My Cardboard Balcony

This year was the first year I ever spent Christmas with a family other than my immediate family or my more immediate relatives. However, I did spend Christmas with my future in-laws, at the house that my fiancée grew up in. I was initially nervous about being a part of my in-laws' holiday, but as it turned out, it was really nice, fun, and calming. Christmas itself, after so many weeks of working longer shifts, dealing with shopping, and trying to keep in the spirit, was, all in all, a really lovely experience. And then I went back to my apartment. I don't know if you'd call it the post-Christmas blues or not, but I had a really hard day after Christmas. It's interesting how, after two days of being in a warm, comfortable place getting to know your future family more and more, you can get really overwhelmed by the routine you have become so accustomed to back home. I'll be okay, don't worry - tomorrow, in lieu of a Storyteller, I will be putting up yet anot...

Hunger by Belinda Roddie There wasn't much left in the old man's soup bowl.

"So how did the interview go?" asked Amy. "I can't safely say," Richard replied. "I went in, all dressed up in my suit, ready to go. The manager was very polite. But he kept asking about my former work." "Oh?" "Yeah, he didn't seem to get that the job I was going for offered more money than my previous job," chuckled Richard. "Like it was bizarre to him that he could provide me a better gig than the ones I already had."

Blue Lights by Belinda Roddie Blue lights were strewn across the birch trees that sat in Dad's front yard, while red dripped from bush after bush, artificial against green. We stopped by to have drinks with our old man, who had freshly retired, improving his golf swing, and finding a new zeal in sports, cuisine, and politics. I was impressed that he had taken time to decorate at all this year. When I commented on that, he smiled and said, "the new girlfriend told me that I should." My brother nearly dropped his glass. "New girlfriend?" "Yes," our dad answered. "She's coming to meet you this Christmas Day, so be nice to her and do as I say."

No OneWord update today, and why would there be? It's Christmas! May your holiday be joyful, peaceful, and very full of love.

Mistletoe by Belinda Roddie One kiss, two kisses, then three, while the Christmas jubilee keeps on roaring all around us, while our friends and fam surround us.

As a rather backhanded Christmas present, Mario gave Lorenzo a trip to a special salon for a hair "regrowth program." Apparently, the bald spot on the back of Lorenzo's head had gotten bad enough to generate several jokes from rather sardonic family members, one such example being, "So I suppose you can reflect the sun back into space with that thing and slow down global warming?"