it's not life that matters but the journey...

Look at my icon. Look very closely.

If you're not on the floor (or even if you are), you'll be able to see why this made me happy today! who wouldn't be happy if Santa arrived looking like that! This beautiful icon was made for me by the awesome ageless_aislynn, along with several other gorgeous icons and a Jensen wallpaper!! my early Christmas present - Thank you so much Aislynn!!

Besides getting lovely Jensen prezzies, the other great gift today was the snowstorm which blew in overnight, causing me to have a great excuse to miss work. I know that my office was open, and that people went to work, but I just couldn't be bothered to dig my car out of the 4 inches or so, plus the ice! Because not only did it snow last night, but then it turned to freezing rain before it turned to snow again. I knew that it would take me at least 30 minutes to clear my car, another 45 to drive on the messy, icy roads, just to sit and do some meaningless work and stare at my computer. Plus I seriously woke up feeling so tired and headachy. I had to stay home. So I watched tv, did laundry (woohoo), and just plain did nothing. it was great!

I haven't taken any sick days since I began my job in June - except perhaps for the half day I took after I fainted. and though I've taken some time off for vacation and dr. appts, I haven't really ever "called in sick". So I did it today!! a mental, physical, and official "snow day." and now I still have two more days off.

and this morning the snow was so pretty (since I was home and not out trying to drive in it), I had to take some pics, which are ( under the cut )

I'm not nearly as happy as that cat ....

why, you ask?

It's the beginning of December. Thanksgiving is over – 25 days until Christmas, and only a month until we begin a new year. December means different things for different people. And after living in the Midwest for more than 3 years, it means the beginning of a long and cold winter: Months and months of nothing but cloudy, cold days, and snow on the ground until April.
I know there are some of you out there who like winter, and who love snow. I have loved snow in the past, especially when I was a kid and could play in it, and miss school. And when I visited an onsen in the mountains in Japan (just above Nikko) in the middle of winter, I sat in a steaming hot outdoor “rotenburo” surrounded by ice and falling snow, and I was in heaven! Snow is so pretty when it is falling and blanketing the earth in white and peace.

But then there was this morning. For the third year in a row, Mother Nature decided that December 1st was a good day to dump the first major snowstorm of the year onto those of us in the Chicago area. The first day back to work after four heavenly days of rest (and even decent weather). It wasn’t like the snow was a surprise or anything. It “snowed” all day yesterday, but the temps weren’t cold enough for it to settle – so it was more like frozen rain all day Sunday. However, overnight the temps dropped and the snow continued to fall. I woke up several times during the night, wondering how much had accumulated, but I wasn’t worried. It didn’t seem like so much from my window, so I allowed myself 15 minutes extra time to clear my car of snow and get going to work. 30 minutes later, I was still struggling with the thick ice that had built up on the windows, and I had to use all of the strength I could muster to get the heavy piled snow off of my car. And to top it off, the stupid snow plows had dumped a bunch of heavy snow and ice BEHIND my car, so I had to shovel that out of the way before I could back my car out.
Then there were the roads. Apparently I live in a suburb that can’t afford to salt the roads, because I was sliding all over the place for the first few miles of my drive. And then when I got to the next suburb, where my company is located, the roads were all nice and clear. Yea that’s so nice – I guess I live in the ghetto suburb! The traffic wasn’t bad, but I had to drive slowly – my car is old and small and not good on icy roads. So I arrived to work 20 minutes late – thankfully I think everyone was a bit lenient because it was the first snow of the season – and the first day back after the holiday. But still, it was more stress than I needed on Monday!

Otherwise, though, I was truly happy with my long weekend. I was so organized, and got so much done: wrote out and addressed all my cards (now I need to get them in the mail); got presents for family and materials for my little Christmas gift craft project (I’m gonna make little bags of lavender and other herb potpourri for my friends); cleaned (except I didn’t defrost my freezer which I had intended to do); read 70 pages of my textbook (about 60 more to go before the final); organized; baked cookies; and slept. Strangely enough, I hardly watched any shows or movies, except for ones I’ve seen (which I watched while I wrote out x-mas cards and knitted). Saturday night I went with my friend Sarah and her boyfriend to see my hubby play some funky blues at a little dive bar near where Sarah lives. It was a late night – we didn’t get home until 3 a.m. (we waited for almost an hour to get his money!)

Work today was so busy – and now I need to brave the roads again to get home. Let’s hope the snow is all done for at least this week!

Yes, it's snowing again here. And I'm not happy about it. the forecast said "freezing rain", which it actually was doing last night. But right now, as I'm typing this, quite a lot of snow is coming down, fluffy, white and foreboding. I don't want another snow day - I need to work, and I hope this stuff stops before 8 a.m tomorrow.

So, tonight's the Oscars, and this is probably the first year that I've seen less than half of the movies that are nominated. Yesterday I did drive to a theatre about 30 minutes away, by myself, to see Babel with Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. It's one of the films nominated for best picture, and it was phenomenal! It's a story about the universality of a single event, the way that tragedy, loss and also hope can be global. I was very impressed by all of the acting, and with the power and intensity of the four interconnected stories (it takes place simultaneously in Morocco, Mexico and Japan). The Japanese actress, Rinko Kikuchi, was probably the most impressive since she was playing a deaf mute and was able to give a more powerful performance without words than many of the talking roles I've seen. Oh, and Gael Garcia Bernal is also in this movie, as well as the Japanese actor from Shall We Dance , Koji Yakusho. I realized after I talked to my sister that the director is the same who made 21 Grams with Sean Penn and Naomi Watts, which was also extremely powerful. I highly recommend watching Babel , but just be warned that it is extremely emotional, and you'll need to be alone for awhile after watching it. I needed a corner to just go and cry.

I didn't mind going by myself to the movie - I've done that about four other times in my life. The only thing I minded was that the theater was packed, mostly full of old couples, and it was probably the longest, most excrutiating 15 minutes waiting for that movie to start. I had to listen to the ridiculous drone of the old people around me, and I heard the funniest thing. This very loud woman was talking to her friend about the movies and directors that are nominated for the Academy awards. She started talking about how Martin Scorsese was nominated for "The Departed" and that he hadn't ever won an award before (she said that about 10 times) - and in trying to tell her friend who Scorsese is, she said this: "you know, he's the guy that makes all THOSE movies. He made all of 'the Godfather' movies." !!!!!!

Scorsese made all the Godfather movies? Really? I think he better have a talk with Francis Ford Coppola then, don't you think?

It took all the power in the world for me to NOT turn around and say something. And after she made this amazing revelation, some man actually agreed with her, and said "OH, yea, you're right."

Ah, ignorance sure must be bliss. and that must be why I'm so unhappy!

and back to the Academy Awards, even though I know it's not really a contest of who's the BEST in film, I do have my hopes set on certain victories: Babel for best picture; Ryan Gosling (or Forest Whitaker) for best actor; Kate Winslet for best actress; Rinko Kikuchi for best supporting actress; and Eddie Murphy or Djimon Hounsou for best supporting actor. That isn't what or who will win, but it's my hopes!