From holiday to vacation

At about 1:30 PM today, vacation mode kicked in again. I took some vacation time around the holidays that we were allotted from work in order to have a continuous break from before Xmas until after New Year's. For the past few days, I've been in Holiday Mode with the usual Christmas activities and spending time with friends and family. This was great as I love this time of year. Today, though, with a friend D's brunch and time with old friends, the last of the holiday events took place and vacation mode switched on again. I walked 30 min. from my place to HMV downtown and spent a decadent two and a half hours browsing various sections of the store, from movies to jazz to indie to acid jazz. It's been a while since I've taken time to just relax and wander in a record store, so this was a great indulgence. To top it off, I had 40$ in gift cards to spend. I decided to choose things that I wouldn't normally buy and picked three movies - When Harry Met Sally, Ronin, and Walking Life - and a Parov Stelar CD. I'd first happened across Parov on a groove/lounge music site called Soul Seduction and didn't think I'd ever find an import of his here. Between the find, the flicks, and the combo of gift cards and holiday discounts bringing the total for this loot to a paltry $6.69, it was a good vacation mode afternoon indeed. Popcorn and a movie to follow. Purrrrfect.

Let it sn*w!

First off, I hope you had a Merry Christmas and I offer you my thoughts and prayers if it's been a difficult one.

Our own family is getting together this evening, so I spent Xmas day skiing with the IronGoddess. It was the first time on skis for the 2006-2007 season and it felt great. It was a little odd in one sense, though, as the only snow on the mountain was man made. Every other part of the ski hill was grassy. There were even little creeks running across some of the runs which would normally be snow-covered at this time. I told a friend that the only thing missing to complete with the Spring-like conditions was a little bunny hopping across the trail. Thankfully, there is currently a blanket of white lightly covering the city making it feel more seasonal. I'll take a white Boxing Day if we couldn't have a white Christmas.

A good measure

Today was my last day of work for 2006. Woot! (I think you'd agree Fel, that deserves the t) Things have been hopping at work lately, so despite it only being five days until Christmas, in all the distraction and work immersion it somehow felt a little early to be bidding people farewell with Christmas wishes. RK was one of the last people I spoke to today and he told me about his method for rating how a year went. It's quite simple: how well did I eat and drink? He went on to explain that he likes good food and eating well is a sign that he could afford to splurge on occasion on nice meals, either in a restaurant or at home. I thought about the drink part and offered this: people normally don't drink alone, so drinking enjoyably means you had memorable occasions in which you shared drinks with good friends. That's definitely true for this year. From toasts at RK's and another friend's weddings, to visits to friends and from friends, and even to F and I being comfortable having a beer together, it was a good year in this sense.

A toast to a solid theory, great friends, and wishes for more of the same for next year.

Afterglow

A number of paths of thought converged recently on the idea of what we leave behind when we're gone and in particular, how the symbol of light represents these paths. The symbol is a strong one which is often used to represent abstract notions of guidance, hope, and warmth. When someone is described as a beacon, or the Light of the World, we know what is meant.

Some thoughts on the subject came to mind at last week's funeral for a friend's father and the memories and impressions he left with people. The common theme to stories about him where about the how he'd made a difference to the lives of the people around him as a father, friend, teacher, coach, and person. Another link to the image came courtesy of a Muse CD which Fel passed along to me. Matthew Bellamy from the band says this about life: "You've got to make the most of what you've got here and spread as much influence as you can. I believe that you only live through the influence that you spread, whether that means having a kid or making music". Whether this giving someone hope, shedding light on new ideas, or being flint for a spark of creativity, it is easily thought of in light imagery. The last impression was something F had one pointed out to me about photography. A long exposure shot taken at night of people passing by would show no people, only lights: the only trace left is literally the light they leave behind.

photos by:
Sparky /
David Lindes /
cool_beans00