Desmond and the Close of 09'.

I must admit to having had tonnes of fun blogging this year. Perhaps the world has been bored to tears by my incessant Irishing, Keating, Westlifing and Wet Weathering, but I have this to say: tough.

Honestly, I can't say for sure what I will blog about in the coming year but don't count on these disappearing all too soon!

Besides, if you think about it, the jump between years lies merely between today and tomorrow. Sure, a lot of things could change in a year but I'm pretty certain 'year' is a measure of time (365 days) as opposed to one minute from night to midnight; from Thursday to Friday; from 09' to 10'.

Anyways, it's been a blast! Thank you World for listening to me crazy ramblings this past, or passing, year. Or perhaps, thank you for leaving me be by having never read my blog. (In which case, my gratitude must go unacknowledged; which is fine, since if you'd acknowledged it, you'd not be leaving me to my neurosis.)

So then--Adios 09'!
And World, I'll write you soon! Perhaps sooner than you think!

Desmond and The Passing of Christmas 09'.

And so Christmas passes, taking along with it my Tree. Yes -- my beautiful, albeit fake, Christmas Tree has been packed into its cardboard prison, where it must stay until December 10' approaches.

Which might take a while.
Aw, Christmas. I miss you already.

Desmond and The Exotic Christmas Dinner.

I hope Christmas is progressing well for you World! I had an early morning, and I think that's the best, because now my Christmas seems infinitely long (roughly four more hours to go).

Also, I've just had a strangely Chinese Christmas dinner, in every sense of the phrase, but that's fine, because I also had Christmas carols playing in the background.

Here's to a merry four hours more! Stay safe!

(This Individual loves how happy this song sounds, but here's the other song he wanted to post: Mick Flannery's 'Christmas Past'. It's a little sappy so this Individual opted in favor of a cheerier tune, since he feels very merry merry. Still, Mick Flannery is mighty brilliant, and if anyone has any idea how to get Flannery's album, this Individual appreciates it in advance.)

Desmond and Christmas 09'.

YIPPEE!!! I'm grinning like mad, but it's alright because I'm in me room and Christmas is finally here! Merry merry Christmas World!!

Let it snow, let it snow!

Desmond and the Re-Cheering.

A couple of weeks ago, I declared the festive spirit would peak just before Christmas, and that, in my own words, was "splendid for me".

But back in the Here and Now, I regret my statement. Christmas celebrations came too soon and now I feel post-boxing-day, even though we're barely at Christmas Eve! I say, that's what you get for judging a book by its festive cheer -- A nice serving of humble pie. Right in the face.

It's a good thing some merry photosurfing can stir up the Yuletide cheer.
CHRISTMAS IS COMING, WORLD! GOOD TIDINGS!

Desmond and the Two Letters.

With all the wet weather, we're just two letters and twenty degrees shy of a White Christmas.

Desmond and the Concoction.

Christmas always stirs a strange mix of feelings in me: one part nostalgia, with nine parts homesickness. Which is strange, because I'm neither overseas nor a father working overtime with eight children waiting at home.

But it happens.

And when it does, one plays Buble's Home.

(He knows Christmas feelings are very real, so this Individual sends his love to people who are far from home this year. And of course, overtiming fathers with eight children. He would also like to shamelessly tout Westlife's cover of Home. Which he really likes, so keep your snide remarks to yourself. No, seriously.)

Desmond and The Spelling of Christmas Revisited.

I happened on a Yahoo!question today which reminded me of something I blogged nearly a year ago. Back then, I ended off by voicing my irritation at the use of 'Xmas' instead of 'Christmas'. Some friends came up to me after and offered the explanation of the 'X'.

According to them, 'X' is a substitute for 'Christ' -- the idea being to cut Christ out of a supposedly Christian holiday. That sounded legit; much better than my reasoning, which, for the record, was less conspiracy-theorist. I just always assumed the 'X' was an homage to Jesus' cross!

Of course you might say by that logic, it should really have been 'tmas'. But 'tmas' is really ugly compared to 'Xmas', and let's face it:"Happy Tuh-mas"? -- Sounds like we're celebrating a new Thermos-flask.

As it turns out, it was never a nefarious plot to cut Christ out of the festival, nor was it hieroglyphic-homage to the cross. Apparently, 'X' is representative of the Greek letter 'chi'. ('Chi' being the first letter of the Greek word for Christ: "Cristos".) Somewhere along history, people became accustomed to using 'X' to represent 'Christ' in writing.

Incidentally, 'Xmas' is pronounced "Christmas' and not "Ex-mas".

Of course, some people do use 'Xmas' for lesser reasons, but I'm glad the word started off with no ill-meaning. Because Christmas feels better when received without scepticism.

('Tmas' is uglier than 'Xmas', but guess what? 'Xmas' is still pretty ugly. This Individual still thinks 'Christmas' is the right way to go for an authentic Christmas experience. Don't be lazy. Here's the article he found that enlightened him, and here's the Wiki-article on the same issue, because people wiki everything.)

Desmond and the Winter Hiatus.

-photo by sam2cents

World, I must take some time to express my disappointment. No, it's not the lack of festive cheer. So far, the festive spirit this year is moving along pretty smoothly. Me thinks it should peak just before Christmas, which is splendid for me.

No, World, I wish to whine about the lack of December-worthy movies. And this little pain-in-my-holiday-tushie called the Winter Hiatus.

What are the holidays without TV-surfing!?

Desmond and "Christmas is Here".

-photo by Garibaldi McFlurry

School is finally out, and with its exit comes the beautiful month of December! A month devoted to blogging, Irish-photo-surfing and Christmas-fanboying.

Ahhh. Truly 'tis be the festive season!