Christmas Things
So Christmas has come and gone. It went by particularly fast this year. I think the biggest part of Christmas is the anticipation. Picking out and decorating the tree, counting down days, baking cookies, drinking hot chocolate, and sucking on candy canes... all of that seems more Christmasy than the day itself. I like Christmas Eve fires and present-inspired insomnia almost as much as opening gifts under the tree; because then it's over. I always open each present slowly and carefully, to make it last as long as possible. If I get a DVD I take off the plastic and open up the case before moving on to the the next festively wrapped parcel. I am a very efficient present un-wrapper. I savor each moment. I think that because exams ended to closely before Christmas, I spent more time dreading their approach than looking forward to Christmas. This definitely chopped off a significant chunk of pre-Christmas celebration. I only had two or three days to be excited about it and then it was over. Yesterday. Although, I think the Christmas spirit will linger until the novelty of my gifts wears off which, I admit, is a pretty commercial attitude to have for a religious holiday but that's life.
The morning of Christmas Eve, I dragged myself out of bed to (tardily) attend the luminary making gathering at our neighbor's house. The family previously responsible for organization of luminary creation got tired of running things after a while so we had no luminaries for a year or two. This year, a new family picked up the reins and because I complained about not having luminaries for those one or two years, I felt that it was my duty to help out. They had pretty much finished by the time I got down there but my dad and I talked to the guy who had just recently moved in and he seemed pretty cool. We were talking about all those commercials that show people getting these really expensive Lexises and Mercedes for Christmas and laughing about how none of us could afford them. He said he couldn't even afford the big red ribbon, the humor of which I appreciated. Then I was introduced to his two daughters who are both in college. One's a year older than me and one's a year younger. They seemed nice enough but made no attempt at friendliness. I talked to Mrs. Pettingale for a while after they both casually wandered away from the group conversation I had joined. I was telling her about my academic experiences as an English/Writing major and Art minor. She told me to bring my resume to her company when I graduated. I guess I have connections :) I talked to Kaitlyn and Kara for a while too. I noticed, however, that I had no idea who half of the people there were, which is a pity considering we are neighbors and I have lived here since I was eight. I wish we were more neighborly, or had more luminary-making-like activities that provided the opportunity for neighborly socializing.
The morning of Christmas Eve, I dragged myself out of bed to (tardily) attend the luminary making gathering at our neighbor's house. The family previously responsible for organization of luminary creation got tired of running things after a while so we had no luminaries for a year or two. This year, a new family picked up the reins and because I complained about not having luminaries for those one or two years, I felt that it was my duty to help out. They had pretty much finished by the time I got down there but my dad and I talked to the guy who had just recently moved in and he seemed pretty cool. We were talking about all those commercials that show people getting these really expensive Lexises and Mercedes for Christmas and laughing about how none of us could afford them. He said he couldn't even afford the big red ribbon, the humor of which I appreciated. Then I was introduced to his two daughters who are both in college. One's a year older than me and one's a year younger. They seemed nice enough but made no attempt at friendliness. I talked to Mrs. Pettingale for a while after they both casually wandered away from the group conversation I had joined. I was telling her about my academic experiences as an English/Writing major and Art minor. She told me to bring my resume to her company when I graduated. I guess I have connections :) I talked to Kaitlyn and Kara for a while too. I noticed, however, that I had no idea who half of the people there were, which is a pity considering we are neighbors and I have lived here since I was eight. I wish we were more neighborly, or had more luminary-making-like activities that provided the opportunity for neighborly socializing.