From time to time I will confirm my status as an anti-socialite. For example, tonight there is a party going on in the next room and as card playing is taking place I am making myself scarce. Cards are certainly not my thing and if that means I have to be a snob in order to avoid them I will.

But my avoidance of cards is hardly the most pressing matter on my mind at the moment. There are big things on the horizon... Aryn and I have jointly purchased a condo and we will be moving from our current rental location to our own personal property (or as many people like to remind me, really the property of the bank) in a few months. We are not moving far, only a couple blocks from our current apartment, so the transition will not be that drastic. We'll both still be within easy walking distance of work and all amenities allowing us to continue to live the life of glorified pedestrians. I'm quite excited about the prospect of living in a space that belongs to me as I won't have to face quite as much challenge when I propose minor decor improvements. I meant to take some photos of the exterior of the building today, but when I did venture out of the house I went in the opposite direction of the new building.

I tend to get very few comments on my blog, but then I don't advertise it very much and I don't discuss items that are of particular importance or interest to the general public. I do not follow the cardinal rule of some blogging purists, which of course is to post interesting links and not clutter valuable web space with inconsequential musings of a personal nature. When I do get comments however, they tend to be of a little more unusual than would be expected. Here are some examples...

"Hi from Ulaan Bator, it's M.C. Fujimoto in the house...i like your subtle pun "spritely". It reminds me of the wordplay common in the conversations of the Mozambicans."

this is just an excerpt of one particularly detailed one.

"Hey Fella,

There is a way to verify the truth...

There's a bit more to the story of the Vatican's reaction than most are yet aware of. Read my missive below to understand what they truly fear. It's not the DaVinci Code or Gospel of Judas per se, but the fact that people have been motivated to seek out the unequivocal truth about an age of deception, exactly when they expect me to appear. The Gospel of Judas and DaVinci Code controversies are allowing people to take new stock of the Vatican and the religions it has spawned."

and more recently, my conscience has started to leave comments...

my conscience said...

"you should quit your job and pursue photography full time - it will be terrifying and exciting at the same time. isn't that what life should be like?"

my conscience said...

"I am such a good photographer I should just quit this dumb job and throw everything into it. I should move to New York, put together a beautiful portfolio, meet art/creative directors, convince a SoHo gallery to show my work, get published in the New Tork Times magazine and live the life I dream about."

Now isn't that interesting, just when I was wondering where my conscience had gone to it sent me a message through my blog. This proves that the internet has replaced my soul. My moral guidance is linked to me through a liquid crystal display and fiber optic cable.

What can a girl do when she feels like she has lost her ability to be eloquent? Entire phrases that used to roll off her tongue escape her. It's sad really... like a year's worth of delightfully intelligent conversation has evaporated into thin air.

What is the cause of this? Is it due to the ever present inner critic and thought-police that are in place to manage perceptions that others might have in person as well as what might be conveyed online. I suppose this is one of the issues that we must face when the seemingly private and public parts of our life inter-mingle. I feel like I've lost an outlet. The internet no longer functions as an umbilical cord (at least not at the moment).

I don't care if I don't make any sense tonight.

One of my father's 'on the spur of the moment' jokes, while chatting with an online technician regarding a problem. I laughed and laughed about this one.

Technician - "Close all windows"

My father - "With the temperature we are having today I not only closed the windows but the doors too."

Technician - "I mean on the computer."

and people wonder where I get my sense of humour.

The apartment building I live in is part of a complex made up of two other buildings of the same height in addition to a third (or fourth depending on how you are counting) lower level building, all of which share the same alleyway which allows brave pedestrians and reckless drivers to access the various parkades and off-street entrances. This alley becomes a wind tunnel of sorts and at times the resulting rush of wind by my apartment window sounds quite sinister. The evil whistle is not the kind of thing I like to hear when I'm trying to convince my tired body that it needs to get out of bed in the morning.

I attended a seminar for work in November about non-traditional job development. I came to the session a little skeptical about what I would learn from it, but I was pleasantly surprised with the information that I garnered from the presentation. The one item that left me the most inspired was the concept of employment proposals - infusing a little entrepreneurial spirit into the job search and creating work for yourself. I had left the session with my mind full of ideas, not just for my own clients, but also for myself. However, I have yet to implement any of those ideas that I had reserved for myself. I'd like to be able to eschew the traditional office job that I have, which despite providing consistent remuneration it is not consistently fulfilling or challenging in a creative way. What else do I need to do in order to be more productive as a photographer? Where is my whip when it comes to personal motivation? However, that's all the superficial musing I can do for this morning. This sanctioned break needs to come to a close.

On the last two days of my vacation I sat down with my pile of knitting before me and tackled one of the projects that I've been working on. Eventually my legs cramped up from having been several hours in a semi-lotus position and my hands became sore from the repetitive motion of throwing the yarn over the needle, but I still continued to knit furiously. Despite my minor aches the overall feeling was quite relaxing. It was a nice feeling to not be thinking about anything over than the simple stitch pattern I kept repeating row after row. There's something to be said about only doing one thing at a time. I should do it more often.

Every day I realize more and more that I am a bit of a social recluse (snob if you will). I tend to work exclusively in my office when I'm not meeting with clients, so I don't socialize much with people at work. But my office is partially bisected by a large pillar which creates a small alcove which houses a communal coat rack (I call it the closet) and during the winter people tend to hang their coats there... so I get greeted each morning when people arrive as well as during lunch time or breaks where people need to fetch their coats. Some people at work have started to take short walks during their breaks, walking down and back up the stairs by the High Level Bridge. It might just be a New Year's Resolution thing, but when groups of your coworkers start doing something that you're not doing, there is always this feeling of being the outcast. I could always ask to go along, but then I would be in a potentially worse situation, having to force smalltalk. And this girl is no Toastmaster's Table Talk Champion. No, I'll just sit in my office during my unofficial, but nevertheless administration supported breaks and use it to exercise the creative muscles in my mind (because Lord knows I don't think enough already).

furfuraceous
(adj.)

Made of or covered with scaly particles, such as dandruff.

Pronounced:
fur-fuh-RAY-shus

I've never been one to make (or keep) resolutions relating to the New Year. Maybe because I lack the personal motivation factor or because the idea of a New Year's resolution seems a little false. I might be more inclined if the weather suddenly changed in January and I had a clear indication that winter was over. Instead, there is the constant nagging feeling that the cold and snow are going to come back, which makes me want to curl up in my cocoon of fat and hibernate (with the occasional bathroom break).

However, in more positive news... a photo of mine may be published in the next issue of the print version of the Boston Literary Review. I had another photo published in the July/August 2006 issue accompanying a short fiction piece. Similarly, this new photo will also accompany another fiction piece. I'll take some photos or scan the new issue when I receive my copy once the January/February edition of the magazine is printed.

Other photo related news, my flickr photostream has finally broken the 100.000 mark. Most current number of views: 101,249.

oh yes... before I forget, in six months I'll be 25.

I couldn't resist trying this out.

It's so close, yet so far. Tonight I have to pack for my little vacation in Salt Spring, which I'm hoping will allow enough time and weather moderate enough for some great picture taking. I'll only be gone for a few days so in an effort to travel light(er) I have decided to leave the computer at home. I'm already lugging around five thousand pounds of photo equipment so why bother with a computer especially since I will not have access to high speed internet. I will be entirely without my umbilical cord. At this point I'm not sure how I will survive. Perhaps with the support of my family and friends I will get through my four day internet hiatus.

But who am I kidding. I won't have time to go online and do anything anyways. Any spare time I have from the festivities I plan to use taking pictures.

I am told that the Winter Solstice will occur twenty two minutes into the morning on the 22nd of December. This is a momentous occasion for me because I have been struggling with the ever shortening days of winter. It's a bit premature of me to be thinking about spring and summer when Christmas is only a few days away, but I can't help but think about the beautiful sun and how I used to try to avoid it. Everything in moderation though. I need some sun. I spend all day working in a windowless office which is currently more dimly lit than usual because I have been working from the ambient glow of the string of coloured Christmas lights given to me by my office Secret Santa (who also generously gave me a coloured slinky and Transformer). When I walk home in two hours the sun will already be gone, but at least I can rest assured that there will be a few minutes more of sunlight everyday after the solstice.

and that concludes today's "coffee" break.

Despite attempts otherwise, I have not successfully completed a blog post in months. I would like to blame the weather, but really the culprit is my internal editor - which has been a force to be reckoned with over the past few months. There was a cold snap or two that I had to deal with and the shortened days and the general wintertime dreariness (walking to and from work in the dark is never pleasant). I feel like I haven't accomplished anything worthwhile in months. I haven't been as creative or productive as I would like to be. My fault of course.

I'm a little grinchy this morning.