Holiday Cheer

Hi everyone!

Long time, no post.  I just checked the date on my last entry, and it’s been over a month since I last wrote.  I think that’s a new record for me!  ...Yay?

These past few weeks have been crazy busy.  I’ve had a modeling session almost every day of the week since mid-November, which, as you might have guessed, left me feeling wiped out.  That, plus doing holiday activities around the city ate up a lot of my time.  As badly as I wanted to write a new post, I just didn’t feel up to it.  But I’m here now, and a new post you all shall receive!

I can’t believe there’s only four more days left until Christmas.  Time never seemed to move this fast when I was a kid.  I still have some holiday shopping to do, and I also have to cleaning and pack before I head back to Oneonta this Sunday.  I admit, I am a little stressed.  But I’m also really excited that I’ll get to be home for the holidays.  I can’t wait to have some downtime and to be with my family again.

While I’m waiting, though, I have to say that the past few days have been particularly good.  I got to go to the American Museum of Natural History on Tuesday, saw the New York City Ballet’s production of “The Nutcracker” on Wednesday, and went to a party last night with cast members of a show I did a year ago.  All of these experiences were wonderful, and have definitely bucked up my spirits.  I've also been listening to plenty of Christmas music, which never fails to make me smile.

As great as the past few days have been though, I have to admit that there have been some bumps along the way.  I've had a few days where I've felt less that stellar, both physically and emotionally.  I guess that's to be expected when you spend the majority of your day in an art pose.  I don't think this has negatively impacted my work performance, but I know it also hasn't helped.  There have been times over the past few days where the last thing I wanted to do was hold still for twenty minutes at a time for three hours.  It's not that I dislike my job, but I've said it before and I'll say it again.  No matter how much you love your occupation, there will always be days where the work you're doing will feel more like "work" instead of fun.  That's normal, but it can still get to you.

But if there's one good thing about feeling this way, it's knowing that the students and the monitors have your back.  After my modeling sessions finished yesterday, I got to go to two holiday parties in the studios.  There was a lot of food and drinks, and I got the chance to talk with some of the students.  Everyone was very kind and gave me plenty of compliments on my modeling, and I got to learn more about their lives too.  I had a really nice time, and getting to relax a bit with this group of people helped me feel more positive.  Perfect timing for holidays too!

So that's my holiday cheer message.  Things are good here, and I'm looking for to finishing this week and celebrating Christmas soon.  Until then, I'm going to relax some more tonight.  There's a bowl of popcorn and a copy of the movie "Eloise at Christmastime" calling my name!

See you soon!