december's deepening darkness...

it's a love/hate time of the year in the arctic...

last night marked the winter solstice and with it comes a few days of dismal sunshine...

i've watched out the window throughout the day as the glowing orb loyally tags along with the horizon... just barely peering over certain buildings as it shifts...

a combination of expelled heat from buildings, exhaust from traveling cars and the swirling movement of the yukon river have blanketed the outdoors in a gentle fog...

cross your fingers and turn the key when starting the car... its mechanics are stiffened...

the faces of pedestrians are masked in scarves and fur-lined parka hoods...

the office grows increasingly quiet as the day wears on -- bodies disappearing out into the cold and holidays beginning early...

main street is packed with automobiles in tidy angled rows as shoppers attempt to polish off the remaining spots on their lists...

as i smear on another coating of lip balm, it ever so slightly heats my lips, reminding me of the beating they've taken...

it's only twenty minutes after one o'clock, but the sun is already prepared to fade...