excited!!!!!!!!!

Just look at that face.



I haven't been this thrilled by a christmas gift since rollerblades.

In heaven the bells are ringing

I have a good feeling about these scalloped potatoes. And I hate to say it, but at almost 20 years of age I still get pretty excited when I see all those presents under the tree. However, I am also excited about church tonight. So I guess I am not that bad a person. mmmm candles, carols, melancholy goodness. Can't wait.

I almost forgot about my resolution to post the lyrics of amazing Christmas carols. Good thing I am so narcissistic and enjoy reading my old blogs over and over again. Phew!

Anyway, ok, I guess Oh Little Town of Bethlehem is pretty amazing!

Oh little town of Bethlehem,
how still we see thee lie.
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep,
the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
the everlasting light,
the hopes and fears of all the years
are met in thee tonight.

How silently, how silently,
the wondrous gift is given,
how God imparts to human hearts
the blessings of his heaven.
No ear may hear him coming,
but in this world of sin,
where meek souls will receive him still
the dear Christ enters in.

This song is amazing because it's about how God chooses small and weak things to do his will. Like for instance Bethlehem and us. How he does things quietly and doesn't need make a big show about it in order for it to mean something big. It's just that there was this small quiet little town called Bethlehem and one night God was born there. That's all. So simple and yet so profound. Also this song has a really great melody that must have some minor chords or something that makes it sound so dark and beautiful. When I hear this song I feel like for a few minutes, I understand.

Oh, Tannenbaum...

I found this little thingy on my starbucks cup tongiht and I thought it was pretty cute:

Classic hats and corncob pipes embellish frosty makeovers, leaving us some temporary but well-accessorized lawn buddies.

I have not been to starbucks forever because they don't have one on my campus. But I kind of miss it a little. They do a really good job of making you feel warm and cozy, with the Christmas decorations and the music and the smells. I was actually pretty disappointed when my drink was done, I wanted to stay and look at the mugs.

There is something about finals week that makes me wanna decorate the shit out of my walls with tape. Last night, Anu and I, I mean Santa, decked the halls. It's glorious. See for yourself.



...Wie treu sind deine Blätter!

falalalala, lalalala

thanks to yasha, we have christmas lights! on our balcony! hoorah!

can't wait for thanksgiving and seeing everyone and stuffing and gravy and decorating the house for christmas!

but first, two midterms and a german essay.

your mother said it's very expensive

I got my Songs For Christmas box set thingy in the mail finally. I have already heard the music, so no big surprise there, but I did spend a good hour or so reading through all the stuff that comes with it. It is all very incredible and great. I am in general a bigger fan of Christmas than Sufjan and this Rick Moody character, due to the fact that my family is dissapointingly functional. However, what they say is so true true true. So, for those of you who don't celebrate Christmas (and I have a relatively large number of friends who do not) or only celebrate the santa half, or wonder why I make such a big deal about it in general, what you should do is read those essays. If you care that much. Which you probably don't. But I do, and so thanks Sufjan and friends for this lovely little paradox of magic and misery wrapped up in metalic green paper and tied with a bow!

Also, I was dissapointed to find that some of my favorite x-mas tunes such as "Once in Royal David's City" and "Bring a Torch, Jeanetter, Isabella," are sung not by Sufjan but by Vito Aiuto of "Vito's Ordination Song"!!!! That makes me feel really weird. But hey, Vito, you're cool! I like your voice. I heard also that you are a pastor, and that is cool too. Keep up the good work.

Also, I have replaced my Bob Dylan-Modern Times poster with my new santa sufjan poster. This means a lot more to me than I would care to explain now, but chances are if you're reading this we have already talked about it. Screw Bob Dylan and the sixties and their ideology! Hooray Sufjan!

ich schreibe auf deutsch

Today my german teacher asked me if I was a writing major. I said maybe. She said it shows in my essays, even though they are in German and full of grammatical errors. That pretty much made my day. I can't wait till she reads the one I just turned in about going to see Sufjan Stevens.

I write about Sufjan Stevens waaaaaaay too much in this blog. If he is ever bored one day and googles his name and this comes up, I will be severely ashamed of myself. Sufjan, if you are reading this, I'm sorry, I really am.

But it's too late to turn back now, so I supose I may as well share my thoughts on volume 5 of songs for christmas: I don't really know how I feel about the original songs, and this volume has the highest ratio of them. They are good of course, but kind of rough-draft sounding, like the Avalanche of christmas songs. Also, they don't seem to capture the spirit of Christmas as much as, say, "We're Going to the Country" or "Put the Lights on the Tree." Also he is actually pretty explicit in some of them about like, some relationship that seems to have gone wrong around Christmas time? And this makes me sad because I don't like to think of Sufjan having girlfriends. But it doesn't really matter about those songs, because OH MY GOD, the simple piano solos in between each one are the most beautiful and magnificent things I have heard in a long time, and they make me remember childhood scenes and feelings that I haven't remembered or felt for years. As for his version of "Holy Holy Holy"....I honestly have no words. When I heard it yesterday for the first time I could do nothing but literally curl up in a ball under my blanket and smile to myself while picturing children's christmas pageants and mashed potatos. Sufjan, are you still reading? If so, keep in mind that if you ever run out of ideas for original songs, you could probably make a very good living just recording hymns in your beautiful voice for suckers like me to shed a tear or two over.

Holy^3

Today I pretty much spent the entire day waiting to get home and listen to songs for Chritmas volumes 4 and 5 (Which I did just now, and all I can say is, wow). Also, it was cold today. So you all know what's been on my mind. But in case you still have your doubts, I will provide proof:



(This one is made special for Amy)






A total of two and a half hours sitting in literature class and a half hour break in the middle for coffee shop sitting will do that to you.

In other news, I may have failed my physics midterm.

In other news, it's Halloween and I really couldn't care less.

In other news, isn't Spanish a beautiful language?

I think about how we could run away
now that it's Christmas time
we could travel in a one horse open sleigh
now that it's Christmas time

yes please!

Ding dong merrily on high!

Yesterday my brother told me that he listened to the album "Illinois" by Sufjan Stevens pretty much every day for nine months straight. I could instantly relate to that, and told him so. Only for me, it's "Songs for Christmas" volumes 1-3. I am now on my sixth month of religious, near daily listening, but there is no danger of me getting bored within the next 3, because soon I will have TWO MORE VOUMES of pure joy and gladness at my disposal. Combined with Vince Guaraldi's trusty old "Charlie Brown Christmas" masterpiece which I have not yet busted out this fall, this should get me through Christmas day at the very least, and has the potential, I think, of carrying me all the way through 2007. I can't wait till November 24th! Light up the yule log! Deck the halls! Get out your nativity scenes with moveable parts! Christmas is coming!