Alright, I think I'm covered up to late November or so at this point. Could be I'm only writing for myself at this point...I don't know who's even reading this junk! :P Anyway, pushing onward into December.
The first week was kinda disappointing, as one of my co-workers finished up his tenure and moved on to greener office space. Or something. Let's hope that it wasn't actually green unless it was the paint, because that would just be gross (and unsanitary) otherwise. With him leaving that leaves me as the only person in my department under the 40 year old mark. Now, I get along with the rest of the people easily enough, but it still isn't exactly all fun and jokes. Nor do we hang out during lunch or anything so it got a little boring. The time definitely passes more slowly when there's no one to laugh at, er I mean with, you.
I soldiered on though and finally made it to the meagre Christmas break. Only getting Christmas and Boxing Days off meant that we had a five-day break, then back to work for two days, and another three days off for New Year. That basically sucked in terms of planning or doing anything exciting, because it was all split up. I certainly missed having the two or three weeks off like back in Japan. I'd gotten really good at spacing out my holidays and using them at opportune moments to maximize the length of my breaks there.
Christmas was nice. I went to visit my Grandma in the hospital on Christmas Eve, and certainly brightened both my spirit and hers. She's always so much fun to talk to, because she has great stories and is happy to tell them. I better go visit her again soon. After visiting with gran I drove out to my sister and her fiance's place in the mountains to spend Christmas day with some of the soon-to-be inlaws and various other relatives.
The food was great, the weather and view decidedly Christmas-y and all round it was a good time. I also got some of the best gifts I can recall in a long time. It was a shame that dad was unwilling to drive out to join us after work. He works a variable shift type of thing and didn't come out after his 12 hours on Christmas day, so we all trooped off to the parent's house for another feast on Boxing Day. By the time I had to go back to work on Thursday I felt like I needed to fast for a year and take a vacation to rest up from all the driving.
Unrelated to the holiday season I went out with for dinner some of my newfound friends from work that same week. We had a good time (at least, I think we did!), but I did feel bad that one of the girls fell ill the next day. She'd never had Korean barbecue before so it was a little like maybe we'd poisoned her inadvertently. Thankfully she bounced back without too much unpleasantness, and is still talking to us so I think we're all forgiven. Korean barbecue hasn't been suggested since though!
Disappointingly I spent New Year's Eve at home by myself. The few friends I had gotten in touch with since coming back were all out of town or already had plans arranged. So, I did my best not to feel too bummed out, watched some stand up comedy on TV and went to bed shortly after midnight. I'm not prone to depression, but I can certainly see how a lot of people must feel really down during the holidays. If you didn't have friends or family to share time with year after year, the holidays could easily become an unpleasant and stressful time, rather than the fun and happy time most of us get to enjoy. So remember that the next time you're sitting around having a good time with the people you care about. Savour every second with them that you can. A lot of other people aren't as lucky as we are.
十二月 と Christmas の しゃしん を とりました。 下 の link で あります。
The first week was kinda disappointing, as one of my co-workers finished up his tenure and moved on to greener office space. Or something. Let's hope that it wasn't actually green unless it was the paint, because that would just be gross (and unsanitary) otherwise. With him leaving that leaves me as the only person in my department under the 40 year old mark. Now, I get along with the rest of the people easily enough, but it still isn't exactly all fun and jokes. Nor do we hang out during lunch or anything so it got a little boring. The time definitely passes more slowly when there's no one to laugh at, er I mean with, you.
I soldiered on though and finally made it to the meagre Christmas break. Only getting Christmas and Boxing Days off meant that we had a five-day break, then back to work for two days, and another three days off for New Year. That basically sucked in terms of planning or doing anything exciting, because it was all split up. I certainly missed having the two or three weeks off like back in Japan. I'd gotten really good at spacing out my holidays and using them at opportune moments to maximize the length of my breaks there.
Christmas was nice. I went to visit my Grandma in the hospital on Christmas Eve, and certainly brightened both my spirit and hers. She's always so much fun to talk to, because she has great stories and is happy to tell them. I better go visit her again soon. After visiting with gran I drove out to my sister and her fiance's place in the mountains to spend Christmas day with some of the soon-to-be inlaws and various other relatives.
The food was great, the weather and view decidedly Christmas-y and all round it was a good time. I also got some of the best gifts I can recall in a long time. It was a shame that dad was unwilling to drive out to join us after work. He works a variable shift type of thing and didn't come out after his 12 hours on Christmas day, so we all trooped off to the parent's house for another feast on Boxing Day. By the time I had to go back to work on Thursday I felt like I needed to fast for a year and take a vacation to rest up from all the driving.
Unrelated to the holiday season I went out with for dinner some of my newfound friends from work that same week. We had a good time (at least, I think we did!), but I did feel bad that one of the girls fell ill the next day. She'd never had Korean barbecue before so it was a little like maybe we'd poisoned her inadvertently. Thankfully she bounced back without too much unpleasantness, and is still talking to us so I think we're all forgiven. Korean barbecue hasn't been suggested since though!
Disappointingly I spent New Year's Eve at home by myself. The few friends I had gotten in touch with since coming back were all out of town or already had plans arranged. So, I did my best not to feel too bummed out, watched some stand up comedy on TV and went to bed shortly after midnight. I'm not prone to depression, but I can certainly see how a lot of people must feel really down during the holidays. If you didn't have friends or family to share time with year after year, the holidays could easily become an unpleasant and stressful time, rather than the fun and happy time most of us get to enjoy. So remember that the next time you're sitting around having a good time with the people you care about. Savour every second with them that you can. A lot of other people aren't as lucky as we are.
十二月 と Christmas の しゃしん を とりました。 下 の link で あります。
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