2006 - Staying Connected

As per Sappho's challenge:

Holiday Traditions/2006 Recap

Likes
Spending time with family and friends, the food (particularly desserts and candy), helping to decorate Christmas baking, How the Grinch Stole Christmas (original), time off from work/school, Trans-Siberian Orchestra carols, jazzy renditions of carols

Traditions
We always have dinner Christmas day with my Dad’s side of the family (usually at least 20 or more people, only 18 this year). My Gramma (paternal – only living grandparent) comes up and spends Christmas Eve with us, and we go to her church downtown for an evening mass. The only time of year I go to church, really (keeps peace).

My mom makes cinnamon buns for breakfast, which often accompany gift opening as well. Gift opening has moved to the early afternoon now, as my middle sister and her boyfriend go up to his house (an hour away) after church on Christmas Eve, and spend Christmas morning with his family before coming back down to have dinner with us.

Food

• Turkey, mashed potatoes, turnip, stuffing (icky - I don't eat it), buns, cranberry sauce, carrots/mushrooms/ green beans/onions (all stir fried together, yummy).
  
• Sugar cookies (with icing and crushed candy canes on top), millionaire bars, chocolate clusters, cherry chocolates.
  

Another tradition – only my dad & youngest sister like the cherry chocolates, so several years ago my mom said that they would have to make them if they wanted them, so they did, and still do now every year.

Holiday Story
I love my Christmas stocking. Its red, with a white border at the top, and on the front has a green gift that opens and has a little teddy bear attached inside. The teddy bear would stay awake for me and watch for Santa on Christmas Eve.

One year, when someone was opening a gift certificate, my youngest cousin (maybe 8 or so at the time) asked was it was. Someone jokingly said ‘A puppy!’, and the name kind of stuck (there were a lot of puppies that year, lol). So now g/c’s are still often referred to as ‘puppies’.

Looking Back
Rather lost and without direction at the beginning of the year, having decided not to pursue further schooling, and not sure what to do workwise (or even how/where to find work). Still am somewhat, as I don’t really know what my ideal job would be … but have gained a bit more experience, and am working on it. And working, yay! And commuting, boo.

Did lots of brave new things this year, many relationship related (ended one, asked a boy out (he said no – oh well! At least I did it!), went on lots of first dates). I've learned how to knit, and now just need a project to work on (with someone who I can call on to help me when I get stuck with one, lol). I've become more assertive, and have made great progress in letting old hurts go, moving forward.

Favorite moments – living downtown in luxury condo suite for the summer. Oh yes. Trip to Vancouver (too short! Would love to go back…). My gramma's 90th birthday party. Cathy & Ron’s wedding.

Looking Forward
I hope to find a job that I love and is enjoyable and challenging. I have no idea what form it will come in, so I’m keeping an open mind… I also hope that said job will enable me to move back to the city, and regain some independence.

I would love to travel, and hope that I can make it happen (although with a job … not sure. So maybe hold off on the job for awhile? Not quite sure how to reconcile the two wants – job, independence, more security vs travel, new life/learning experiences, perhaps uncertainty).

I would like to take more photographs, I haven’t really for the last few months, and I miss it. Same thing for the trampoline - I'd like to take classes again. I do want to continue learning, just not in a formal academic setting at the moment.

Karmic thoughts

Things I believe:
What goes around comes around.

Bravery should be rewarded (but often isn't).

Pushiness should not be rewarded (but often is).

Things I need to work on:
Letting go of things that don't matter in the long run. Like grudges (especially ones against pushy people who got their way by being pushy and annoying).

Because you know - one day, their uppence will come.

(Thank you, Family Guy)

Solstice

We are on the eve of the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year in terms of daylight. Which has been evident this past week, as I wait for the GO train at 7:20am and its still dark out ... not nice. Although the sunrises have been pretty as we near the city.

So the days and daylight hours can only increase from here, right? I want to see the dawning of the Age of Aquarius and letting the sunshine in ...

I don't do very good at waking up at the best of times, and find natural light to be helpful in starting the day off. My bedside lamp doesn't quite cut it, though it helps, and a small jar containing a little bit of a Croatian beach reminds me that there are warmer places to be.

Someday I shall be there too ...

New Favorite Simpsons line

Not from a new episode, but rather an old, rediscovered one from Season 5. Homer gets sick from the Kwik-E-Mart food and exposes Apu, causing Apu to be fired. Apu then decides he must repay his karmic debt to Homer, so begins doing odd jobs and helping out around the Simpson's house. One instance of this is when he cooks dinner for the family...

Marge: Lisa, are you okay? Is it too spicy?

Lisa (in a strained whisper): I can see through time ...!

Excellent. :) I wish I could find a video clip of it, no luck as of yet though.

My New Favorite Song

I came across this on YouTube Friday night, and have been watching it several times a day ever since ... : )

Nelly Furtado & Charlotte Church (former teenage opera/classical singer) doing a duet/cover of Gnarls Barkely's 'Crazy'.

Friday night random

Yummy, Japanese food in my tummy .... edamame, California rolls, beef teryaki. Yum yum yum. Good start to the weekend (especially with Chinese for dinner last night, in honour of Mom's bd). Best part about ordering in Chinese is the leftovers, I say ...

I got to meet a gecko tonight, a charming young creature who goes by the name of 'Mr. Gecko', although his true gender identity remains a mystery. He looked something like this fellow here. He fit in the palm of my hand, and was quite content to go exploring around and up and down my arm. I drew the line at letting him crawl up the sleeve of my winter coat though, much as he wanted to. His back was dry and bumpy, and his tummy smooth and soft (the better to slither with, my dear) - he kind of looked and moved like a snake with legs. Which doesn't really make sense, I know, but thats how it seemed to me. It was a very odd sensation, feeling his little feet step and smooth stomach slide across my hands. Cool, though.

Picture of a leopard gecko from animal-world.com.

Views of the moon

5pm, Monday - Full, but slightly covered over with clouds so that it looked like a smudge of light in the sky. Imagine a lake on a clear summer night, with the moon reflected in it - thats what the sky looked like.

7am, Tuesday - Full, and clear in a dark blue sky to the west, while the sun slowly creeps up behind me in the eastern sky. If not for that, I would think I was looking at a middle of the night sky.

6pm, Tuesday - Full, starting to wane, and rising. By some trick of the light there is a flare to the light it throws, so it looks star like. Imagine the north star in the nativity story, that lit up the night.

Imagine what the moon may look like tonight ....

Barrie Weekend

I hate looking at the blank text box, and not knowing what to say or where to start. Even when I have been noticing interesting things to write about, I have trouble actually sitting down and writing them, so they just rattle around in my head instead. Blah! I'm trying.

This past weekend was a lot of fun, got to spent quality time with my roomates (so what if we haven't actually lived together for several years). Up to Barrie to see Spart's Christmas-fied apartment, and give much love to the cute, Thomas. The once quiet kitty has become very vocal, and seeking of attention, seeing as he doesn't have company as often.

We trekked down to Toronto, braving weather and the dreaded 401-DVP merger to see the annual UofT Gospel Choir concert, fabulous as always. They sounded great, had a couple of powerful guest performers, and even did an encore of the 'Carribbean Medley' (which I just learned the name of, and has one of my favorite UTGC songs in it), which I wasn't expecting, seeing as its not really Christmas-y. And audience watching was fun too - there were some cute elderly people around us who got up (barely) to worship, and a young guy in front of us who looked like he might start speaking in tongues at any minute. Then a quick Greek dinner after (we were on the Danforth, after all!).

We made use of the Mac, the iPod for the trip down and back, primarily for singing along at the top of our lungs (well, maybe K's lungs ... mine don't go quite to the top, lol). Particularly to show tunes, but oldies, newer stuff, and Christmas as well. I almost wished we could drive longer, just so that we could keep singing together.

Back home, where I slept on the red bed (red couch with a pull out bed, with red sheets, pillows, and blanket). Accompanied for some of the night by the cute, who snored. But he's cute, so forgiven. He was willing to cuddle for a bit in the morning, and then wanted to play in the sheets when I stripped the bed later on, so I wrapped him up and poked the sheets around to make him attack. Cat in a blanket!

Then a visit to the Sweet 16 party for the youngest of the clan, complete with sibling serenades, lots of boxer shorts, and a phone call from a very special little lady. Then home again, through the snow (boo, I say. Boo to winter and snow!). But thank you to Spart & Thomas for the hospitality, I'll be back soon!