Walking to work this morning the light was eerie. The sun had started to come up but it was the first morning where the street lights were still on, so is seemed strange.
It only took 2 blocks and they turned off and then it seemed normal again. But it once again reminds me I'm in a different part of the world. As I'm further north than Vancouver in the summer it's great as the days are soooooo long. But in the winter it's the opposite, the days just keep getting shorter and shorter and shorter. And it's not even the winter solstice yet.
Walking out of the office tonight I noticed that there is already a Christmas Tree behind the reception desk. Picking up some vegetables at the Sainsbury's store I heard Elvis crooning how he'll once again be having a Blue Christmas without me (so why doesn't he call?). B&Q has their live potted Christmas Trees for sale in the parking lot.
Last year this time I think I had more time to prepare for Christmas as I hadn't even started work at this point. Now I'm just so consumed with monthly statistical reports, training plans, reference manuals I just have no time or energy to think about writing Christmas cards, Amazon.ca or .co.uk wish lists and I realize I'm running out of time.
I know Christmas is NOT about gifts and materialism. But there is something about taking the time out to think about those you love and wanting to give them something just to remind them that you do care. It's not about how much money you spend, but (and I know this sounds cliche) but it's the thought you put into it. And that's what I feel bad about, I just don't seem to have the brain power enough at the end of the day to be able to do that. But I'm trying not to stress about it.
So if you're expecting a card or a gift from me, it might be a bit late.
Other thoughts. I was going through my flickr photos. There is this great tool where you can click on Archive and look at what pictures you took on a particular day. I looked up my shots taken on Dec 6, 2006. I hadn't started work yet so was still into my daily routine of just walking out the door and wandering the city.
This was the day I found the Science Centre and walked the River Clyde into City Centre. It was a beautiful sunny day, I watched a 3D Imax movie, got lots of exercise walking. It was a good day. Some day (soon) I hope to have the freedom and flexibility to have a day like that again.
3 comments:
It might get dark earlier. And that's not all that great. But count your blessings. At least it's not a freakish -20 there. My left eyeball froze and fell out of its socket.
OK, not really. But it could have.
Catcher in the Rye is a sort of weird book. Worth a read once. But no more than that. It's sort of like touching an electric fence. You want to see what it's like once when you're a kid. After that, if you even bother, you just remind yourself afterwards that it's a stupid thing to do.
Great photo!
Chris, it is strange that it gets so dark early. We were driving back from somewhere at 3pm – 3pm! – a few days ago and the sun started to set. Makes me want to sleep... I've lived in London all my life and never quite got used to the shortness of December days.
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