narnia

I saw Narnia this evening and rather enjoyed it. I was hesitant to go, simply because I loved the books so much. I still have the copy I read in elementary school, complete with my name in kid-handwriting inside the front cover. The movie was rich in imagery and I am reminded of how strongly I connect with image, especially that of animals. It was quite nice to go to a movie and to enjoy it. I went with a couple of friends and we had a wonderful, rich conversation about the film and the topics that danced at its edges. It was all quite lovely. The popcorn was pretty good, too.

a done paper is...

...a good paper. I just mailed my papers for the quarter and feel much lighter. Of course, I do get to stress about the grades I will receive and about all the reading and writing I must accomplish before the third week in January. I plan to see movies, do a little shopping, and spend time with my aunt, who is coming for a visit later in the week. There is work, too, of course, but it is pretty quiet and not too stressful this week. What movies should I see? I am completely out of touch and don't know what is playing and recommended.

merry christmas

I got everything I could have wanted for Christmas — time spent with friends, the love of friends and family, quiet time to work on a paper, time to bake and cook, warm clothes, warm home, and simple, thoughtful presents. Thanks, Santa. You know just how to bring a smile to my face. And thanks for the blue bike you gave me when I was nine. I still haven't forgotten that year. That was one of your best.

neruda

It's the thing I read today that made the most sense:

If Each Day Falls

If each day falls
inside each night,
there exists a well
where clarity is imprisoned.

We need to sit on the rim
of the well of darkness
and fish for fallen light
with patience.

-Pablo Neruda, from The Sea and the Bells

Thanks to the lovely person who shared this poem with me... .

mmm, candy

As is customary, one of my vendors sent a holiday gift to thank us for our business this year. They chose a great gift—a selection of candy from the 70s, selected by Candy You Ate As a Kid. Included were Bottle Caps, wax lips, Bit o' Honey, Sugar Daddy, a candy necklace, Abba Zabba, Mike and Ikes, Boston Baked Beans, Lemonheads, Fun Dip, Bubbalicious, candy cigarettes and a gum cigar, Chick o Stick, Necco wafers, Pixie Stix, wax coke bottles, rootbeer barrels, Pop Rocks, Zotz, and more. The box of candy looked a lot like my Halloween haul from when I was a kid. I guess that's the point. I admit to daily sugar surges, though I am consuming in moderation. Hungry colleagues help, too. Nothing makes you feel old faster than when someone says, "What are Pop Rocks?"

you have a paper due

Over the past dozen years I considered graduate school many times. Each time I did so, I would say to myself "you have a paper due on Monday" to see how it felt. It usually cured me for a year or more. Well, now I'm about halfway through my grad school program and have written more papers than I can count. This quarter, my papers are due on...December 26. What?! Truly...they are due the day after Christmas. So, I am trying to get them done before then so I can spend the Christmas weekend relaxing. We'll see if I can manage. Probably not, but it won't hurt to try. I have Drugs and Alcohol, Imaginal Psychology and Cultural Values and Mores papers to write. So, I'd better get to it.