2003-12-29 - 4:55 p.m.

I�m recovering from five days of Christmas mania and am in a post-Christmas coma. It�s been nonstop Christmas action for days and days. My stepsister and her husband were visiting, and boy is she a do-er. We went to the Getty and Disneyland, ate lots, played games, did all kinds of family stuff, etc. etc. I�m exhausted. I need a vacation from my vacation.

I think my favorite part of this last whirlwind of a week was visiting my dad and his lady in Leucadia. Their house has been under construction for eons, but it�s finally coming together. My dad built a huge patio onto the back of the house. They have a view of the ocean and it�s beautiful, as views of the ocean tend to be. His lady is a gardening master, so the place is starting to have that comfy woods-by-the-sea overgrown garden feeling. I love woodsy seaside locales. She planted no fewer than eight different varieties of bamboo. It was so peaceful sitting out on the patio, all bundled up, chatting, sipping holidays treats. And my dad�s lady (a lunatic) did not disappoint in her proud tradition of giving weird gifts. This year I received a 50-pound ceramic plate featuring a mosaic of a rooster.

Another word on the gift front, my beloved boyfriend hooked me up. We had agreed to just give each other little things, since we�re investing in a real grownup bed. Nonetheless, Erik got me the Super Swell 40 GB iPod. It�s a majestic gadget. Walking over to the office kitchen area just now to load up a coffee filter with popcorn while listening to The Magnetic Fields on my very own iPod, I�ll confess I did feel awfully rad inside. And it has such good taste; it just selected Cat Stevens�there�s a million things to do, you know that there are...

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