Snowing

Christmas week was all snow and shivers. I don't mind it when I'm watching it, but there is something about my driveway laced with layers of thin, slippery ice that seems sabatoging of mother nature to impose on such an earth loving person as myself. Especially considering I have completed reading 1,001 Ways to Save the Earth. Really though, unless your sitting inside watching it, shoveling, cracking, throwing, and piling chunks of snow and ice really is just pointless in it falling to the ground. However, maybe that's what evolution intended for and it is only inconvenient to us because we developed vehicles which catalyzed driveway pavements and subsequently the need to clear snow. I remember seeing a picture in a National Geographic magazine of a tree in the cold skies with a Jay perched onto it surrounded with red berries or flowers in Finland. and I'm not sure if it was the angling and skill of the photographer or just the mere beauty of nature itself, but it was honestly the most beautiful red berry tree I've seen. I'm sure there was a specific name for both the tree and photographer, and till this day I wish I could remember at what office I read that magazine to withhold the photo from all others. Or, I could go through all my father's collection of National Geographics as we are lifetime subscribers. Well, I managed to do a google stalk search of "Finland" and "National Geographic" and "Red" and found the photo! I am so thrilled because there were many beautiful photos in this issue which featured Oulanka National Park, Finland. Here are a couple of many beautiful photos.

Photography by Peter Essick

If you can, I recommend taking a look at the rest of the photos. The writing is photography in words, and probably one of my favorite written photography collaborations.

Here's to me wishing that when it was snowing, winter looked like said pictures on the left or right. Instead, the pixellation created by the sliding netted door of my patio creates this wintery image itself. Not so much what I was wishing for. Thanks, Illinois.

Building

Building friendships, careers, empires, whatever. I don't know what I'm building, but I know my best friend Pooja is building her stairs to conquer Paris. This is because she got her internship at Chloé. Wish there was a "scream" button on this keyboard; (!) will suffice. So proud of my darling. But I also hate Paris because it is removing my friend from my life for some months, so I'm bitter. Currently working out applying to study abroad in Ireland and work out the kinks of how I can go see her in Paris come Summer, two thousand and 10. Will miss this girl dearly, till next Fall. This week is long, sleepless, and cold. I'm home bound in a few days and ready to allow the laziness to seethe in, along with family time and admiration of this holiday season that's not as exciting to me as it is to everyone else. Alas, maybe going home will be the first stairstep in building up that holiday excitement. Maybe.

Oh. Good Morning.

Singing

Today, I was singing.

Believe

I am pretty speechless today. Raining again, wishing for Wellingtons. Need to buckle down this week and next two weeks for finals. $2.00 lattes at Espresso Royale makes that easier for myself and many others. Joyous espresso, always making my day a ray brighter. With that said, I'm going to need more sunlight to get through the next few weeks. Let the struggle end, the joy begin (B. James) It's nice to believe that will happen. Maybe it will, so help me ____.