And so this is Christmas . . .

So Christmas Day is almost over and already I need a good drink. It must be so nice to be able to drink on the holidays--I'm looking forward to that one day. The older one gets, the more one realizes how stressful and disappointing holdiays are. I was woken up at seven am, and asked if I wanted to see what Santa brought me or sleep in. I wanted to sleep in, but every single year we children always come up the stairs together to see what we what amount of loot we made out with. Sleeping in had never been an option. So of course I got up, bleary-eyed and all, and with my brother and sister climbed the stairs to the living room where St. Nick had been. On a side night, he is very noisy--I had him puttering around all night long. Anyway, I got an iHome--which is a dock for my iPod and also functions as digital clock--alarm and everything. Santa made my monthly car payment for me and threw in a new cell phone, which is good because mine is trash. I also got a few gift cards and candy.

We made our traditional breakfast which focuses around turnovers. Then it was back into the ring to open family presents. My sister gave me the Garden State soundtrack and my brother gave me White Oleander which were both on my wish list. My married sister gave me an iTunes gift card which was not on my list--but I can use it to buy an album that was, so it works out. My parents, however, did their own thing as usual. And this is where I sound like a brat--or rather reveal that I am a brat. I did get this London 360* book I wanted, which is a coffee table photo book of London. I also got the MLA Style Guide and Manual for grad students, which I wanted when I thought I was going into English. However, I think my mother thought the L had something to do with libraries which, by the way, would be the ALA. So I'm not sure if I'll ever use it. I also got an iPod car stereo kit which I had resisted for a couple of reasons. My friends have these and the dock for the iPod is never stable and just a little ridiculous. My model doesn't have a dock, but uses a cord instead. Much nicer. I'll still have to find an available FM channel to playback on, but I suppose I can live with that. I really wanted The Absolute Sandman but I knew there was a very slim chance I would receive that. The other thing I really wanted this year is Into the Woods which I also didn't get. However, the cousin gift exchange is tomorrow, so hopefully I will get it then. My parents also gave me fifty dollars, so with that, Dixy's gift card, and my BN membership, I'll have to go buy all the books I wanted. Anyway, I didn't mean to go into a minute and ungrateful detail of all the gifts I received. However, I would like to thank Val for Watchmen which has been an interesting read so far. And also Melissa, who gave me the sixth season of The West Wing--I just have one more season to go! I do have to say that the first two seasons are my favorite. It's a pre-9/11 world, the cast is young and energized, and the sereies is just so fresh. The third and fourth seasons are strong, but the fifth season's a mess. So far the sixth season is all right, however it's very different. I have to say that I am enjoying Kristin Chenoweth's recurring guest role very much.

Anyway, after a light noon refreshment, family began descending upon us. First I would like to share this quote: "Maybe that's all family really is; a group of people who miss the same imaginary place." I just like it. My mother also got a tile today that reads "Friends are the Family you Choose." And my dear friends are my family, and at Christmastime I am reminded of these beautiful lyrics: "Faithful friends who are dear to us / Gather near to us once more. / Through the years / We all will be together / If the fates allow." I hope to spend the holidays together with my family of friends as often as possible, if only in my dreams. Anyway, by the afternoon my house was swarming with family which was not nearly as enjoyable as I had anticipated. I think it's because when I was younger, I was so excited to play with my cousins and my new loot. None of the cousins my age were here--they're coming tomorrow--and they're old and married and boring. And the younger cousins are exhausting. After dinner I had to find a quiet, solitary spot to take a nap, and that didn't stay quiet or solitary for very long.

We did play a lot of games which was nice. When we were younger, we spent the holidays playing lots of games, but as we got older, it turned into movie and video game marathons and we stoped playing card and board games. So it was nice to do that again instead of staring at a screen all day.

Today Christmas just seemed a little . . . empty. After we finished opening gifts, it was like, okay, another 365 days until next Christmas. And I wasn't overly excited by my presents, but there was nothing that I wanted that was overly exciting. In fact, there were very few things I really even wanted at all. So maybe I've gotten boring in my old age, or my life is in a rut right now. Both are quite likely. I have been thinking about grad school lately. Next year I could be coming home from New York or Seattle, Austin or North Carolina. I'm more excited to live somewhere new than scared. Though I'm sure the terror will come once this is actually a reality. What I've actually been thinking is come fall, I most likely will never live back at home with my parents again. Over the summer, I'll probably just stay wherever I land and work. And hopefully before I'll have a job lined up right after graduation. And by job I mean a full-time, salaried position where I can afford things like rent, and groceries, and insurance, and all that jazz. I may still need a roommate, but I'm not sure I'm ready to live on my very own--it seems very lonely. Anyway, I'm quite ready to call it a day now. I do hope you had a Happy Christmas. And I really hope 2009 is an excellent year. 2008 was--well it wasn't horrible, but it really wasn't a good year in any meaningful way.