You know the world is fast becoming something new when you come home and find out your mother has purchased a sweet flat-screen, state of the art Dell system, which kicks the ass of The Behemoth desktop computer you own and only use for printing and when your eyes hurt from squinting at the screen of your tiny laptop or the Mac laptop is otherwise occupied. We need a new desktop. But not more than other things at the moment. Just saying: new world order. Call Janet Jackson, Ms. Jackson if you're nasty.

Yesterday was the long, long day of driving and multiple family events. Everything went off without a hitch and was nice and exhausting. Got out to my parents at midnight last night after making the rounds, and Christopher had to get up this morning pre-dawn and drive an hour and a half to Lexington to work, and then will drive back out here. We'll hang for a bit tomorrow and then go back home, which will feel a little like Valhalla and us the conquered dead heroes.

Good loot though. And everyone seemed to like their presents from us. Best of all, I think we can now purchase our tix to Mexico in February, with our envelope booty. Being born on Christmas (like Christopher is) has its advantages.

Kelly and Gavin came through Tuesday night for far too brief a stop. We had Pad Thai and baklava and drank dessert wine from tiny chocolate cups they brought from Bonny Doon (I'm a fan, but really two little cups is more than enough) and ate this really interesting creamy cake thingie they also brought that tasted like a cross between Key Lime pie, cheesecake and some indefinable French creme. Yum.

We got them a Lynda Barry drawing of a dancing monkey girl for Christmas and oh, surprise of surprises, Lynda Barry included an extra Christmas drawing for each of us, plus lovely drawings and writing on the envelope. Go hither to ebay and buy things from her.

I had to go to work the next day, blech, and so didn't get to say a proper goodbye. Came home early midafternoon and collapsed for two hours, then Presents!

I opened my surprise Amazon Wish List giftie -- THE THIN MAN, yay! I'm very super excited to watch it, probably tomorrow night. I've always felt slothy for missing this one. (Thank you, Ms. M.)

Presents from Raleigh! Yay! I was so surprised and excited! Slammer! You read my mind! And I've stolen Christopher's copy of EMMA WHO SAVED MY LIFE and am in love with this book, and he's now reading GOSPEL (which I got him for x-mas). I promised I'd read it superfast so he can. Yay!

(Can I just say here that I'm glad I met Wilton before I found out he's a fucking genius writer? I would have been beyond intimidated having read this book prior to meeting him.)

Then, we opened our little trinkets for each other. More surprises! More good stuff! Buffy Season 5! Pulp fiction purse! MR James collection! Alfred Bester collection for him, Johnny Cash CD... We're having a tiny Christmas with each other and saving our money for San Miguel.

Then the parade of family things at which we also got lots of good stuffings.

In case you missed this from Salon on Tuesday, a minister who lives where we do is trying to organize a progressive religious movement. This is the first thing I've encountered in a long, long time that's made me consider going inside a church. An excerpt:

How is your view of Christianity different from that practiced and preached by George W. Bush or others who consider themselves religious conservatives?

Well, I'm not part of the evangelical right. I believe that God's spirit is inclusive, not exclusive. I believe that the public marketplace -- the place where ideas are exchanged and decisions are made -- is not to be monopolized by one religious point of view.

I believe that we are an open country with religious and even non-religious diversity, and that's a good thing, a democratic thing and very American.

And then I believe part of the appeal of the evangelical religion is for offering certainty, not faith. Certainty about what's doctrinally correct. I think one of the dangers of religion is to believe we've got God all buttoned down. And I believe just the opposite. I believe in the freedom and mystery of God that doesn't allow us to be certain but allows us to be loving.

To put it in street talk, I look more to how people live than what they say they believe.

Good thought to leave on. Coming soon: end of the year review type stuff. For some unknown reason.

earworm: "Sancho Panza," Sun Kil Moon

random rec: EMMA WHO SAVED MY LIFE by Wilton Barnhardt (this is fucking brilliant go read it now)

namecheck: Wilton "Did I Mention You Should Go Read His Books Immediately?" Barnhardt