Holiday Spirit

Nothing says Christmastime more than your favorite holiday movie and in Jared's case, that means watching Home Alone.  Lucky for me, Home Alone ranks second in favorite Christmas movies after Gremlins, so I am happy to indulge as well.  Last year, we celebrated with cheese pizza and Pepsi (and no one wet the bed afterward).  This year, I discovered that the Roxie theater had a special Sunday afternoon matinee of Home Alone, "Drunk + Alone," featuring Prohibition beer and Humphrey Slocombe ice cream floats, a drunk Santa, and a rowdy 20-something crowd (the one kid in attendance looked a bit bored).  The combination led to most people being drunk, but no one was alone.

Holiday Gift Guide: the Jared & Lindsay edition

Although the internet is currently flooded with holiday gift guides, we thought this would be the perfect opportuity to provide ideas for the recently married, often migrant, young Bay Area-dwelling couple on your list. Although few would say no to an iPAD and its corresponding designer case,we have created a list that is far more suited to the needs of a young San Franciscan who might just happen to be named Lindsay or Jared:

1. Parking Space- $250/month- the ultimate luxury.

2. Spacious Closet- $3000 for complete redesign- would free up a lot of kitchen cabinet space

3. Teleporter- $ unknown- would considerably reduce Jared's daily commute time

4. Friends- $150 (a few rounds of drinks)- superfluous? possibly, but usually leads to a good time.

5. Dog- $75 (adoption costs)- strictly outlawed by the evil Bernstein property management group

6. House- $MP- probably more out of our reach than the teleporter

So if a certain item tickles your fancy, feel free to package up and send to your favorite Texpatriates this holiday season!

Bon Voyage to Me!

Oui, that is correct j'irai a Paris on December 15th!  I have decided that there is really no reason to sit around and hope a job is going to simply appear- especially during the holiday season- and the prudent thing for someone in my situation to do is to go on an extravagant trip. Although I am pretty sure this is going to have  negative effects on the "money" category in my performance metrics, my   incredibly generous and persuasive cousin convinced me there was really no other option.

Upon booking my trip, I immediately focused on the bare essentials: how to order a bottle of wine (didn't think ordering just a glass would come up that often), how to say: "I am a typical American. I do not speak French," and what to wear on my voyage francais.

Initial reports from the Parisienne front show that it is FREEZING and sometimes even snowing.  This definitely will affect my packing so I decided to do a bit of research to figure out what a Parisienne might wear in such weather.  After perusing Paris street fashion blogs for the winter season, I present some initial results:

A severe but weather appropriate option as it calls to mind a bed quilt. Might need to start scheduling hair appointments to get this look in time...

Whimsical, yes, but could lead to difficulties in tight spaces

 

Sort of a futuristic Russian look, which is never really out of fashion

Fewer than 300 baby foxes were harmed in the making of this coat, making it a surprisingly eco-friendly option.



Although each of these options present a strong case, I feel that it is likely that my search will continue for the perfect Parisienne winter get up. Feel free to help me out by sending links to any additional outfit options that you feel would really help me blend in while ordering wine only by the bottle and reinforcing stereotypes of Americans' lack of linguistic abilities in the land of the bidet.

Jimmy Cup 4: Retribution

Retribution has been acheived. No longer is a Galvin ceremoniously drinking out of the 3 foot chalice of ancient lore. After two long years, a Drakeley again owns the Cup and there are no plans to relinquish the crown for years to come.

Here are some images of how it all went down:

The former champ enjoying one last drink out of the Cup.



 Yep, we get celebrities. Bobby Carpenter was in full effect at Jimmy Cup 4.

Mack made his presence felt by taking home the Chutch in his first appearance while Marie added some tough East Coast flavor to the event in her debut.

All smiles from a former champ and her competition.  Glad they had a good time, but they should consider adopting Mike's more focused intensity if they want to regain the title next year.

 The face of a bald eagle fueled champion triumphing over Mom Galvin.

Jimmy Cup 5 should be interesting...



9th Annual DAT

Once again, competitors arrived from near and far to compete in the annual Day-After-Thanksgiving foosball and ping-pong tournaments. Representatives from Korea, California, New York, Italy, and Texas battled it out in an epic struggle for greatness.  Only those with the greatest table-sport abilities and resistance to the often crippling effects of spending too much time around the keg emerged victorious.

Despite the heckling of onlookers from the "walnut gallery," a previously unknown 16 yr-old ringer won the ping-pong tournament in a last round defeat of the perpetually-confident Michael Galvin.  Discouraged by the pattern of globally ranked  underage tennis players taking the title, minimum drinking requirements might be instated in years to come to ensure a level playing field for all competitors.

 

Inside, an unsurprising series of events took place as the "randomly" selected team of Tara & Dad Galvin worked their way to the top of the ranks and to eventual victory.  Neither Jared nor my team made it into the final rounds, but we definitely made a respectable showing and transferred our efforts to socializing and tending to the needs of the keg.

All in all, the 9th Annual DAT party was an unquestioned success!