stinglikeabee: classic denny colt  (yummy)
Ah, have been ill the past week and hadn't the will to post. It's extremely frustrating to feel so poorly right when everyone is celebrating, and even more so when you don't know why you're sick. Luckily tomorrow I'm able to work from home and avoid the freeway drive of death. It nearly didn't happen, as the boss forgot to forward me his e-mail with the news that everyone would be able to work from 9am to 1pm from their homes. Thanks jerk... /end rant

The good thing about being bedridden is listening to the radio. Gawd, I know, I'm such a freak listening to the BBC World Service on a Saturday night. But Radio 4's played a radio adaptation of Roald Dahl's 'The Witches' and on Christmas morning, there's the Queen's speech. The latter unnerves me somewhat because I'm certainly no royalist, but ya know, it's quite comforting. Don't worry, I won't be such an anorak on the big day. We'll have sparkling cider and the Jools Holland Big Band Rhythm & Blues Orchestra playing in the background instead.

Anyway, it's also been time for Hanukkah and Eid, so I have been visited with latkes and meat dishes. Yay! Once I get the neighbour's recipe for the latkes, I can finally get rid of the 2lb bag of potatoes in the pantry. Gahhh latkes. A few family friends also came around with meat they're sharing with us -- for Eid, an animal (goat, cow etc) is sacrificed and the meat is redistributed to family, friends, and the poor. With our gift, my mum made a spicy beef curry and I will be trying a hand at Beef Wellington for tomorrow's Christmas Eve dinner. Dessert was supposed to be a sticky toffee pudding, but I'm going to hold on to that for later. Instead, I'll be making tiramisu with the box of dried fruit panetone I received as a Christmas present. I wonder what I can do with the mangoes we've also received...

It's also weird that by the end of the year there seems to be less people I call friends than at the beginning at the year. To paraphrase Oscar Wilde extremely, to lose one friend is a misfortune, but to lose more is carelessness. If it is because I haven't kept in touch, I'm truly sorry. Drop by a e-mail or a comment and let's start again.

PS If anyone's interested in a GIMP-made Christmas card, do let me know. Otherwise, Happy Christmas!
stinglikeabee: classic denny colt  (sleepy)


That's me relaxing on my new sofa-bed from IKEA, a product of hours of bad breaking labour and loads of cussing. Haven't been able to concentrate the past week, due to my allergies and ill health in general. By now the eyelid swelling's gone down, and I've finally finished the course of yucky meds. I can finally put away the strung out heroin-chic look I've been sporting lately thanks to said meds. And not too soon, since tomorrow night's our office Christmas party! Nothing says Christmas to me like the obligatory Christmas party, and the bleary retrospection the morning after when you wonder if the boss will remember your crude singalong about his private bits. Last year someone managed to vomit on everyone's dessert - here's hoping this year isn't my comeuppance!

Speaking of Christmas, I generally don't celebrate it. True, I hand out the presents to what little friends I have left and send greeting cards/ring them with a short message. Family's everything else but Christian, so we don't get together around this time to celebrate anything. And I never really have the sense of this Christmas spirit. Whenever I catch the ending of 'It's A Wonderful Life' I think, wow, Christmas can be like that? This year however, I've been the recipient of the kindness of strangers, twice. [profile] ember999 was kind enough to send me two aromatherapy formulations to help with my itchy eczema skin, and I barely even knew her other than from Nano. With all that she's endured, I am absolutely floored by the fact that she cares. And the night I went to IKEA to pick up the sofabed, this kind gentleman came over and helped me cart the large frame into my smallish sedan. I had seen him about a few cars away in the dark parking lot, efficiently packing his packages into the car. Meanwhile, I struggled with lifting the heavy metal frame with me skinny arms. Then out of nowhere, he swooped in and helped me jam in the cardboard box in the boot. Then we rolled down a window and chucked in the mattress. I was absolutely gobsmacked that he took the time to make sure everything was tied up in place. Before I could ask his name or say anything more, he wished me happy christmas and left.

It's really enough to make me believe in people again, it really does. And I really wish I could pay these two back somehow. Or perhaps, it would do to replicate such kindness and pass it on to others?

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