Christmas Spirit?

Us Santa Cruzans traveled the grueling hour and half voyage north, over mountains, past tornadoes and sand storms, through enchanted forests, to the land of H&Ms and spaghetti shacks. You might assume that a shopping trip to S.F. in December would mean I was thinking of my loved ones who would soon benefit from my money spending. But, no, this trip was mostly selfish. Or, kind of. I didn't actually buy that much -- a sweater for David (it's true, he is a loved one), and some other crap for me. Mostly, however, this trip was for hanging out. Dave was helping S. prep a room in his house for painting, while the rest of us walked through Hayes Valley, looking at things we couldn't afford. But what's all this about a "spaghetti shack"? Well seven of us squeezed into this hip little joint in the mission and ate some pasta T-Rex style. The point is, although socializing does tend to exhaust me, this weekend kind of felt like a real vacation. I didn't think about school, or reading books, or grading papers. Nor did Dave. Well done.