Journal: Lost in Thought

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Friday, December 17, 2004

7:39pm Christmas Giving

Today I received an early Christmas present that warmed my soul to the core. When I went to pick up Jessica from school today - last day before Christmas Break - she bounded out of the classroom with the kind of excitement that only kids can truly display. She was absolutely beside herself and couldn't wait to tell me that she had a surprise in her backpack for me and Daddy. The moment we got through the door she called upstairs to her Dad "to come down and see the surprise". Apparently in this household no one has to wait until Christmas morning to open presents. Jessica pulled out a pretty yellow and blue tissue wrapped present and was quite proud to announce that she had even made the wrapping herself. Jay opened the gift to reveal a beautifully handmade photo frame magnet and Christmas card. The fact that she was so proud of it made it that much more special.

It is perhaps this shining example of the true spirit of Christmas that I have long since forgotten. My special magnet now adorns my file cabinet as a reminder of how things should really be.

I hope she never gets jaded by the over-commercialization of this holiday. I hope that she will always have that childlike wonderment in her eyes and and in her heart.

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

9:37am The Mystery of the Broken Blog

I can assure you that I'm still alive. I've been having technical difficulties with my blog for the last week. Yesterday I uninstalled and reinstalled the Frontpage extensions and only managed to mess up my hit counter. I've removed it from the home page and will now be reading my web stat reports a little more diligently to see where my traffic is coming from. I think things are back in order, but I won't say that too loudly. Cross your fingers!

I love blogging, but I don't love blogging with Frontpage. So Dan is going to be helping me set up a much better site sometime soon. Stay tuned! And I really mean it this time!

My parents are soaking up the sun in beautiful Mexico this week so I'm running the ship. Mind you, its a much bigger ship than I'm used to.

The weekend? We took Jessica to Ontario Place - Holiday Dreams last Saturday afternoon with our friends Anthony, Lan and her cute daughter, Margo. A couple major food chain corporate sponsors turned what has historically been a summer attraction into a winter holiday themed spot - the lights, petting zoo, a Pixar-esque Santa vs. Snowman IMAX movie in the Cinesphere, a live Santa show, Barney, SpongeBob and fireworks. We were expecting a little more, but the kids had fun and that's what counts.

On the way home, we stopped for a nice hot bowl of pho along Spadina. Yum! I'd have to say that was my favorite part of the evening.

Jay and I spent some solid hours at the Design Studio last Sunday. Yes, my husband gave up his session of ball. See - miracles really do happen! We managed to snag the attention of a design consultant who worked with us to put together some interior color ideas for our kitchen, master bath and main bath. It's all starting to come together. A few more Sunday's at the studio and we should be ready for our January 10, 2005 design appointment.

I'm not too sure what our holiday plans are yet. Rumor has it that the Gamez dinner will be at Jay's aunt's house on Christmas Eve, but we don't have the details on that yet. Christmas Day we'll be at church and then at home with my parents and family friends.

There is a strong possibility that we'll be in New York City the week after Christmas. Jay might have to be there on business so we'll be tagging along to see family, friends, do some shopping and spend New Years Eve there. The Big Apple really knows how to do it up big for the holiday season. Nothing beats the beautiful tree in Rockefeller Center, the Bloomingdale's and Macy's display windows, and the festive spirit in the Manhattan air. Jane, I'll keep you posted on those developments.

On the west coast, it looks like Cindy and Norm's home will be party central for the holidays. They host the Bunoan family dinner on Christmas Eve and then the Cardona dinner on Christmas Day! Good times and a perfect excuse for the fine china to come out. Wish we could be there.

Happy Holidays my fine-feathered readers! That's my cue to finish off my Christmas cards and get in line at the post office.

Friday, December 10, 2004

10:06am TGIF

Yay, its Friday - which means I have a husband again. Jay's been at a client site just outside of Nashville, TN all week. The lucky devil got to miss our first snowfall in exchange for the kind of weather that afforded him the luxury of leaving his heavy winter coat at home.

It's been a busy week holed up in my makeshift home office with my laptop working on a project I landed a few weeks ago. I've been fairly quiet *on the blog* about the fact that I'm diligently working away at a business venture. You know, now that we're back in Canada and I actually have a legal right to work and get paid for it or even set up my own business, without some INS info-line rep telling me that I should "just stay home and watch Oprah". That is a true story folks - just ask Jay, Em or Dan how pissed off I was that week.

Anyway, for now that's all I'll say about my venture. I want to officially launch with a little more fanfare than a cryptic blog entry. So heads up to all who would much rather chop off a hand than have to write with it. I just might be able to save you!

Monday, December 6, 2004

9:35pm Canadian Winter

What should have been a fun-filled morning at the ROM turned into a 3-hour ride in a school bus. I opened the front door this morning to a winter wonderland with the white powder coming down fast and furious. I really wasn't prepared to see that because when I saw Jay off at 5 this morning there wasn't any snow on the ground.

The streets were a mess and the traffic situation was horrendous. It took more than an hour to get to the Finch and Don Mills area from Thornhill. If you're familiar with the GTA, you'll know that isn't normal even in Monday morning rush hour traffic.

The bus driver took all the side streets to try and avoid all the clogged main streets and managed to get stuck on a hill in the process. It took him nearly 45 minutes to get unstuck and up that hill at a turtle's pace. Jessica's Kindergarten class were getting quite anxious and most of the two dozen kids on the bus kept asking "Are we there yet?" Most of us parents who had volunteered our time to help out with this field trip were just ready to ditch this trip and head home. After being on the road for more than 2 hours and not really getting anywhere, the teacher made the call and cancelled the trip. Disappointed kids those were!

Oh well - perhaps the next time we'll have better luck and better weather. Hoping that tomorrow turns out to be a nicer day. To think that we have at least another several months of this! Boo! Keep warm my fellow Torontonians!

Friday, December 3, 2004

9:47pm Traveling Down a One-Way Street

I used to be really good at making a half decent attempt at keeping in relatively close touch with everyone. Perhaps I've grown cynical over the years, but what used to be a joy became a task that somehow took too much energy to try and maintain relationships with people who never seemed to make the effort or reciprocate my attempts to keep in contact. I mean, a friendship is a two-way relationship isn't it! There are only so many times you can leave a voicemail, drop an email or write snail mail to no avail before you start feeling like you're being ignored. I'm not very good at playing the martyr.

But allow me to get off the high horse and admit that I too am guilty of failing to write back or letting days and weeks go by before I return a phone call. It's awful I know and I don't make any excuses.

Friendship is like the flower garden that needs to be nurtured. But no matter how many times you tend to it, every once in awhile one of the blooms just die. You wonder what you did wrong. And then you realize that it wasn't in your hands. By the same token, sometimes friendship just dies and you have to leave it alone. No need for heroics or any fanfare.

I'm thankful for old friends who keep me grounded and remind me of my roots. I'm thankful for a time when I had no friends in a new place far from home. It gave me a chance to leave the comfort of my safety net to make new friends who showed me a different perspective.

According to the late Marlene Dietrich, "It's the friends you can call up at 4am that matter!" I wonder if I should test that theory. Hee!

Wednesday, December 1, 2004

10:16am Holiday Cheer

Kids, do not try this at home. These stunts have been performed by a trained professional. Well really its Cindy and Norman getting into the holiday spirit and sending Christmas cheer my way. I thought it was pretty funny. And judging from the expression on Norm's face in that last frame, so did he! My sister claims that she was trying to capture "feigned pain". She masterminded the entire stunt so I'll take her word for it.

It's hard to believe that Christmas is just around the corner. I haven't really had time to think about it much less get into the Christmas spirit. But the decorations are out in full force, Santa has come to town and the holiday drinks are back at Starbucks. Nothing says Christmas like a gingerbread latte. Yum!

In other news, some interesting developments are looming on the business front. More news later.

President Bush is in Canada (having his prescription filled). Ironically, he was served Alberta beef and there are (at the time of writing) no reports that he died from eating it. Think that'll convince American legislators to do away with the ban on Canadian beef? And he's scheduled to thank Canadians for our 9/11 aid. Oh man, I know all the comedians are itching to use that material in their next set *comedy of errors*. Comedian, politician, same thing!

ms paint rendering / uncle norman by jessica