...Christmas is coming...

Just to point out the obvious, or in case you've been living under a stump recently, Christmas is on its way. At least that's what all the marketers are telling me. Everywhere I go I hear Christmasy Muzak playing over pa systems...why even today I heard Adam Sandler's Hanukah song. I'm not going to lie, it made me laugh. (if you'd like to laugh too go to http://www.chanuka.com/songs.shtml - there are even multiple versions!) I also heard some horrible renditions of some classic carols sung by some guy who sings his "rs"...ugh. It makes me shudder. But here's the thing...if it weren't for all of the Christmas music and the red and green springing up all around I'd have no idea...WHERE'S THE SNOW? Today it was 8 degrees. Tomorrow I think it's supposed to be 10 degrees and sunny. I'm not really complaining, but it would be a shame to have a completely green Christmas...it just wouldn't feel like the right season. Maybe it's just Halifax (which by the way is usually quite snowy and cold - I like to think I brought some good weather with me) but I don't think the wild weather, or lack there of, is limited to our eastern shores...apparently it was 13 degrees in parts of Ontario this afternoon. Bring on the global warming...

I started thinking about Christmas shopping today. I like shopping for other people...it justifies my shopaholic tendancies (which are a fairly recent development) and I like giving presents. Receiving presents, however, is a completely different thing. I sometimes feel awkward accepting gifts from other people. I'm not really sure why this is, there's probably some sort of psychological explanation. Perhaps it is because receiving something from another person can tend to be a humbling thing, and often it is difficult to accept kindness. It's possible that I need to work on accepting kindness...who woulda thought (is this sneaky ploy to get extra Christmas presents working??)

I've been making plans to visit friends over the Christmas holidays. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone that I've been missing for months and I can't wait to jump into holiday festivities...apple cider, crackling fires, mistletoe (*wink*wink*), skating, Christmas carols, the Christmas eve service at my church in Toronto, dinner, drinks, friends, family...

Only three more weeks!

...from the laundromat...

I hate doing laundry. Actually, that's a lie. What I really hate is not having laundry facilities that actually work in my building, or better yet a washer and dryer in my apartment. It's just another one of the myriad of things that are wrong with my building. It sure does make me miss good 'ol Unit #15....*sigh* (I used to live in a townhouse complex with 4 other girls, which, comparatively looks like the Ritz). At any rate, I'm currently waiting for the wash cycle to finish so that I can drag my laundry over to the super-turbo-rapido (so false advertising) dryers that I suspect of having recently melted one of my shirts.

That being said, I'm sitting in Tim Horton's which is interesting in and of itself. I remember when I took a psychology course in first year and one of the exercises we had to do was to take a trip downtown and sit in a public place and observe people - sitting in Timmy's sort of reminds me of that experience. It's an interesting study to just people-watch. Especially in Tim Horton's. There are all kinds here...a young family with a little brunette girl dressed in a tiny pink pea coat and matching pink boots...a single guy drinking a large ice cap and reading the Sunday edition of the Globe and Mail...a 20-something couple drinking coffee and holding hands...two adult women sharing tea and laughing...an old man sitting alone with a small coffee...and me, with my laptop. I think I'm out of place.

When I'm people watching I find that I can easily place myself into the lives of those I'm scrutinizing. What if I were the mother who made sure her daughter's coat and boots matched? (I know, I know, I probably will be that mother). What about that couple by the window? Would I have the same reaction to whatever it is he's saying to his partner? What is it he's saying? ....it feels like that Sheryl Crow song...you, know "a happy couple enters the bar/dangerously close to one another..." Except I'm not in a bar. And I'm not Sheryl Crow. I just think I have an over-active imagination, I think that's also why I can't watch scary movies. I put myself into whatever I'm watching and it becomes too real.

So the most exciting thing about today is that fact that I didn't have to work on my 30-page paper. A miracle happened last night. My prof emailed me that he had to travel to BC because his father is ill, and he needed me to oversee a few of the administrative things for his lectures and tutorials. That was fine by me, but I needed to know what he wanted me to do about the three grad essays that he was supposed to accept in our class Monday night. I emailed him back asking if he wanted me to collect them or if we should put them in his drop box, or perhaps give them to him when he returned? And that's when the miracle happened. He emailed me back and said our papers weren't due until December 5th. I almost cried. I've spent the last 5 days cocooned in my room writing about a Muslim vigilante group in South Africa called People Against Gangsterism and Drugs. The members of the organization are people who, shockingly, are against gangsters and drugs in their community. I know. It's fascinating. And now I have a whole other week to make sure I get in all the riveting details! Be happy for me.

And now I've got to go and empty the washers...

Yes, I surrendered.

I have been fighting setting up my own blog page. I have a number of reasons for this, least of which is the fact that I think it is somewhat odd that I now have a "page" dedicated to me and which absolute strangers can peruse at will...actually come to think of it...that's not really so bad. I always was a bit of an exhibitionist. I suppose there's no real reason not to maintain a blog, and so here I am.

My rationale is that this is a quick and efficient way to keep my friends updated on my often fascinating adventures in my extraordinary life (yes, prepare to be somewhat bored at times. I will try to dull the boredom with quick witticisms and a liberal helping of sarcasm. I find they help.) So my friends, this page is dedicated to you in an effort to improve my abismal skills at keeping in touch when water, land, and life experiences separate us (and when I'm too broke to pay for the long distance phone calls). I hope you're able to glean (yes, I did just use the word 'glean') some sort meaning from what will inevitably be a diatribe (uh huh, diatribe) of meandering thoughts and feelings. (I'm done with using big words now. I promise....oh, who am I kidding...) Hopefully there will be times when you read this where you'll laugh, times where you'll cry, and times where you'll be able to say "that sounds just like Emily."

Welcome to ...where I am (currently in Halifax, NS), where I wish (currently Toronto, ON), and where I will be (who knows!...that's the adventure part)... Let the blogging begin!