not much

i'm not much of a crier when it comes to movies, but this movie managed to move a heart like mine to tears. not out of sadness, but out of hope and reconciliation.

it's easily one of the best movies i've seen.

there were people i recognized - former acquaintances, old friends, childhood crushes, all in the same room. together again. five years later. interactions ranged from the 'hi how are you??'*smile*and walk by, to ten minute conversations filled with reminiscing, laughter and plans for the future. there was the heartfelt "it's so good to see you!", and the awkward moment when eyes of former acquaintances meet but the spark of recognition fails to ignite. there were moments of sombreity, remembering fondly old friendships meanwhile recognizing its transformation to friendly acquaintance status. conversely, there were moments of comfort as you sank into the ease of old friendships - friendships that have stood the test of time, and also with those who were willing to fall back into the relationship. there were surprises when people you least expect to remember you call you out by name. there were snapshots of times passed, reenacted before your eyes, as that flutter of high school insecurities twittered for a moment before they vanished. there was the ever present question 'should i have come?', a question sometimes answered by a friendly smile across the room and a move towards a pleasant meeting of two people, other times answered by a quick glance around the room as conversation circles tighten - you, standing as the observer. it was a place of conflict, where feelings of doubt arose, but were quickly quashed by that confidence and poise as you assert yourself. it was a place of comfort, as time and place bond people together, as they have for the last five to fifteen years. it was, my high school reunion.

christmas goodies

my baked treats thus far

transformation

before.........................................after

'burbs, bah.

i enjoy coming 'home'- you know, that place where your parents are, where you can just kick back and relax, get some love, know your way around, and just you feel comfortable. in that sense, i can truly say, i enjoy coming home. in the bigger context, however, and in a more tangible sense, home is a place that frustrates me. home is located in a suburb - the height of the sense of the word. my mom and i went out yesterday to get some things done, and we were out for about 5.5 hours. approximately 2 or 2.5 of those hours (i am being generous) were actually spent doing the things we wanted to do. the rest of the time, we spent driving around in our car, trying to get from one place to another. today, it was a similar story. we drove through clarkson, in mississauga, and i lamented over our move from there to bronte! when we lived in clarkson, i could walk to: church, the grocery store, the hairdresser, pharmacy, pizza place, the go station , the police station, tim hortons, the bank, the video store - it was ideal! where we live now, i can barely walk to the 'corner store'! i can only hope and pray that this generation of up and coming planners will change the landscape as we know it - and i know coming out of school it's easy for us to be inspired, and want to change the world, but really, in all seriousness, this type of planning needs to stop. smaller, complete communities would result in more engaged and maybe even healthier neighbourhoods. i write this now, and hope that in 5 years when i look back and read this post i'm not working for a municipality pushing development applications, negotiating how many single family detached homes can be built on a parcel of land in the middle of nowhere.

within the last 24 hours, i...

- watched two movies in front of the fireplace
- attended a wine and cheese party
- fell asleep on the couch for three hours
- ate till i could eat no mo'
- got snowed in
- baked squares and cookies
- arranged for a christmas shindig

...it must be the holidays and i must be at home