A Festivus for the rest of us

Here's a post that probably won't make much sense except for the Seinfeld nerds out there, unless you do some research. Ever heard of Festivus? If not, read up.

...done? Great.

Life in Fremont is the source of constant amusement, and I was honestly not the least bit surprised when I started seeing posters about Fremot Festivus taking place on December 5th. Somehow, I had managed to miss this tradition in 2012 and 2013, but luckily not this year. Besides the customary Festivus practices, the celebrations also included the annual Lenin lighting; or, as the organizers so nicely put it, a chance to "Celebrate the start of the Fremont holiday shopping season by helping light up a bronze statue of a dead dictator!" Eh, count me in.

The hour-long festivities included everything you would expect, such as Airing of Grievances, Feats of Strength (at least, a version of it) and a proper Festivus pole.

In addition, the celebrations included some things you might not expect, such as representation from the city in the form of Miss Seattle. Yes, seriously. (The one with the tiara, to the left.)

Shani and I decided to make this event into a proper girls' night out, and after the decorated dictator was lit up we spent the evening going from place to place, happily shopping, eating and drinking; basically enjoying everything that makes Fremont such a gem.

The rest of the weekend was equally lovely; on Saturday Amanda and I met up at the University Village outdoor mall for a Christmassy breakfast/shopping date, which turned out to be not only super fun but also super efficient. Sunday meant football at Eastlake Bar & Grill (go Hawks!), after finishing a few things at work and then crossing off the last items on my Christmas list. Finally, as I'm writing this, a batch of just-made glögg is cooling on the stove behind my back; one bottle will be brought to work on Wednesday, and the other to the Frayos next weekend. Good times they are a-comin'.

Happy second Advent, from me and Vladimir!