You know, the nice thing about the holiday season is that it’s a gifting season. I was completely surprised when we started receiving cards and gift baskets at the office last year. It was my first time in a work environment where that happened and it was pretty exciting! Each week brought more and more food until the whole office was pigging out constantly. I even got a Patagonia bag from one of our clients! It’s only about another month now and the giving should be upon us again.
Gifting season
Almost snow
I went out to the east coast for the weekend and on Saturday, it was raining or sleeting all day. At times, it almost got cold enough for us to get some snow down in the DC/VA area. Almost. I hear that more northern parts did get snow, and quite a bit, and I’ve got to say I’m a bit jealous. I was hoping for some snow to enjoy here as well. While I’d all but forgotten the experience of getting into a cold car and trying to defrost the windows while warming up, I do miss snow. Nobody said I had to miss all the unpleasant experiences that come with it, right?
My selective memory allowed me to remember a brisk walk with snow crunching under my feet. Pretty positive memory. It allowed me to remember building snowthings and catching snowflakes with my tongue. Very positive memory. It did not, however, allow me to remember the bitterness of a freezing cold car. Not so positive memory. Well, that’s how it goes I guess. After so many years removed from this kind of life, I chose to focus on the things I did like about it rather than that which was less desirable. Nevertheless, with all the pros and cons trying to weigh each other out, I still wouldn’t mind moving back to more volatile climates for awhile. It’d make me appreciate LA even more when I returned, right?
Squeaky defense
There was a mouse scurrying around the house, so I closed it into one room when I randomly spotted it and proceeded to try to capture it from under the bed. It started to squeak at me when I got close to grabbing it. Stay tuned for what happened next in another installment.
Old writing ways
After over three years of inactivity, I am back to journal-keeping. I’m picking up right here, right now, and hopefully will find the time to start filling in what I’ve missed out during this time. It feels good to be writing again, even if it does hurt my hand a bit. This habit was so much a part of my life for so long (13 years!). I’m glad I have the time and the patience to do it again. For awhile, I wasn’t sure if I would return to the art of putting pen to paper, so it’s encouraging that I have. Unfortunately I’ve found that doing so has distracted me from blogging! I guess I’ll have to start to learn how to manage my time between the two and differentiate what goes where.
Perhaps my journal-writing will evolve from the daily journal I’m used to into a more thoughtful, story-like weekly account of my life. I think if I get too busy again, I will try to still keep up with my journal at least once or twice a week. After all, with no notes to take at work and no other need to use a pen during my normal routine, it’s a welcome change to be physically writing so much again. I always found it to be a really therapeutic thing to do. I might even spend some quiet time writing on the flight to see Panda Friday night. I remember one time I was on the plane writing so furiously fast that the guy next to me gave me a curious look. It was a great moment of flow of consciousness that I had fun with. I’m looking forward to more of those moments again.
Party bus
Our company recently had a social outing (to a new place that just opened up – Vodvil) and we got to ride over on this party bus, complete with crazy lights!
Not a gold girl
I’ve never really liked the look of gold, and not just the metal, but the color in general. This is especially the case with jewelry and cars. For example, I never understood the people who would pay extra to get their car logo in gold… you couldn’t pay me to drive around with that add-on, yet there are people who pay a premium for it. That look just doesn’t appeal to me; in fact I find it rather tacky.
While I will never get a gold-colored car, I’m not as averse when it comes to jewelry. For the most part I find gold jewelry to be too much for me, but occasionally I have come across a piece that I like. Still, I strongly gravitate towards the silver or platinum versions of a given item. Perhaps part of it is due to the warmth that is associated with that color – I guess I expect metal to be a cool thing, hence my attraction to silver, black, white, and clear – all very cool shades.
Just an observation about some of the quirky things that can drive a person’s decisions. I guess the nice thing is that I never have to worry about spending extra money to upgrade an item with gold!
Hummingbird visit
Ah, hummingbirds are so cool!
Box Appetit
At Opportunity Green, you’re bound to find out about cool products like these lunch boxes that come in a cool, sealable design. It also includes a box for a sandwich half, a container for sauce, and a fork!