The dark can return with the flick of a switch.
Sometimes I think the only things that get me through October, November, and December are the holidays. I hate the diminishing light and the creeping cold, the dreary rain and the barren trees, but as long as there's a fun holiday ahead I don't mind it so much. Halloween hasn't been as fun since I graduated (and my friends all moved away), Christmas and my birthday haven't been as much fun since our money ran low, but I still enjoy them.
I don't mind how the holidays have become completely consumer-driven. I'm not pagan or Christian, so Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas don't have any spiritual meaning; the only family I care about hangs out with me every night of the year, so the whole "love and togetherness" aspect doesn't really apply. To me, Halloween is totally about dressing up and eating gross candy and drinking with friends (when possible); Thanksgiving is totally about eating disgusting amounts of stuffing and gravy (and turkey, too, I guess); my birthday and Christmas are totally about getting and giving cool presents.
New Year's, of course, is totally about hanging out with friends and getting buzzed waiting for the balls to drop. Sentimental crap does creep in but I do my best to ignore it. I think the straightforward "drink and have fun" nature of New Year's is a big part of why it's becoming my favorite holiday. I don't really care where we are for Thanksgiving or Christmas -- most likely it will involve some kind of unpleasant interlude with either Jen's mom or her brother -- but I'm already trying to make New Year's plans. Last time we spent it with our friends Francesca and Egor at their place, playing Apples to Apples with her sister and their friend Kevin. I've invited all of them out to our place this year. I'm giving thought to what we should have on the menu, what activities we can do (besides Apples to Apples), whether we should invite other friends. I'm looking forward to it big time.
Of course, waking up on January 1 is almost always a dreary experience for me. The sky always seems dull that day, and it isn't because I drank too much the night before (because I never do). The next three months loom ahead without relief, a flat pewter-gray expanse of cold cloudy boredom. The next thing to look forward to is spring, which out here on the island doesn't become tangible until around the first week of April. Almost half the year is cold and leafless and blah. It's a lot to face.
One day I want to move to a place where winter means two months, tops, of cold and snow. I want to be planning hikes and wearing shirt sleeves no later than the end of February, damn it.
I don't mind how the holidays have become completely consumer-driven. I'm not pagan or Christian, so Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas don't have any spiritual meaning; the only family I care about hangs out with me every night of the year, so the whole "love and togetherness" aspect doesn't really apply. To me, Halloween is totally about dressing up and eating gross candy and drinking with friends (when possible); Thanksgiving is totally about eating disgusting amounts of stuffing and gravy (and turkey, too, I guess); my birthday and Christmas are totally about getting and giving cool presents.
New Year's, of course, is totally about hanging out with friends and getting buzzed waiting for the balls to drop. Sentimental crap does creep in but I do my best to ignore it. I think the straightforward "drink and have fun" nature of New Year's is a big part of why it's becoming my favorite holiday. I don't really care where we are for Thanksgiving or Christmas -- most likely it will involve some kind of unpleasant interlude with either Jen's mom or her brother -- but I'm already trying to make New Year's plans. Last time we spent it with our friends Francesca and Egor at their place, playing Apples to Apples with her sister and their friend Kevin. I've invited all of them out to our place this year. I'm giving thought to what we should have on the menu, what activities we can do (besides Apples to Apples), whether we should invite other friends. I'm looking forward to it big time.
Of course, waking up on January 1 is almost always a dreary experience for me. The sky always seems dull that day, and it isn't because I drank too much the night before (because I never do). The next three months loom ahead without relief, a flat pewter-gray expanse of cold cloudy boredom. The next thing to look forward to is spring, which out here on the island doesn't become tangible until around the first week of April. Almost half the year is cold and leafless and blah. It's a lot to face.
One day I want to move to a place where winter means two months, tops, of cold and snow. I want to be planning hikes and wearing shirt sleeves no later than the end of February, damn it.