I Hate December And Christmas.

[Steven]

I hate this time of year too. I hate the holidays and I hate how it gets dark so early. I don't stress myself out over christmas; I just don't celebrate it. Works out well.

OK help me with the math here....

Hate + this time of year + Hate + Holidays - Celebrate = works out well?

[saechalyn]

OK help me with the math here....

Hate + this time of year + Hate + Holidays - Celebrate = works out well?

I hate the holidays, therefore, I do not celebrate them. That's the part that works out well.

[Steven]

mannnnnnnnnn but you guys sure spend alot of time on the hate train.

[saechalyn]

mannnnnnnnnn but you guys sure spend alot of time on the hate train.

I find it's much more healthy (for me) to be honest about the way I feel and not try to force myself into false cheer I don't feel. "I hate the holidays" doesn't mean I sit around feeling sorry for myself and dwelling on my reasons for hating them; it means I avoid them and get on with the rest of my life.

[HipsterDufus]

I find it's much more healthy (for me) to be honest about the way I feel and not try to force myself into false cheer I don't feel. "I hate the holidays" doesn't mean I sit around feeling sorry for myself and dwelling on my reasons for hating them; it means I avoid them and get on with the rest of my life.

Good call. I could not have said this any better myself.

[pharoh]

All this hate taking up space where is the love.....

Steven, amen bro.

[Homicidalheathen]

I have just one more thing that annoys me about the holidays. More drunk drivers. And costumers. This one time I was waitressing at a place that sold liquor. This guy came in on New years Eve drunk. Well he took up a whole booth to himself and didn't order anything but sat there for hours annoying anyone who would walk by, mostly me...

I told my boss and he said, oh just let him sit he isn't hurting anything...

He changed his mind when I noticed awhile later the guy drinking booze from a bottle he had snuck inside his coat instead of buying ours.

He got rather strange when we made him leave it was a bit scary.....

Then there are those office and school parties. Eat eat eat......gorge gorge gorge......ugh.

And lets not forget the family dinner. Oh yah. Love that one.

The best stratagy is though, in that instance, to gorge on turkey and red wine and chocolate so you pass out early. Then you don't have to bite your tongue when the subjects of politics and religeon comes up.

[Steven]

All this hate taking up space where is the love.....

Steven, amen bro.

I seem to lack the werewithal to make one simple point AL;

that this Christmas feeling....does not simply manifest by snow bound osmosis, and it does not blow in and up your butt with the wind.

So many people are saying "I just don't feel it, so let's just move along"

I know you dont feel it. It doesent work that way. You have to invest a bit, beyond the immediate "you".

[phee]

To be honest the reason I get so annoyed at this time of year is because of all of the expectations I get from those around me where I go.

The days seem to pass with the same problems and me the same as always, exept around the holidays I get: "Oh God why so blue? It's Christmas! Cheer up" and I am like: "I'm fine" and I get the response "where is your holiday spirit? Jeez"

I just want to be myself without putting up with that....

[saechalyn]

The days seem to pass with the same problems and me the same as always, exept around the holidays I get: "Oh God why so blue? It's Christmas! Cheer up" and I am like: "I'm fine" and I get the response "where is your holiday spirit? Jeez"

I just want to be myself without putting up with that....

Exactly! Ugh. Just because I'm not skipping down the street overcome with joy doesn't mean anything is "wrong." I'm just me.

[phee]

Exactly! Ugh. Just because I'm not skipping down the street overcome with joy doesn't mean anything is "wrong." I'm just me.

Indeed...

It's the same state of mind people get when it's there birthday, and they expect people to bend over backwards for them and don't understand why you are your usual pleasant self instead of restructoring your behavoir...

[Steven]

I have just one more thing that annoys me about the holidays. More drunk drivers. And costumers. This one time I was waitressing at a place that sold liquor. This guy came in on New years Eve drunk. Well he took up a whole booth to himself and didn't order anything but sat there for hours annoying anyone who would walk by, mostly me...

I told my boss and he said, oh just let him sit he isn't hurting anything...

He changed his mind when I noticed awhile later the guy drinking booze from a bottle he had snuck inside his coat instead of buying ours.

He got rather strange when we made him leave it was a bit scary.....

Then there are those office and school parties. Eat eat eat......gorge gorge gorge......ugh.

And lets not forget the family dinner. Oh yah. Love that one.

The best stratagy is though, in that instance, to gorge on turkey and red wine and chocolate so you pass out early. Then you don't have to bite your tongue when the subjects of politics and religeon comes up.

this all sounds like good old fashioned disfunction to me.

Something you can expereince on any given Tuesday. Has nothing to do with Christmas.

I'm not giving up my turkey, Love.

Or my red wine.

Or my chocolate for that matter.

Christmas Questions to you all:

ever find somebody in the street to feed during the season? Ever go looking?

ever buy toys for strangers kids?

ever pay somebody's gas bill?

ever spend a day cooking a Bird and Spuds and giving it to somebody else?

ever hang with a lonely person, and just hang?

Ever bake some home made Xmas ornaments in your oven and give them away?

ever make a cheap Xmas basket for somebody - anybody - out of say, things from the 99 cent store and fill it full of hot chocolate and cookies and a card, and just connect with someone? You dont have any money? Got any mac and cheese? Some boloney? Some time?

Last year a bunch of you did exaclty what I'm talking about here.

you joined me and gave money, toys, clothes, food, furniture, and well wishes to a gal that had lost her husband and had three little ones, no heat, no cash, no money, no furniture. You didint know her. I didint know her either, I found her by accident. One day she was just barely making it like the rest of us and then the next thing you know her husband has a anurism and drops dead in the living room. Boom, game over, life over. Everything you counted on, over. that was her trip. She was nto my repsonsibility. She was nto your responsibility. I did not owe her anything, and neither did you and nobody pressured me to get involved and you know what? Nobody pressured you either. I didint even know any of you guys back then.

So why'd you do it?

You made an impact last year.

You changed something for somebody else. You made a memory, a difference, you stepped out of the box, for somebody else.

Did you forget?

That's Christmas. And I'm not the only one who feels that way, or you would not have helped me last year.

You want to find a need it's right down the street, man. It's everywhere.

If you dont "feel it"...there's others who might need that feeling worse than you that year. And yes there is bullshit knee deep. thats everywhere too.

but I'll trade every bullshit over commercialized trite fake thing that I've ever witnessed and felt alongside every one of you, for the one time I got to watch those kids open the toys you gave them and to see that Mom's face when food landed in her cupboard.

Maybe were short sighted. With short memories. Or just too idealistic.

But given choice A and choice B about what Xmas is, I know which way I'm leaning.

[JaneDead]

oh man steven i wish i did actually *know* you right now. you are exactly the kind of person i need by my side right now.

i'm lucky to have the family and friends that i do but one more right now sure wouldn't hurt.

[Homicidalheathen]

I helped someone out a great deal this year only to get stabbed in the back. I think this is part of why I am bitter.

[Steven]

oh man steven i wish i did actually *know* you right now. you are exactly the kind of person i need by my side right now.

i'm lucky to have the family and friends that i do but one more right now sure wouldn't hurt.

you can PM me anytime you want.

cleave to your freinds and family though, you got that and you have everything....

[Hellion]

What ever happened to the moral of Xmas "its the thought that counts,not the amount"

[Brenda Starrr]

i love you steven. i mean without knowing you i really do.

my uncle and father just died last week but i still won't hate christmas because of it. i love my father more than any words could ever express, i will be terribly sad and devastated this year but i will still be able to find what i love about it - and that is the rest of my family and friends.

no offense to the "complainers" at x-mas time but i fucking hate it. HATE it. i have friends who do nothing but complain this time of year and i wish for once they could just be grateful for what they have instead of complain about money for gifts or this selfish problem or another. how can people hate a whole season like that and want to ruin it for others by their negativity?

Steven does indeed rock. You will love him to pieces.

[Steven]

Steven does indeed rock. You will love him to pieces.

you are prejudiced because I am a handsome Mo Fo but I thank you nonetheless....

[Brenda Starrr]

You ARE a handsome MoFo. But you're the coolest.

[torn asunder]

You made an impact last year.

You changed something for somebody else. You made a memory, a difference, you stepped out of the box, for somebody else.

Did you forget?

That's Christmas. And I'm not the only one who feels that way, or you would not have helped me last year.

actually, steven, that's not x-mas - that's life, and how people should be all the time.

the way i see x-mas in popular culture (here in the US, anyway) it's an over-coomercialized media blitz of "buy this, buy that, if you don't, you're a cheapskate scrooge, and shame on you! you're a horrible person!" FUCK the commercialization of holidays like x-mas!!! you want to make an impact on people's lives on x-mas? just say NO to paying out the wazoo for gifts! set a limit, make it a drawing, or better yet, take the entire gift giving process out of it altogether, and just commune as a family and appreciate the fact that you have family to spend time with. still want to buy gifts!? great! do it next month, or even last month... or, i dunno, how about april, or august, or something unexpected!? this country carries enough debt per capita as it is! then we get a holiday that *requires* people buy gifts they can't really afford for someone who most likely won't really appreciate the effort OR the gift anyway! (why do you think stores are so busy on the 26th? people taking back all the crap they so unappreciatively didn't want! (ok, generalized, but still). the "holiday spirit" is a joke - well, ok, not the spirit itself, but the reason behind it. it shouldn't be reserved for a special occasion, to be whipped out for a couple weeks every year - it should be a way of life. GAH!!! i so dislike "the holidays"!!! :doh

:erm

:fear

[phee]

actually, steven, that's not x-mas - that's life, and how people should be all the time.

the way i see x-mas in popular culture (here in the US, anyway) it's an over-coomercialized media blitz of "buy this, buy that, if you don't, you're a cheapskate scrooge, and shame on you! you're a horrible person!" FUCK the commercialization of holidays like x-mas!!! you want to make an impact on people's lives on x-mas? just say NO to paying out the wazoo for gifts! set a limit, make it a drawing, or better yet, take the entire gift giving process out of it altogether, and just commune as a family and appreciate the fact that you have family to spend time with. still want to buy gifts!? great! do it next month, or even last month... or, i dunno, how about april, or august, or something unexpected!? this country carries enough debt per capita as it is! then we get a holiday that *requires* people buy gifts they can't really afford for someone who most likely won't really appreciate the effort OR the gift anyway! (why do you think stores are so busy on the 26th? people taking back all the crap they so unappreciatively didn't want! (ok, generalized, but still). the "holiday spirit" is a joke - well, ok, not the spirit itself, but the reason behind it. it shouldn't be reserved for a special occasion, to be whipped out for a couple weeks every year - it should be a way of life. GAH!!! i so dislike "the holidays"!!! :doh

:erm

:fear

Great post!!!

[Hellion]

Great post!!!

Damn Straight,and well said

[saechalyn]

actually, steven, that's not x-mas - that's life, and how people should be all the time.

Right on. I do donate to charity, and I do help others, in various ways, throughout the year. That's not me trying to say Look at me, I'm so awesome and perfect, because of course I'm not. But who I am and what I have to give isn't influenced by christmas- I'm not a christian, so why should it?

[Steven]

actually, steven, that's not x-mas - that's life, and how people should be all the time.

the way i see x-mas in popular culture (here in the US, anyway) it's an over-coomercialized media blitz of "buy this, buy that, if you don't, you're a cheapskate scrooge, and shame on you! you're a horrible person!" FUCK the commercialization of holidays like x-mas!!! you want to make an impact on people's lives on x-mas? just say NO to paying out the wazoo for gifts! set a limit, make it a drawing, or better yet, take the entire gift giving process out of it altogether, and just commune as a family and appreciate the fact that you have family to spend time with. still want to buy gifts!? great! do it next month, or even last month... or, i dunno, how about april, or august, or something unexpected!? this country carries enough debt per capita as it is! then we get a holiday that *requires* people buy gifts they can't really afford for someone who most likely won't really appreciate the effort OR the gift anyway! (why do you think stores are so busy on the 26th? people taking back all the crap they so unappreciatively didn't want! (ok, generalized, but still). the "holiday spirit" is a joke - well, ok, not the spirit itself, but the reason behind it. it shouldn't be reserved for a special occasion, to be whipped out for a couple weeks every year - it should be a way of life. GAH!!! i so dislike "the holidays"!!! :doh

:erm

:fear

Of course I agree with this Mike, but we're posting about this season, and this seasons epic tales of whoa, and this season's potential to actually having meaning.

And in a nutshell I'm saying to you bah humbuggers....perhaps you can change what you hate about Xmas, right here in your inner circle. I'm saying hate it? do something about it.

[Steven]

Right on. I do donate to charity, and I do help others, in various ways, throughout the year. That's not me trying to say Look at me, I'm so awesome and perfect, because of course I'm not. But who I am and what I have to give isn't influenced by christmas- I'm not a christian, so why should it?

for the simple reason that it seems to bring you discomfort and disatisfaction.

and because so many people seem to really struggle at THIS particular time and season, here is opportunity.

And finnally, because we were not posting about July. We were posting about XMas.