3 posts tagged “winter”
Seattle Winter has finally returned. There are just a few heaps of grimy slush left here and there, many deformed snow people, and the last remnants of packed snow on the sidewalks that were never shoveled. Apart from those clues, you'd never know that the past 10 days have been majorly snow-bound. Now we're back to the 40-something and rainy that we all grow accustomed to for half the year around here. I'm just glad to be able to finally go somewhere without extreme inconvenience. Today I went to a very crowded restoratives Yoga class (I guess after xmas is a fine time to restore oneself - and a connection to the body. This time of year tends to make everyone a little scattered). Then I had a very relaxed shopping spree downtown where I got a new Calphalon stainless stock pot and my supply of new clothes for the next 6 months. Since I went on clothes shopping hiatus for the last 6 months, I've realized that my old way of shopping (picking up a few things whenever I had money available) was both unecessary and wasteful. If I focus on the things I need and will wear, then shopping twice a year is plenty. After a few more items I am going to pick up tomorrow I am done with shopping for some time. I need to focus on being frugal and paying down debt.
I've come up with a new system for my weekly to-do list management. Each day I have a couple of routine tasks (like dusting and taking out recycling today), and three Important Tasks that involve either immediate concerns or longer-term goals. Each Saturday I will review my goals and fill out the next weeks' lists accordingly. I'm kind of a glutton for productivity, even though it only rarely seems to work. We just have so little time. I want to use every minute of it.
Went to see The Golden Compass today. I'm a fan of the Pullman trilogy, and I had already braced myself to be disappointed by the toning down of the anti-religious angle. Fair enough, it's Hollywood. I was also expecting to be impressed by the special effects. Yup on both counts. I thought little Dakota Whats-Her-Name did a great job as Lyra Belacqua. The scenes were detailed and brilliantly executed, but the editing left something to be desired. It felt choppy and rushed from one scene to the next, probably a sacrifice made to keep it short. The music score was just plain boring and also suffered from un-artistic editing. The film ended before the final chapter of the first novel, which leads me to wonder if there will be an attempt to soften the tragic element of the next major plot point.
My comrade and I sat through almost the entirety of the closing credits to settle a dispute over whether the theme song was sung by Kate Bush or not (it was, I was wrong). The length of the list was mind boggling. Thousands of people worked on the film. There were at least four different companies working on the special effects. One wonders how they all managed to communicate with each other. One wonders - not me, but One.
It is a still, wintry day today. I'm sitting here in a hooded sweater with the hood up, and wrapped in a blanket, and I'm still cold. All I want on days like this is a hot bath and a cozy bed. Trying to do anything at all seems like much more effort than I want to make. I have more vacuuming to do, but it'll keep (my new vacuum is a wondrous thing!) I do have a few writing projects to sit here under my warm laptop and work on.
My boss is buying all (3) employees iPhones for xmas, plus paying for the service. I wasn't planning to get one for a while, but hey - you know what they say about gift horses. The way my boss gives us generous bonuses, donates to charities we choose (I chose the Cascade Conservancy - a local wildlife conservancy organization that protects delicate ecosystems, working farms, and promotes regional sustainability), gives us iPods, iPhones, Laptops... It makes me feel a bit like when you have a boyfriend you're not sure if you're that into, but he just keeps buying you stuff so you feel compelled to stick around... Actually that's never happened to me, but I assume it feels a bit like this: bought.
It continues.
This song is for the pensive winter-day-at-the-ocean scene...
Nick Drake - Day is Done
