Dec 29, 2008
The upcoming months are my least favorite time of the year. Don’t get me wrong – I love snow. I can deal with the cooler temps that winter brings. What I hate is the dreary day-after-day sameness that accompanies the winter months. For the record, I don’t like harsh winter winds either.
Posting photos on OurDailyDigital.com isn’t even as much fun right now. The Christmas season is over so there’s nothing “different” to capture in that regard. In the summer you can find bugs, and butterflies, and flowers, and all sorts of great stuff to photograph — same with spring. In the fall the leaves are beautiful. But now? Blah! So I’ll leave you with my depressing thoughts on the dreary days ahead, and a simple photo of the brown hound waiting on spring to hit the burg so she can chase bunnies and bask in the sun…
Dec 27, 2008
I’ve posted before about the game we play – World of Warcraft. I’ve talked about the accomplishments, how fun it is and all that, but today it’s something else that I want to share. To preface, let me first explain that not only do you play in-game with others, you also communicate with them by voice through a program called Ventrilo. When coordinating plans and talking through difficult maneuvers, it’s a must. With over 11.5 million monthly subscribers to this fabulous game, you have the opportunity to group and play with people from many, many different geographic locations.
Desire is a moving force used to overcome all sorts of obstacles. Right? But sometimes, desire and drive is lost when you can get what you want without effort.
Perry and I are in a guild (a group formed to help one another in-game) that is very diverse. While my son, my cousin, and 4 local friends are members of this guild, we also have new friends we play WoW with as well. The guild, No Remorse, sports members from all over the US and Canada. Some of the members are French Canadian. Surprisingly, Warladin, our guild leader speaks English extremely well. Ok, so “charred earth” sounds like “chowder ert” and “third” always sounds like “turd” — but I’ve got to give it to the guy! He communicates! Warladin isn’t the only French Canadian in our guild. There are others; and each one communicates — just with varying degrees of skill.
Asking Warladin if he’d taken English in high school or college, he explained that his desire to be a group and guild leader required that he be able to speak English. Woah! His desire to do one thing required that he take action. Once he began listening to others speak and attempted to decipher what was being said in type, he was able to pick up bits and pieces of the language. His confidence grew. Warladin then shared with his friends by translating — and in turn, they began to learn and communicate as well.
Not one place in World of Warcraft do you get to press 2 for Spanish or 3 for French. There is a requirement for action in order to achieve what you desire. Yet, here in the US, we have a bajillion Mexicans who simply don’t NEED to put forth any effort to learn the English language because we make it easy for them — and HARDER for us! So with the ‘when in Rome’ theme in mind — here’s a photo of Perry and I with our French Canadian guild leader. Adios!
Dec 26, 2008
Today as I reflect on the Christmas holiday that is now nothing but a memory, I am in awe of how family structures make each celebration unique — but yet the same. Confused? Let me explain…
Although someday in the future my immediate family may grow, at this point in time, it has pretty much dwindled to nada. I lost my Father in 2004; my Grandmother is in a nursing home; my only child is grown and married without children of his own yet; and my brother has 2 teenaged children. There aren’t little ones running around, or playing with newly unwrapped gifts during our holiday celebrations.
Perry’s family, on the other hand, consists of a bajillion kids! His sister and her husband are the proud parents of 9 (yes, NINE), and they live under the same roof as his parents. Not only are these kids running around and playing with newly unwrapped gifts — they are also taking turns clamoring onto laps, crying and rough-housing. 75% of them have play-dough hanging out of their ears.
(And to think, 3 of the children are not present in this photo!)
Still, even though our families are extremely different in size and make-up — and even though they come from totally different social and economic places in life — none of that matters. I am blessed to have had the opportunity to spend my holiday with two very different families for the exact same reason.
Dec 25, 2008
My family has always celebrated Christmas on the holiday’s eve, and this year was no exception. I have only one more gathering left this holiday season, leaving time for me to extend Christmas wishes to you.
I normally spend a bunch of time capturing photo memories — especially on Christmas Eve — but I wasn’t on my game this year. I’m not sure why. Still, I did get a great shot of my son, Ben, with his Great Grandmother, Nanny. Nanny will be 98 in January…
Merry Christmas everybody! 🙂
