Happy 2010!

It's been a long time, once again. Maybe now that I won't have homework to feel guilted into spending my free time with I can keep this thing more updated!

Things I've been up to in the last 2 weeks:
-spent Christmas with my family at my Grandma's house, as per tradition. It was fabulous.
-I got lots of books, a set of jumper cables for my car, food, chai, new headphones, smartwool socks, and a few other things
-getting together with old friends who were in town for the holidays
-spent 2 nights at a cabin in Estes Park
-spent New Years eve in Denver with Heidi
-spent this weekend at Sonlight playing in snow, eating delicious food, hot tubbing, drinking lots of coffee and chai, hanging out with good friends and partaking in a white elephant gift exchange (I brought an animatronic Bill Clinton doll that played saxophone music and people really seemed to like it, haha! Can't go wrong with Bill I guess)

I've got a good list of books to read now. I'm currently reading Eric Weiner's book The Geography of Bliss. The book has three of my favorite things: sociology, travel, and humor. Weiner travels around the world investigating the "happiest countries in the world" and why people there are happy. He's got some really interesting insights into the general topic of happiness and human nature in general which I, of course, find fascinating. While discussing humans and our innate connection to nature he quotes Italian painter Giovanni Segantini: "people of the mountains see the sun rise and set as a golden fireball, full of life and energy, while flatlanders know only a tired and drunk sun". Being a "person of the mountains" myself, and having just spent my weekend in the mountains with some of the most beautiful scenery I spent some time thinking about that quote and decided this Italian painter might be onto something. There's certainly something to be said for, say, a New Mexico sunset where the colors are streaked across the horizon for as far as you can see and the oranges and reds are so unbelievable...but then again, the moment when the sun suddenly bursts above a mountain top in Colorado and in one instant the whole world lights up, well maybe I'm biased but I just can't describe that kind of beauty and plus I see something like that and I'm grateful to have grown up where I have. Anyways this is an interesting book and as of page 39 I really like it!