Thursday, November 15, 2007

This Time Of Year


I just spent about an hour trying to write a blog about the way I feel concerning Christmas and this time of year, but basically it all boiled down to me being a bitter asshole who hates the holidays.
Yeah, yeah. I know it. And everybody that knows me knows it. And now you do too.
There are a million good reasons to hate Christmas, not the least of which is that we are constantly reminded that if we don't all go out and buy a bunch of crap we don't need with money we don't have, the American economy will fail, but I think you either like Christmas or you don't and I really don't.
They're already playing Christmas carols in the store and I'm getting about one devastated rain forest's worth of catalogs a day in the mail and all the stores have their decorations up and frankly, I'm wondering, once again, how I'm going to make it through the rest of the year.
Now I do like Thanksgiving just fine. All I'm expected to do is buy a whole lot of groceries, cook up a feast, clean the house and put on a clean apron when folks start arriving. This is fine. I equate food with love and I have a lot to be thankful for, so it works out for me, this Thanksgiving thing.
Christmas, however, is another matter entirely and I just want to say that if you suddenly notice that I haven't posted a blog in over two weeks, it is because I have fulfilled my life-long fantasy of getting on a plane in December and going to some country that doesn't celebrate the Birth of Our Lord with the purchase of salad spinners.
And really, that's all I should say about it right now.
Stay tuned for more options.

18 comments:

  1. I really, really can't stand Christmas either. I do like seeing my family, but mostly it makes me sad with all the money poorly spent and stress it puts on everyone. I rarely run into people who don't like the holiday, so it's nice to see people like you and me here and there.

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  2. I hate the commercialism, and the stupidity and selfishness the public displays during the season.
    But it's the time with the family I crave the most. When I was a kid, there's no way I would have gone without presents. Now, I think I could do without them, in exchange for a good meal with the family.

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  3. Anonymous- I think there are probably a LOT of folks like us out here but between Wall Street and Hollywood, we've been brainwashed into believing that this sort of attitude is not only Un-American and anti-Christian, it's just plain wrong.
    Sad.

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  4. And Jon- if you're not a practicing Christian and you take away the commercialism, there's not a whole lot left to the Christmas holiday. I do love getting together with my family, but we do that fairly frequently anyway. I just resent the fact that it's all supposed to be so "magic" when for so many, it's the opposite.

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  5. Plenty of stress to go around this time of year. Thank God for good booze.

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  6. I actually love the holidays - but it's for the food (as you said - the feast is the best part!!). Gifts are so stressful - especially when you are plumb broke like I am! Plus I realize how much people DON'T really know me when they get me sh** I could care less about. I'm not good at pretending either. Ugh! Now you got me started! But I do actually love the lights & decorations & songs - I think because my mom always made a big deal of that stuff!! Hope you make it through....

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  7. I can relate to your sentiments about Christmas. My family stopped exchanging gifts years ago. With 7brothers and sisters and their kids and their kids kids, it was really out of control. Now it is all about being together with family and as as we are all scattered about, Christmas is quite special for me now.

    Glad to see you posting again; I missed you. Hope you enjoyed the music festival in White Springs.

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  8. Juancho- a big amen on that one, babe.

    CME- I completely know what you're talking about when people give you something that has absolutely nothing in the world to do with you. It's like- do you KNOW me? Oh, it's so weird. I do like Christmas decorations. In fact, I have vintage Christmas ornaments strung halfway around my kitchen all year 'round. Christmas lights make my porch cheerful all year, too. I don't know- I think it's the enforced decorating that drives me nuts. The songs- every musician in the country feels compelled to put out an album of their "favorite" Christmas carols. All I can think of when I see a new one is, "You big sell-out." See- I'm not only a bitter asshole, I'm a cynical one too.

    And Rich- smart family you have. Very smart.

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  9. i fucking love christmas! but i hate salad spinners. they're always in the way or falling on my head from the top of the cabinet where my wife keeps the freakin thing. if it was up to me the stupid salad spinner (aren't i alliterative?) would be kept in the trash.

    unca b

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  10. Sometimes I think I would like a salad spinner, but other times I think I can just use some damn paper towels.
    I love you, Unca B!

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  11. and sometimes i think i would like a salad spinner and then other times i think i could just stop eating damn lettuce.

    i love you too!

    unca b

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  12. But Unca B! What would we put our yummy salad dressing on?
    Maybe crackers. Yeah. That would be awesome. A bowl of crackers with blue cheese dressing. Or just an entire salad of dressing and croutons! Don't need no stinkin' salad spinner for that!

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  13. yeah! crackers and dressing. that would solve the problem of getting the dressing to my mouth without touching vegetables.

    unca b

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  14. I don't know. I'm kinda liking the idea of the crouton salad with dressing. And bacon bits, of course. I'm sure you'd like some chopped up cheese on yours, too.
    We may have come up with the ultimate, delicious, terrific salad!
    Croutons, bacon bits, cheese and dressing!
    (Sounds like what my kids always served themselves from salad bars when they were tiny mites.)

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  15. alright, if we're making THAT kind of salad...i think some ham chunks need to be included in that, along with some sunflower seeds.

    hey, you wanna go to lunch soon? this is making me want a salad. hahahaha.

    unca b

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  16. Sunflower seeds? Aren't we getting a tad bit too healthy here?
    Sure! Let's go to lunch! I'd love a salad.

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  18. We've been working on reinventing Christmas for sometime now. We've eliminated traditional presents and send baked goodies to friends and family. Last year I made up 8 different cookie doughs and put them in the freezer until my partner’s mom could come and help us get them all baked up. Then we packed them up and mailed them off to her grandkids and our friends and family.

    We've turned gift giving into sort of a scavenger hunt. There is a very low dollar amount set (maybe $20) and we exchange lists on things we think we might like to learn, discover, explore, read, make, do in the new year. We exchange this list just after thanksgiving so we have time to ponder the possibilities, make things, and watch for things in the thrift shops. And we started saving all of our christmas cards to open and read on Christmas morning after we open our presents. We love the christmas cards so much that I think this year we will start writing cards out earlier than ever before and we write a personal note in each one (give what you love - right?).

    We have a friend that learned to play a song on the ukulele for us as a Christmas present, she recorded it and posted it on her blog for us. We’re not so talented, but we found a bunch of songs with chords for ukulele, printed them, and bound them in a little book for her; we tried to make it pretty and the songs all hopeful.

    Good luck -- It's only 7 months til x-mas and I imagine those racketeers are going to start trying to shove it down our throats any moment.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.