“Yes, blogging is entertainment. It is performance. Each blog post a show, sometimes an opera, sometimes a 30 second commercial. Like a show, it may start with a bang, lead you along from song to song, have a great climatic moment, then leave the audience wanting more.” - Lorelle Van Fossen

If you're anything like me, life becomes very chaotic this time of year. With all the demands and expectations that come along with the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, it's a tough time of year to remain joyful, and not get stressed out.

I love you stars and moon
and cold coffee in a stained mug
and tripping feet and crumbling rust
I love you splinters
and winters
and I love you whole
as a broken thing.

Over the years I have come realise there are two forms of guilt, one is forced upon us from a court of law, the second is self inflicted. Guilt is a wonderful emotion full of self depreciating anxiety and remorse, a voluntary emotion causing unnecessary pain fed upon by those who can never forgive nor accept their own guilt.

It's a amazing how some front of the store personnel do not appreciate servicing customers. Perhaps, they just do not like people. You would think that they would take another type job, if this is the case. I don't like shopping with rude customer service people. Sometimes, I have tried to patronize the stores in spite of their attitudes. However, I soon stopped spending my money in their stores. It would be great if the owners or managers took time to monitor their customer service providers. This is how it's done in a telephone call center.

After scouring the world wide web for the most appropriate way to end this challenge, I happened to land on this particular tune. Thinking that it was as good as anything else, I have decided to end with this. But then, after pausing for a moment, I wondered what the meaning of this song would be for those families out there that are busy preparing for the early morning storm that is the kids opening gifts on Christmas day.

Well I finally did it. I really need to learn more about a lot of things. Computer, writing. advertising to name a few. However, I now have a website.

Just as I am setting it up the plumbing went kafuey!! I never will understand plumbing. One week later after attempts with drain cleaner it is fixed

In here a lot earlier today, and still trying different browsers. This time I'm in here with Apple's Safari, and it seems to work pretty well. It supports some of the add-ins I use, but it also falls short in some areas. One plus is it allows me to use LastPass, which I depend on all the time. On the down side, the browser does not support drag and drop in here.

I could just use Internet Explorer, it does what I want and need, but it tends to get bogged down and it constantly wants to disable my plug-ins. Sure, they may slow it down some, but come on people, if I didn't want them active, I wouldn't have installed them.

It was a busy week. I am on the way to getting everything done, though.
I got ideas for two new stories and I have started the preliminary work on one. It is a different interpretation of the Nativity story, and I hope it will go down well. I am a bit nervous because it is a bit unconventional. I have always thought that writing is about being creative, and that might mean ruffling a few feathers every once in a while. The next is a interpretation as well but not as risky. I love both ideas and hope to get at least one finished before the New Year. I want to enter them into WDC contests.

I really felt it today, more than any other. I am sitting in church listening to Christmas Carols. One of them is "Silent Night", the last song sang before she died. I was reminded of my last Christmas with her and felt pain at knowing inside myself that I did not recall my last Christmas with my kids. All of a sudden Christmas becomes an awful reminder of how alone I feel.

I listen to the message in a half dazed state. I feel angry and want to tell my ex and children how much I hate the holiday and that it is all my fault. I sit here pondering the Christmas.

My gig is to support the deployed soldiers. No one appreciates the holidays like the military. I sent a Santa type gift to my friend serving this country overseas and this is part of the thank you note:

Don't ever change who you are Cheri. Embrace those around you for as long as you can. When it's our time to go it will be in a blink and everyone will regret not saying or doing something one last time. So, whatever that one thing is, do it and say it now.