian dude on Christmas Eve?
(Below: my sister, me, and the boomerang)

Tree

The tree is up! Complete with Swedish flags and all. I woke up with vertigo this morning, strange, and I had to stay in bed until 1pm. My first day off and my body reacts by making me dizzy. Oh well. The tree still turned out nice, despite grogginess.

Prospect Heights

Took a walk through my old neighborhood, Prospect Heights (more on Prospect Heights), where we lived from 2000 - 2002. It's shaped up quite a bit since we were there, new restaurants and cafes. More importantly, I didn't get a single "hey white girl!" comment as I strolled about.

Our old crazy landlord lady still seems to be in charge at Lincoln Place.
The same gaudy Christmas decorations that she used to put up around the building during the holidays were there today as well. When we lived in the building, there used to be a glowing plastic snowman on the fire escape right outside our window, and it lit up the whole bedroom (which was basically the entire apartment). The plastic snowman wouldn't come down until the plastic Easter bunny replaced him months later. Not only did the landlord lady have poor taste in....everything....she also threatened to kill her husband on several occasions, as they often argued outside in the hallway - "shut up or I will get my gun!" - and I would hide under the covers in my bed.

The liquor store is also still there, despite flashier places and bars opening up all over Washington avenue. But the laundromat, where I one early morning inhaled lots of smoke from a seemingly nearby fire (which turned out to be the World Trade center burning, but I didn't know that until after I loaded the machine), is gone.

Friday night (or evening)

6:30 pm - Drank free wine and ate free cheese at Soho art thing (some opening). Lots of artists and musicians talking, talking, and talking about themselves. More wine please, more wine.

8:30 pm - Left the artists and musicians behind. Ordered two margaritas and a quesadilla at sleazy Mexican place on Broadway and Bleecker. Had to wipe the toilet seat before taking a piss. Dropped all my stuff from my bag - credit cards, id, insurance cards - on the floor. Hesitantly picked it all up and pretended that never happened.

9:43 pm - Joined the artists and musicians at their after party at some lower east side lounge. Stumbled over one of the couches on my way to the ladies room, but recovered gracefully.

11:20 pm - Hailed a cab on the Bowery.

11:43 pm - Home. In bed!

Stayed out until double-digits, and made it home within double-digits. Being 32 is not so bad.