Know what I suddenly realized? I had a dentist appointment this morning. I slept right through it. Darn.
On to the important stuff. Last night was loads of fun! A spiritual company with strong ties to Grey's coven threw a party to celebrate Yule. Grey, Matt, Infinity Squared, and I arrived at the Unitarian church booked for the event two hours early thanks to a miscommunication, walking in on a math group who was scheduled before us. Fun! So, we hung out in the parking lot and warned the few others who arrived early. Later, when the High Priest arrived, we helped set up.
For the record - yes, Grey is a Witch. I don't call myself one at this point, but my belief system lies in that direction. I'm quite firm and comfortable in my beliefs and practices, I just don't know exactly how others would classify them. As in all areas of my life, I still try to learn all I can, from all directions.
A major part of the party involved everyone putting an ornament on a tree, and later taking a different one, as a pure form of exchanging gifts and blessings. I was really proud of the one I made, and was kind of sorry to see it go. But I got back a really neat one, and the person I suspect took mine could really use what it represented.
The first letter of my name dictated I was to bring a dessert, and I wanted to make something that even the vegan partiers could enjoy. I've never tried to bake anything vegan before, so I poked around until I found this recipe for vegan chocolate chip cookies. This was all at the last possible minute, mind you. I couldn't find any vegan sugar (white or brown) so I substituted two cups of (real) maple syrup, and I couldn't find vegan chips, so I substituted about a tablespoon of cinnamon. I also added an extra cup of flour, doled out half-inch-thick lumps on the cookie sheet, baked them for an extra five minutes, and sprinkled a pinch of cinnamon over the cookie tops. They came out all soft and biscuit-like, and were a huge hit with all. Grey demanded I make her up a batch.
What, I never mentioned that I'm an avid cook and recipe hacker? This entry is just chock-full of revelations, isn't it?
At one point during the night, I was the only guy dancing in a circle of happy women. Why, if I had a nickel for every time that has happened to me... I'd just have the one, actually. Darn.
Later on, we helped the High Priest and Priestess clean up, and we ended up being the last ones to leave. First in, last out. Neat!
I'm able to get comfortable anywhere, but sometimes I don't have to try at all. For example, I always feel really comfortable when surrounded by cheery magickal folk. It's similar to the feeling I get when surrounded by hackers and such at conventions, and when I was surrounded by theatre folk back in my regional theatre days. I suppose I've never sought out nor gotten totally used to feeling like I really belong somewhere, so it hits me extra hard when it does happen.
I still have to do my holiday shopping. I won't get paid until the weekend, so I'll probably end up doing it on Monday or so. You'd think someone who is now working his fourth or fifth consecutive holiday season in retail would have learned to plan ahead a bit.
Music - Benefit
Mood - Cheerful
