22/12/2001 - 10:49 p.m.

Frightful

Is it just me, or is this really a half-assed Christmas on the part of everyone. There's a whole lot of TALK about how it's such a wonderful season this year in particular and stuff, but does it just seem like, there's nothing going on? Is it cause of Afghanistan, or the weather, or what?

Most people are sort of scared to talk about it this year even- you say Happy Christmas at school and everybody looks at you kind of scared and unsure what to say. They wouldn't do that if I said Happy Hannukah (or however it's spelled) or Kwanzaa or something instead. In the halls, they'd put decorations up for Ramadan and Kwanzaa and Haunnuka and some Spanish tradition, and even Joyeuses Fetes, which means basically Merry Celebrations in French- why not just say Happy Holidays in English? It's to the same effect and the Catholics can appreciate it just the same. (BTW, joyeuses also means testicles.)

It just seems like nobody's really celebrating and I want to know why. Why, in spite of the usual TV specials, and presents from school people and everything doesn't it feel like Christmas? I'm not even talking the relgion, I just mean the good old secular Happy Christmas, exchange gifts, eat food, and wish people good will in the middle of freezing temperatures in hope that maybe there's some goodness in the world someplace.

I guess for me it's because you're supposed to spend Christmas with people you care about, and I've finally got some people who fit into that category.

Squirt can't go tomorrow either, because the weather's being peculiar. There's loads of (OK, a few) places getting thunderstorms, and technically it's supposed to snow an inch or so on the 25th, which means ice under snow and that's apparently crap to drive in, so if it were to come early, things are sketchy on that point. I suppose there aren't going to be too many people in Boone then- Munchkin (who is considering coming back to camp next year, blargh), Pickle, M and a few others.

Over yesterday and today, I've watched all the Christmas movies in the house but one (and really, it takes a lot to move me to watch "Howdy Doody's Christmas"). I've exhausted all the English speaking Christmas sites on the Internet and am translating French ones. As far as I can see, they've only got about four Christmas songs, and they're all pretty bad. They sing Jingle Bells as "Live the wind"- it goes on from there.

I really sound like I'm in a much more crappy mood than I am. Things aren't really all that bad. I've almost given up biting my nails, so I'm pretty impressed with that at the moment. And other than that I've got one pretty fantastic thing in my life at the moment, so, yeah.