...of this week

Word of the Week
Cockamamie: nonsense, absurd, ridiculous. Jack was late for work again and made up some cockamamie excuse

Picture of the Week

Song of the Week

i lived on the moon- kwoon

12-26-08

Christmas this year was a little different. With my job requiring me to work on the 25th and with both my sisters away on ski trips on the same day, my family decided to celebrate Christmas on boxing day. We each received a gift from our secret Santa, my mom surprised my sisters and I with each a pair of really beautiful earrings, and we had the most amazing meal (which included three different desserts!) that ended with my mom’s special spicy chai tea.


The girls looking at all of today's pictures. Here are a few more:


Our tree


Vany, Mom & Sybs


Mom & Dad


Vany & Paul


Sybs & James

This week was a little hard: work was extra busy, the nights were long, and I even called my mom in tears on Christmas Eve because I so desperately wanted to be home... Today however made up for everything. When we were kids, Christmas was all about the excitement of receiving presents. As we get older, the excitement slowly fades, but it gets replaced with something even better. Now that the house is dark and quiet and everyone is fast asleep, I am overwhelmed with a sense of gratefulness. Today was a really memorable day and I couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas.

Christmas is X-mas

The Trees

For we are as tree-trunks in the snow. Apparently they are merely resting on the surface of the snow, and a little push would be enough to knock them over. No, that’s not the case, for they are firmly attached to the ground. But see, even that is only seemingly the case.
Kafka

...of this week

Word of the Week
Academic bulimia: The process of learning or memorizing by rote, subsequently followed by the regurgitation of that knowledge onto an exam answer sheet. Just as with the serious eating disorder, this form of bulimia results in no real retention of substance.

Picture of the Week

Song of the Week

not for want of trying- maybeshewill

Less time to re-do and re-do

As kids, my sisters and I had agreed upon a “cut-off” age- the age we considered to be full fledged adulthood. The age was 26, when we would have finally become sophisticated, independent, strong, fearless and most of all, experienced women. Today we joke about how we perceived age as kids. But with my 26th birthday looming, I can’t help but wonder: was our perception of age completely ridiculous?

As a kid I couldn’t wait to grow up and be that woman. But the more I aged the more those new experiences, that we only get to encounter as adults, scared me... I’ve avoided small things like driving and bigger things like relationships. I realize that I may have caused a delay in the natural progression of “growing up” and that I’m not a kid anymore and that time isn’t boundless; however, I also realize that taking ones time has its virtues too.

Though I may not be filled with as much confidence and experience as my child self would have like me to have at this age, I am filled with hope for an adulthood overflowing with love & happiness because today I am open to accept the treasures that only new experiences can bring... and my inexperience allows me to appreciate those treasures that much more.

Try it as they the might
No one is immune to
Misfiring and acting on the wrong clues
Always thinking there's time to re-do and re-do
From See These Bones- Nada Surf

...of this week

Word of the Week
Portentous: Ominous or ill-omened. He fell portentously silent.

Picture of the Week


Song of the Week

in the groove again- out of my hair

Christmas Spirit

Today I had fun going through boxes & decorating the house with various Christmas trinkets. A little sad though because I can’t find my Ultimate Christmas Mix Tape: a selection of the best songs that my dad and I have collected over the years. Top 3 songs on the tape include:
3. Christmastime- Smashing Pumpkins
2. O Come, O Come Emmanuel- Belle & Sebastian
1. 80 Windows- Nada Surf:



Okay, not technically a Christmas song, but it makes reference to Christmas time, a tree, rows of lights, and contains the saddest chorus that evokes a kind of loneliness that can only be felt around the holidays: The moon is closer to the sun, Than I am to anyone.

Though I have a feeling the tape is lost for good, I was happy to spend time with my family, and also happy to be reunited with my favorite ornament:

And these steps to the sea
It's the dream I still need
That I feel all I feel
The shit I believe
And all the hope still inside me
It's still inside me
-D.C. Feck

Interesting Design

...of this week

Word of the Week
WORK (Weekly Overload Recreational Killer): A highly contagious, potentially dangerous virus that is transmitted orally, by hand, and even electronically. The WORK virus will wipe out your private life entirely. Antidotes include WINE (Work Isolating Neutralizer Extract) and BEER (Bothersome Employer Elimination Rebooter).

Picture of the Week

Song of the Week

digital sea- thrice

Beautiful Bath

Now this is bathing in style!

What Is Success?

"An economist is a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing" Oscar Wilde


An economist will evaluate your income and assets to determine your ultimate rank in society. Why do we strive so hard to climb this echelon? We place a lot of pressure on ourselves getting the “right” diploma, finding the “right” job, and we spend our whole life doing it because we equate monetary success with prestige and ultimate happiness. It’s a belief that has been ingrained in us my marketers ever since we were old enough to understand images (let alone read). What is prestige if not a total lie? Success need not be measured in dollar signs. The real “things” that matter are kindness, love, health, strength of character, poise, friendships, dignity, compassion, family… Whatever happens in our lives, the choices we make and the paths we decide to follow, these are the values that will sustain our self-worth and make us happy… everything else is the equivalent to snow on the screen.

...of this week

Word of the Week
Ostentatious: Characterized by a pretentious or conspicuous show in an attempt to impress others

Picture of the Week

Song of the Week

untitled- p.g. lost