merry christmas from Oregon!

so by now the nyc transit strike has come and gone. while it was a pain for all us nyc commuters, it also provided us the chance to walk unreasonably long distances is freezing cold weather. the up side to this? getting to see the city change from area to area as you make your way down the island. also, avoiding the $20 flat-rate cab fare, per person. the downsides to walking? getting a pretty icky sickness (neal) and getting two extrememly swollen and painful left pink and ring toes (hollye). however, it is with much pleasure that i tell you that in exactly 5 hours our ride to the airport will be arriving, in 9 hours our flight will be leaving, and in 12 hours we will be in oregon! with that, please share these photos of our recent walk around manhattan........

1. neal and hollye will be here tomorrow.

2. for the first time ever all the kids in my family will be together without my mom.

3. cats don't always land on their feet.

4. ben and jerry's is releasing a flavor for 2006 called bananas on the rum.

5. they're also releasing one called turtle soup.

6. i made all of my family presents this year and now i want to keep them for myself

7. i never watch jay leno, but for some reason i did last night. i almost peed myself laughing. that terry bradshaw is funnier than SOME of you might think.

and what do neal and hollye have to say about this...

well there are a lot of things that i could post about.  most of which would probably qualify as genius-grade BS in most circles... but here at indocilis, it will probably barely register on the meter of importance/significance.  i intend this to be a long post, and highly entertaining, so it will be interesting to see how it turns out...  ok, here is the main theme.  embarassment.  this will come as no surprise to the more veteran/savvy of the readers out there who will have noticed by now that that is the title of the post.  regardless.  embarassment is everywhere, and it is interesting to note how we deal with it.  those of you have known me for some (or hardly any) time will know with a high degree of certainty that embarassment is a constant fixture in my existence.  for instance, there is the time that i spilled scalding hot pizza sauce on my chin right before a political debate i was in, and then went way over time on my opening remarks and had to have the moderator interupt me and inform me that i had to stop.  that was embarassing. real real embarassing.  there was also the time that i went to intercept a football in the endzone and ran smack into the soccer goal posts resulting in a line of bruises that extended from my shins to my forhead.  also embarassing was when i attempted to make an eloquent and touching toast at corey's wedding and ended up just grunting and stuttering and making everyone wish they weren't in the room.  um... lets see... what else... oh, yeah, there is also the time when every one made fun of me for video-taping casey eels too much in the class mock-trial (i was the court video-taper) and i somehow made mrs. V so mad about it that she sent me to sit with the 3rd graders for a couple of hours... actually, in hindsight i dont really know what the heck happened there... also, more recently, ive been known to stand up entire rooms of opera people, make ugly old-man faces, blurt out the painfully and embarassingly obvious,  forget the name of relatives when introducing them, grow various mustaches, not to mention hang on the rim at an OC bball game after missing the dunk.

hi from summer camp! things here are so cool! ... i'm having soooo much fun!! i'm sending you this picture of me with my new bff (best friend forever) from camp

her name is ashely lyons. she likes to read the babysitters club, just like me! we are reading the same book right now!  its the one where jasmine gets those really scary phone calls when she's babysitting for tanya and andy.

but its soooo cool to have someone soooo cool as my new best friend.

she's from alaska, but really likes it out here in nebraska. we hang out every day. we even made each other best friend bracelets. they match, which is totally cool .

there is soooo much to do out here. we ride horses, make smoores, sing campfire songs, swim... and we even got to deliver a baby one day! i just never want to leave!!!

but oh my gosh i miss you guys so much!!!!!! i hope things are good at home! give rusty and edna a big hug for me. i'll write again soon! i miss you guys soooo much!!

ps. i have soooo many pictures to show you!!!

pps. write back soon!!!

well...it's that time of year again...only...like snow in july...it's not really quite that time of year again...in fact it's two months early...i'd write all about it but it turns out i don't have to...see below...and if anyone knows what's wrong with me...please help.

I have never been so offended Before!  If I have to tolerate one more outrage against my computer skills, I will not tolerate it!!!  It's time for me to defend my hononur!!!!  Oh, uh....wait....wait a second here.......where's that new ribbon?

Okay, I'm back!!!  (yes, that's a joke about using a typewriter to connect to the internet)(yes, the joke was preceded by a demonstration of my computer abilities)

But seriously, though.  Why, Neal, do you choose to mock the ignorant?  Why rub it in our 19th-century noses?  It's just unkind, Neal.  I, except for my jokes about Allen Iverson, never make fun of people who don't know any better.  You make it your routine.  I'll tell you what you can do with your self-righteous computer terminology and your exclusionary basic knowledge.  You can get a pencil and paper, write it all down very slowly by hand, and shove it up your carpal tunnel!!!  I am the new Amish people, Neal.  I live a lifestyle that has been abandoned by weaker individuals.  I protect myself from new things becuase they are new and that's not what I was planning on.  So go ahead, Neal.  Go ahead and click your life away on the computer with your photographs and links.  But if you ever set foot on my farm, me and the missus will keel yew.  KEEL!

Happy holidays all. From my heart to yours.

well ladies and gents, we have arrived... i dont mean to say this just too garner support and bouy hopes worldwide (not to mention rally markets), but rather as a plain and simple (yet still good, like vanilla yogurt) statement of fact.  we are indebted (im afraid) mostly to jason, but rest assured all of the indo-lites have had a hand in or at least made cynical and snide comments about this distinct and unparalleled progress.  so, here it is!

evidence A 

^^^^dont forget to click this too!^^^^

(yes, jeff you click on the gray box with the blue border and something magical will happen)

finally i would like to point out that i have successfully posted, not just an image, but an infinitely more complex and impressive "pop-up-window!"  this despite my lack of education and knowledge of computer fundamentals... jeff, corey, im not sure how you have mastered it... its not as though you've had years to learn or anything, or, for that matter, someone who you could call or email to guide you along the way should you get stumped.  regardless...

before you finish this post, make sure you find both places to click and see stuff... i know sometimes some of your more jr. viewers struggle to locate all of the diverse and interesting content here at http://www.indocilis.com.

finally, thanks to all you fans! keep that fanmail coming, and dont forget to tip your waitress!!

Corey,  I hear that you have a Christmas tree in your house, yes? 

1.  First of all, how dare you.

2.  Secondly, I challenge you to a pathetic-off!

That's right.  This year Jen and I have a very special tree in our home.  I did not think it really existed, but Jen and I managed to find, cut down, and decorate the fabled "ugly tree" that so many American women have fallen out of, hitting every single branch as they fell.  We figured that the ugliest tree on the lot was probably the loneliest, and therefore in the most need of a home for the holidays (although we would later discover that our "charity" would cost the tree its life).  At any rate, if anyone here thinks that their tree is ugly, let them prove it with photos!!!!

(I'll try to post some of my own, but that is not a likely proposition)

things happening in the big apple: neal is on campus a lot. neal has only 3 more days of classes. neal has a test on december 22nd. (blah). it snowed a few days ago. (cool!) christmas trees are for sale. i am listening to "hark! the herald angels sing," by the peanuts gang. i am beginning a new project for the United States Bowling Congress youth program. rick moranis released a country album? it is very cold outside. it will get colder. neal and i got some new winter shoes. i had to change the roll of toliet paper yesterday. cats may be mutating. we ate sushi for lunch today. i must watch "home alone" at least once this season. december is going by fast. rental handbags!? countdown to oregon: 18 days!

I've recently noticed that neither Don Brighton nor Mr. McVolpe have RSVP'd for the upcoming New Years bash. This is, at the very least, troubling. The following photos are intended for inspiration purposes....A friendly reminder of what once was...and could be again.