Tomorrow

Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind. ~Mary Ellen Chase

In my previous post I had spoke of what fills me with the feeling of excitement for Christmas approaching – wrapping Michelle’s gifts – but, while the above is true, the state of mind mentioned in the above quotation does not occur until the day is upon me.

Children are filled with the spirit from the day their advent calendars are opened, or at least as the number days open out number those still to be. At some point they begin to count sleeps and become ever easier to manipulate with the perhaps cruel but effective threat that Santa knows if they have been bad or good. Christmas is magical for children, their still developing little brains dazzled by the shiny objects and bright, occasionally blinking, lights. And of course there are all the packages under the tree – “For me?” – For them.

The older your get the more difficult it is to feel the magic. The shiny objects are less fascinating, the bright lights hurt your eyes and blinking ones threaten to send you into some sort of fit, and all those gifts under the tree – “For me?” – No, not for you. You have to struggle through crowds of ignorant humanity and wait in seemingly endless line after line for your gifts. Then there’s the cost - where’s that jolly fat bastard when you really need him?

And then you wake up on Christmas morning. There’s something unquantifiable in the air – everything seems still. There are the one or two gifts under the tree for you and your content with the quantity you receive and love those gifts because you love the one that gave them to you. Everyone is pleasant – you pass people in the street and rather than pass by them you greet them a merry Christmas or at least wish them a good day. The worries of the year nearly past fall away for one day and the day it’s self is a gift for that fact.

Today, Christmas Eve, is stress. Maybe you’re buying the last minute gifts, maybe your wrapping all your gifts, maybe you’re preparing for tomorrow’s dinner or maybe you’re building your kids gifts tonight to be freshly delivered by Santa Claus tomorrow. Tomorrow is calm. Tomorrow is content. Tomorrow is love. Tomorrow is Christmas.

Have a good one.

A Lot Like Christmas

I don’t know if it’s the non-stop rain, the fact that month it passing so quickly or astonishing amount of money I don’t have, but I hadn’t been feeling the Christmas spirit too much until recently.

The tree was up, the house decorated and Michelle and I had wrapped all the presents we got for the kids and parents – but I know now that none of that does it for me, doesn’t get me excited about the upcoming festivity. I know now that it’s wrapping Michelle’s gifts that gives me that familiar buzz that we mostly leave behind the more time passes.

I think it’s because Michelle is now the only person that I buy gifts for; meaning that she is the only person that receives gifts which are just from me as opposed to “us”. I always buy her, her own wrapping paper so that her gifts look different from everyone else’s under the tree, and I always pack those gifts in boxes or bags full of tissues and decorate the packages with bows and sometimes ribbons.

I like to make the effort with the packaging because Michelle almost always knows what she’s getting. This year for example I bought her tickets for Swan Lake but stupidly got them sent to the flat. Of course Michelle was in when the mail came that day and it wasn’t exactly hard to figure out what I was getting though the post in an envelope marked as being sent by The Theatre Royal. So, yeah she knows what it is, but I made her an envelope from two types of wrapping paper so that, while it may not be a surprise, her main gift will at least look nice when she wakes on Christmas morning.

Anyway - I’m done for now as I don’t want to speak to much about Christmas at this time. I’m hoping to write a good Christmas post nearer the time in the same vain as last year.

‘Till then.

2006 Questionnaire

I did this same questionnaire for 2005 this time last year so here I go again.

1) Was 2006 a good year for you?
I got married, became a godfather (the non mafia kind), finally went to New York, got another cat and stayed in the one job – good year all round!

2) What was your favourite moment of the year?
Getting married would come first but seeing the New York sky line for the first time was incredible.

3) What was your least favourite moment of the year?
Finding out my leg can’t be fixed was not the best, but it wasn’t really that big a surprise, so nothing too bad.

4) Where were you when 2006 began?
In my flat for The Bells and then later at Scott and Louise’s.

5) Who were you with?
Michelle and Fudge for the bells then Louise, Scott and Bob shortly after.

6) Where will you be when 2006 ends?
Shaw’s house is the plan.

7) Who will you be with when 2006 ends?
Michelle, Shaw, Lindsey, and probably Nigel, (Iona is working), and maybe Sparkie, David, Natalie, Kenny, Claire, Murray, and others.

8) Did you keep your new years resolution of 2006?
Last year when I did this (almost a year to the day FYI) I did a recap the resolutions I wrote down on the Blog, as I fail all but one last year I just made the same ones again and added “study hard” in reference to my being a student. Lets see how I did: -

Save for the wedding.
RESULT: Fail – Yes the wedding bills were paid but I’ll be paying back the loan for the next three years and, if my current finances are anything to go by, with some difficulty.

Lose weight.
RESULT: Pass – I did lose a little, a very little, but I think it’s mostly due to my fretting over money rather than my short lived Gym membership(s).

Work on scripts.
RESULT: Fail – as always I’m making my little notes and dreaming up the plots but I have never once put pen to paper or finger to key for my scripts in this entire year. Hopefully the writing course Laura and Stuart ‘got’ me for my birthday which starts in January will help.

Study Hard.
RESULT: Fail – I am no longer a student and I do not have a degree. Need I say more.

9) Do you have a new year’s resolution for 2007?
I will and will be sure to notify you of them once I do.

10) Did you fall in love in 2006?
As I said last year – I fell a long time ago and show no signs of getting back up.

11) If yes, with who?
Michelle.

12) If yes, do they know?
The wedding ring should make it pretty clear.

13) Are you still in love with them?
“But not as much as to-morr-ow!”

14) Do regret it?
No.

15) Did you break-up with anyone in 2006?
I think I might drop these questions next year… yeah I steal some from another one of these.

16) Did you make any new friends in 2006?
Work acquaintances I suppose but I already have a lot of Friends. I regained a friend in Peter who I stopped talking to for one of the stupid reason people stop talking top others. We’re cool now and I’m very happy with that… Though if he loses his job because of my MySpace Mini Golf we could be back to square one…

17) Who are your favourite new friends?
Peter. “Old friends are best” – John Selden, the jurist, said that and I believe him.

18) What was your favourite month of 2006?
September - Married. New York. Hawaii. Birthday.

19) Did you travel outside of the UK in 2006?
New York and Hawaii, with a short stop in San Francisco.

20) How many different states did you travel to in 2006?
Three.

21) Did you lose anybody close to you in 2006?
Thankfully no, though Michelle lost her cat Cleo who lived with her (Michelle’s) mum and who Michelle had since she was nine.

*** New question the replace the ‘love’ ones ***

22) What do you wish you'd done more of?
Writing and Saving.

23) What do you wish you'd done less of?
Procrastinating.

24) What dates from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
1st September – I got married.
2nd September – I went to NYC.
25th March – Bought Frankie.

25) What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I can’t remember my Birthday… I was 25 and I don’t think I did anything. Oh me and Gary had a joint birthday dinner at he and Kirsty’s house. And Jim gave me 15% off in A1.

26) What song will always remind you of 2006?
Hmm… Someone Like You by Van Morrison, All I Want is You by U2 and Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls all featured at my wedding so those ones.

27) What was your favourite TV program?
Favourite new show this year would have to be Heroes but close behind that would be Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. In fact I think it would have to be a tie.

28) Favourite film of this year?
Superman Returns because I’m a freekin’ geek but also excellent were Casino Royale, Capote, Crash, The Departed and Brick.