Sunday night... and a moment of relaxation before being off to work in the morning... Quite a lot of necessary ponderance. Anyhow, aside from that... I've encountered a good friend... and my good friend... who inherited my friend from Berkeley for the time being... as he no longer lives with me at the moment... More precisely, he left... as my mother came into town, and he had no where else to go... So I suggested him to carry about his merry ways at my good friend's place... as he hit it off well with them. Anyhow, since my mom's departure... he seems in extremely good terms with them... and he seems to show reluctance to make his way back to my place. Like a stray dog... as he's become to be described... he seemed to have found attachment to his newfound home... he seems to be enjoying the hospitality and freedom to which he will not have at my place. At least... while he stayed at my place... I pushed on a good amount of chores to tidy up this place. Anyhow, the guy is a total pig. He lives in a pig sty back in Berkeley, and he lives at the most fundamental "survival" basis... LITERALLY. He tells me that he lives -- in his apartment... I warn you -- a tent... and a sleeping bag... and declares warmth and comfort in the life led in survival and camping. I don't know how much survival one individual can take... but he seems to find great luxury in a futon... and to sleep sideways... he attests... is the most glorious luxury to which one can indulge. I wonder...

In regards to cleanliness... I embarked upon great discovery... He dismisses the need to clean until one comes upon the need to leap to pockets of sanity. Hmm... irrelevant facts... but blissful to realize that such blizzard of an individual moved on to find rooting elsewhere. Anyhow, such are random facts... but as Christmas nears by... I realized that I don't have Christmas eve nor Christmas off. But I have the bloody ex-emperor's birthday off on the 23rd. The good thing is that the boss (and all of the other expats) are leaving this coming Friday. So it's going to slow down a bit more. (so I have my fingers crossed) Nonetheless, it's crime to work on Christmas. Never have I been faithful to my Christian upbringing (to be more precise... Catholic) but to have to work on Christmas... is like being deprived of a birthday celebration!!!! Sorry, it's like losing out on a Thanksgiving dinner with family about. (but then again, I never had one before) -- I'm missing the point here.

Christmas... REALLY... is much in the like of the Green Ham that the Grinch took away. (but... if you don't know Dr. Seuss, then it's much worse than talking to a wall with a green hat on your head -- basically, these are totally irrelevant facts. Anyhow, Christmas... I think I just need a good day off and a mistletoe above. Wherever this mistletoe maybe... well, I send my warm regards to all of you this coming Christmas day. Moving along with more irrelevant ramblings, I watched a great movie yesterday. "Grand Blue" or "Big Blue" by Luc Besson. In many ways, I'm REALLY behind the times, as this movie came out several years ago... but a good movie is still a good movie, and with some reluctance, I will give it praise... and an elevated status as one of the best movies that I've watched in my short life span of 20 some odd years. The movie was definitely French. For those of you who's interested in the gross French oddity... you surely would not be disappointed. Regardless, I watched the director's cut... the whole 168 minutes worth... and it was at times... mindful of the director's cut of 9 and a half weeks. I remember renting the latter movie at the local rental store with several of my high school buds a number of years back... and confronting a contemptuous feline whose cute smile disappeared upon discovery of our "acclaimed" film. (Art!!! was the word... but much like Andy Warhol's famous works... it's difficult to convince that you've penetrated past that barrier of "normality" when you speak "art" at the tender age of 17 or 18. ) Anyhow, that's when you realize the "importance" of the director's cut. At 17... it's "art"... and at 20 something... it's still art. Some things never change... Big Blue... was -- in the most genuine sense... mind you -- the most transparent film that I've watched in a good while. not much need of criticism... as such things seem irrelevant these days.. as illustrated in this email... it's just one big puff of air. Like this magic puff... it's glorious to see the almost transparent "blue-ness" of the sky and the sea. You -- at least I -- begin to wonder whether such is ever genuine... and it's conviction clinch proof... as I've discovered NEED... yes!! NEED!!! to venture out to the isles of Greece... and carry on to Monte Carlo... and claim that I've been to paradise... but never been to me. (BTW, the setting was -- on the most part -- Greece) So... as Christmas nears by... I will be dreaming of Greece... and be grateful that my pig of my pal is miles away. Perhaps someday... I will encounter that transparent blue... unmarred and unscathed... in its most pure demeanor.

BTW, don't quote me on this one. This is art at 17. THE director's cut with a lot of unnecessary pictures.

Euge