Excuse me, have we met?

Hello. You look familiar. I can't quite figure out where I might know you from, but I never forget a face. I know I've seen you somewhere before.

The thing that is throwing me off is that you look like the older version of someone I knew a long time ago. You now have gray hairs sprouting, and a thinning (and receding) hairline is definitely showing. I'm sorry if that offends you--it's not meant to be offensive. It's just an observation.

Yeah, and I can see wrinkles around your eyes. They aren't quite that prominent yet, but I see them there. Are they from stress? Laughing? Crying? Too much time in the sun? Or did you just neglect to moisturize like everyone says you should? You may look older than I remember, but there is definitely something in your eyes that seems familiar.

When did you decide to start growing a beard? The person I remember tended to have some form of facial hair. It was usually a goatee, or a closely cropped "chin strap" thing that seemed popular years ago. He said that it helped him look a little older. That, and it also helped define some of his facial features that he felt got lost in the fullness of his face. I'm not sure if the beard is becoming, but to each his own.

If you're the same person, I've noticed that you are dressing a little differently these days. The guy I remember enjoyed dressing in skater/print t-shirts, and baggy or relaxed jeans. I remember he used to say, "I hate tight fitting clothes." It seems like you might be taking a more conservative approach to the way you dress these days. Maybe you've matured a little. Who knows?

Oh, wait! Now I recognize you. Yes, that is indeed you. It seems like a lifetime since we first met. I hope life is treating you kindly.

Funny how reflections in the mirror can bring back memories.

When it snows....

Someone once asked me if I like it when it snows. Well, to be honest, anytime it snows and I'm online chatting, the topic of weather comes up. So I'm sure I've been asked on more than one occasion if I like snow.

Yes, I do like snow. I like watching it fall. The other day at work, I looked out of the floor-to-ceiling office window and watched the snow swirl around. Because of the way the buildings are arranged in the area, the wind is directed into various different directions. So the other day, the snow was actually spiraling up and down. It felt like I was in a snow globe.

Snow also seems to act as an insulator of sorts. Have you ever been outside when there is a significant amount of snow and noticed how quiet it can become? And it's not like an ordinary kind of quiet. It's almost like an oppressing silence. I like that. It gives me a sense of security.

And when it hasn't yet turned to slush, I like listening to the sound of snow crunching under my feet. Walking in snow can sometimes be a challenge, and the crunching just seems to indicate that you are making progress.

Could I live without snow? Sure. I don't need snow in order to survive. However, I'm the type who enjoys the change in seasons. It reinforces the notion of life being a cycle. Snow and winter eventually give way to warmth and rebirth. It makes you appreciate things a little better.

Now excuse me while I dig my car out of the snow.

LOST

This is the first season where I will actually be able to watch LOST as it's happening, just as other people are watching it for the first time. In the past, something has always come up where I was unable to catch the beginning of the season. Most of those reasons involved untimely moves. A TiVo does you no good when it's packed away in a box awaiting relocation. However, Netflix and their DVDs was a true savior, and I was able to catch up with everyone else (albeit it took me awhile).

So here I am, watching the "catch up" episode on ABC. It's pretty much a recap of what has happened thus far, and a refresher course on some of the mysteries that still remain to solved. I have my own theories about what's going on. I suppose it's only natural for us to try to make sense of the unknown based on the evidence we are presented, even if that evidence is a bit scattered.

When I first started watching the show, I thought it was simply a case of a jet crashing on an island that time forgot. How else could you explain the weird creatures they encountered? But, with the finding of "the hatch," that drastically changed my view of what was occurring. Obviously there had been some type of intelligent being that had been on the island before. How else could all of that have been created?

And so the story progressed, and just when I thought I had an inkling of what might be going on, something always got thrown into the mix that blew my theory out of the water. Are they alive? Are they dead? Are they in purgatory? Why can't women have children without the vaccination? How do you explain the fact that the plane was supposedly found under the ocean with all onboard perished?

It's a bit much to try to make sense of.

My theory has rested on the possibility that the plane crossed into an other dimension. Perhaps a wormhole or something transported the plane into a world that is not unlike our own, yet there are major differences. Maybe the "others" were pilgrims who were recruited to try to build a new world capable of life. Perhaps that's why it was so important for Juliet to do her work on the island--to create life where none previously existed. To create a new beginning... in more ways than one.

I'm still unable to come to terms with the sightings of those who have perished--ghosts? reincarnates? memories that somehow become materialized? Whatever the case, that's one of the main unanswered questions about the show that still bothers me.

So how will it end? Well, we already know from last season that they are somehow rescued--they return to our world. It's sad to see what's become of Jack's life and to watch as he desperately tries to get back to "the island." My theory is that the series finale--the last show--will be the missing link that ties the past with the future. It will show exactly what happens when the plane crashes. The first few seasons showed the present--the survivors living on the island--interspersed with images and stories of their past. With the seasonal finale of last season, it seems as though that paradigm has changed. Instead of showing the past and working up the present, perhaps the remaining shows will switch to the present and future.

It's all conjecture, really. I'm not writing the show. I'm merely an entranced viewer who is eagerly awaiting to see how this tale unfolds. My only hope is that when it all ends, I will feel as though I have received a good story and not be left with more questions than answers.