Saturday, December 22, 2007

The interesting gifts strangers give you

So, Christmas time is upon us all, whether we want it or not. Advent is usually a wonderful time for us. For me, it’s been a blur, worrying about money, unable to give proper gifts, thinking of school, etc, etc. During this haze of the commercialized holiday season, I've forgotten the wonderful origins.. Well, we could go back to the very origins of Yule, Winter Solstice, and all that, but I actually refer to Christ's birth. Oh how easy it is to forget. Sometimes we think of that fat old man in a red suit more than Jesus during December.

It’s interesting to me how some Christian communities actually ignore Christmas on the calendar. They say it’s because Jesus wasn't born that day. Well no frickin' duh... We have no clue of his actual birth, and if you wish to do some sleuthing, many scholars suggest it wouldn't have been a winter birth at all due to the referencing of Shepherds out during those months with their flocks. But they seem to forget that the day is meant for the memory of the saviour's birth. Veteran's day is to remember our veterans who have strived to give us our freedoms, not because someone was born that day. Other holidays also do the same; they are merely placeholders, not actual dates. We do not need to celebrate on JC's actual birthday to remember him, so why not use December 25? It works well. Yes, in the past it was used for other things, but what are we using it for now? It’s a wonderful day now, and we can be happy for its purpose. I'm rambling though, and I've taken a major non sequitur from the topic of this blog. I wanted to talk about Secret Santas. This year, I took part of a Secret Santa ordeal at work and had a week's worth of many wonderful gifts. The woman who picked them thought she didn't do a great job because she hardly knows me, but to be honest I was quite thrilled with what I did get, because it was from the heart. She baked all sorts of treats, picked up some Pezz; I had a Spider-Man lunchbox full of gumballs, a brand new mug and some cocoa. It was awesome; I felt this was one of my most well though out gifts I've received in the longest time. So many people ask me what I want, and honestly, I really wouldn't want anything. There are things in the world I want and need, but personally I'd rather you give to someone more needy than I am. Not that I'm some saint, but I just don't like to know someone is out hunting for a gift for me. But I'm always amazed when some kind of well thought out gift is given to me. The last time I had an amazing gift like this was a few years ago. My youngest niece wrapped a bunch of candy canes from her tree at home to give to me, without the knowledge of her parents. That was beyond amazing. I was stunned by this girl's intuition and thought process. She had seen me for years eat candy canes all the time during Christmases past and on her own put two and two together that I would love to have some candy canes. Pure genius. I really don't like telling someone what I want, because I feel so foolish asking for something. I also am not a fan for gift certificates. I feel gift certificates are thoughtless last resorts. I've picked them up for people before out of lack of ideas, but I do believe they are low. I'd rather have an object to open on Christmas rather than a potential gift. Honestly, it’s more of a chore than a gift. Here, have some money for a store you may not find what you want at, and buy yourself something... Am I the only one that thinks that way?

Alright, after that blurb on Christmas, I wanted to write about the wonderful Moleskine. For those who don't know, it’s a simple journal/notebook made in several formats and sizes. It’s been used by famous writers and artists over the years, and I've decided to use one. I'm always writing tiny notes on paper to remind myself of things, now I have a booklet in my pocket to record these things. It’s taken a week to get used to using it, but now that it’s with me it’s proven its worth. I love these things, and I hope to keep using it because it’s definitely keeping me organized. If anyone wants to get me a gift for Christmas, find me a small ruled Moleskine, I'm sure I'll be filling this one soon.

Lastly, I wanted to talk about Retroware. For all of you following my activities, I've been working on some art for Retroware TV, and it’s been great, but slow because of school. Fortunately, I'm done with school for a quarter, so I'll be catching up with their art, and I've been working on a few illustrations so far. I'll be posting all the work here and in my portfolio when I'm done. I'm pretty excited because this is one more actual project that I've done for someone that has been used in an actual printed piece. It’s nice to see my work in action. Unfortunately thought, I've been fighting a bit of artist block. I can't seem to draw anything decent on paper. I'm halfway done with an illustration with them right now; I'm just doing finishing touches on the computer, so its good progress is being made somewhere. Anyway, I'm just rambling now without a direction, so that is a good time to cut off and say goodnight. I worked all night and my eyelids are getting a tad droopy, so adieu for now!

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