Silly Season
As the Australians seem to say, Silly Season—the hectic time of year around the holidays—is upon us. And, as silly as the term may be, it seems pretty appropriate given the number of festivities going on in the city.
When I returned from the US, where I went to see family and friends for Thanksgiving and do a bit of travelling, at the end of November, I was immediately transported into full-on holiday mode. Decorations are up around the city, including evergreen, tinsel, lights, etc. The grocery stores are playing Christmas music. I have seen Santa more than once, dressed in his full velvet suit and all. And every day there seems to be a holiday party to attend.
But one thing is markedly different from Christmastime in the USA: it is summer here! Frankly, the cognitive dissonance of the Christmas season and the heat of summer is pretty amazing. Songs about snow, decorated evergreens when palms feel more appropriate, and the poor people dressed as Santa, are all hard to wrap my head around when its pushing into the 30s (90s F, ish).
Since I've been back, I've gone down to visit the Sutherland group to have a pre-Christmas lamb roast and lovely evening of catching up, and I spent four nights in a row with Candice at our favourite venue, the Giant Dwarf, for an amazing improv comedy festival celebrating the fourth birthday of ITS—Candice was even in one of the shows.
Also over the last few weeks, some of my brother's friends from Boston ended up passing through Sydney and I got to play tour guide—which is one of my favourite things to do!
On top of all the other things going on, I managed to make it to a friend's annual Christmas beach barbecue party on Sunday on the North Shore, before coming back across the bridge to throw a Hanukkah party of my own. It took a bit of searching (and ultimately a trip to the butcher's) to find a brisket, and the baking, cooking, and latke prep took a while, but it all ended up being well worth it to introduce a group of my friends to a bunch of foods they had never heard of!
So far, Silly Season is living up to its name. And with a few more parties, a few more comedy shows, and plenty of work to be done before next Friday (when offices close for two weeks here), I'm sure there is more silliness to come!
When I returned from the US, where I went to see family and friends for Thanksgiving and do a bit of travelling, at the end of November, I was immediately transported into full-on holiday mode. Decorations are up around the city, including evergreen, tinsel, lights, etc. The grocery stores are playing Christmas music. I have seen Santa more than once, dressed in his full velvet suit and all. And every day there seems to be a holiday party to attend.
But one thing is markedly different from Christmastime in the USA: it is summer here! Frankly, the cognitive dissonance of the Christmas season and the heat of summer is pretty amazing. Songs about snow, decorated evergreens when palms feel more appropriate, and the poor people dressed as Santa, are all hard to wrap my head around when its pushing into the 30s (90s F, ish).
Since I've been back, I've gone down to visit the Sutherland group to have a pre-Christmas lamb roast and lovely evening of catching up, and I spent four nights in a row with Candice at our favourite venue, the Giant Dwarf, for an amazing improv comedy festival celebrating the fourth birthday of ITS—Candice was even in one of the shows.
 |
| Candice doing comedy! |
Also over the last few weeks, some of my brother's friends from Boston ended up passing through Sydney and I got to play tour guide—which is one of my favourite things to do!
 |
| Views from the balcony of the Opera House while playing tour guide. |
On top of all the other things going on, I managed to make it to a friend's annual Christmas beach barbecue party on Sunday on the North Shore, before coming back across the bridge to throw a Hanukkah party of my own. It took a bit of searching (and ultimately a trip to the butcher's) to find a brisket, and the baking, cooking, and latke prep took a while, but it all ended up being well worth it to introduce a group of my friends to a bunch of foods they had never heard of!
 |
| The Hanukkah spread out on the patio followed by dreidel and dessert inside. |
So far, Silly Season is living up to its name. And with a few more parties, a few more comedy shows, and plenty of work to be done before next Friday (when offices close for two weeks here), I'm sure there is more silliness to come!
Comments
Post a Comment