Feliz Navidad

We wish you a Merry Christmas

We wish you a Merry Christmas A

And a Happy New Year"

I've heard it, you've heard it, increasingly over the last weeks,peaking tonight and tomorrow. If you don't send Christmas greetings to everyone in your family, all your friends, and everyone else you know, you're a Scrooge or a Grinch.

I've been wishing Merry Christmas to people myself for the last week — although I usually stick to “Happy Holidays!” until I get an indication of whether "Merry Christmas" "Happy Deepavali" or "Have a good Hari Raya" is appropriate.

This morning I found myself wondering, "Why do we just *wish* that people have a good Christmas?" Sure– good wishes– even from a stranger, usually brighten up anyone's day. We give gifts, too. We do kind things for the poor. Whatever we can afford. But all that wishing … begins to sound a bit wistful.

There's been a sign up in some buses this month: “Give experiences instead of stuff.” The traditional experiences of Christmas are visiting loved ones,hugging, eating, baking, drinking, caroling, partying, exchanging presents, enjoying the sight of seasonal decorations and lights, and in some areas of the world the seasonal carousel or sleigh ride or community ice skating. Most of it's over the next day except for the leftover turkey and at least some of the toys (in my experience, the simpler and hardier ones last longer) and the Fruitcake That Will Not Die.

How many times do you get to give someone a life-changing experience for Christmas? Most of us would like to do that. Most of us think we can't afford to; don't know anyone with a need we are capable of filling, that would change their lives; it seems that we've already spent  all the energy we have to keep our own lives. I think that's because there's never been as concerted a marketing campaign for "change your world" as there has been for "consume your world."

But maybe this Christmas, we can learn to start and do things differently. We don’t need to make it a behemoth start, no. We can at least make one baby step at a time. And what is the best way to start it but with our family. In my case, it’s fulfilling promises I have given. And of course we can always give a free smile, a handy hand to old women loading her groceries to the car, or giving your taxi to someone who is rushing more than you do, or simply calling a lonely friend and envite him for the dinner or Noche Buena tonight. Maybe one of those things might change a life. You don't always know. One effect is certain, though, of doing one or more of them, cuts down a lot on the wistfulness of wishing a Merry Christmas, because you know this time, it really does come from the heart.

I will be traveling with my family from Boxing Day so I won't be able to answer your comments maybe until the New Year. So in case I won't be around until then, here's wishing all of you an unwistful Merry Christmas and a Better life come New Year.

Images: Jean's Christmas Tree(top); My old and battered travelling bag (above)

Thank you!

A presentation image of a design I've just worked on.

 I want to say thank you for all the people and well- wishers who dropped by this blog and greeted me for my special day last week. As of now I'm trying to wrap all the little things out (work- related) so I can have the whole length of Christmas to the new year without sticking myself in the office. Especially that I have promised my kid that I'll bring him to somewhere magical this season(more on this next post). 

The image above is one of the perspectives I managed to finish last week. I'm crossing fingers I can finish all by the end of the day and manage my meetings too so I don't have to be there next week. 

Spirited Away

Three decades, three years and a lifetime to go. It's a big day coming on this weekend and I'm ready to drown it out. I'm not a drunkard and I only drink on special significant occasions. And this is one of those times.  Just want to photograph these babies before they turn into empty bottles.

Note to all blogger users:

Blogger, as I found out, is no longer taking other website linking from non-blogger commentors. So if  I comment on your posts and you click on my comment name, it will send you to my old blogger blog. Just an info.

The Liquid bread

I love drinking beer. it's thirst quenching, refreshing and taste good too. Each brand has it's own unique taste and difference so I try not to stick to brands as much as possible, instead discovering other types as a means of brewing enlightenment. For me, beer taste better when it is shared and drank during ocassions and parties. I can down at least eight cans on  a good weekend especially if it shared by friends and family.

Beer is the world's oldest and most popular alcoholic beverage. It is produced by the fermentation of sugars derived from starch-based material — the most common being malted barley; however, wheat, corn, and rice are also widely used, usually in conjunction with barley. Less widely used starch sources include millet, sorghum and cassava root in Africa, potato in Brazil, and agave in Mexico, among others. Possibly as old dating back to the 6th millennium BCE, and is recorded in the written history of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. The earliest known chemical evidence of beer dates to circa 3500–3100 BCE. As almost any substance containing carbohydrates, namely sugar or starch, can naturally undergo fermentation, it is likely that beer-like beverages were independently invented among various cultures throughout the world. The invention of bread and beer has been argued to be responsible for humanity's ability to develop technology and build civilization.

The starch source is steeped in water, along with certain enzymes, to produce a sugary wort which is then flavoured with herbs, fruit or most commonly hops. Yeast is then used to cause fermentation, which produces alcohol and other waste products from anaerobic respiration of the sugars.

The temperature of a beer has an influence on a drinker's experience. Colder temperatures allow fully attenuated beers such as pale lagers to be enjoyed for their crispness; while warmer temperatures allow the more rounded flavours of an ale or a stout to be perceived.

Beer is sometimes referred to as "liquid bread", and moderate consumption is associated with a decreased risk of cardiac disease, stroke and cognitive decline.

Weathered

"I'm rusted and weathered
Barely holding together
I'm covered with skin that peels and it just won't heal
The sun shines and I can't avoid the light
I think I'm holding on to life too tight
Ashes to ashes and dust to dust
Sometimes I feel like giving up

Take all this pride
And leave it behind
Because one day it ends
One day we die
Believe what you will
That is your right
But I choose to win
So I choose to fight…"

~ Creed