in which my inner Scrooge comes out to blab

And I’m at work for like the eighth boring day in a row where absolutely nothing is happening. It’s a lot worse today, naturally, because everyone with SENSE is off work and watching infomercials in their pajamas. I’m looking at you, BF. But I’m sitting here in a cheery red sweater (on top of a non-cheery black shirt which expresses my true feelings) looking at my computer. The internet is spent, nothing left to offer me. There’s stuff I could be doing here in my office to stem the flow of boredom, but I think you can guess how much I want to be doing that. The answer is: not.

Have I mentioned that I haven’t actually finished the second sock, one of a pair which is MD’s main Christmas present? I don’t think I’ll have a problem finishing it before tomorrow – I only have a good hour or so of work left on it – but I am amazed at my uncharacteristic lack of planning. MM’s Christmas scarf was finished like five months ago.  I was finished canning all the jams I’m giving away in October. Of course, Mom’s sweater is totally, completely not done, but with any luck it’ll be a good birthday present in February. I hope.

My hamstrings are still sore. I should have done a little yoga yesterday, but I had serious tummy trouble before I left work and had an urgent appointment with the porcelain throne when I got home. The nature of these things meant that I was OK shortly afterward, and we went to a Vietnamese restaurant I had noticed for the first time on my way home (I took an unusual way home). Yum! Hopefully this afternoon I will be able to do a long practice. After I finish knitting the other sock. I also have to weave in the ends and I really ought to block the sock that my tight knitting has made way, way too small. Yeah, I should have planned better. But, for at least the third time, I doubt these socks will be wearable after the first washing. The point is that I gave them.

Although last year I felt Christmassy, this year I’ve reverted to my true Grinchy self. I love to give and receive (and I find that I like giving more and more than I like receiving as time passes), and I certainly like the time off work, but yet again the problem of fair indifference towards Family Time is striking to make me nonchalant about these family-oriented times of the year. There are also things I genuinely dislike about the Christmas holiday – the traffic, the appalling waste of money and materials that is involved in present-preparation, and most importantly, the music.

I hesitated to put this into print because a bunch of my blog-friends have talked about all the Christmas music they love, but I can hold it no longer. I HATE Christmas music. All of it, every last song. It’s all so gooey, so overwrought, so ridiculously sentimental that I just can’t stand being out and about during this time of year. What bothers me the most is that it’s the same 18 songs over and over and over and over and over and over, EVERY DAMN YEAR. It’s always the same; it never changes. If I hear “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” coming from DT’s office even once more, I…don’t know what I’ll do, but I will not be happy.

There. I feel better. I must point out that it’s only the trappings of Christmas that I dislike so much. As I said, I like the giving/receiving part, and I like feeling my heart open when there’s a group of nice people sharing a warm day inside together with the cold outside, but all the stuff that’s pumped into your everyday life from October to January to simulate that feeling just drives me mad.

Well, now that I’ve alienated everyone on the internet who isn’t sitting in their parents’ basement with an Alienware computer in front of them, I’ll sign off. And, from my heart (which I don’t believe is two sizes too small, thank you very much), I wish you all a happy holiday. See you in a few days.