'Tis the Season to be Stressing

Finally! Blogspot is back up and running! I've been very frustrated for the past few days. Not that I've had all that much to say, but just the fact that I couldn't post was pissing me off big time.

Well, so far there hasn't been a ton of snow here. The predicted Great White Death of last week turned out to be about an inch or two of snow. More is predicted for tonight, but I'm taking any and all weather reports of massive accumulation with a grain of salt. It is, however, very very cold. I just ran the mail across the street for the evening, and I left my gloves in the office. Brrrrrrr. There was a guy busking on the corner, playing off key Christmas carols on his saxaphone, and all I could think of was the reed freezing to his lips in the middle of "Winter Wonderland."

Big news this past weekend. I got an early Christmas present from my parents - a digital phone. Yeah, I know, I swore I'd never have one, but my pager went insane on Thursday, and whenever I tried to pick up my voicemails, all I got was an earful of static. After a lengthy call to the customer service department, I was informed that there was no problem with my service. (I guess it was all in my head or something? Whatever.) So I weighed my options, and decided that it would make more sense for me to get a phone, which I had always regarded as a yuppie gadget.

After a few days of changing my ring tone and adding everyone I know into the address book and switching faceplates and text messaging Roger Mexico every twenty minutes, I've revised my opinion. I'm in love with my new phone. I sat at the Warehouse with my friend Jaybear for at least half an hour compiling the top zillion cool things that our new playtoys do (he just got one from the same company). I'm sure the newness will wear off soon, but for now it's my obsession.

JohnnyB was in town this weekend, and we spent the entire weekend hanging out with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Somehow, a late lunch on Saturday turned into a 30 hour party. We ate entirely too much food, played with the kittens too much, laughed more than the law should allow, and managed to fit in a matinee of The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (abridged) at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival. (If you ever get a chance to catch this show, see it. All 37 of Shakespeare's plays in two hours, done by three actors. Same goes for CSF. I have yet to see a bad show by this company.

Unfortunately, the party had to end, and he headed back home for the holidays. He's coming back for New Year's Eve, and since this will be the first year in 7 years that I will not be behind the bar slinging champagne, I'm actually looking forward to watching the ball drop this year.

JohnnyB's departure coincided with other friends arriving in town, though. Hacksaw and eBeth got here on Tuesday, and Vahn called me this afternoon to let me know he was "home" and wanted to get together for dinner and drinks sometime in the next day or so. Guess I'll be dying my hair tonight. I haven't seen him in three years, and my pride won't allow me to greet him with nasty brown/gray roots. (Of course, he still reads my page from time to time, so I guess I'm busted, huh?)

I've been so stressed at work that I haven't been able to get into the Christmas spirit this year. I didn't put up the tree, I didn't bake cookies, and I'm nowhere close to being done with my shopping. Presents wrapped? HA! You're funny.

Rosencrantz and I were talking about how insane the holidays have been this year, and she has decided that this should be the year we all just chill out. Every year for the past ten years or so, she's had a huge blowout on Christmas Eve - the past two years the party was held at the bar that she and Guildenstern owned. This year, she's inviting a few people over to hang out and polish off a few bottles of wine, and I personally think it's the best idea for all of us. No extravagent cooking experiments, no giant gift exchange. The presents can wait. Who says Christmas has to be on Christmas? I'm personally planning on making my Christmas cookies on Martin Luther King Day.

I do still feel guilty whenever I get a Christmas card, though. I used to be so good about this. I sent cards to everyone I knew, shopped hardcore to find the perfect gift for everyone on my list, baked 24 dozen cookies and countless loaves of banana bread, made fudge, hung up stockings for me and the cat...all while I was working two jobs. What happened?

Oh yeah. I got old and tired.

Somewhere down the line, the concept of the holiday season got lost. It turned into a long list of haftas. I hafta start shopping in August, or I'll never get done in time. I hafta put up enough flashing lights on my house so it's visible from space. I hafta write a yearly newsletter to everyone I've met in my entire life to include in the custom Christmas cards with the picture of the kids and the dog underneath a giant evergreen. I hafta run up all my credit cards so I'll be paying on this holiday when it's June. I hafta run myself completely ragged so I'm too exhausted to actually enjoy the family gathering.

"Come on gang, don't fight. You people focus so hard on the things wrong with Christmas that you've forgotten what's so right about it. Don't you see, this is the one time of year we're supposed to forget all the bad stuff. Stop worryin' and being sad about the state of the world, and for just one day say, 'Ahh, the heck with it, let's sing and dance, and bake cookies.' "

- Mr. Hankey, South Park

(Yeah, that's right. I'm quoting a talking piece of poo. Deal with it.)

I'm coming up with a new list of haftas this year. I hafta remember that the season is about spending time with the special people in my life, my friends and family. I hafta realize it's not about the presents or how much money I spent. I hafta realize that I may not find that perfect gift until February, but it doesn't mean it won't be appreciated then because it's not given on December 25th. I hafta realize that sugar cookies taste good all year, even if they're not in the shape of reindeer and trees and Santa Claus.

I hafta relax.

Having said that, of course I'm off to do some last minute shopping. I'm such a hypocrite.