eptivity

So we’re moving to England! Sometime next month, although it will not be official until Cenaida and others who are at the very top of the notification list receive a simultaneous text message confirming our plans. I have been preparing to live in an entirely foreign country by reading things like An American Looks at Britain, British English A to Zed, and Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour. Stephan is preparing by reading Among the Thugs, a riveting look into the underbelly of football hooliganism. I’m planning on reading it too, of course, but our differing choice of literature cracks me up.

We are gearing up for a full holiday season. I’ve always heard people, mostly my close personal friends in women’s magazines, complain about how busy they are during this time of year, but I’ve never experienced it until this year. Christmas parties! Cookie exchanges! White elephant parties! Plus actual Christmas!

And also, and more important than usual: my birthday! A big one! The only present under our tree, which was thoughtfully provided by Tony in spite of Stephan’s bah-humbuguity and which has heretofore not infested our apartment with spiders, is my birthday present from Stephan. “It’s a secret,” and whenever I make a guess as to its identity, I get “maybe, maybe not.” This is because last year, I (correctly) guessed that I was getting the complete Calvin and Hobbes set based on a) they’re books and b) it’s a trilogy.

Don’t tell Stephan, but I think I might like the guessing part better than the actual receiving part.