watching the world go by

Misty, my roommate Chris and I met up with a group going to "Dickens Downtown" in Northport last night and ended up having a pretty good time.

It was a bit of a walk into town, since traffic was blocked off. It was cold, but not cold enough to see our breath as we marched toward the festivities. there were carolers in 19th century regalia, a cordon of bagpipers, a "snow" machine, free bags of roasted peanuts, apple cider, hot chocolate. it was really too cold to hang around outside too long, so we went into The Globe, an upscale restaurant/pub, and were seated in front of a large picture window where we could watch the goings-on outside. we had Irish coffee and split a chocolate torte. oh, and i had a Guinness, which Misty helped me drink. heh. it was fun to sit there, warm and secure, and just watch the world go by.

we did go visit a local artist of some renown, Danny Roundtree, who is incredibly talented. I loved some of his work, and liked a good bit more. i think i respect him not only for his talent (which is sizeable), but also for the fact he actually WORKS at being an artist. it's not a plaything or a sometime thing for him. It's not a dalliance. This is his work, and he loves what he's doing. You can tell. It made me think about what *I* am doing with my life. I'm working as a studio photographer and sometimes enjoying it, but it's not what I want to do. I want to write novels. But sadly I'm lacking the discipline to finish what I've started, apparently. Maybe I can use Danny's success -- and in this instance I define success as being able to use your passion to make a living -- to motivate myself.