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Little, Big
Dec. 18th, 2011 04:39 amParty went well. People trickled in from 6 to 7, and we had them make pomanders, cut snowflakes (not sure anyone did that one), and decorate cookies. Appetizers and drinks went around. Then we played pass the parcel with dares, ate dinner, did presents, a quiz game, took a short break, then sang carols Jo played on the piano. All but three people left then, and we put on Muppet Christmas Carol for a bit. I'd cleaned up the kitchen a lot so we could serve dinner, and Kassia did a TON of dishes, and I put away food and did the rest of them. I've still got to do surfaces and the floor tomorrow, but other than that, and giving the living room a quick going-over/put away people's sleeping stuff, the clean-up's done. A fair amount of left-overs, but nothing we can't freeze and use on Christmas Eve & Day or eat now (hello rest-of-the cheese platter, my own love).
So I'm glad it's done, because I was sort of hunkered down planning it, and glad it went okay. It shows that I should scale down my other menus a bit, because this was a lot of food, and easily fed 12 people with leftovers, and those meals (on a similar scale) are intended for 5 (potentially 7). All I can really do is make the sides and everything in pretty small portions, or in regular portions and plan on eating some of that before and after, while also making a nice presentation on the day.
I had to drop the Yule Log for time/because it was WAY too much food. Was going to serve up one of the Christmas Cakes instead, but there was WAY too much food to fuck around with marzipaning and icing it.
Tomorrow maybe we should finish the downstairs and/or upstairs bathrooms. Still want to clean and do paint touch-ups on the bannisters before people come over for Christmas. Probably not enough time/energy/money to also redo kitchen atm, esp. as we're not entirely sure what needs/should be done w/ it. Painting, but what color? A strip of the cool blue tile I found in the basement somewhere?
Pruned food to-do list and found out how to make everything ahead and freeze it. Make final present to-do list. Asked Katy questions about both. Coming along there, I feel.
* must do b_e recs (at least 3)
* must remember how to write by doing some drabbles
* must finish silly Christmas fic
* must clear up the roommate mess
* must go out to sushi place for anniversary before certificate sours or something
* must do food prep for Eve and Day
* must finish motherfucking book review (and start new one)
* must write quickie end of year SH round-up
Ideally:
* do Shalka script
* do job aps
Then visa/financing stuff depending on what I've heard after Christmas. I can't do much about it now, without their bit, and UCL's. Given the time Cambridge is taking, may well have to get the potential-student visa. Eugh.
In grimmer news, here's an article about the internment camps being set up for 'Civilian Internees', aka American citizens declared to be personally 'at war with America' by a member of the executive branch: http://sdoccupypress.org/2011/12/16/smile-youre-a-civilian-internee-click-here/ .
"The food situation is similarly unpleasant considering that “Subsistence for the CI will be issued on the basis of a master CI menu prepared by the theater commander.”
“The daily individual food ration will be sufficient in quantity, quality and variety to maintain the CI in good health and to prevent nutritional deficiencies,” although they make it clear that if you perform physical labor you receive more food depending on the kind of labor performed.
Therefore, if whatever food they decide is “sufficient in quantity, quality and variety” is not enough (which it likely won’t be) you’ll be forced to work hard manual labor to get additional food.
Although, you can use facilities to prepare “additional food received or procured by [the CI] from authorized sources.”
What these authorized sources are is unclear but it is likely the case, like in private prisons, that they will make foods available to prisoners at exorbitant prices which is all too appealing given the horrendous quality of the food provided."
"It gets even more fascinating when they get to section 6-7, “Social, Intellectual, and Religious activities,” which says, “Subject to security considerations and camp discipline, the CI will be encouraged, but not required, to participate in social, intellectual, religious, and recreational activities.”
Well, that doesn’t sound too bad, right?
The next sentence might change your mind, “Introducing political overtones into or furthering enemy propaganda objectives through these activities will not be tolerated.”
In other words, if you engage in discussing politics or the truth of the situation (which is likely to be designated as an act of furthering enemy propaganda objectives) you will not be allowed to participate in any social, intellectual, religious or recreational activities."
The creep goes on. It all feels so unreal and increasingly terrifying. I don't mean to be histrionic, but I'm becoming actually frightened by the prospect of living at home, and I don't think it's entirely unrealistic to wonder whether, in the next decade or two, I'll be filing for UK residency as a refugee or asylum seeker under common provisions for ex-pat or progressive Americans. It sounds panicky and stupid, but a friend of mine told me a year ago that because a group we'd protested with (basic anti-war shit) and been on the mailing lists for back in high school had subsequently made the increasingly bloated terrorist groups watchlists, we might have to worry seriously about no-fly issues. I mean I'm in no way whatsoever a big fish, but it might not take that, if they started to get trigger happy and want to use the new facilities/provision for detention on suspicion and without trial they've set up. And that's always the way of granting power/equipment--people want to get use out of it. Stupider miscarriages of justice have happened, happen all the time. I wish I didn't still have family and close friends there. England and Europe are far from perfect, but while I'm often frustrated here, I rarely feel really afraid for myself and for the potentialities of the country's future.
So I'm glad it's done, because I was sort of hunkered down planning it, and glad it went okay. It shows that I should scale down my other menus a bit, because this was a lot of food, and easily fed 12 people with leftovers, and those meals (on a similar scale) are intended for 5 (potentially 7). All I can really do is make the sides and everything in pretty small portions, or in regular portions and plan on eating some of that before and after, while also making a nice presentation on the day.
I had to drop the Yule Log for time/because it was WAY too much food. Was going to serve up one of the Christmas Cakes instead, but there was WAY too much food to fuck around with marzipaning and icing it.
Tomorrow maybe we should finish the downstairs and/or upstairs bathrooms. Still want to clean and do paint touch-ups on the bannisters before people come over for Christmas. Probably not enough time/energy/money to also redo kitchen atm, esp. as we're not entirely sure what needs/should be done w/ it. Painting, but what color? A strip of the cool blue tile I found in the basement somewhere?
Pruned food to-do list and found out how to make everything ahead and freeze it. Make final present to-do list. Asked Katy questions about both. Coming along there, I feel.
* must do b_e recs (at least 3)
* must remember how to write by doing some drabbles
* must finish silly Christmas fic
* must clear up the roommate mess
* must go out to sushi place for anniversary before certificate sours or something
* must do food prep for Eve and Day
* must finish motherfucking book review (and start new one)
* must write quickie end of year SH round-up
Ideally:
* do Shalka script
* do job aps
Then visa/financing stuff depending on what I've heard after Christmas. I can't do much about it now, without their bit, and UCL's. Given the time Cambridge is taking, may well have to get the potential-student visa. Eugh.
In grimmer news, here's an article about the internment camps being set up for 'Civilian Internees', aka American citizens declared to be personally 'at war with America' by a member of the executive branch: http://sdoccupypress.org/2011/12/16/smile-youre-a-civilian-internee-click-here/ .
"The food situation is similarly unpleasant considering that “Subsistence for the CI will be issued on the basis of a master CI menu prepared by the theater commander.”
“The daily individual food ration will be sufficient in quantity, quality and variety to maintain the CI in good health and to prevent nutritional deficiencies,” although they make it clear that if you perform physical labor you receive more food depending on the kind of labor performed.
Therefore, if whatever food they decide is “sufficient in quantity, quality and variety” is not enough (which it likely won’t be) you’ll be forced to work hard manual labor to get additional food.
Although, you can use facilities to prepare “additional food received or procured by [the CI] from authorized sources.”
What these authorized sources are is unclear but it is likely the case, like in private prisons, that they will make foods available to prisoners at exorbitant prices which is all too appealing given the horrendous quality of the food provided."
"It gets even more fascinating when they get to section 6-7, “Social, Intellectual, and Religious activities,” which says, “Subject to security considerations and camp discipline, the CI will be encouraged, but not required, to participate in social, intellectual, religious, and recreational activities.”
Well, that doesn’t sound too bad, right?
The next sentence might change your mind, “Introducing political overtones into or furthering enemy propaganda objectives through these activities will not be tolerated.”
In other words, if you engage in discussing politics or the truth of the situation (which is likely to be designated as an act of furthering enemy propaganda objectives) you will not be allowed to participate in any social, intellectual, religious or recreational activities."
The creep goes on. It all feels so unreal and increasingly terrifying. I don't mean to be histrionic, but I'm becoming actually frightened by the prospect of living at home, and I don't think it's entirely unrealistic to wonder whether, in the next decade or two, I'll be filing for UK residency as a refugee or asylum seeker under common provisions for ex-pat or progressive Americans. It sounds panicky and stupid, but a friend of mine told me a year ago that because a group we'd protested with (basic anti-war shit) and been on the mailing lists for back in high school had subsequently made the increasingly bloated terrorist groups watchlists, we might have to worry seriously about no-fly issues. I mean I'm in no way whatsoever a big fish, but it might not take that, if they started to get trigger happy and want to use the new facilities/provision for detention on suspicion and without trial they've set up. And that's always the way of granting power/equipment--people want to get use out of it. Stupider miscarriages of justice have happened, happen all the time. I wish I didn't still have family and close friends there. England and Europe are far from perfect, but while I'm often frustrated here, I rarely feel really afraid for myself and for the potentialities of the country's future.
