LAST CHRISTMAS, I GAVE YOU MY HOT

So, yeah, the blazing hot temperatures in Australia cast a pall over the usual December Down Under festivities, but it was still possible to find Christmas cheer and celebrations all over the place...

And the Office Christmas Party heat-checks were still on...

In an ironic twist, I actually got to chill...in Manila (as part of a new seasonal tradition: the end-of-year/budget-utilizing training seminar), and the Christmas lights there were of course 🔥🔥🔥 

Getting back to Sydney, the fam got to airbnb-sit a place that had air conditioning and a pool but which the LLDD-Hyphen-L still managed to make steamy as only she can

On the day itself, there was lots and lots of warm Christmas ham...ming it up for the camera

And after a long heated debate, Sydney decided to push through with its big New Year's Eve fireworks show for everyone

So, yeah, cool.

UNHOLY SMOKES

Yikes. On the flight back from Dubbo, we got to see from high above some of the bush fires that have been ravaging large parts of Australia. There were so many fires and their lines ran so long the smoke they generated seemed like their own cloud system in the sky. It also became apparent how hard it must be to fight the blazes that were spread so wide across remote mountain ranges.   

And even though the blazes were burning hundreds of miles from Sydney, their sheer number and scale meant the smoke could still hold form and travel far and blanket the city with a sepia-tone dystopia feel.   

Eerie stuff, but Sydney will try to keep cool and carry on. And pray for rain.