Yes, this is the annual I-hate-Christmas Journal entry. Just saying.
But I do believe I was pretty successful in insulating myself from Christmas this year. Seriously, I even managed to go so far as to forget that Christmas was on a Sunday this year. Think about it: I don’t decorate my apartment, because I can’t be bothered. The extent of the decor at work was some poinsettias. And about the only store I’ve been in this month has been Giant. And you don’t need to decorate a grocery store for Christmas because people have to eat all the time, and not just in late December. And then the pool didn’t decorate, either, and that is fine by me, too. Then my activities outside of work and swimming can be mostly summed up in one word: Falcon. Yes, I’ve been thoroughly wrapped up in working on my Schumin Web work this month. I even gave up Wikipedia for a while in order to concentrate on it. So basically, my life has been home, work, pool, and Falcon. No room for Christmas this year, and that’s suited me fine.
And so owing to the fact that I was pretty successful in insulating myself from Christmas all season, it’s actually left me in a pretty good mood. Thus this year, I can say the following, in the words of Sam Crenshaw from Today’s Special, without grumbling:
“Merry Christmas to you, everybody.”
I also took a moment yesterday to watch “Christmas Part 1” and “Christmas Part 2” from Today’s Special, and they put me in a good mood.
My only complaint about Christmas this year is all the overdone and over-performed Christmas songs that are constantly being played on the radio and on store PA systems. Why everyone wants to put all these extra touches on various songs rather than just singing the bloody thing is beyond me. Take, for example, some performances of “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” that I found on YouTube. There’s this one by Mariah Carey, and this one sung by Justin Bieber. Compare those to this one, which is performed more along the lines of how I think such songs should be performed, i.e. just get on with it and sing the bloody thing.
Of course, people like to do the same thing with “The Star-Spangled Banner” as well, and the same argument applies there, too. What makes people think that an over-performed and, honestly, bad-sounding rendition of the song will fill Americans with pride for their country? In researching this entry, I found this one by Demi Lovato. Quite honestly, that is not a good singing of the song. I am embarrassed for my fellow Americans about that rendition of the song, because it’s way too over the top. Compare to this version, which just sings the blasted song without all the embellishments. I can actually sit through this one without wanting to throw a Klean Kanteen at my speakers. Of course, I have other issues with “The Star-Spangled Banner” related to its being about the flag and not the country, and the fact that it’s about a war, but I’m discussing over-the-top performances of songs here.
So, yeah, I’m in a pretty good mood about Christmas this year. Then I’m going to go hang out with Isis this evening, and then Mom’s coming up on the 27th, so that ought to be good. Then on the 26th, I get a present from Dr. Gonzalez: a final weight loss number for the year. I’m at 84 pounds off and counting, and so hopefully it will be a really cool present, and not just a pair of socks or something.