Christmas time!
Well, here we are 4 days from the end of 2009 (and just under 2 weeks from my birthday!), and I'm sure many of you who are in the office and haven't taken off this week are in a mental go-slow mode. I know that I am struggling to motivate myself to do my freelance work today.
Anyway, I hope you had a fantastic Christmas long weekend. I'm something of a "best of both worlds" person when it comes to Christmas weather and this year Durban didn't disappoint. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were cool and wet - ideal for embracing your English heritage and tucking into a big roast turkey with all the trimmings... and following it all up with a fat helping or two of trifle. (There's nothing like hot, humid weather for killing your appetite for rich food!)
Of course, if the ideal Christmas Day is cold, the perfect Boxing Day - or The Day of Goodwill, as it has become known in post-Apartheid South Africa - must be sunny and hot. Then it's all about lazing by the swimming pool or heading off to the Kingsmead Cricket Ground for the traditional Boxing Day test match between South Africa and another top international team.
In terms of present loot, my sister was the only one who really catered to my geeky desires - as you can see by her gift of Superman slops and a comical Wonder Woman-themed guide to surviving the working world. Other gifts included the Iron Gym workout bar, and some tops (including my first ever Springbok supporter's shirt). There was a distinct shortage of new reading material, but I did score the Coraline and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves DVDs to add to my collection.
The rest of the weekend was pretty chilled and lazy, and mostly consisted of watching the various DVDs that different family members received. I must say though, thank goodness for the DVDs because Christmas TV was pretty lousy this year: not a single good movie to watch while relaxing with the family after Christmas dinner. Just made-for-TV junk swiped from the Hallmark Channel. The only show that I even found entertaining was the 3-part BBC comedy of errors, The Worst Christmas of My Life, which I stumbled upon on Christmas Eve while waiting to leave for Midnight Mass.
The Christmas weekend did end for me on a downer, but I'm not really at liberty to write about it here. Right now I'm really just hoping for a much better 2010 and a coming decade of happiness and fulfillment.
Anyway, I hope you had a fantastic Christmas long weekend. I'm something of a "best of both worlds" person when it comes to Christmas weather and this year Durban didn't disappoint. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were cool and wet - ideal for embracing your English heritage and tucking into a big roast turkey with all the trimmings... and following it all up with a fat helping or two of trifle. (There's nothing like hot, humid weather for killing your appetite for rich food!)
Of course, if the ideal Christmas Day is cold, the perfect Boxing Day - or The Day of Goodwill, as it has become known in post-Apartheid South Africa - must be sunny and hot. Then it's all about lazing by the swimming pool or heading off to the Kingsmead Cricket Ground for the traditional Boxing Day test match between South Africa and another top international team.
In terms of present loot, my sister was the only one who really catered to my geeky desires - as you can see by her gift of Superman slops and a comical Wonder Woman-themed guide to surviving the working world. Other gifts included the Iron Gym workout bar, and some tops (including my first ever Springbok supporter's shirt). There was a distinct shortage of new reading material, but I did score the Coraline and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves DVDs to add to my collection.
The rest of the weekend was pretty chilled and lazy, and mostly consisted of watching the various DVDs that different family members received. I must say though, thank goodness for the DVDs because Christmas TV was pretty lousy this year: not a single good movie to watch while relaxing with the family after Christmas dinner. Just made-for-TV junk swiped from the Hallmark Channel. The only show that I even found entertaining was the 3-part BBC comedy of errors, The Worst Christmas of My Life, which I stumbled upon on Christmas Eve while waiting to leave for Midnight Mass.
The Christmas weekend did end for me on a downer, but I'm not really at liberty to write about it here. Right now I'm really just hoping for a much better 2010 and a coming decade of happiness and fulfillment.
Comments
Happy Holidays!
Imola (Italy) has been a cool 11°C below ZERO. It's weird thinking of a poolside Xmas.
Best Wishes.
K
LOL, I always find the massive difference between a Northern Hemisphere holiday season and its Southern Hemisphere equivalent really funny. Swimming in December may sound weird to you, and yet here I am as someone who has never seen snow, or ever been exposed to subzero temperatures.
Keep warm, keep well.