Snow... Tree... Sleep...

In case you haven't seen it on the weather, the upper-middle section of the country got hit with snow this week. It's December, so that's not really out of the ordinary. But the shock was that we went from warm November with no snow on the ground to COLD December (high tomorrow predicted as 10 degrees), and about 5 inches of snow on the ground. Usually we kind of get eased into it. This was not "easing."

But I made it through last night's commute just fine, and got to work today taking only about an extra 5 minutes, and so I wasn't really minding the snow. Until I got home from work and couldn't get up the driveway to put my car in the garage. It's not a steep driveway. And I have All-Wheel Drive, so I really don't have trouble in snow. Unless, of course, the snow has drifted and the car starts to get high-centered on the packed snow in the middle of the driveway.

Before I'd even gotten "home" I was starting up the snow blower and clearing the driveway and the sidewalks. Of course, the reason Christopher bought the snow blower was because we live on a fairly large corner lot. Corner lot = lots of sidewalks. And these sidewalks are about 4 feet wide. Yeah. I was kind of chilly by the time I'd gotten everything cleared, pulled my car in, and come inside.

Once inside, though, I found Christopher playing Christmas music and getting out ornaments to put on the tree. So we spent the next hour decorating the tree and putting out a few more decorations around the house. We really don't go overboard -- just enough to let people know when they're here that we're in a festive mood. Right now I'm writing this by the light of the tree and the star lights that are on the opposite wall (okay... and the light of my monitor).

Sitting in the almost-dark like this is what really makes the Holidays for me. Smelling the oranges stuck with cloves, seeing the first of the Christmas cards sitting on the buffet. Yeah. Christmas time is upon us.

Which leads me to the last of the three things in the headline: Sleep. My folks are coming in to town tomorrow -- spending a little time, here, before flying out to LA to be with the rest of the family for Christmas -- and so I'll need the rest to help me get the house put together before they get here. Oh, and I probably need it for the day tomorrow, since I'm sure that tomorrow's commute will be worse than today's simply because more people will be out on the roads.

Ugh. Before I start thinking about that, I'm going to sign off, stare at the lights a little longer, and snuggle into bed. Stay warm.

Musical Monday

I know that Mondays are typically "Movie Mondays," but I gave myself an early Christmas gift this past weekend and went to see "In the Heights" as it toured through Minneapolis.

It's an interesting show -- probably one of the least-known Best Musical winners in the recent past. Here's the basic story, in case you don't have any idea about it: It takes place on the 3rd and 4th of July on a mostly Hispanic corner in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City. It's a story of dreams lost and found. Of the families we are born into and the ones we choose. And of how money can change your life.

It's also one of the few shows on Broadway (or anywhere) that isn't totally and completely in English. In fact, there's quite a bit of it that is in Spanish. Which is not to say that someone (like me) who doesn't speak Spanish can't follow the story. It's incredibly easy to follow everything that's going on. It was even easy for the women behind me who commented, during intermission, that they couldn't understand all the speaking because -- they assumed -- of the accents. I guess a whole different language is about as strong an accent as you can get, right?

The whole show is alive with singing and dancing and emotion. The music is the kind of stuff that makes you want to dance in your seat. The voices on the stage were amazing -- and some of the unspoken moments were even more powerful than the spoken ones.

Now here's the strange thing about the show: It struck me, as I was leaving, that it was the perfect Christmas show. Sure, it takes place on the hottest day of the year, but the tale is all about family and friends and knowing where your home is. How much more perfect can you get for Christmas?

If the "In the Heights" tour comes to your area -- or if you can make it to Broadway to see it -- I'd definitely recommend it.

Christmas is Coming

We actually have our tree up in the living room. It's not decorated, but it is up and has lights on it. So far, it's looking pretty good.

And, you know, that's as far as we got in the house today, and that's all the further I'm going to get in this posting.

18 shopping (and decorating) days to go. Wish me luck.

One Nod. One Short Conversation.

Wow. In the past week, I've had both a nod (from a woman in the hallway), and a short conversation (from a guy in the stairwell), at work.

The nod was probably the bigger of the two surprises. The woman walked out of her office looking nervous and shy, then looked up and worriedly made tentative eye contact. When I smiled back and nodded at her, she actually smiled back and nodded in return. Amazing how much friendlier that made the hallway.

The stairwell conversation was brought about because of the logistics of the space. The stairwell is way too narrow for people to pass on the actual stairs. Instead, as you're walking, you have to pause at one of the corner landings and wait for the other person to pass. Today, as I was going up, a guy was coming down with his hands full of lunch and paperwork. When I stopped to wait for him to pass, he smiled, then commented that the only way to pass anyone was at the corners. Not exactly Algonquin Round Table conversation, but it was more than usual.

Who knows? Maybe it's the start of the Holiday season that has people making connections. Or maybe it's the fact that, when it's cold out, it's good to be warm to the people you're around. Either way, I'm hoping this is just the start of the thaw.

Open to Interpretation

No. That's not the way I'm feeling about my day. "Open to Interpretation" is the name of a Photography Exhibit by Clare O'Neill which is currently taking place at the Hopkins (MN) Center for the Arts. It's a nifty exhibit where the photographer has asked writers to give their interpretations of each of the images.

The writers were given the 12 images and simply asked to choose the pieces they wanted to write about and then do just that -- in 300 words or less. For the exhibit, she has mounted the photos with the write-ups and all are on display for the world to see.

Aside from the obvious fact that it's an interesting idea, why is it important to me? Because *I* am one of the writers who contributed and is featured! That's right. Now through the 10th of January, you can see two super-short stories that I wrote on display with all of the other pieces people contributed.

The exhibit, called "Open to Interpretation" (which uses the artwork, above, as it's "header"), had its "opening night" tonight. (No, I didn't actually write about any of those three images.)

Of course, vanity being what it is, I had to go to see it.

Christopher and Darci (remember her? The stunningly attractive blonde I've mentioned in the past?) and I went over to see it tonight. The exhibit is in the "Lobby Gallery" which makes it incredibly accessible, but also a bit odd at times when there are other events going on -- like tonight's 7 o'clock curtain for "'Twas the Night Before Christmas." Overall, though, it works because it's a big open space with plenty of room to walk up to or away from each piece.

The images themselves are amazing. From landscapes to intimate not-quite-portraits, each one is different and all are evocative. And with the added benefit of the written pieces... well... it's pretty darned cool. Granted, some of the writings struck us as better than others, and some of the pictures were more interesting to us than others, but that's what art does, isn't it?

Oh. One nifty thing about the exhibit: This was the first time I'd gotten to see the titles that Clare (the photographer) had given each of the pictures. You see, we wrote our short pieces without any input or leverage. Which makes it even more interesting to see how people wrote about them. Some stories were very similar (like the two about the white dress pictured above), some were opposite sides of the same coin (there are two where one talks of the road in the picture, while the other talks about the tree), and there are some that are just a bit odd. But it works.

And, if you're in the area, I'd really suggest going.

Not just because I'm in the exhibit -- although when I stopped to talk to Clare she introduced me to the two gentleman standing with her because they had both thought one of my pieces was the best in the exhibit -- but because it's really cool.

And really cool can go a long way to warm up a cold day/night!

World AIDS Day 2009

I've spent a lot of the past couple of days debating how to write about World AIDS Day in my blog. It's not that I wanted to pretend it wasn't there. It's not that I was afraid I'd offend anyone. So why was it that I didn't know what to write?

I think it's because it's one of those scary topics that is easier left in the dark. It's easier to whitewash it out of the way with some well-placed denial and not have to think about the 33.4 million people worldwide living with HIV and AIDS. It's easier to not think about the possible SEVEN THOUSAND new infections which happen on a daily basis worldwide. Or to think of the 25 million people who have died of AIDS since it was first named less than half a century ago.

I remember seeing the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt laid out on the National Mall in Washington, DC, in (I think) 1996. I remember the tears and the fear and the outrage that not enough was being done to stop the spread of the disease. And here we are nearly 15 years later, with new infections once again on the rise and AIDS ravaging portions of the world population.

Yes. Great strides have been made in the treatment of HIV and AIDS, and some people are living longer and longer with the help of those treatments. (I thank the powers above for that on a daily basis, because I have some great friends I do NOT want to lose any time soon.)

There are still fears and tears, but the outrage seems to have faded. Let's hope that the outrage has been replaced by work and diligence -- and not simply faded away because it was easier to move on.

I stumbled across a set of videos on YouTube, today, which was sponsored out of New York City. They are all videos addressing why people talk about HIV and AIDS. The "main" video is here at www.youtube.com/italkbecause .

Please take the 2 minutes to watch it. It may not be easy, but that doesn't mean it's not worth doing.

Here's to a day in the future when World AIDS Day no longer has to exist.

** Scary Sidenote ** When I ran spell-check on this posting "HIV" and "AIDS" were both recognized terms in the dictionary. Wouldn't it be great if they didn't have to be? ** End Scary Sidenote **

Black Friday Special

On this day after Thanksgiving, I offer the following extra Thankses...

1) I'm thankful that I don't work in retail this year and didn't have to work either all day on Thanksgiving or at 3am or whatever today. (And I feel really really sorry for the people who did.)

2) I'm thankful for good memories of Thanksgivings past, shared over Thanksgiving present.

3) I'm thankful that I remembered to bring my toothbrush.

4) I'm thankful for anyone and everyone who reads my blog. :-)

Here's to the joyful chaos of the next 4 weeks.