2013

Ok I know that I am late in this, but I am going to talk about New Year’s Resolutions. But I don’t believe in NYRs because they are usually hard to stay true to. It’s just like me trying to do NaNoWriMo this past year, I got one page double sided and I kind of gave that up. But I do believe in goal setting.

So I set myself three goals for 2013.

First Goal: I have a bunch of books that have not been read. And so I will be reading, I want to say 20 books leisurely this year; if I do more I will be happy. But the hard part will be choosing which to start with and the subsequent order.

Second Goal: I want to increase the amount of photos I take worthy of putting into a portfolio. And I want to put together a proper portfolio though I know it will be filled primarily with 2013 photos. The hard part for me will be making time and actually going out and taking photos.

Third Goal: Simply enough to continue doing this. By the end of 2013 I hope to have posted twice as many blogs as I did in 2012, which I don’t really see as being all that hard to do especially since I have plenty of ideas.

Goal update: 

Books- 2 started

Photos- Unsure

Blogs- 2^nd posted.

Post Script: The goal updates will not be consecutive but periodic. 

A late review

Ok it being later in the year than I had hoped and for that I feel as though I must apologize, but I will not apologize, this is because my absence is due to a desire to spend time with family because family is important. So, I am not sorry that this is late.

This is the blog that I intended for Pre New Years because this is my look back. Where I bring up amendments, additions and extra comments I have in association to the things I have written here over the 2012 year. Let’s dive right in.

So I started my 2012 blogging with talking about entering a photo into a contest followed the next day with how it did and me whining about it doing poorly. But that did not deter me, because they did an autumn showcase and I did enter again I still did not win, but this time I did not feel so bad about not winning. Here is the photo I entered. In my opinion a much better photo which I also framed and matted better than the first.

I also discussed starting the blog again, though I still don’t share it on Facebook, and I have stopped posting it to Twitter to prevent judgment from people I know IRL.

I then proceeded to talk about Twitter and communication. And this has not really changed a bit. I got blocked by a Twitter user that I followed because I was unable to properly convey my point in 140 characters, and me being, well, me. I proceeded to send several tweets consecutively in an attempt to get my point across. So I essentially spammed the Twitter user, got blocked and this was still even before I could entirely get my point across. I regret the spamming and getting blocked, but I don’t regret trying to stand up for something I believe in.

Then came two blogs which I have nothing to add to at this time.

Ahh, Boxes. Chronologically the first blog of 2012 I found myself proud of and what I actually referred back to in posts written after this one. Now looking back I can’t see if I mentioned this anywhere but I do believe that it is possible to both inside and outside of a box, not only that you can be in multiple boxes, or that you are in more than one box.

Looking back at the next post I made I realize that “Assumptions” and “Boxes” could have been merged into one post because they have some complementary ideas in them.

I then proceeded to talk about Christmas for five non-consecutive posts; I’ve got to say Christmas was great, and I’m not going to do any sort of haul post because I took a photo and put it on instagram http://instagram.com/p/T06a7PhQBe/

I also talked about using public restrooms which I still wholly stand behind.

I wrote a response to a YouTube video about me being scared about sharing the blog, I think that with the being a New Year I will start sharing this on Twitter again. Still a bit frightened about what some people on Facebook will think though.

For my birthday I shared 23 bits of unsolicited advice which I really enjoyed doing and next birthday I may very well share 24 bits.

Post Script: Double blog today. Also I need to get back into a blogging schedule. So sorry if this gets a little scattered.

Christmas.

Now I'm gonna go deep with you guys. I'm gonna talk about what Christmas really means to me. So I'm gonna split it up into two parts. The religious and the personal.

Now I will concede that Christmas was put where it is to probably disrupt the pagans celebrating the Winter Solstice, but I don't think that gives it any less meaning than it had before. And by saying that I believe it gives Christmas more of a "symbolic" sense rather than a religious one, which is something I disagree with. It is Christmas because it commemorates the birth of Christ after all. That is where most classic Christmas traditions come from, now I'm talking about things like the tree topper being either a star or an angel, gift giving, the basis for so many of the Carols, and much more. Then again not all traditions are based in Christianity. But then again it is the Christian Christmas that has mostly unified the winter holiday for at least the Western world, bringing together both Christians and non-Christians for a holiday that is now positively seen as being non religiously about family and generosity.

And with that unintentional segue I'm now going to talk about my more personal view of what Christmas means to me. So here I am sitting in Starbucks thinking about Christmas and several words pop into my head, and to start off I will list off some of these words. Happy, Family, Cheer, Generosity, Over Indulgence, Gifts, Together. For me this year I won't be having my Christmas on Christmas day but I will be celebrating on the 28th or 29th because for me Christmas is the time for me to be with family, that is my mom and my brother. Now we won't all be together until the 28th. I will be commemorating Christmas with some of my family in town but that is just not quite the same thing. Christmas is a celebration to be shared with family and those you love as well as those who love you. Now Christmas is a special time of the year, no matter your religion or any other distinguishing factor and for this I'd like to share another quote from a song, "Christmas, it makes way for Spring"- Relient K (Boxing Day). Now look at that quote however you wish. But how I see it, it is true both metaphorically and literally.

Post Script: Have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Christmas traditions.

After today just one more Friday until Christmas and there are just so many things that I could talk about. And as I am writing this I am not even sure what I should talk about. And yet I do know what I am writing next week as well as my posts for pre and post New Years.

But Christmas traditions seems like it would be interesting to talk about. This is of course based on the diversity that this allows. And I'm not just talking family traditions, but personal traditions as well. I am saying this because I know that I have Christmas traditions that my mom doesn't have and vice versa. Let me give an example. Me: Christmas music starts in my headphones on November 1st, Mom: No Christmas stuff until after December 1st (except shopping), Family: Only stockings can be opened or explored before everyone else is awake.

I feel like Christmas traditions whether personal, familiar, or otherwise are crucial to giving Christmas that special feeling that helps distinguish it from other holidays. You get similar food at Thanksgiving, gift giving happens at both Birthdays, and Valentine's Day, families get together for reunions, sweets come on Halloween. So it's not the typical things that happen on Christmas that separates it from other holidays it truly is the traditions that are held by people and families that make Christmas what it is.

Sidebar. In writing this my mind went to a line in a Christmas song, "What's December without Christmas Eve" Peppermint Winter - Owl City

I get overly excited when November hits so I can start the happy sounds of Christmas music. After my birthday I know things will get sparkly and greener despite most of the leaves having already fallen off the trees. December means it is now socially acceptable for me to watch the animated "How The Grinch Stole Christmas". My house is filled with the magnificent smells of Christmas baking. These are all Christmas traditions that fill me up with the joy of Christmas. It truly is not December without Christmas.

So what are some of your Christmastime traditions?

Post Script: I feel like I should explain that my focus on Christmas and not the other holidays of this season is because I don't fit into them.

Real versus Fake. The tree debate.

I've experienced both of these to some degree or another and feel uniquely qualified to share. So I've never actually had a live tree of my own, my family has been synthetic my whole life. But I've been to several houses, and a couple parties including one last night with a real tree.

I'm gonna start with synthetic trees because that's what I know best. Call them what you want, fake, plastic, or whatever and that might be true. Who says that has to be necessarily bad. I mean when you think about it one of these trees could last a dozen plus years or even up to a life time. So there's only one payment required, you don't have to spend money each year and you don't need to take time to pick out a tree each year. Then there's the fire risk, though when it comes to Christmas fires it is more likely that the fire will start from the electrical outlet than the tree itself, because even if the tree is considered flame retardant wood is more flammable than plastic. Then there is the issue of the mess. With any tree real or synthetic there will be some sort of mess, because the needles still fall off no matter what. Whereas the real trees you've got needles falling off all the time, not just the casual few either. Then at the end you've got a dead tree to deal with rather than a tree to just put back in its' box until next year.

Now on to real trees. And that's easily the best and simplest way to describe them. They fill your house with the real smell of evergreen tree in your house and that is something that can't be synthetically replicated by any means and it blends greatly with the other traditional scents of Christmas time. Also real trees not only look fuller but are so much fuller and shapely, giving them a very much more natural shape that synthetics haven't quite captured. From what I've heard picking out a tree as a family can be a very enjoyable Christmas tradition. Then when Christmas is over, rather than throwing out the tree if you've got a fireplace or fire pit, after all the needles have fallen off you've got the great beginnings of a fire.

They both have their pros and cons, I'm not here to make any sort of judgments on what kind of tree you should get or try and say one kind of tree is better than another. But there is one judgment I will make: if your tree isn't green, it's weird. The white trees, aluminum trees, or any other unnaturally coloured trees are just strange. I just feel like it's not right. It's just one of these things that I just don't understand. And I don't know why people do it.

Post Script: Where are you in this debate? I'd like to go for a  real tree one day, I think it would be nice to have my house smell as Christmas-ey as possible.