As the Year Goes Tits Up

I misread the headline at Atrios's blog but it perfectly summed up my feelings, so I'm repurposing it here.  I actually feel pretty good about the country and its overall state right now, and I think although its been a hellish year in a lot of ways we should celebrate the roll out of the ACA, the transformation of our Health Insurance system towards full coverage for everyone, first steps in not bombing Iran just because John McCain and Michael Ledeen have nothing to do on Thursday, and a lot of other stuff. At any rate, some of us survived or will survive (spits surreptitiously three times) to see the dawning of 2014.  As for myself, I'm going to redouble my efforts politically in the new year. Hopefully I'll get my own applications in and be accepted into an MSW program. I have lots of things to be reading and projects to work on.

I'm off to prepare a random number and type of Chinese dishes for New Year's tonight.  Three hours to go before my oldest daughter submits all her college apps and we settle in for a Fringe marathon.  Somehow I think I'm going to make Red Cooked Beef with Noodles, Eggplant with ground meat, pork in the style of fish, dry fried string beans, pickled cabbage and bean sprouts, and sautéed broccoli and maybe a quick dish of chicken, szechuan peppers, and burnt red peppers.  Or as usual my spirit may be more willing than I have time.