Christmas

It's only a day before Christmas really hits the United States. For many, it's a time of celebration and togetherness with their loved ones. For some, it's a bitter, lonely day that celebrates nothing but the salt of loneliness rubbed into an old wound.

Perhaps for me, it's a time when I can tell myself that I don't have to do anything; the world is on hold on this merry, melancholy day. Of course, over here there will be plenty of cooking to do as I would like to prevent starvation! Classes are obviously over, and the terror of final papers is long past (only a few days really). I find myself just puttering about the house, making adjustments to this or that, enjoying my free time. It's a refreshing experience that helps reset the mind for the coming new year.

I've recently been given the privilege to take care of a cute, quirky, cranky bearded dragon called Megadeth. Some people may remember that that name is a band, and others will not really care. It's a rather fitting name in a way, and the time I spend with this little lizard has been fairly enjoyable - fun even. I'd never have known that lizards could ever be so interesting, especially compared to dogs! Still, Megadeth seems to exude a certain charm that has bespelled me. Sometimes I find myself watching him just perch there on his little Mayan ziggurat, staring almost blankly at nothing. He just sits there for hours, basking in the artificial sunlight like some Mayan priest. His crickets give me no end of laughter, climbing to the top of the ziggurat and being eaten. They remind me of sacrificial lambs being brought to the slaughter. Good fun really.

Somehow this little guy has a personality that comes from continued exposure. Online it is said that bearded dragons are calm and trusting creatures, somewhat slow but agile at the same time. There was once he pretty much knocked his head on the glass repeatedly as I readied his food. Good times.

The half-year that I've been back from Malaysia have seen like an eternity. Lots of things happen here, and many of them far more than interesting.