about this christmas thing

I've been thinking about what Christmas means to me personally. I'm not very religious, so the connection to the birth of Christ isn't all that significant to me. (Especially because if we want to be historically accurate, it seems likely that Jesus was actually born in the spring, or so History Television tells me.) Yet I still look forward to this time of year, and I really enjoy it when it comes.

I know the "right" thing to say is that I abhor the commercialism that surrounds the holiday, and I do to a certain extent, but not completely. (What I truly abhor is being around Polo Park in December. I finished my Christmas shopping at the beginning of the month and after that you couldn't pay me to go anywhere near there. Holy moly.)

Anyway, while presents are not the most important thing about Christmas to me, I still think they have a place. In shopping for Christmas presents, I end up spending a lot of time thinking about the people I'm buying for -- what their interests are and what they'd enjoy finding when they take off the wrapping paper -- and it invariably brings to mind good memories. And although I think of these people throughout the year, I usually don't concentrate on them and their interests in the same way at any other time. And then when they open the presents, I like to see if I'm right about them and what they'd like, and if I am, it's a bit of a rush.

And yes, I also like to get presents too. It's fun! And I appreciate the fact that someone else spent some time thinking about me in the same way. And that has nothing to do with the size or price of the gift.

So while I think the commercialism is out of control (these are the glory days for the Big Boxes and of all the things Christmas is not about, that's number one), I like the exchange of presents. (Brief digression: I think this "gift card" trend is for the birds -- it's a cop-out to not actually pick out a gift, and they seem like a bit of a cash grab on the part of the retailers when (a) they have expiration dates and (b) they won't refund unused portions, so if you buy a $17 gift with a $20 gift card, the store just keeps the extra $3 unless you find something else that costs exactly $3 or else spend more money. Bah humbug.)

To me, the most important thing about Christmas (and it's sappy, so live with it) is the time with friends and family. Some are people I see often, and some are not. But it's pretty special to me to have a chance to come in out of the cold, sit down, have a lot of perogies and visit with them. It was especially nice this year to see my mom all excited about having all three of her kids around for Christmas, which hasn't happened all that much in the past few years. And this year we aren't trying to cram in visits with everyone in the week that we're here before we head back to Thunder Bay, so it was a lot more relaxed.

Other things I like about Christmas:
- people generally being in a better mood than at other times of the year (particularly the dog days of March when winter seems like it's gone on forever and isn't showing any signs of letting up);
- seeing Christmas trees around town as a reminder that it's coming up;
- having a few days off between Christmas and New Year's (not so much this year);
- Twelve Meatless Dishes;
- making fun of kutya -- somehow I think my grandparents would understand;
- watching the World Junior Hockey Championships and discussing Canada's performance with strangers (it's a national bonding experience); and
- watching Christmas Vacation at least once. Love that Randy Quaid! I laugh just thinking about the part where he's standing in the street wearing a rather skimpy bathrobe and fur hat complete with ear flaps sticking out, drinking a beer and emptying his RV toilet into the sewer. And then when the snooty neighbours glare at him, he cheerfully explains himself by saluting them with the beer and hollering, "The shitter was full!"

And that's what Christmas is really about to me at this point. Someday, watching my own kids at Christmas I might think differently, but I'm not sure I'll change that much.

my desk is so messy...

... that I have to reach up, over and around stuff in order to reach my keyboard.

I read that the title for the last Harry Potter book has been released: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Sounds menacing.

thinking in nice round numbers

Last night Griffin was on one of his licking spurts. This was by no means unusual; he will settle in and start licking our hand, foot, clothes, or whatever for minutes on end on a daily basis.

Got me wondering when Griffin was going to pass the one-million-lick mark. Or had he?

We counted -- Griffin's licking rate is about 75 licks per minute. His spurt last night lasted about 2 and a half minutes, so that's, say, 200 licks. (We're going for a ballpark here, so let's use nice round numbers.) And that was just his spurt -- there were probably another 100 or so miscellaneous licks throughout the day, between Andy, me, himself, the doorframe, the ice on the ground, etc. (He's not that discriminating about his hobby.) So let's just say that he licked about 300 licks yesterday, and call that an average day for him.

Griffin is now two years and three months old. That's approximately 800 days. So 800 days times 300 licks per day gives us a grand total of... 240 000 licks! That's like a quarter of a million!

So then Griffin went for a drink of water.

colder than a witch's... you pick the anatomy

I've always kind of prided myself on being able to put up with the cold. I think most Winnipeggers are the same way. It might be cold, we say, but it's a DRY cold. Just put on more clothes and go outside. Layers! More layers!

And yet, in the past few days I've been avoiding going outside because of the cold. Well, really because of the wind. That wind has just been nasty, and the only way to be outside is with every square inch covered -- and people look at you kind of weird when you wear ski goggles to walk the dog. Even in Wolseley.

Maybe I just need to get used to winter again.

the beast is slain

It's done. After two years and many, many hours in the lab Andy has finished his masters degree. Well, he still has a bit more work to do to finish up the thesis, but his defense was last week and it went well, so... he's done*!

It's going to be nice to have my fiance back.