::hole in the pocket::
for those of you who don't know, the SEAB webbie was announced that the date of release of the results would be announced soon. which is incredibly dumb. cuz why do you need to announce the announcement of an announcement when you can just announce the announcement that you need to announce. ermm.. did that make any sense to any of you. even if it didn't, pls say that you understand, k?
i finally got that chip on my tooth patched up. cost me 70bucks to get it done, but i think it's quite worth it. it was a rather big chip... sigh... and the dentist says that i gotta go back to get my wisdon tooth removed cuz it's collecting food deposits and it's so far back that it can't be brushed out. that means at least 100+ dollars gone...
okay... so my life hasn't really been that action packed til the point that i have to talk about dental appointments. *sigh*
on to bigger things... i'm seriously planning to get a labret piercing. i think it's one of the less outlandish piercings and yet something more than a earlobe piercing.. i mean, i won't wanna get an eyebrow or a tongue or [God forbid] a genital piercing, but i dun wanna just pierce a ear. so i have settled for a labret peircing... dunnoe what my parents will say, but i've made my mind up...
Just a couple of blogs to recommend.
Jason Rohrblogger's Top Ten
His latest top ten list of TOP TEN SIGNS YOU ARE CARRYING TOM CRUISE'S BABY is a total riot... go check it out.
The Student's Sketchpad
The latest post is a fanart of the various ways that some JCs will meet their final end... and the one of nanyang REALLY looks like nanyang... you can recognise the Drum Block and the tall pillar things in the Gallery.... hrmm... makes you wonder where this guy is frm...
Thursday, February 09, 2006
::mental stimulation::
I need something to keep my mind going.. Face it.. My job is not exactly incredibly hard. I try to learn what I can. Like what mechanical engineering is all about from the engineer and all the little stuff that you can't really learn anywhere... But I'm still not satisfied.. In a way, I like to learn. That's different frm saying that I like school. cuz school over here entails exams, wish-you-could-whoop-their-ass teachers, etc etc... But learning is fun.
I've been looking for a certain book "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis. It's one of the books that he wrote on theology. But when I searched the library's catalogue, it said that it's only available at the woodlands and yishun libraries. That means a really long journey to get there. It's not so much the length but the fact that I'm paying my own bus fares now. And adult fares for mrt are really no joke... so if anyone's got the book......
on a totally different note, my personal bank account has hit four digits... Not my savings account but the account that I use for my personal usage... haha... It might not sound like much but it's a far cry from the days when most of the time I didn't even have the minimum withdrawal amount... haha... So... Yah..!!
I need something to keep my mind going.. Face it.. My job is not exactly incredibly hard. I try to learn what I can. Like what mechanical engineering is all about from the engineer and all the little stuff that you can't really learn anywhere... But I'm still not satisfied.. In a way, I like to learn. That's different frm saying that I like school. cuz school over here entails exams, wish-you-could-whoop-their-ass teachers, etc etc... But learning is fun.
I've been looking for a certain book "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis. It's one of the books that he wrote on theology. But when I searched the library's catalogue, it said that it's only available at the woodlands and yishun libraries. That means a really long journey to get there. It's not so much the length but the fact that I'm paying my own bus fares now. And adult fares for mrt are really no joke... so if anyone's got the book......
on a totally different note, my personal bank account has hit four digits... Not my savings account but the account that I use for my personal usage... haha... It might not sound like much but it's a far cry from the days when most of the time I didn't even have the minimum withdrawal amount... haha... So... Yah..!!
Thursday, February 02, 2006
::man boobies!!::
ewww!! gross.... all the eating that I've been doing over the past month is really taking effect. my stomach is beginning to bulge slightly. i'm rather skinny, to my mother's annoyance, so when i do gain a few pounds it does show.
but at least now that chinese new year is over, i can concentrate on starting a proper exercise regime like i've been planning since i graduated. mind you this is what i said after christmas. and at the start of 2006 as well so things aren't really going my way.. but hey, i really think that this time i'm going to do something abt it for real. *fingers crossed yeah*
with the festivities out of the way, i think that it's time to seriously sit down and think about what i want to do in the next five years. my friend invited me to some introductory lecture on some business thing. i didn't really agree with everything they preach about business and marketing in general but i did think that one of the analogies that they used was pretty good. they compared carrying buckets of water frm a stream to a village slaving day after day exchanging buckets of water for a salary based on the amount of water delivered to building a pipeline to the village and turning the tap for people that pay you to. to me it was pretty obvious which one i would prefer monetary wise. but there's one thing that they didn't account for. i really need something more than money to motivate me to work. i'm the type that will get bored if i'm not really engaged in the work that i do. if i really like something, i'll definately be more enthusiatic about having to continue day after day like that. obviously that changes when i have to drag myself to work.
but i'm just being a little idealistic. i think that at some time i'm gonna have to settle for a better paying job instead of something that i love. oh well. we all live in hope, don't we?
ewww!! gross.... all the eating that I've been doing over the past month is really taking effect. my stomach is beginning to bulge slightly. i'm rather skinny, to my mother's annoyance, so when i do gain a few pounds it does show.
but at least now that chinese new year is over, i can concentrate on starting a proper exercise regime like i've been planning since i graduated. mind you this is what i said after christmas. and at the start of 2006 as well so things aren't really going my way.. but hey, i really think that this time i'm going to do something abt it for real. *fingers crossed yeah*
with the festivities out of the way, i think that it's time to seriously sit down and think about what i want to do in the next five years. my friend invited me to some introductory lecture on some business thing. i didn't really agree with everything they preach about business and marketing in general but i did think that one of the analogies that they used was pretty good. they compared carrying buckets of water frm a stream to a village slaving day after day exchanging buckets of water for a salary based on the amount of water delivered to building a pipeline to the village and turning the tap for people that pay you to. to me it was pretty obvious which one i would prefer monetary wise. but there's one thing that they didn't account for. i really need something more than money to motivate me to work. i'm the type that will get bored if i'm not really engaged in the work that i do. if i really like something, i'll definately be more enthusiatic about having to continue day after day like that. obviously that changes when i have to drag myself to work.
but i'm just being a little idealistic. i think that at some time i'm gonna have to settle for a better paying job instead of something that i love. oh well. we all live in hope, don't we?
Thursday, January 26, 2006
::all praise::
i can't believe it... it's too good to be true.. i've finally gotten iTunes to work!! finally i can fully utilise my iPod after a whole month of suffering...
No more error 0x80040707.
just info for anybody passing by that is having problems with iTunes 6.0 for windows. [it's supposed to be windows compatible but it isn't really. not in the least]
i think that most of the time when iTunes exits unexpectedly it's cuz of an error in installing quicktime. either get the standalone installer for quicktime off the apple webbie and reinstall. or you can do what i did... find anything and everything that has to do with Apple Computer [and i mean everthing. even the iPod folder in your Program Files] and delete it... empty your recycle bin and restart your com.. download the iTunes 6.0 installer and install. it shd now install both iTunes and quicktime without a hitch and now you're on your way to endless joy with your new Apple iPod.
i can't believe it... it's too good to be true.. i've finally gotten iTunes to work!! finally i can fully utilise my iPod after a whole month of suffering...
No more error 0x80040707.
just info for anybody passing by that is having problems with iTunes 6.0 for windows. [it's supposed to be windows compatible but it isn't really. not in the least]
i think that most of the time when iTunes exits unexpectedly it's cuz of an error in installing quicktime. either get the standalone installer for quicktime off the apple webbie and reinstall. or you can do what i did... find anything and everything that has to do with Apple Computer [and i mean everthing. even the iPod folder in your Program Files] and delete it... empty your recycle bin and restart your com.. download the iTunes 6.0 installer and install. it shd now install both iTunes and quicktime without a hitch and now you're on your way to endless joy with your new Apple iPod.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
::of backpains and heartaches::
or shd it be heartpains and backaches. bah humbug. It doesn't really make a difference. The fact of the matter is my back hurts like the fire of ten earth-crushing asteroids have been focused onto one spot in my lower back. Okay. So I tend to exaggerate just a tensy widdle bit. but it's still fact that my back hurts like hell. god... to think i sprained it a year ago and it still give me occasional troubles. but nothing like it's doing today. this one's almost as bad as the time i first sprained it. bloody crap.
as for the other unfortunate piece of flesh in my body. haha. that's just another exaggeration. i just feel so darn depressed that Jon Arbuckle has a date this weekend and i'll prob be at home on saturday night catching up on sleep. haha...
for those of you who are comically-inept,
Jon Arbuckle.. of all people, why him?
or shd it be heartpains and backaches. bah humbug. It doesn't really make a difference. The fact of the matter is my back hurts like the fire of ten earth-crushing asteroids have been focused onto one spot in my lower back. Okay. So I tend to exaggerate just a tensy widdle bit. but it's still fact that my back hurts like hell. god... to think i sprained it a year ago and it still give me occasional troubles. but nothing like it's doing today. this one's almost as bad as the time i first sprained it. bloody crap.
as for the other unfortunate piece of flesh in my body. haha. that's just another exaggeration. i just feel so darn depressed that Jon Arbuckle has a date this weekend and i'll prob be at home on saturday night catching up on sleep. haha...
for those of you who are comically-inept,
Jon Arbuckle.. of all people, why him?
Sunday, January 15, 2006
::what's wrong with this world that we're livin' in::
other than being a line from a "pop" song, it's quite a valid question. When you take out the killing, violence and other assorted disasters frm any news programme, all you have left is the ad breaks in between stories. And when I pick up the newspaper in the morning, I skip every page that has a picture of a dead body on the ground and I find myself at the back page checking out the latest discounts at the supermarket.
personally, I find it rather depressing. I know I'm not the one caught up in the wake of a cat 4 hurricane or in the middle of two groups of people shooting at each other, but I just don't remember the world being like this back when I was growing up. Who knows it might have just been my naivety, but I doubt it. Without sounding conceited or anything, I believe I was a pretty well informed child growing up. That came from only having one TV and having grandparents that insisted on watching the news no matter if there was something else better on another channel.
it seems to me that every history book published from now onwards really should have just two main sections, namely pre- and post-9/11. I'm sure that few people will argue with me when I say that the world has grown much more violent since that day some 4 almost 5 years ago. It may seem like a generalisation to make such a sweeping statement but unlike many other generalisations, it's generally true. Paris, arguable one of the most romantic of cities in the world, is now a haven for teen crime and rioting. Bombings in the centre of historic London. And let's not even bother with the middle east. Have you heard my "Road Map to Peace in the Middle East"? Well, my plan is to erect this massive fencing [preferably electric] around the whole Middle East. a fence that would shadow the Great Wall. We wait for say five years or until you hear no more noise, whichever comes first, and then we take the fence down and get the oil out. By that time, they'd all either have calmed down and settled their differences or wiped each other out. Either way.... PEACE!! simple right?
it's easy to just throw everything onto the media. Oh, the media broadcasts violence to youngsters, etc etc etc. To me that's a load of bovine excrement. It's just a vicious cycle. Face it. Everyone has this deep down morbid fascination with death, sex, violence and the lot. The media just shows us what attracts our attention which apparently causes us to turn into car burning monsters which just gives broadcasters more violent images to broadcast. And since we watch what we want to, we end up watching people burning cars on TV. So who's fault is it really if not "mass media"?
I say blame it all on the parents. hah..!! I'm beginning to sound like some idealistic teen punk, no? But I grew up in a family where raised voices were frowned upon and rough housing was definitely out of the question. We were taught to have our own opinions and yet be sensitive to what we say or do that may be offensive to others. As far as I know, none of my family members have started or participated in any major conflict or plotted to commit mass murder. But if you grow up with your parents engaged in an all out war with those people across the imaginary line in the ground, you naturally are born into an environment where violence is just another part of your daily routine. It just goes on and on passed down from generation to generation. Nothing, except a major shift in people's perceptions, is going to change that. Children's minds are like dry sponges. They soak up everything that their parent teach them.
so my argument might be a little simplistic and not really well thought through [that tends happens at two am]. but who can really explain what is happening?
other than being a line from a "pop" song, it's quite a valid question. When you take out the killing, violence and other assorted disasters frm any news programme, all you have left is the ad breaks in between stories. And when I pick up the newspaper in the morning, I skip every page that has a picture of a dead body on the ground and I find myself at the back page checking out the latest discounts at the supermarket.
personally, I find it rather depressing. I know I'm not the one caught up in the wake of a cat 4 hurricane or in the middle of two groups of people shooting at each other, but I just don't remember the world being like this back when I was growing up. Who knows it might have just been my naivety, but I doubt it. Without sounding conceited or anything, I believe I was a pretty well informed child growing up. That came from only having one TV and having grandparents that insisted on watching the news no matter if there was something else better on another channel.
it seems to me that every history book published from now onwards really should have just two main sections, namely pre- and post-9/11. I'm sure that few people will argue with me when I say that the world has grown much more violent since that day some 4 almost 5 years ago. It may seem like a generalisation to make such a sweeping statement but unlike many other generalisations, it's generally true. Paris, arguable one of the most romantic of cities in the world, is now a haven for teen crime and rioting. Bombings in the centre of historic London. And let's not even bother with the middle east. Have you heard my "Road Map to Peace in the Middle East"? Well, my plan is to erect this massive fencing [preferably electric] around the whole Middle East. a fence that would shadow the Great Wall. We wait for say five years or until you hear no more noise, whichever comes first, and then we take the fence down and get the oil out. By that time, they'd all either have calmed down and settled their differences or wiped each other out. Either way.... PEACE!! simple right?
it's easy to just throw everything onto the media. Oh, the media broadcasts violence to youngsters, etc etc etc. To me that's a load of bovine excrement. It's just a vicious cycle. Face it. Everyone has this deep down morbid fascination with death, sex, violence and the lot. The media just shows us what attracts our attention which apparently causes us to turn into car burning monsters which just gives broadcasters more violent images to broadcast. And since we watch what we want to, we end up watching people burning cars on TV. So who's fault is it really if not "mass media"?
I say blame it all on the parents. hah..!! I'm beginning to sound like some idealistic teen punk, no? But I grew up in a family where raised voices were frowned upon and rough housing was definitely out of the question. We were taught to have our own opinions and yet be sensitive to what we say or do that may be offensive to others. As far as I know, none of my family members have started or participated in any major conflict or plotted to commit mass murder. But if you grow up with your parents engaged in an all out war with those people across the imaginary line in the ground, you naturally are born into an environment where violence is just another part of your daily routine. It just goes on and on passed down from generation to generation. Nothing, except a major shift in people's perceptions, is going to change that. Children's minds are like dry sponges. They soak up everything that their parent teach them.
so my argument might be a little simplistic and not really well thought through [that tends happens at two am]. but who can really explain what is happening?
Sunday, January 08, 2006
::new year, new beginnings::
well... it was a rather different first week of the new year. for one, i didn't have to go to sch on the 3rd of january. that was a rather different experience. next at the stroke of midnight on the 1st of jan, SBS made us start paying adult fares.... that's the new thing that really sucks...
other than that, i think it's been a pretty good year [so far]...
finally getting my paycheck frm tangs soon. so that means that i can go shopping for stuff that i need and i've got a job at boon's parents company. i don't think it's as fun as the cafe job, but it's sure as hell a lot less tiring. no standing for 10 hr shifts, no more coming home at midnight and no more having to be polite til it hurts. haha.
come to think of it, i liked being in service. i like being able to see different people and to sometimes chat with customers. but what i couldn't stand was the four-staff-taking-care-of-the-whole-cafe-during-dinner thing. that was totally nuts. four people had to prepare drinks and desserts, take orders, seat people at their tables, set and clear tables, bring out food and bring the check at the end of meals. and the cafe sat abt 100+ pax. wahh... mati sial..
and the best part abt the new job... five day week.. i don't have to spend my weekends stuck waiting tables.. haha.... now that's the best part...
well. hopefully, the rest of this year won't go like the end of last year went.
down the toilet bowl. i'm really looking for big things to happen.
cheers to the new year....!! here's to a 2006 that will knock the crap outta 2005
well... it was a rather different first week of the new year. for one, i didn't have to go to sch on the 3rd of january. that was a rather different experience. next at the stroke of midnight on the 1st of jan, SBS made us start paying adult fares.... that's the new thing that really sucks...
other than that, i think it's been a pretty good year [so far]...
finally getting my paycheck frm tangs soon. so that means that i can go shopping for stuff that i need and i've got a job at boon's parents company. i don't think it's as fun as the cafe job, but it's sure as hell a lot less tiring. no standing for 10 hr shifts, no more coming home at midnight and no more having to be polite til it hurts. haha.
come to think of it, i liked being in service. i like being able to see different people and to sometimes chat with customers. but what i couldn't stand was the four-staff-taking-care-of-the-whole-cafe-during-dinner thing. that was totally nuts. four people had to prepare drinks and desserts, take orders, seat people at their tables, set and clear tables, bring out food and bring the check at the end of meals. and the cafe sat abt 100+ pax. wahh... mati sial..
and the best part abt the new job... five day week.. i don't have to spend my weekends stuck waiting tables.. haha.... now that's the best part...
well. hopefully, the rest of this year won't go like the end of last year went.
down the toilet bowl. i'm really looking for big things to happen.
cheers to the new year....!! here's to a 2006 that will knock the crap outta 2005
Thursday, December 29, 2005
::back to my youth::
I remember well how my grandma would read with me and my sis at night before bedtime. One of the books we read together were the seven books of Narnia. Having read the book and quite fallen in love with the land of Narnia, I really enjoyed watching the movie adaptation. It made me go back all the way to those times reading with grandma.
I'm sure that with the current Hollywood trend of adapting books into movies [*cough*LordoftheRings*cough cough*], there are sure to be plenty of comparisons to the much larger scaled and big budgeted LOTR trilogy. But to me, I think that Narnia whoops some serious ring ass. For one, 3 vs 7. Hah. Take that Tolkien.
But more than that I think that the reason that I have such an affection for the land of Narnia is because of the magic of the imagination. It's not a distant land like Middle Earth is. Narnia is like a dream. It's a place through the wardrobe in the spareroom. That is the magic of Narnia. The thought of going through the wardrobe and into another land is so illogical but is so enchanting.
I'm not trying to convince people that Narnia is better than LOTR. cuz it is not fair to comment on two books in different leagues. Narnia is a children's book. LOTR is not. One look at "The Fellowship of the Ring" is enough to put a child of reading for the rest of his/her life. I think it's rather more of a personal preference and because of my experiences with Narnia that I feel more for Aslan than Elrond.
On a slightly more selfish note, I kinda wished that the movie didn't come out. Narnia used to be somewhere secret which few people knew about. It was like having your own private world. Now that the movie is out, there'll be a lot of Narnia "fans" that don't know of the full world. Of the Silver Chair, Prince Caspian and the rest. So I can only hope that this movie inspires people to pick up the books and start reading. It's truly a magic place waiting to be discovered.
I remember well how my grandma would read with me and my sis at night before bedtime. One of the books we read together were the seven books of Narnia. Having read the book and quite fallen in love with the land of Narnia, I really enjoyed watching the movie adaptation. It made me go back all the way to those times reading with grandma.
I'm sure that with the current Hollywood trend of adapting books into movies [*cough*LordoftheRings*cough cough*], there are sure to be plenty of comparisons to the much larger scaled and big budgeted LOTR trilogy. But to me, I think that Narnia whoops some serious ring ass. For one, 3 vs 7. Hah. Take that Tolkien.
But more than that I think that the reason that I have such an affection for the land of Narnia is because of the magic of the imagination. It's not a distant land like Middle Earth is. Narnia is like a dream. It's a place through the wardrobe in the spareroom. That is the magic of Narnia. The thought of going through the wardrobe and into another land is so illogical but is so enchanting.
I'm not trying to convince people that Narnia is better than LOTR. cuz it is not fair to comment on two books in different leagues. Narnia is a children's book. LOTR is not. One look at "The Fellowship of the Ring" is enough to put a child of reading for the rest of his/her life. I think it's rather more of a personal preference and because of my experiences with Narnia that I feel more for Aslan than Elrond.
On a slightly more selfish note, I kinda wished that the movie didn't come out. Narnia used to be somewhere secret which few people knew about. It was like having your own private world. Now that the movie is out, there'll be a lot of Narnia "fans" that don't know of the full world. Of the Silver Chair, Prince Caspian and the rest. So I can only hope that this movie inspires people to pick up the books and start reading. It's truly a magic place waiting to be discovered.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
::good reading::
Check this blog post out.
It's OK to be a bad Christian
*gasp* blasphemy?
au contraire. just read and listen to what he says.
Another interesting piece of reading. "The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody" by Will Cuppy. quite humourous and very good bedside reading [and toilet literature].
Check this blog post out.
It's OK to be a bad Christian
*gasp* blasphemy?
au contraire. just read and listen to what he says.
Another interesting piece of reading. "The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody" by Will Cuppy. quite humourous and very good bedside reading [and toilet literature].
Friday, December 23, 2005
::Traditionally a time for tradition::
Aaah. It's that time of the year again. Christmas. Time to dust off old family traditions [and our xmas deco for the hse] and celebrate with family and friends.
Christmas has always been a very big time for my family. I guess we've kinda been the party hse for a very long time. Since before I was born, Christmas dinner has always something that has been held annually at my hse. I'm telling you, for me, it wouldn't be Christmas until I see the tables set up inside my house.
Tradition is not all that bad as many people proclaim it to be. Tradition invokes a real sense of nostalgia that is irreplaceable. For instance, I remember how every year we would go over to the sisters' hse in katong to pick up the Christmas pudding. FYI, the sister's are these Irish nuns that my grandmother knew frm when she was at KC. And they would make Christmas pudding for us every year without fail. I remember going over to pick it up was always a big deal. When we got there, we'd always get fussed over and sister Josephine would always find something to give us. I can still remember the hse very well and the huge garden [and the dogs and the pancakes she made for us one year and the red saga seeds]. And now that they've gone back to Ireland and my grandma to somewhere even better, I really miss those days. We've tried making the pudding ourselves and even bought a pudding once frm the supermarket, but seriously, nothing can match sister Josephine's pudding.
There's also Christmas breakfast. Every year, Uncle Richard and family would come over and we'd all have breakfast together. Sausages, bacon, ham. Stuff that you could get all year round but somehow is more special this time of year. And it was also the time when grandpa would make cocoa for us. It was something special that we always looked forward to. He'd never make cocoa any other time of year cept Christmas and that made it into something of a Christmas treat. Even though I could probably make my own now whenever I want, I don't. It sounds like such a small thing but it really feels different when grandpa makes cocoa for Christmas breakfast.
But by far my favourite Christmas tradition is Christmas dinner at my house. It's not so much abt the food [okay, so what if it is?] but it's about being with family. I meet these people constantly throughout the year but somehow it's different on Christmas cuz we'll all be around one table and we're all there together. Sounds corny, but it really gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside. It was also the one time of the year that grandma used to be able to say grace before the meal and I'm pretty sure she actually enjoyed that. It's the third Christmas that we'll spend without her and I'll never get used to not having her around to say grace.
To me, that's what makes Christmas Christmas. I can safely say without any smudge on my conscience that it's not about the presents or the pretty lighting downtown or even the wonderful food that will be on the table at Christmas dinner. It's about the time well spent with family. I'm sure that after a few years you won't even remember what was on the table at dinner but you'd remember how someone vomited blue, or singing carols together, or the year that we poured too much brandy on the pudding and everyone was happy.
Christmas is a happy time. Both in the religious and the modern aspect of the holiday. So cheers to happy memories and to many happy ones to come.
Aaah. It's that time of the year again. Christmas. Time to dust off old family traditions [and our xmas deco for the hse] and celebrate with family and friends.
Christmas has always been a very big time for my family. I guess we've kinda been the party hse for a very long time. Since before I was born, Christmas dinner has always something that has been held annually at my hse. I'm telling you, for me, it wouldn't be Christmas until I see the tables set up inside my house.
Tradition is not all that bad as many people proclaim it to be. Tradition invokes a real sense of nostalgia that is irreplaceable. For instance, I remember how every year we would go over to the sisters' hse in katong to pick up the Christmas pudding. FYI, the sister's are these Irish nuns that my grandmother knew frm when she was at KC. And they would make Christmas pudding for us every year without fail. I remember going over to pick it up was always a big deal. When we got there, we'd always get fussed over and sister Josephine would always find something to give us. I can still remember the hse very well and the huge garden [and the dogs and the pancakes she made for us one year and the red saga seeds]. And now that they've gone back to Ireland and my grandma to somewhere even better, I really miss those days. We've tried making the pudding ourselves and even bought a pudding once frm the supermarket, but seriously, nothing can match sister Josephine's pudding.
There's also Christmas breakfast. Every year, Uncle Richard and family would come over and we'd all have breakfast together. Sausages, bacon, ham. Stuff that you could get all year round but somehow is more special this time of year. And it was also the time when grandpa would make cocoa for us. It was something special that we always looked forward to. He'd never make cocoa any other time of year cept Christmas and that made it into something of a Christmas treat. Even though I could probably make my own now whenever I want, I don't. It sounds like such a small thing but it really feels different when grandpa makes cocoa for Christmas breakfast.
But by far my favourite Christmas tradition is Christmas dinner at my house. It's not so much abt the food [okay, so what if it is?] but it's about being with family. I meet these people constantly throughout the year but somehow it's different on Christmas cuz we'll all be around one table and we're all there together. Sounds corny, but it really gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside. It was also the one time of the year that grandma used to be able to say grace before the meal and I'm pretty sure she actually enjoyed that. It's the third Christmas that we'll spend without her and I'll never get used to not having her around to say grace.
To me, that's what makes Christmas Christmas. I can safely say without any smudge on my conscience that it's not about the presents or the pretty lighting downtown or even the wonderful food that will be on the table at Christmas dinner. It's about the time well spent with family. I'm sure that after a few years you won't even remember what was on the table at dinner but you'd remember how someone vomited blue, or singing carols together, or the year that we poured too much brandy on the pudding and everyone was happy.
Christmas is a happy time. Both in the religious and the modern aspect of the holiday. So cheers to happy memories and to many happy ones to come.
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