State of the Union Of Mind, Body, and Soul

Well, the past week has been a nice vacation from the usual grind. Christmas was nice, as I got to spend some time with my family, including my visiting grandmother. After a while, though, as is the way of such things, I began to crave the company of individuals outside of my gene pool. On Friday, I went over to see some friends in Seattle. I knocked on their door, which was answered by my friend Noel, who was just putting on his pants. As I walked in the door, Jean (Ethan and Noel's dad) emerged from the basement in nothing but his boxers and a t-shirt. Ethan soon came over from the next-door neighbor's and it was a joyous reunion. He and I then went over to Luther Burbank Park on Mercer Island, where we stood in the cold on the docks looking out over the lake, as we caught up on everything from the happenings of our lives, to philosophy, to Battlestar Galactica, to Lost, to James Bond, and of course Mystery Science Theater 3000 (this is a constant thought on our minds, and always comes up whenever the two of us gather). We returned to find Noel emerging from the shower clad only in a towel, and Jean stripped down to naught but his boxers and his Converse All-Stars. This was an on-going trend in matters. After a hearty laugh, we grabbed the now-fully-clothed Noel and headed over to Scarecrow Video (THE cinephile's movie store in Seattle, one that makes your typical Blockbuster video look like the selection at the grocery store), where we picked up Cavid Dopperfield by Darles Chickens (the well-known Dutch author) and Star Trek V: Shatner Jumps the Shark. We then snagged a razor for Noel at the drugstore and returned to Ethan and Noel's lair, where we downloaded the accompanying rifftrax, which proved to be most hilarious. In the evening, I drove Ethan to Bellevue, where he was meeting his girlfriend for dinner at Z'Tejas (Z'NO!). The next day, we finished Star Trek V: Nimoy Vows Revenge On Shatner For His Hubris, as our good friend Megan came over for more fun and entertainment. Ethan, Megan, and I ended up at a tiny Ethiopian cafe, which was really just some guy's house by all appearance. The food was good, but the service was, well, informal. We were greeted by a guy who asked us "do you guys want some food?"
"Uh...yeah..." we replied.
"Cool, what do you want?"
"What do you have?"
"Well, we've got lamb, chicken, beef, vegetarian...what would you like?"
And you get the picture. At any rate, the food was good, and as a result we all smelled strongly of Ethiopian food. We then got some donuts at a local donut shop, and then returned to Ethan's for some general hilarity involving Jean's forthcoming photography book and Flight of the Conchords. We then played a bit of MindTrap (IT'S A [mind] TRAAAAP!!!), and generally had a good time with the ridiculous trick questions. And that's the way it was. I will say this: every time I visit Ethan, Noel, Jean, and Karen, I have a good time, as they are such a warm and welcoming family, the likes of which are a rare commodity, and whose company I find eternally joyous. I was most grateful to see them, and I hope to see them again next time I am in the Seattle area. In short, this has been a most enjoyable holiday for me, though I am eager to get back to my frozen redoubt in Spokane, the flight to which leaves tonight. In conclusion, I wish all three of my regular readers a happy and safe New Year filled with peace and long life. Live Long and Prosper, people!