Newcott Blog

Christmas party pics are up: http://gallery.newcott.com/v/vga_christmas_2005/ My favorite ones are the karaoke dance pics towards the end. It was a long night.

I’m looking forward to being back in DC for Christmas. It will be awesome to have families and old-tyme friends all around. Don’t forget the DC baby shower. Here are some of the leading name candidates for our baby boy, due March 31: Silas Gray, Huxley Moyer, Oliver Rock, Miles Bennet. Which one do you like?

Christmas parties are the best. Friday we threw our own. Sunday we went to our friends’.

Our party included all the cool people who live in our condo complex. Bronwen and I organized a progressive cocktail party — drinks and appetizers. Each house was themed a country. Started out the evening in Japan, eating sushi and drinking Asahi. Moved to Sweden next for some hot glurg and meatballs, then Mexico for nachos and a tequila sunrise. Ended the night in USA for Bud Light, apple pie, and screaming karaoke. So fun. We had about 30 people, and it was awesome to see everyones’ units and all the personal touches they’ve added.

Checked out the surf on Saturday but it was so weak we didn’t even get in the water. Bronwen and I are in the middle of writing Christmas cards and would love to mail them by tomorrow (Tuesday) if they have any hope of arriving before Christmas (Friday).

Eric and I surfed in Mexico yesterday (Sunday). It was also partly a scouting mission for Ooze’s bachelor party (for which I am proud to report that GSM cell phones work great everywhere down there, and I found some sand dunes where we can rent 4 wheel ATVs). We left at 6:00 am, and were checking out the first surf spot by 8:30. We heard it was bigger a little further south so we headed down through Rosarito. On the way, we rolled through an intersection without stopping at the stop sign — not because we were being reckless — because we couldn’t see the stop sign. I think they hide them on purpose. The cop pulled us over and told us we would have to go to the police station, fill out forms, and pay a $65 fine. We asked him if there was any way we could pay him the fine instead of having to go to the station and waste half of our Sunday morning. He jumped at the opportunity and said we could pay him. He slipped us a piece of paper with some Spanish words on it and told us to slide the money into the paper and hand it back to him. We did and he told us in his broken English that we should keep the whole thing between the three of us.

I was so angry as we pulled away. On the drive home, I tried to dissect my anger. First, I think it was a general frustration with a corrupt justice system that is so much bigger than I am. On the one hand, it is an efficient way to handle crime and punishment — you do something, you pay the price, and that’s it. On the other hand, it is a totally helpless feeling. The side with the guns, prisons, money, and co-ordinated political network has all the power. Second, I was really angry that we were tricked. We KNOW there are hidden stop signs there and should have paid better attention. And, we should have done a better job of bargaining with the cop. We probably could have paid him $20 instead of $60. I think we were just so confused about what was going on.

On another note, I’m still having some problems with the sinks. I think the right drain is busted. Going to suck it up and have a plumber come and check it out this week.

Highlight of this weekend includes burning piles of brush from our tree-trimming project. Erik and I drove around on Saturday looking for a cheap outdoor fireplace, which is perfectly legal in Costa Mesa. Target had one for $60, which was a little out of our range and too nice for our needs. We bought it anyway. But on the way home we decided to check out Home Depot. For $17 we bought a 30 gallon metal trash can. We drilled holes in the bottom of it and had a blazing fire. We call it the bum drum and pretended we were in Detroit under an overpass. It’s full of smouldering coals. We live in the best complex — everyone was just glad we were getting rid of the brush.

Surfed in some small waves yesterday. Water is now officially cold — in the 50’s. But the sun was warm and my wetsuit is toasty.

Gonna hit Mexico tomorrow morning for some surfin, tacos, and cervesas. Eric knows a few spots just South of the boarder. I hope the surf is up. Was hoping I could check out a few sofa places to see if they’ll make me a cheap one, but I think Bronwen’s going to go with Macy’s Home. Ordering furniture in Mexi is risky anyway.

I’m seriously getting in the Christmas spirit. Instead of our traditional Douglas Fir, we went with a mini rosemary tree in a pot and a fresh-cut wreath on the door. They smell so good. Also put up some white lights. I’m tempted to get a blow-up Santa snow globe, but we simply don’t have the room.

Looking for some new good music? I’ve been listening to two great albums: ColdPlay X&Y, and Christmas with the Rat Pack. Picked them up at Borders the other day. Fantastic stuff.