And though I had slain a thousand foes less one,
The thousandth knife found my liver;
The thousandth enemy said to me,
'Now you shall die,
Now none shall know.'
And the fool, looking down, believed this,
Not seeing, above his shoulders, the naked stars,
Each one remembering.
--John M. Ford, The Final Reflection

The Asylum Director

My photo
"The only thing I was fit for was to be a writer, and this rested solely on my suspicion that I would never be fit for real work, and that writing didn't require any." - Russel Baker

Sunday, December 23, 2007

A Different Sort Of Christmas Gift
















It is no secret that I usually don't find myself in a very social mood. I'm not one to really "cut loose" around even people who've known me for a long time. So it is always a pleasant surprise for me to be reminded that there is a group of people where, even when I'm thrust into a situation that is highly social and the topics being talked about are Greek to me, I don't feel like I'm on the outside, looking in.

It always surprises me at just how at ease I am around the many wonderful, incredible people who survived Intellicrap Corporation. More than any other group of former (and current) co-workers, the aforementioned group is the one I feel like I can genuinely spend entire weeks with talking about the most ridiculous, nonsensical things and not feel like I've just wasted my time.

I don't know or understand why I enjoy spending time with them so much, even though I'm not one to open myself up to them and I'm really not the type to pry into their business unless they make it my business to know about their personal lives and troubles. They are the exception to my instinctive rule not to allow any real attachments to form, which amazes me to no end. I can only assume it is that the nature of interpersonal politics in our group (there is always politics in any group) does not take the form of "Beer Bottle Politics," the way it does in my current place of employment. More on that at a later date.

I had a great time with them during our gathering on the 22nd, which wormed its way well into the morning of the 23rd. It was worth it to stay up, even if one part of the whole affair was something I didn't think was my place to hear about. To explain why, however, would involve me speaking of what, exactly, went on. That is a boundary I am not willing to break.

Anyway, this is getting a little too far from the point. The point being that, aside from my slight sense of discomfort with that particular moment, I actually enjoyed myself throughout the whole thing.

Here's to it happening again! Hopefully, in the very near future.


The above is definitely my favorite shot of the night. For various reasons.



Random Notes:
The experiment that was the blog called Kanaverse is now officially over. It wasn't working out for me anymore, so I decided to nuke it. My only regret was that, aside from Lie To Me, I forgot to move most of the contents there to my recently re-activated DeviantArt account.

2 comments:

k said...

harvey.. thanks for the pictures.. and the coffee crumble.. and for being with us, thank you. ja's actually wishing for a new year get-together. what cha' think?

VIIIofSwords said...

New Year? Di din sya atat ah. Pero me free time nga ba tayo lahat around New Year?

I don't really mind, I think. Basta ba after sweldo, para di ako kinakapos ng pera.