lunchtime at reznick

so i have a new job. awesome. i'm a word processor at Reznick Group, a CPA firm in downtown baltimore. it's pretty sweet. everybody in the wp dept. is really nice, and they've helped me out as i fumble my way through my first month. i can't believe that it's been a month almost. have i really been away from c2 for so long? fabulous. essentially, my job consists of formatting and preparing financial documents for distribution to clients. it's nice because it's something different, and i'm learning about a whole new field. while i'm working, i can also have mental space for other things, and that's refreshing too. is this what it's like to actually have a job you enjoy? pinch me! :)

other important thing--it's Christmas season! woo! i'm actually on pace for everything, and i'm excited about the things i have lined up for my friends and family. i hate the commercial that says "better gift, better reaction." what jerks. my emphasis is not so much on the actual material thing i'm giving but more on the fact that i have to attend to that person and his or her ways at this time. does that make sense? it provokes me to be more considerate, to listen better, to be more generous toward their needs and spirit. that's what i try to take with me and improve every year.

chris and i have interesting discussions regarding Christmas. for him, it's become far too hackneyed, and it disturbs him how people get so over-the-top with decorations and displays. if i understand him correctly, he dislikes the hoopla for hoopla's sake because it destroys the solemnity of what's actually at the heart of a true Christmas. i would have to agree with that, in large part because what is a celebration of Christ's coming has been appropriated for money-making purposes. even the notion that we should focus on "what's really important" has been overdone and commercialized. "Christmas with the Kranks," anyone? i would say that our biggest point of disagreement, however, is over personal experience. for me, parades and lights and songs are not equally despicable. there are times for silliness and regression to childhood playfulness and innocence, and that doesn't necessarily dilute the truth in Christmas. after all, let the little children come to Him? we have to be like children in order to enter the kingdom of God? right? it makes me wonder.

my grandpa is in the ICU right now. i hope that he's able to be home by Christmas. well, "home" could mean almost anyplace at this point. he and grandma aren't going to be able to live in the townhouse anymore, and as it stands, he'll have to be in continuing nursing care for awhile. i hope that he recovers enough to be in assisted living with grandma. my mom sees what's happening as a positive change--he and grandma were struggling lately to get around the townhouse and keep up and everything, and now it's an utmost necessity to change to something easier. i agree with that, but for me it's very hard. it's one step closer, you know? i'm so used to grandma and grandpa being around, so much so that it's easy to forget that she's 86 and he's 87. i haven't spent enough time with grandpa. we've never really talked, just us. but then again, that's not his way. we have a good time just hanging out. and how lucky am i to have him for that? get better, grandpa. that's an order.