Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Left of the Holiday Ramblings

The ego in me must declare that I have enjoyed catching heat from people who actually read this thing and are wondering where the heck my posts are. Most speculate correctly that I am off in la-la-land with a specific significant other. That's as much as I will report about him except that things are good there and that you would probably want to spend time with Justin too. Well, now I am just playing favorites, but anyway...

So I broke the console cubby in my Saturn. This pisses me off because I did the same thing in my Red Rocket in 1999. Of course, that time, I was kind of taking out my aggression on the console in lieu of frustrations toward a college boyfriend (don't worry, I've mellowed out to some degree since then), but the fact of the matter is that it was already damaged and I think the breaks have something to do with being left handed. I slam those things down because I just don't have the nice control with my right hand that I do with the left. Though, some people just refer to me as a 'slammer' in general. Hmm, maybe I need to go to finishing school.

My officemates and I have decided to go politically correct and decorate our door with trinkets and cutouts from every winter holiday. This really started as a 'point to make' over some coworkers getting frustrated that we are having a 'holiday party' instead of a Christmas party. I, for one, was pretty demanding that it be referred to as a holiday party because not everyone celebrates Christmas. Actually, most celebrate Xcess-mas in my mind. Not that I am into the religion element myself. I mean, in my house, we watched Godspell on Easter instead of going to church.

Oh, and to sound even more hypocritical in response to my own 'X-cessmas' statement...I love getting Christmas presents...but I think it should be a give and get kind of thing. I am heading downtown to Pioneer Square with my dad and my younger sibs to help serve food on Christmas morning. Additionally, I am buying presents for friends and family. But it won't be about size and price...I'll put thought into it all. Anyway my other point, which I didn't make yet, is that I have no problem with people saying "Merry Christmas" and all, but I think it is important to represent everyone who attends your party. And in the end, everyone likes our bizarre collection of decorations on the door, so it just works.

Moving on, and now I may just sound like a damn hypocrite again, but it's getting pretty ridiculous out there with the political correctness surrounding the holidays. As seen on CNN this morning, some city is referring to their Christmas tree as a 'grand tree.' What the fuck? As Marni mentioned today, "They're not going to start calling menorahs 'little candle thingies' are they?" Lets celebrate all the holidays alright? Set up a damn manger in your front yard if you please. Hoist a stuffed Santa onto your roof. Light 'those little candle thingies' on your windowsill. Have a happy bleeping holiday, whatever one you choose to observe.

Lets switch gears. I have managed to fix the dreadful Portland to Salem to Portland commute by getting to work around 9:30 and leaving no earlier than 5:30. This cuts the crammed mad rush of cars on both ends and provides me with extra sleep in the morning and an extra half hour of quiet work time in the evening. And of course, you are all free to call me during my commute hours to chat because we all know how safe driving and talking is. I've decided that my iPod will get cremated with me one day when I die too because that thing saves the hell out of my sanity. Not that I am going anywhere anytime soon. Remember I am shooting for 111.

Alright, I gotta get on with the sleep process, so I leave with some birthday wishes to Greg. This morning when I wrote the date down on a document at work, I realized he'd have hit 28 today. Damn.

Oh, and my song of the moment is still Carry Me Ohio by Sun Kil Moon. That and Santa Clause by Harry Connick Jr. That's a worthy Christmas song.

5 comments:

Jay Bee said...

I'm glad you are still alive and happy to blog. Send my regards to JS/JT too, even though his Tar Heels are ranked #24.

And who would have thought, I start back at work tomorrow too!

Also, e-mail me your address and I'll send you a Xcessmas card!

JB

m said...

It's interesting to think that the Christmas tree has pagan origins. Before the switch-over of the Roman Empire to Christianity, December was the month of a pagan celebration called "Saturnalia". During this celebration, Romans brought cuttings of evergreens into their homes but did not cut down live trees as we do in modern times. Instead, they decorated live trees with bits of metal and ornaments of various religious meaning. Some ornaments were shaped to be a likeness of that trouble-maker Bacchus. Anyhow, most "Christian" holidays are actually held on the dates of older pagan holidays. This helped with the forced switch to Christianity of the Roman populace. Easter is actually a fertility holiday (where did you think the egg and bunny came from?). Whatevs, you probably all knew this anyhow.

Anonymous said...

personally I would get the largest, most expensive present I could for my dad as I here they like those kind of things. Anything with U of O on it would be fine. Hee hee hee.......

Anonymous said...

I fear political correctness motivated by the anal and nitpicky, but I also fear folks who jump on others who say 'Merry Christmas.' For chrissakes (ha!), not everyone who wishes others Merry, Happy, or White Christmas is trying to proselytize.

That said, I think it's hilarious that people would get frustrated about it. I don't understand what the big deal is.

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah, and don't forget to include Festivus on your door:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festivus