We’ve almost reached the end of the year again, and I thought I’d just sum up what’s been going on in my life this past month. It has been an eventful month, and I wish I’d made one post per event as they happened, but that’s just how time flies, I suppose.
About two weeks ago, I took part in a final app launch (behind the scenes), where I had to join in and be on stand-by for updating a content management system for the apps (both iOS and Android) on the fly. This meant that I had to be available in a phone meeting that lasted about 6 hours during the night, another 6 hours the next night (these were starting/ending arund 2 am for me). It was a hellish weekend and start of a new week, but as I was told by my boss later on, it showed our value and trust as a service provider, and I also showed my own value with the company I work for. Luckily, such weekends are rather rare, but they do happen (and especially when I’m in Norway, and the client is in California).
Most of you know that I’m in the process of losing weight, and at the last weigh-in of the year, I managed to bring my total weight loss to an even 41 kg (or a little over 90 pounds and 6 ounces for those of you who still use those types of measurements). It’s a nice way to round off the year, and I’ll keep on going next year as well. I still have about 50 kg more to lose before I reach a comfortable weight (given my heavy bone structure – that bit is a genetic thing, though). The next weigh-in will be on January 7, and given the current weight loss rate, I’ve calculated that I’ll reach my final goal just before Christmas next year. But even if I don’t, I expect to keep doing these courses until I’ve actuall reached my goal.
On the 20th, my grandmother passed away at the age of 87 after a short time of illness. It hurts a little more when it happened this close to Christmas, but we knew that she was close to her final breath, so it was an odd sense of relief that it happened so swiftly and painlessly (for her). She was also my last biological grandparent I had left, and the “oldest generation” of our family now includes my own mother (those were actually my mother’s words, not mine). There is a tiny bit of comfort that my “reserve grandmother” (ie. my stepfather’s mother) is still alive, though, even though it’s not quite the same. In any case, since my sister and her family is visiting the “in-laws” in Sweden for the holidays, we decided to set the funeral date to the first week of January, so they’ll have time to return by that time.
As you noticed, the world didn’t end on the 21st, making the so-called “Mayan calendar profecy” a total miss, as most of us rational folks suspected. I mean, just because the Mayan calendar ended doesn’t mean the world would, too. It just means that nobody was around or able to update and extend the calendar beyond this day.
And yesterday was the 24th, which is the main day of Christmas for us in Norway (and Scandinavia in general, as far as I know). For most of us, it means family togetherness, lots of good food, and the unwrapping of gifts. As far as actual gifts go, I got a comic strip book (of my favorite cartoon, Pondus), two shawls, a winter hat, two soap+perfume kits, two boxes of candy (with a note attached, which said that even though I’m losing weight, I should just enjoy myself a bit at Christmas), a 64 GB USB thumb drive (from work), and a bunch of gift certificates and a little bit of cash as well. The gift certificates were expected, as I had wished for most of them (especially those for the sporting goods stores – I’ve come to a place in my weight loss process where I’ll start hitting the gym pretty soon, so I need at least some comfy shoes and a proper pair of excercise pants).
But my main gift, though, which I’m granted every year so far, is to celebrate Christmas with my family. Even if it’s only part of the family, it’s especially great to be with family on this particular day of the year. I’ve come to a point in my life where gifts are no longer that important, as long as I at least get a little something from those I care about (which show that they at least thought of me). It doesn’t have to be big, but it should at least show that they put a little thought into it. Then again, those soap+perfume kits are probably just a waste of money, though, since I never use them.
Sometimes, my thoughts also go out to those who suffer in one way or another during the Christmas season, and who don’t have anything to look forward to at Christmas (rather the other way around). I sincerely hope you’ll hang in there, and find some way to escape the pain sooner rather than later. Again, my thoughts go out to you.
But anyway, on a lighter note, merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone!