Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Every year there is usually one Christmas song that kind of sticks with me. This year it’s “Happy Christmas,” originally by John Lennon, but I like Sarah McLachlan’s take on it too. It’s fairly bittersweet as Christmas carols go—that crazy John Lennon and his messages to the people—but that suits my mood right now.

Maybe because of the state of the world at the moment, maybe because friends and family are far away, maybe because weather in San Antonio is gray with a chance of grayness, maybe because I’d rather be at home frosting sugar cookies with family right now rather than killing time in a cubicle because I’m low on vacation days…

Whatever the reason, “Happy Christmas” is the song I’m humming this year. Even though there is an air of melancholy to it, I like the impetus for change at the end. War is over, if you want it. Want things to be better? Make them better. Good stuff.

Much Love to You and Yours

Tag Tag Tag

List seven unusual things about yourself.

1. I dabble in chiromancy and oneiromancy.

2. My Dad has one leg. (Or one leg, two spares, and a two switchable feet, depending on how you look at it.) This has never seemed unusual to me as he’s been this way as long as I’ve known him, but it tends to surprise others. In fact, when friends find out they tend to say something like, “You never told me that!” I find this unusual because when was I supposed to bring that up in conversation. “Yes, I would like another slice of pizza and my father is an amputee. Vietnam. Go figure.”

3. I have a fascination with sunken ships. It all started when they discovered the Titanic. I remember cutting out pictures of the debris from my mother’s Time magazine. I now own several books on the subject—not just the Titanic, but all sunken ships. My mother has theorized that in a past life I drowned on the Titanic. Recently I discovered that Saint Anne is credited with saving a group of sailors from a storm at Beaupré, and therefore the Quebecois consider her the patron saint of sailors.

4. My college roommate’s nickname for me was Satan. She seemed to think I was trying to get her to choke, but it was only an accident. That happened more than once. Seriously, we’d be having an innocent conversation among friends, when Miss A of the big D clan would say something along the lines of, “That’s because Anne is Satan!” I mean, really. It’s not like I caused her to vomit. More than that one time.

5. I don’t really want to see the new Star Trek movie. I am a through and through Star Trek fan. I watched all the shows. I insert quotes from the movies into everyday conversation (“This gazpacho is good. You know what else is best served cold?”). I know the difference between a Trekkie and a Trekker. I went to the Las Vegas Star Trek Experience twice. I love, truly love, Star Trek. But I think they’re totally gonna mess it all up with this stupid-ass prequel.

6. I, for a dark brief span of time, played World of Warcraft. It’s a long story that might involve an attractive male…

7. I read War and Peace mostly so I could tell people that I read War and Peace. Luckily for me, it turned out to be a pretty good yarn.

Tag Tag

Pick up the nearest book (not your favorite or the coolest, the nearest) and find the fifth sentence on the 46th page. Then add the next two to five sentences.

Race Across Alaska: First Woman to Win the Iditarod Tells Her Story
by Libby Riddles and Tim Jones

We couldn’t tell who they were or what they were doing. Another team came across the lake. John and I tried to figure out who it was. Finally the team trotted close enough for us to holler, “Who the heck is that?” The bearded driver passed by, shouting, “Paulsen. I’m one of those darn Minnesota drivers. That’s why you don’t know me.”