Valorio

I saw this painting, Valorio by James Stovall Morris, at the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe. Notice the women at the wake all in white gathered silently near the body while the men, dressed in head-to-toe black, are exclusively outside in the dark drinking and talking. Interesting image.

Christmas in Santa Fe

Moon-soaked landscapes and pueblo-style buildings, snow dancing in the air and then drifting down into perfect white piles, farolito-lined streets on Christmas Eve--some snapshots of a holiday in Santa Fe. More details to come. In the meantime, some literal snapshots:

A walk in the town before nightfall

-----------------------

Santa Fe at sunset

-----------------------

Snowy Christmas tree

outside the Hacienda Nicholas

-----------------------

Icicles

-----------------------

View from a window at La Casa Sena

-----------------------

Moonlight and snow on Canyon Road

-----------------------

View from the Pink Adobe

-----------------------

Time Off for Good Behavior

Fourteen days off work in a row--can't wait to see how much good freedom will do me! I can already feel the stress melting away...

Tea Cozy

As a bona fide coffee addict who relies on the caffeine content in each cup for a morning or afternoon boost, I haven't often considered the rejuvenating properties of tea. I occasionally drink it when I feel a cold coming on and in the past have enjoyed a cup of Korean brown rice green tea, which has such body it's like drinking a meal. But, a new tea vista opened up to me last week when a co-worker brought in a chrysanthemum blossom tea called "Let It Snow" from teaposy.com. The first few cups had a distinctive jasmine scent; the mild white tea was flavorful but not overly sweet. Sipping it imparted a sense of well-being. An interesting fact that emerged in conversation during our social tea time at work, was how the body metabolizes the caffeine in tea differently than that of coffee: coffee caffeine is absorbed by the nerves and works quickly to awaken the senses but wares off quickly also; tea caffeine is absorbed by the muscles and gives a slower, but more sustained lift.

Apparently, a person can get "tea drunk"--a mellow feeling that is almost euphoric. You can get more chatty, more sociable, similar to being buzzed by an alcoholic beverage. I have never heard of this phenomenon before, but it seems to be a pretty well-known fact. Anyone familiar with this term or experience?

Peer Pressure

You would think that peer pressure would end in high school. Or in college at the latest. I didn't even succumb to much peer pressure when I was in school, except for the pressure inflicted upon nerds like myself by other nerds to compare SAT scores and above 4.0-average GPAs (no smoking behind the gym during class for us!).

So now peer pressure is coming from an unlikely source: work. And over an unlikely issue: holiday decorations. It's supposed to be "strictly voluntary," but I am feeling the pressure to be festive or else risk being thought of as a scrooge. I enjoy seeing Christmas lights and decorations, but not necessarily the act of decorating. There is an inter-building competition to see which group comes up with the best decorations theme, and the pressure is mounting. I can see that public opinion will turn on me, and perhaps the only other person who isn't exuberant about the whole competition, if we don't pony up and spend some cash on fake snowflakes and Christmas lights. Am I wrong to not be that into it? I guess it's to foster team-building and co-worker relationships, but I have deadlines. Can't I "just say 'No' "?

Inspired by the Ordinary

I don't necessarily mean "muse" in the sense that you would normally think of--inspiration--at least not the type of inspiration that would conjure up images of Greek goddesses of the arts compelling spellbound poets to pen a ballad. Too ethereal. What inspires me to write are gritty, everyday experiences that are textured, imperfect, "sunbaked." I like to think of "muse" in the sense of "a state of dreamy abstraction," except for when I'm mired in one of those protracted days at work when I am in danger of falling into dreamy abstraction indefinitely.