Gabe the Pie-ano Man

Since Rob and I are going to Calgary tomorrow to spend some time with my family, we did our big Fink Family Christmas dinner last night. In addition to the usual Finks, we also had Bella (Kit’s mother from Ontario), Nadhla (Yaseen’s mom) and Peter and Sarah (Rob’s cousins) along with 4 year old Isaac.

Gabriel got it just right when, in the middle of all the hustle and bustle, he beamed and looked at us and burst out, “We’re having a grrrrrreat time!”. Indeed we were.

Of course, the big highlights of the night centered around the kids. It was hilarious to see Gabe’s face when he unveiled the awesome rocking horse from Bubby & Sporto – that alone was pretty amazing to him but when the horse started to neigh and wag its tail, he didn’t know what to think of it.

The other hit of the night was definitely the keyboard, which was Uncle Robbie’s idea. We knew Mr. G loved playing with his ‘big brown guitar’ just like Raffi and the Wiggles and figured a keyboard would be either a really big hit or a really big failure. Luckily, it was the former. And not only did it have all these funky pre-programmed songs, it had a microphone… and we discovered Gabe just might be a budding talk show host.

Here’s a video of the little man and his “pie-ano” (that’s what it’s called in Gabe-Land).

Rudolph and friends visit the office

I’m a big kid at heart. So when Work-Rob (i.e. my boss… as opposed to My-Rob, the one at home) came back from what I think was the fastest Christmas shopping trip in the history of the universe with the most adorable plush Rudolph and Bumble (a.k.a Abominable Snow Monster of the North) that I had ever seen, I couldn’t resist – I ran out to get them too. Oh, and their friends. Well I couldn’t not get their friends! Merry Christmas to me.

They love hanging out with me and my cubicle-buddy Cisco at the office, and it’s a good thing – I’m putting off taking them home. I am going to get in soooo much trouble…!!!

A thoroughly enjoyable divergence off the beaten track

Everyone has their own personal “beaten track” that they stick to. It’s much easier to make choices that keep you on this track, i.e. choices in movies, books, friends, diversions, than go off it because, for one, they’re usually a sure thing and two, it’s just more comfortable.

However, it’s usually when you go off your beaten track that you learn something new. And learning is growing. And growing is evolving.

It’s not always easy; in fact, sometimes you have to force yourself to do it. But it’s usually worth it.

When Jeneet and Saro told me they had an extra ticket to see some African dance thing on Saturday, I thought: here’s a good opportunity for me to get myself off my beaten track.

A quick Google search on the show only gave me a foggy idea of what I was in for and since African song & dance was a subject I knew next to nothing about (except that it was really hard to do and a really good workout – and that tidbit I knew not through my own experience but from Patti who took a class in it), I figured it just might be interesting and if nothing else, I could say I saw it.

Well, Umoja blew my mind.

From the first reverberating drumbeat to the very end, I was riveted to my seat – except for the standing ovation.

Narrated by a charming guy with a cool accent, the show walks the audience through how the songs and dances of South Africa have evolved along with, and as a result of, its history.

The first part was my favorite; I could have watched that dance sequence for two hours straight. Dressed in crazy fur collars, headdresses and animal hides, the men of the group beat the drums and danced with a force and enthusiasm that had me wide-eyed – even more wide-eyed than when their female counterparts came out in true African tradition, proud breasts and all.

There was so much energy to the dance and the songs that I could feel myself twitching to get up and jump around as well, though I am pretty sure that had I not been able to quell the impulse, I wouldn’t have lasted 5 minutes, let alone the duration of the show. I’m still amazed at how consistent the level of energy and enthusiasm was maintained right through the city, gospel, swing and jazz segments, and right through to the finale. It was amazing.

Even more amazing was sitting in the front row. I definitely felt like I was in the middle of the action. The smell of sweat wafting down from the stage definitely helped (oddly, it was sort of… sexy…).

Umoja is playing in Vancouver for two more weeks. If you can fit it into your holiday schedule, I highly recommend seeing it and going off the beaten track.

Taking Anne Adoration to new levels

About 20 (or so) times a day, I open a folder on my computer labeled TOP SECRET and gaze in rapture at a picture of my white dress. THE white dress. That I bought last weekend! If you think that’s compulsive, consider that I actually resist the urge approximately a thousand times a day. How’s that for will power?

Just yesterday I stumbled upon the knowledge that you can, in fact, “sew and wear the same wedding dress as Anne” … that’s right, as in ANNE OF GREEN GABLES.

I mean, yes I know she’s fictional and sure, it’s the dress from the movies. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about it.

(Just for a moment.)

Yes, Christmas cards may be dorky, but they still ROCK

I know it’s super sentimental and old-fashioned, but I still think nothing beats getting a Christmas card in the mail.

I got my first ones in the mail yesterday (tied for first place are Erin and Ruben… yay!) and I gotta tell ya, I felt a little flutter of excitement when I saw them.

Growing up, my mom always did cards though, funny enough, I can’t say I ever actually saw her writing them. I know she did because our own mailbox always revealed bunches of cards that were reciprocated. My mom would always display them by sticking them between the horizontal slats of the blinds in the kitchen. When we were bored, we’d try to decipher the chicken scratch Polish words we probably wouldn’t have been able to pronounce even if we could read them.

So I try to carry the torch and keep the tradition of the cards going.

It’s not easy, let me tell you.

For one, it’s a pain trying to track down addresses all the time. My mom still has the same dilapidated old green address book from 25 years ago and sure, some of the addresses were scratched out and replaced with new ones (the page with my name on it definitely has no more room), but not very many. People didn’t used to move much.

And let’s be honest, writing cards takes time. A lot of people complain they don’t have time to write cards. That just tells me they don’t have time to care. Signing your name under the printed “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year” greeting does NOT count. I was reading the other day about some company that you can outsource your Christmas cards to. How ridiculous. The whole point of sending cards is to show the person that even in this increasingly hectic world we live in, you took a few moments to think of them and about how much they mean to you.

Doing Christmas cards can also be expensive. I mean, $20.99 for a box of 8 cards? Don’t even get me started on the price of stamps. So for this reason I’ve recently softened and consider e-cards to be acceptable too, but only if they are personalised; sending a mass email with a dancing Santa or a comic with a reindeer in it is totally tacky. Best not send anything at all.

And of course, there’s always the feeling you have to defend yourself from the environmentalists. I really think there are some out there that use the ‘green’ excuse as a way of getting out of doing cards, i.e. waste of paper, emission of carbon by mail trucks and planes, poor little squid who have to supply the ink, blah blah blah. Sure, this is not without truth but just stop for a moment and consider the value of letting someone know you care about them. (Warning: Extreme Cheese Factor coming up…) At the end of the day, sending love out to the universe is what will save it. So personally, that I’d rather keep sending the cards and cut back, instead, on something else.

So yes, it’s hard, but that’s what makes it worthwhile. Nothing compares to getting a card in the mail.

~ ~ ~

Note to my friends and family:

If you find you have lost your appetite for life and are walking around in a cloud of confusion because you still haven’t received my annual Christmas card in the mail, don’t worry. It’s sitting on my kitchen table. I will do everything in my power to write my cards tonight, I swear.

Oops, not tonight… I’m meeting a friend for drinks. Tomorrow, though.

Er… maybe not tomorrow, either. I still have some Christmas shopping to do and need to plan an outfit for Thursday’s office Xmas party.

So, um, I guess that means Thursday night is out too. Hmmm. Friday?

But that’s already DECEMBER FIFTEENTH?!

Yikes, I’m in trouble.