Arrividercci, 2006

I am so very content right now. Christmas vacation is, I have decided, a combination of all of my most treasured things and people. Not only do I get to hang out with my family and relatives nearly 24/7, but there is much opportunity for enjoyment of movies, art-goodness, theological and philosophical conversations with Jess, Bluth family hilarity, traipsing around outside, and so on. To add to the fun of this Christmas, I am recuperating from my fortnight-long illness in my favourite convalescence modus operandi: with a raspy voice. On Christmas Day, I sounded strikingly like Barry White, while my voice transformed to that of Adam Sandler’s by Boxing Day, and for the past two days I’ve borne a strong vocal resemblance to a witch. While my throat is not very happy, and turns red periodically, having a croaky voice makes for great fun. I sang along to “I Wanna Grow Old With You” about 25 times on Boxing Day (Jess will attest to this; it was on repeat for the whole present-wrapping and outfit-deciding ordeal that morning). If my voice ever becomes permanently damaged, as my dad’s was many years ago, I would make a great Adam Sandler fill-in. Sounding like a witch has its benefits too, as I have discovered. I get loads of sympathy from customers at the café, and find a great deal of amusement in calling drinks out. Because my throat is so clogged, the air being forced out by my diaphragm often doesn’t make it out until I’m part way through annunciating a word. For example, when I called out mochachinos today, instead of exclaiming “Mocha!” into the seating area, I ended up declaring “Caaa!” several times. It was awesome, I assure you.

Perhaps the loveliest thing bout the additional leisure time I find myself with in these weeks off of school is the amount of time that I have to simply laze around and think at night. I’m going to sleep in until at least 9:00 tomorrow morning, and can stay up late reading books, doing devotionals, and pondering nihilism and love. My journal is full of page of Christmas-thinking, and I’ve found lots of issues to consider over the last while. I’m currently reading Hotel New Hampshire, What’s So Amazing About Grace, Velvet Elvis, The Conqueror’s Wife (thanks Jess!), and am going through Romans in my devos; it’s all terribly good stuff. However, I don’t quite feel like transcribing notes from my journal right now, so I’ll keep this entry as a meandering and topic-less one, and leave thoughtful writing for next week. If my grandpa were watching me write this, he would inevitably mention that I won’t write another blog entry until next year. I love my grandpa especially for his reliable excitement over his ability to remark that he won’t see us until next year, or that we wont go to church again until next month. His joy in saying these sorts of statements nearly rivals the thrill he gets from puns, and following up every pun he ever makes with the sentence, “English is a funny language.” I’m glad that God made grandpas.

My family and some friends watched The Good Shepherd this afternoon, and it was stunning. It’s currently at the top of my list for Best Film at the Oscars. Not only was it extremely well-written and excellently acted, but the cinematography was beautiful, particularly for what I assumed would be a basic spy movie. There was great depth in the script and plot, and the characters were complex and relevant. I have a penchant for movies that make use of symbolism and subtlety, and this one had especially metaphoric and nuanced moments. On the topic of film, my dad got the Babel soundtrack a couple of weeks ago, and it’s wonderful. Gustavo Santaolalla wrote the soundtrack for Brokeback Mountain, 21 Grams, and Motorcycle Diaries among others, and the music for Babel does not disappoint. Other recent music excitement has been derived from listening to a streamed version of the forthcoming The Band tribute compilation, Endless Highway. Of note is Jack Johnson’s cover of “I Shall Be Released.” It is, I daresay, my favourite Jack J song of all, and is almost as great as My Morning Jacket doing The Band songs. If I’d been born in another decade, I suspect that I might have been quite enamoured with Robbie Robertson, partially because of the fantastic-ness of his name.


Alluding to my previous mention of my grandpa’s keen observation of the upcoming transition into 2007, I am rather thrilled about New Year’s being nigh. I think I’ve blogged previously about my love of fresh starts, and how this is mirrored by the human desire for redemption, and God’s gift of grace. I really do enjoy beginning something anew, and of course January 1 is synonymous with having a clean slate. This past year has been full of twists and turns, and I’ve enjoyed it immensely. While school isn’t quite as fun as it has been in past terms, I can’t complain too much. I’ve been blessed by the community at McKernan over the past 12 months, and am happy to feel more at home in our new church. It feels like my family has found its groove again, and while we are a busy family, we mostly like the busyness (though my dad really wishes he had more time for baths, being outside, and reading). It’s been a year of kind of re-evaluating what I think about God and life, and while most of what I’ve felt for years now remains in my set of beliefs, it’s good to know that I’m not stubbornly believing what I do out of close-mindedness. I’ve felt comforted to get to know people who have similar perspectives to mine, and have loved being challenged by people who see things differently, or perhaps just think that I’m crazy (I don’t think I’ll ever forget the night of the Cait-smoking-marijuana discussion; there were even waffles and hot chocolate at Denny’s).
















I read an article recently wherein the author wrote about how she was exactly where she wanted to be in life. She had a great boyfriend, loved her job, felt secure in her values, and had many passions that brought joy into her life. I think it’s wonderful that she had achieved what she wanted to in life, but I’m not sure that I’ll ever be in that same position. While I’m perfectly content with where I am, if I wanted to remain where I was, I think that would be allowing complacency to breed stagnancy in my life. I feel blessed with my life right now, but I know that I still have much maturing, learning, and journeying to do with God. It’s tempting for me to be happy with how far I’ve come in my faith, and settle with where I am in my life. But, at least in the light of my walk with God, life is a journey that isn’t completed until the fat lady sings and my heart stops beating. I’ll always have more to learn, faults to improve, people to love more, intimacy and dependency to build with God, and ungodly things to let go of. At times, that can seem overwhelming, but it’s a huge relief for me to know that God loves me so patiently that he’ll wait and walk alongside me while I stumble along this journey. I hope that for you, dear friends, the year 2007 is one of growth, adventure, laughter, health, learning, and joy.


Favourite Moments of 2006 that I Can Recall

• celebration of Grandma and Grandpa’s 50 years together
• beating Mr. Schindel in the City Hall Fountain race, and then forcing C&C friends to endure Brokeback Mountain
• skiing without crashing once
• football at McKernan Park
• commemorating Rob’s leaving Edmonton with ice cream and chicken ball flinging, abandonment of me in the river valley, and Dusty’s “some clippers” statement (I had gone ~50 hours without sleep)
• agonizing over Citadel tickets with Caitlin in Steeps
• Break Forth with Donald Miller, Joyce Heron, and K.P.
• Canada’s Olympic d-domination in Torino
• seeing Death Cab and Franzy Panzy live
• Steeps “study” sessions
• improving my cooking skills significantly
• mattress struggles and “good competence” with Crystal
• the Oscars, despite losing the winner-prediction game
• the C&C Retreat in January
• gnoming with the guys for Larry and Konrad
• watching the Oilers’ playoff excellence with friends and family, and braving the crowds on Whyte
• riding on top of Brock while he moved slowly
• exploding lighters in Three Hills
• totally filling the hot tub at Allan’s acreage
• making the ghoulish Quinzhee with Jenn
• “The Cube” and the Hoff at Ashlee’s Christmas party
• observing the evolution of our family’s robot
• small group nights (especially ones with hair-free cookies)
• the C&C photo rally
• Google and YouTube fun and family functions
• building the snow fort with Jay Jay
• throwing a bowling ball backwards
• escaping Sherry
• my three-legged chair at the BBQ at Dusty’s
• the Mother’s Day brunch (mmm…. Egg’s Benedict…)
• Andrew’s always silly-fun dinner parties
• watching Talladega Nights while completely sleep-deprived
• the kitty-cats at Allan’s acreage
• volunteering at Head Start
• one-skate skating at the retreat
• being a gangsta and visiting horses with Crystal Whistle
• successfully living without La Familia for a month
• throwing cucumbers at Ben at the Kinsmen picnic
• making Jill’s birthday cake
• collecting pinecones with Bethany of Gesthemane
• the great workshops and concerts at the Folk Fest
• megaphone adventures with Mike et al.
• finding Darwin the Camera photo fun with Amy-Lynn
• back to school adventure day with Mom and Jess
• “turban time” with Nicole
• last day of classes mania with Crystal Whistle and Raw-Buh
• The 88 and Matty Costa at The Powerplant
• Mike’s amusing pilfering at Red Robin’s
• football games with Jess, Mom, and Dad
• Canada Day fireworks with the C&C crew and discussion of evangelism tactics
• meeting Fred and Sally the beavers
• the Government Park picnic with the Rinases, Anne, Tim, and my grandparents
• pouring a pitcher of water on Rob in my basement and then spraying him and Crystal with my garden-hose (sooo fun, until my board game was water damaged)
• ice battles and fun with Ross at work
• the Anne of Green Gables marathon with Jess
• pretty much every second of the Whistler trip
• hearing about Sarah Jane’s love life
• making smores and melting my shoes at Hawrelak Park
• Luke’s polo shirts and his song about “aplomb”
• late night chats and giddiness with Crystal
• gleaning music knowledge from Barista Chase
• Roman Candle war in Three Hills (in which I did not participate, of course)
• C&C Pizzazz Contingency with Andrew “Protestant” Browne
• drives through the country at night
• law and culture conversations with Corrinne
• the laziest pillow fight ever in Three Hills, and the subsequent water fight
• NEW YORK CITY

Things Learned in 2006

• sometimes the Eskies don’t make the playoffs
• it’s OK to not always be right
• periodic time alone is vital to my sanity
• Song of Songs isn’t actually so silly (alliteration!)
• loving God comes before loving others
• jealousy is a truly vile and insalubrious sentiment
• Conservative Christians are more like me than I once thought
• being ideological in my beliefs is imprudent
• I can no longer take my health for granted
• I think I could live in Edmonton for the rest of my life
• being loving doesn’t necessarily mean being a patsy
• cultural enjoyment isn’t ever worth being snobbish
• family is inestimably great and important
• Jack Layton has wonky ideas sometimes
• I still miss my old church
• I love my new church
• feeling guilty about awkwardness is silly
• time is precious; it passes by insanely quickly nowadays
• happiness is not my purpose in life

Potential Resolutions for 2007

• drink lots of water and eat more apples
• sleep slightly more regularly (Mom, this does not mean you should nag me!)
• Bible in a year
• bring amigos to church/C&C
• walk in the river valley twice a week
• sponsor a Compassion Child by myself
• obtain a driver’s license (for real this time)
• initiate a daily internet usage limit
• either use the treadmills at school regularly or take Yoga this term (with Caitlin?)
• make more miniature films
• have green tea or rooibos instead of Earl Grey
• love more
• carpe diem

P.S. In case it is unclear, the picture mosaics are of my favourite memories of this year. They kind of make this blog entry hideous because they're so overwhelming visually, but I quite like them, so I'm sacrificing this entry's prettiness for the sake of my happiness. Also pictured (inset with the first blurb) are my new shoes. They are gold and shiny. They cost $45 on sale at Gravity Pope. I am a super-shopper.

P.P.S. I don't have to work tomorrow! I have all tomorrow to see family, shop, walk, and read! Hurrah!!!

Things Superficial and (At Least Slightly) Meaningful

I do not purport to make any sense at this point in time. I haven’t eaten very much, and tiny little beasts called viruses are currently attacking my body, but in the absence of school, I have a craving to write at the moment. Tonight my annual birthday bash took place, and it was a grand occasion consisting of much laughter, conversation about insect-murdering fungi, and celebration of Leonard Cohen’s singing. I’m really terrible at not gushing about my family, but I’ll refrain from too much discussion of how they’re my favourite people in the world. (But, just for the record, they are my favourite people in the world. I have so much respect, gratitude, joy, appreciation, and love for them. I’m pretty lucky that the coolest people in the world are my family members. OK, blathering flattery done.) While my family doesn’t have to buy me great presents in order to win my affection, they certainly do get bonus points for picking out some rather awesome gifts. On Monday, prior to my infection of the Virus of Unpleasantness, I was the recipient of a beautiful 30 GB iPod named Botolf and an accompanying case depicting two turntables. Pretty stellar. Subsequently, at this evening’s fête, I was made the owner of some fine poetry, an amber necklace, some incredibly amazing vintage vinyl (Leonard Cohen! Beach Boys! Simon and Garfunkel!), and a Polaroid camera. I have wanted a Polaroid for quite some time now, and can’t wait to get started on photo-taking adventures with Galileo the Polaroid; the colours that turn out on Polaroid film are incomparable. I do realize that it’s kind of ridiculous that I enjoy these material things so much, and I’m pretty sure that Jesus wouldn’t focus nearly as much attention on gifts as I do. Hopefully I’ll use these gifts to appreciate human creativity, God’s creation, and the beauty of art, music, and poetry. I think I’ve mentioned in the past a Bible study that my small group last year did on joy, and I do think that a certain enjoyment of the “stuff” of life helps me to acknowledge all the cool stuff that God’s created and hopefully allows me to focus on the awesomeness of all that He has made. Still though, it’s important for me to ensure that my love of iPods, books, and cameras never rivals my love of others and of God, which is something that is often tempting to do in our capitalistic society. As Richard Wagner said, “joy is not in things, it is in us.”

As aforementioned, I’ve been strangely sick since the evening of my birthday, and was especially ill yesterday after my exam and while shopping with Crystal. Luckily, Crystal took me home early from our Christmas mall excursion, and I managed to make it to the bathroom before I lost my breakfast (and lunch and dinner). I know that it’s kind of awful to ponder the subject of vomit, but I think there’s something kind of wonderful about vomit. Although Jess is horrified when I mention to this to her, the feeling experienced after some cathartic upchucking is quite lovely. After a few hours of nausea and anxiety about being sick, literally purging oneself of whatever was inducing the upset stomach is such a relief. While the catharsis itself is extremely disagreeable and humiliating, it’s definitely worth the reward of liberation from the experience of sickness. I think this is much like some more serious matters. Owning up to my sin’s isn’t always the most fun thing in the world, and yet I always feel so free and contented after I go through that sometimes painful ordeal of recognizing my inadequacies and failures. Being vulnerable with others is similar; saying something totally honest to another person can be scary and unpleasant, but it’s so worth it in the end, and can lead to really great things in the end. In my class on conditioning and behaviour, there was much discussion of self-control, and individual’s tendencies to sometimes pursue a very small reward if it took less work than a greater reward. Ultimately, it’s unwise for individuals to work for such a limited gain, but they do this over and over. I’m certainly prone to the same behaviour. It’s all too tempting to avoid building relationships with people who aren’t necessarily the “coolest” or most fun, but I’ve found that these friendships can be so very worthwhile. I can be annoyed when the recipe I’m making is excessively complicated and disastrous, but the tastiness of the food is usually proportional to the (figurative) blood and sweat put into it. It can be easy to rush through my devotions on a hectic day, but those days can be the ones that I get the most out of my devos, Shortsightedness and a lack of self-control often rob me of truly gratifying experiences, whether the reward of a deepened friendship or the righting of my relationship with God.

In addition to being the month of Christmas, the anniversary of my birth, New Year’s Eve, family get-togethers, snow fun, and days without school, December brings with it celebration of music from the past year, and anticipation of music coming up. The Arcade Fire has named its upcoming album, and has made its first single available via phone, and The Shins already have their video out for “Phantom Limb.” Intelligent music and intelligent dialogue about music are truly splendid, and these things abound in this last month of the year. Pitchforks “Best of 2006” lists served as incentives to me while I studied this past week. Jess finishes classes as of Friday, and I can’t wait to monopolize her time with amusing activities and enjoyment of her silliness. Two weeks of movies, walks, talks, and dancing with Jay Jay is sure to be fun. Plus, I got her two presents yesterday that I’m certain both of us will enjoy over the holidays. Christmas with my family is always special, and in the past we’ve made efforts to help those around us in addition to giving each other gifts, whether by giving gift money to charities, sharing our festivities to people who were alone over Christmas, or simply giving some time to those in need. This year, my mom’s side of the family are having Christmas with four refugees from Afghanistan and Pakistan, for whom this will be their very first winter in Canada. My Auntie Laura and Uncle Doug have been very involved in them making it to Canada, and it should be neat to learn more about their lives and their background and share with them our Christmas traditions. Last year, Laura and Doug brought a group of Asian students to Christmas festivities, and that brought with it many amusements (never try any dessert containing black rice; you will sorely regret it). On my dad’s side, we’ll be celebrating the 25th with a woman who has terminal cancer and would otherwise be quite alone over Christmas. We met her at Thanksgiving this year, and my auntie, grandma, and grandpa have been a real blessing to her over the past few months. I feel privileged to spend time with her over the holidays; she’s a beautiful woman who’s gone through so much hardship in her life, and I have loads of respect for her. She even got me presents for my birthday, which was ridiculously sweet of her. I feel blessed that my family demonstrates the true meaning of Christmas each and every year; it’s easy to focus less on presents and Boxing Day sales when I see human compassion and kinship so clearly in my family. I hope one day to be a bit like them.



Symptoms of the Virus of Unpleasantness that I Will Self-Indulgently List

• dry skin
• runny nose
• sore throat
• coughing up of blood
• headache
• general fatigue
• strange delusions (as if there were normal delusions…)
• muscle pains
• sore lips
• vomiting
• no desire whatsoever to study for an EAS exam

P.S. Thank you to everyone who wished me happy birthday via e-mail, cards, phone calls, or simple person-to-person dialogue! You're all quite sweet, and definitely brightened my day. Also, if I've come off as cold, zoned out, or unlike myself in the past while, it was likely due to my crotchety reaction to being sick rather than any actual desire to be cold, zoned out, or unlike myself. (The flu makes a very excellent scapegoat, I have learned.)

Less than 100 Hours Until Freedom

This morning was one of those super foggy moments that are all too rare in Alberta. I love misty days. While mist does very strange things to my hair, and my sensitive eyes are somewhat irritated by the moist air, there’s something quite magnificent about everything around you being out of focus. It encourages introspection, and reminds me that God is all around me, just like the hazy vapour is. Good conversations with Him are almost certain on foggy days. One of my favourite composers is the film composer Thomas Newman, who’s done loads of beautifully soundtracked movies, and his music is the best supplement to the delicate cloud that hangs in the air on a day like today. His songs have these daintily fragile flourishes that make hair blowing in the wind and blurred figures in the distance appear as if they’re dancing to the music on my iPod. Songs like “Plastic Bag Theme” and “Possibility” make me want to dance, cry, and shout at the same time; only profoundly good music can do that. Jess and I sometimes sit in the living room in dim lighting and listen to some of his soundtracks, intermittently exclaiming how much we love dear Thomas, and feeling true contentment. Music is, at times, zealously enjoyed in my family. Back to my love of mistiness, I suspect that I also have a particular penchant for fog because it hearkens back to annual family vacations spent in the ever-so humid Vancouver and Vancouver Island. We used to hike to the lighthouse in Lighthouse Park every year, and the best walks were always the ones when the air was permeated in water vapour, and Jess and I could imagine how important we would be as lighthouse keepers, keeping the boats safe on even the murkiest of days. It’s partly in the mystery of everything being behind a permeable veil, too. You never know what exactly is behind that cloud in front of you, and it’s easy to ignore the ugliness of city surroundings when everything is shrouded by mist. One of the loveliest scene’s in Joe Wright’s version of Pride and Prejudice takes place in amidst billows of fog, and it not only makes for a dreamlike quality, but also represents how Lizzie and Mr. Darcy never quite recognized the potential loveliness that lay beneath the hazy ambiguity that characterized their relationship. Basically, fog is just really cool.

















I have decided that perhaps sociology isn’t quite so bad as I perceive it to be at times, although it remains in my mind as the least scientific academic field that masquerades as a science; I’m pretty sure that sociology is as scientific in its approach to learning about the social world as astrology is. It may sound nice to write about how society is purely two divided groups clashing with each other, or that society is a collection of groups that each serve their own complementary roles, but human behaviour is complex, messy, and at times seemingly inexplicable. There are very few overarching human tendencies, and to sit in an armchair and theorize about the workings of social interactions strikes me as slightly ludicrous. But sociology does serve a very important role in our society. Measuring cultural norms and trends within society is vital to our understanding of it, and while sociologists seem to exaggerate the significance of their seemingly obvious impressions of society, it is valuable to catalogue their findings. No matter how evident it is that children of divorced parents see their parents relatively less, or that more immigrants speak French in Québec than in Alberta, someone has to ensure that blatantly obvious social assumptions are, in fact, true. Still, the reasoning behind some of the theories to explain societal phenomena make me want to laugh and shake my head at the same time. However, as aforementioned, sociology redeemed itself slightly today. While I find psychology (in my completely unbiased opinion) to be far more scientific, precise, and pioneering, it is true that far more feminist rants can be indulged in when taking sociology courses. Today, I wrote 17 pages of what basically amounts to feminist vitriol, but because sociology profs have an innate appreciation of feminism, my exam actually made for some good Friday morning fun . Only English profs reward discussion of feminist thought just as much as my Dr. Kwame will.



Fortunately, the days of exam writing are very nearly finished with, and soon I will be inundated with birthday and Christmas presents. The highlights of my wish-list this year consist of a 30 GB iPod (I wanted the 60 GB, but it’s been deemed unnecessary by my parents), a tripod for my cameras, a functional Polaroid camera (mine seems to be pretty much useless at this point), records to spin on my oh-so-cool turntable, and a longboard for summer purposes. I’m pretty sure I’ll be getting at least one of the items on that list, and I’m rather certain that it’s the most exciting one featured in said list. I can’t wait to be free of studying. Although tonight is Friday, the day of freedom for watching movies, going out for dinner, and being wholly silly, I must confine myself to Starbucks armed with my Psych 381 textbook and a notebook. Really, studying on Friday is practically a criminal act, but school deems such a great sacrifice to be compulsory at times. Tomorrow will consist of a morning at the café, birthday celebration #1, studying, singing at the Christmas pageant, a Christmas fete at the girls’ house, and some more quality time spent with the writings of egotistical behavioural psychologists. Not bad, but I wish that I had time to waste this week. Tuesday really can’t come soon enough; I can make dopey videos with Jess, do Christmas shopping, bake, go tobogganing and skating, walk around in the snowy river valley, gear up for skiing trip 2007, write my Christmas cards, read for long periods of time, have movie marathons at home, and spend time with dear friends and family. I’m especially looking forward to Cranium; people outside of my family seem to have a limited appreciation of this game, so having relatives at hand to recount useless trivia and mimic Marlon Brando with is quite splendid.

On an extremely exciting note, awards season is just around the bend, and I’m pretty thrilled. I really will have to write the Brokeback/Crash blog over Christmas before the Oscar nominations come out, and I hope to see most of the likely nominees over the holidays. I’m especially excited to see Fast Food Nation; Filmspotting had nothing but praise for it, although the New Yorker review didn’t have quite the same reaction to it. Also, I had been completely unaware until now that Richard Simmons had vinyl records. I am so going to find a copy of one in a thrift store before winter term begins; I’m not sure how I’ve gone all my life without Richard Simmons vinyl. Plus, I need to do some back to school shopping at Goodwill and Value Village before a new set of classes are upon me. Next term, Andrew and I are also looking forward to starting up a newsletter (we’re negotiating templates for it when I’m back from skiing), and it should be a good outlet for the many fine writers and thinkers we have in the group. If any of you guys would like to write something up, feel free to tell me so, and we’d be happy to put your piece in the January issue. We’re currently brainstorming for titles, and we should have the first issue published before the winter retreat. There are plenty more things to update, but I’m a particularly lovely point in my book right now, and have spent far too much time in front of the computer screen. I’ll have to write something of actual significance in the next little while! Studying seems to make all other thoughts relatively shallow and lackluster, although I suppose I could blog about peak shift and fault lines if I were desperate for material. I hope your Christmas seasons thus far have been merry, despite involving far more studying and lack of sleep than is likely healthy!

All 25 Minutes of Grinchiness

The Christmas Spirit (Not the Charles Dickens Kind)

I believe that there is such a thing as the Christmas spirit. As the song goes, I do "hope that we could always see such spirit through the year," but there's something undeniably special about this, my favourite month in the calendar year. People do seem to count their blessings more than usual as we draw near to December 25, and the giving spirit that characterizes Christmas isn't limited to buying things for loved ones. On Saturday, I saw shoppers on Whyte Ave actually interacting with the homeless individuals who lined the shops, a sight which is all too rare. Customers at my café were patient and warm, and appreciative of some refuge from the bitter cold outside. People staffing the mall had hectic days, and yet gave us sincere wishes of a merry Christmas and danced along to some festive music. Yesterday, my dad attempted to replace a frozen flat tire of a girl's car near our house, and upon realizing that she'd need a tow truck, invited her to stay in our house and use the iMac and kitchen while she waited for help and we went off to my grandma and grandpa's for Sunday dinner. My auntie and uncle were shoveling my grandparents' walks when we arrived, and my grandma relayed warm wishes from a bunch of people from our old church from their service that day.

This season truly is beautiful, in some way that is distinguishable from the others. Whether it's the fact that we get some time off of work, the necessity for cooperation in this period of frigid cold and vehicle problems, or leftover giving from buying Christmas presents, it makes me smile to think that people do have it within them to love others wholeheartedly. The final scene in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life is the song "Christmas in Heaven," a song totally mocking televangelism and cliché notions of heaven (only watch it if you're certain you won't be offended!). Although I'm sure they didn't intend this, this song is one that also makes me wonder if this Christmas spirit that I witness around me foreshadows what it might be like when Jesus comes again. We give to charities the most at Christmastime, and seem to better understand the importance of showing love to others, especially friends and family. It's true that there is an increasingly materialistic aspect of Christmas. But the heart of Christmas, the celebration of Jesus' birth and its meaning in our lives, really does give me hope, peace, love, and joy. It's wonderful and hope-giving to witness at least a bit of these four elements of Advent in the people around me as well.

Fall Semester Wrap Up (Sans Technical Difficulties)

I must admit that I'm still quite tuckered out today. But it's a happy tired; the sort of fatigue that comes from fulfilling work and a day of adventures and memory-making. It was a non-stop day of work, shopping, brochure and DVD delivering, and watching the Liberal convention. The latter item on that list made the day rather splendid though, in addition to laughing and singing with friends at the banquet tonight, and getting the beach house in the Game of Life. While I may have earned very little money, ended up with a salary of $20,000, and had no children whatsoever, my love for Life remains unabated. On a real-life note, Dion is, I am certain, going to make a wonderful prime minister, and he's the sort of politician who strives to unify rather than divide. As he iterated today, the Conservatives aren't bad people; Conservative ways of bettering the country simply aren't ideal. I'm pretty excited for the likely upcoming election, and for our discussion in Poli Sci class on Monday. Seriously, anyone who names their dog Kyoto should automatically receive some sort of power. I'll have to write about the Liberal's future at another time though, because I still have to do my devotions and it's currently 1:40, and I need to get some zzzs before choir tomorrow. But remember, "tous ensemble!" (If you find this reference confusing, you really are missing out on political convention fun! I'll fill you in if you'd like.) Also, please admire how beautiful and lovely the drawing of Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau is. It reminds me of a Wes Anderson movie, and is obviously a portrait of an excessively pretty person. If anyone could rock a comb-over, it was Trudeau.

I've Had Enough of Fatigue

I’m kind of exhausted today. It’s been a long week, and while there have been some really lovely moments in the midst of the hecticness, I’m relieved that I can start this next week afresh. My parents have been upset that I’ve been doing so much non-school stuff this week, especially with work, volunteering at Head Start, and C&C publicity stuff over the past while; it’s probably a valid concern. But it’s so terribly stressful when one’s parents are upset with one! There was a massive batch of items on a to-do list that I can officially check off as of this evening, and I feel like I can sigh a big breath of relief. It’s an awfully wonderful feeling, although I think I may need some decent sleep to overcome this fatigue. One of my favourite songs to listen to when I’m feeling pathetically sorry for myself is Michael Franti’s “Never Too Late,” which simply describes how you can always start fresh, and I’m quite thankful for that fact, in times as simple as the end of a long week, or as weighty as my sinfulness. There are a few things that I always do when I could use some cheering up, consisting of listening to music (today Zero 7), watching a good movie (tonight Love Actually with Jess), enjoying a warm drink (cocoa for this evening) and spending time with God (reading 1 Peter and The Jesus I Never Knew tonight). It’s pretty much a fail-safe recipe to snap out of my lethargy and notice all the little blessings. I shall make a list of these little blessings from tonight.



Little Blessings from Tonight

• channel 18 has the yule logs (!!!!)
• this year the yule logs come with crackling sound effects
• I am going to purchase the yule log DVD so I can watch it in bed at night (!!!!)
• snow has such a lovely crystalline glow
• the snow a warm tone of orange under the street lamps tonight
• Relevant Magazine is kind of my favourite magazine in the world
• the smoke stacks on campus are now lit up (so beautiful)
• tonight’s Filmspotting episode was simultaneously mentally stimulating and hilarious
• my computer is dreadfully pretty
• photos I took yesterday turned out decently
• my sunglasses are pretty much the coolest things ever
• tunnels and pedways are absolute lifesavers in cold weather
• I do not have frostbite like I thought I might (!!!!)
• there are an alarming number of doors that lead to absolutely nowhere on campus
• politics are increasingly exciting as we near Christmas
• Bob Rae’s chances of winning are steadily improving
• my chai latté today was the perfect temperature
• old beater cars are quite wonderful
• vats of pickles and ranch dressing at the guys’ house are amusing
• tomorrow I get to dress up (!!!!)
• I get to see Grandma and Grandpa and Anne and Tim on Sunday
• Pastor Lyle’s sermons top any Poli Sci lecture hands down (which is saying a lot!)
• Jess is pretending to be an electron tomorrow
• we saw Jess’ grad photos today; she’s a beautiful bumpkin
• I am done with the poor, abused Sniffy forever and ever
• Richard Simmons was on Letterman last night; it was amazing
  
• honeycombs are decidedly scrumptious
• the snow fort is coming along nicely
• there is now an acronym for the “super” in S.U.P.E.R. taster
• I’m reading Generation X right now, and I love Douglas Coupland

I was going to write about the shallowness of money, the nature of encouragement, and how splendid friends are, but the movie’s gotten to a particularly excellent scene, so I suspect that it’s best if I leave it at that. (I get emotional at very irrational points in Love Actually; I just got teary over seeing a speech about how terrible the States are. I must sleep tonight.) I’ll post a couple of movies that I edited tonight in lulls in the movie from leftover footage of New York, which I miss immensely. Two nights ago they lit up the tree at Rockefeller, the official beginning of the Christmas Season, and it was pretty fantastic. They even played “Jingle Bell Rock” to conclude, which is an exceedingly great song. Thus, I really am sorry that I’m not in NYC with pretty snow, wonderful Ella Fitzgerald music, bustling streets, and beautiful sights all around. But Edmonton does have all my loved ones, my Whyte Avenue, my river valley, and my Eskimos. I’ll stay here for now, I suppose. Also something I’m hoping to do soon is make the most of the snow. The moment that I’m free of exams, I’m having as many snowball fights, skating escapades, tobogganing adventures, and skiing trollops as possible. Tonight, though, is a night for some thinking, relaxing, and savouring the sensation of relief. I hope you’re all able to find some time for rest and renewal in the next while.



Things Completed this Week

• semester wrap-up video
• applied research proposal
• poster presentation
• Q&A outline for ABC Head Start
• Sniffy experiments
• research paper on peak shift
• earthquake location assignment
• finding a banquet skit
• my recent copy of The New Yorker
• Sociology readings
• organizing games closet
• learning choir songs
• cleaning the back room at work
• evaluation of volunteering
• composing my birthday/Christmas list
• the winter retreat brochure
• any traces of self-pity
  

P.S. I miss the summer and New York a bit.