Tag: Holidays

I think I speak for everyone when I say, “I hope 2023 is a better year!”

Given the performance of the past few years… I’m not holding my breath!

Hope springs eternal.

I’m not going to bother with a recap of the year. I think it’s probably sufficient to say if 2023 is anything like 2022 or 2021 or 2020 then I’m gong to invest in some Wellingtons. I may have to walk through shit, but I don’ have to have it on my shoes. The question is, do Wellingtons come in thigh high sizes or only up to the knees? Maybe a good set of wading boots/pants would be a better option.

I’ll leave the recaps to CNN or Tucker Carlson. They do a better job of it anyway.

2022 is closing out with a bang for me and my extended family. Hospitalizations, Trips to ER, Dementia, Funerals, and Stitches. 

For me it’s nightmares every night. I’m not talking about minor stuff, I’m talking full on sweats and waking up panicked unsure of where I am. It takes me an hour or so to calm down enough to go back to sleep and the hell of it is that when I wake up, I don’t remember anything about the nightmare.

I’m hoping that turning the page on a new year, will also turn the page on the nightmares and I’ll have a decent night’s sleep. You’ll pardon me if I don’t ring in the New Year by staying up until midnight. I’ll be content falling asleep at the usual time and sleeping through the night, The Rapture, or Armageddon, whichever comes first.

If I sleep through The Rapture, at least there’ll be no traffic although the freeways may be blocked. I probably wouldn’t notice, screwed up freeways are just another day in Southern California!

That’s actually a darkly funny plot line. Imagine a story where The Rapture happened, and some poor schmo slept through it, missing the bus so to speak, and didn’t really notice. What would that look like? The guy gets up, keeps going to work, and takes years to figure out that he’s missed the bus. If he’s in a city like New York, San Francisco, Chicago, or Los Angeles it’s possible. Maybe he keeps getting hints from his guardian angel but he’s so used to things being weird he doesn’t notice them. Maybe the hints are appointments in his calendar that he keeps missing because oddball events delay him on the way. I wonder if you could have fun with his guardian angel being pissed off about it?

It might be fun to try writing something like that. 

Have a good and safe night. I promise I won’t call anyone before noon out of courtesy to your hangovers.

Happy New Year everyone.

I trust that the presents have been purchased, the decorations are up and the fridge is stocked in preparation for your version of the annual Christmas Dinner.

This year, my household has done nada, zip, zero, to decorate, or prepare. Neither of us have been into it. The dog doesn’t care as long as his treat supply isn’t interrupted.

This year has been much like last year and honestly who wants or needs to go through all the machinations for just the three of us? Meh whatever. 

There are few things we need, and most of those aren’t special or anything. In fact since a lot are clothing related, (underwear, socks, sweats etc,) it makes more sense to purchase those items at the after Christmas sales. Since we’ve been trying to purchase only what we need and attempting to purchase locally or American manufactured products, we’re trying to make our rapidly depreciating dollars go further.

I thought we were going to have a white Christmas and there may still be snow on the ground come Christmas Day. It’s been warming up, the snow is melting so that’s iffy.  Because of warming, I’ve at last managed to remove the 1/2” slab of ice from the road in front of the driveway.

Thank YOU for the Christmas present to the moronic flood control people who have managed to redirect any rainwater down our street instead of into the wash! The mud and rocks make it especially fun, since we can’t safely use the snowblowers without risking broken windows up and down the street. This last storm started out as rain, then froze into a glacial mass of ice. 

This has left myself and the other neighbors having to remove the snow sitting on top of the 1/2” thick ice using only shovels and ice cleats on our shoes so that we don’t fall.

Perhaps that’s part of my mood, Six months of the year, every year, the flood control people turn the neighborhood into a construction zone. Don’t try to sleep past 6:45 in the morning. It’s not going to happen.

On the plus side, because of the horrendous mess the flood control people have created on the maintenance road, they can’t get their vehicles in and out. So for the past week there has been blessed silence on that front.

This time of year I don’t frequent shopping malls because the traffic and crowds are insane. I have little enough patience for people most times of the year. Christmas is almost 100% out of the question for me. The Holiday season seems to incite an extra level of stupid in the general populace.

I will go shopping with good friend(s) as long as we go someplace where we can have adult beverages during shopping. I draw the line at shopping malls where there is no readily accessible alcohol.

This year the shopping expeditions have been cancelled because the friends in question have been tied up with other obligations, as have I.

Perhaps in the days remaining before Christmas itself I’ll get into the holiday spirit by watching Christmas movies. Die Hard for example. Given the winter storm moving across the midwest and Northeast I may watch The Day After Tomorrow because, well it’s a disaster movie talking about the freezing of the northern part of the US. It’s not really a Christmas movie but is enjoyable because so many politicians freeze to death in Washington DC.

That might make me feel Christmassy!

I think this year Christmas is going to be just another day for me.

I sincerely hope that your Christmas is exactly what you want it to be.