All the Small Things

The large tree in my garden (although, in truth, the tree just about makes up the whole garden) seemed to have turned yellow overnight. Trees decked in yellow, red and brown line most of the streets to and from the office and crisp mornings are quickly turning cold. I admit, the two seasons I love most are Autumn and Spring. Not too cold, not too hot – and I’ll just leave it there before I start sounding like a fairy tale.

My "Autumn Tree"

Shortening days are usually also the time when the passing of time between New Year and Easter and Easter and my birthday*† becomes all the more apparent. By this time those careful plans written out at the beginning of the year have most been left half-done or thrown out because there just isn’t enough time in a day to go around.

It’s those little unplanned things...

You make your New Year’s list of No-These-Aren’t-Really-Resolutions thinking that the worst coming your way is a bout of flu or a new pair of glasses and then you end up on crutches for over a month and suddenly realise again how lovely it is to be able to climb a flight of stairs while carrying a cup of tea. Your flu turns to infections leaving you on drips and too fatigued to concentrate on your studies after a day of work.

But you also meet new people, make new friends and in the dark hours find a hand to hold on to, even if that hand is on another continent.

So, all in all, the first four months of the year have been, at the very least, very interesting. And the next four? New beginnings, a very good friend getting married, some friends’ babies are due during the winter (though not the friend getting married) as well as “more of the same” as I try to catch up with all the study time I missed during the past few weeks**.

*The few days afterwards usually spent in constant existential crisis – which most often leads to eating more cake than is healthy.

† My birthday is halfway through the year.

** Yay for study leave!!

Perspective

The downside of planning posts beforehand is that there are some weeks where so much other STUFF happens that you get struck once more by just how much can happen in one week. Last Tuesday I switched on the radio just as I turned off my alarm clock; just in time to hear the words “two bombs exploded” – then an earthquake, flooding, one of the lecturers at UJ (myalma mater) murdered, and some very sad news from a friend. This has certainly been a week in which my heart and prayers have gone out to all those who have been touched by these events.

For Auld Lang Syne… Happy 2012!

The last night of the year is always a strange one. All the hopes for the New Year seem to hang in the air. Lists are made up with wishes for the New Year, much like adult Santa letters starting with “I want...” Many (most?) parties have too much alcohol involved, leaving everyone sloshed by midnight. This I have never understood – I do not want to start a new year, to turn a new leaf either drunk, praising the porcelain god or with a hangover.

It may just be because I don’t care much for alcohol. My ‘cheese and wine’ supper (traditional in our house) became a ‘cheese and coffee’ affair. Why? Because, while I brought some lovely cheeses, those I only splurge on at this time of the year, I completely forgot about the wine part. (Yes, for me that is easy to do.) But I did have a small bottle sparkling wine to toast the New Year with. As you can probably gather, I had a one-person party.

Now, before you go and pity me; it was completely by choice. Not only did I want to be home to keep an eye on my pets if neighbours decide to shoot crackers, but also because I wanted a quiet evening thinking the year over. And sometimes it’s better to chastise yourself when you’re alone. A Gollum-like conversation coming from one person can freak people out. (Of course, I never speak to myself, I speak to the cat.)

I am not sure if he really cares about my resolutions for the New Year, but maybe he just made the resolution to “sit and/or play on my slave’s papers more often”. This is because I will definitely have more papers, books and those cat toys I call pencils around. You see, the one big thing I did chastise myself for was not finishing things. The second was for letting small things get in the way of big things.

As to not finishing things – I have a whole file full of half-started or half-finished stories. But, even worse, I did not do nearly as much to my studies as I had wanted. Somewhere along the way I got sidetracked. I ended up wasting far too much time and letting the year slip by without being able to catch up again.

So, I have made some resolutions for the New Year, but this time I will make the goals a lot clearer. At the top of my list of ‘bookish things’ is to finish my degree this year. There, I have said it. It is now carved in Internet-stone. I have given myself the task of finishing the written piece by the end of the year.

My writing goals for the year are to work on my sketch writing/ flash writing. I am not going to try and write a novel. I will use the time I have at hand to do as much as I can and I will not let time get sucked into the bottomless pit of the internet or watching ‘whatever is on TV’. I will watch my few programs (about 3 for the whole week) and the news and that’s it. I will keep movies and DVD marathons for Friday movie night (and not every night...).

I will also write a review for every book I read – and if I do not like a book, I will put it down and not force myself to finish it! This won’t be a scholarly review, mind you; it will mostly be a ‘this is what I thought’ review, even if it is only one paragraph.

Added to that, I want to spend more time just being silent. I want to sit on the stoep and drinking a cup of tea when I come from work and unwind for a moment. I don’t want to be burned out by March already!

To everyone, I wish you a wonderful and blessed 2012!

O, and keep your eye on this blog for some big news in the next post!

Image by The Graphics Fairy