things I hate about Christmas.

[intertribal]

1.  My uncle's girlfriend, a Barnard alum who hates Chinese people and is proud of her homemade apple pies.  And her children.  Because my uncle is the OMG Patriarch we have to join his girlfriend's family for Christmas.  And they're Jewish, for fuck's sake. 
2.  Awkward encounters with former friends that I am GUILTED INTO. 
3.  iTunes breaking because too many people are trying to redeem gift cards.

I just want to watch the Law & Order marathon and sleep.  Fuck this stupid social crap.  As Christina says, "I hate people." 

Comments

[intertribal.livejournal.com]

No, my uncle's girlfriend likes good cheer. She's an alpha, she can force it on people. So it was a loooong evening.

[intertribal.livejournal.com]

Sorry, it's been a long day, and my brain has been minimally functioning all week. As we know sarcasm doesn't travel well on the internet.

[royinpink.livejournal.com]

yeah, my mom told me about their christmas, and it sounded like the most pathetic, boring thing ever. they still don't get that unless you put effort into making it fun, it just won't be. it's just a social obligation that must be held for the sake of social obligatoriness. argrgrghhgh.

seriously, they don't bake cookies, they don't play music, they don't even give many gifts (my parents don't exchange, and my grandma is too senile, so the only person who made there be any gift-giving at all was Ralph), and they run out of things to talk about in about 10 minutes, so they all just sit and stare at each other. the decorations are only there to look perfect (doesn't she see that you should decorate things if you enjoy them, not because you feel you have to meet some standard?) it is the most depressing thing on earth.

i don't see how anyone could possibly look forward to that, or miss it. and they wonder why i don't get excited about christmas.

[intertribal.livejournal.com]

they don't exchange gifts? that's the point!

we don't do a whole lot of cookie-baking but we do eat dessert and play music and drink eggnog.

[royinpink.livejournal.com]

"what's the point? we have the same money. why spend it on each other? we don't need anything."

because gifts are about money, see. everything is about money.

aw, eggnog!

[intertribal.livejournal.com]

aw, that's really awful. I mean, hell, I used to ask my mom for money so that I could buy her presents. and before that I found pencils around the house and gave them to her!

[royinpink.livejournal.com]

lol. that's adorable! and it's true that i still don't make enough money to really consider anything i get my family not bought with 'their' money. why it's okay for me and not them, i dunno. first they had a hard time coming up with enough stuff to fill each other's stockings, and now they've stopped with gifts altogether. i think...they need to take more pleasure in gifts as tokens of thought, care, whatever, and worry less about how much they are useful or needed or desired.

steve said (long ago, when i gave him a gift), "All gifts--or, at least, anything worth that name [in the current sociocultural context {a "gift" is a very different kind of thing in many places--but you know this, having taken Intro to Anthro ...}]--are 'small tokens' in this sense"

such a nerd.

[intertribal.livejournal.com]

well, I think it can be both about what the recipient wants or could use and a demonstration of your caring about the recipient. but you definitely can't measure it in money, because that's ridiculous - part of it for me is like, well, I know my mom's stressed out, so I could give her something that I think might de-stress her... you know. In part because at least in my house people don't always buy what they need or want.

[royinpink.livejournal.com]

oh yeah, i'm not disagreeing with that at all. and it's not really as if neither of my parents want anything either. and of course they don't always buy what they need or want. nor always think of the things they might need or want... but the point is that it shows thought/acknowledgment/whatever on the part of the gift-giver.

[intertribal.livejournal.com]

yes, definitely. it's nicer to receive something you want/need than to go buy it for yourself, in some ways, because it's like, oooh, this person cares about me!

[royinpink.livejournal.com]

exactly!

[royinpink.livejournal.com]

i remember when i was too young to really get other people's desires, and i bought my mom an Elmo book. or rather, my dad bought it. one of those cute things, like, dad takes me shopping, "what should we get mommy?" "Elmo!" "Are you sure?" "Yeah." "Okay, honey, I'm sure she'll love it!" What the hell happened? I'm pretty sure my parents lost all joy somewhere after the first few years of my life.

[intertribal.livejournal.com]

yeah, that's cute. I bought my dad a ceramic, like, Precious Moments figurine of a little boy soccer player because he used to play soccer as a kid (like every other Indonesian boy). It was pretty hideous. But of course it wasn't me that bought it but my mom. I was really into buying office supplies though. I understand less the whole like, let's buy mommy jewelry! sort of thing that gets advertised on TV. I mean, if daddy wants to buy mommy jewelry then go for it, but I think the kids should be allowed to give mommy whatever they want.

did something happen after the first few years of your life?

[royinpink.livejournal.com]

that memory was so old...i think i only remember it because i remember giving it to my mom, and she was in the bath or something. weird. it must've been her birthday, or mother's day. my dad used to save every picture i drew him in a file in his desk... office supplies? that's pretty awesome. yeah, my mother only wants the most stereotypical gifts. i doubt she liked the elmo book. honestly, i think my dad would've appreciated it more.

yeah...my dad started getting really busy and stressed with work, and my mother realized the flaws of her marriage. and started seeing me as 'like my father,' haha.

[intertribal.livejournal.com]

my dad started getting really busy and stressed with work, and my mother realized the flaws of her marriage. and started seeing me as 'like my father,' haha.

oh boy.

[royinpink.livejournal.com]

? *shrug*

[intertribal.livejournal.com]

doesn't sound like a healthy situation.

[royinpink.livejournal.com]

my dad would still give me something like a Precious Moments figurine if he were trying to be considerate and loving. it's cute as a kid, but...my parents are such overgrown children.

[royinpink.livejournal.com]

i like how it sounds like i wish there were stupid social crap. i dunno. they are vacuous people with empty lives. i just wish they knew how to fill them.

i've always had much better holidays with friends, or at Steve's.

[royinpink.livejournal.com]

when are you heading back? just so i know when to send you things by

[intertribal.livejournal.com]

Jan. 19th, I believe.

[royinpink.livejournal.com]

i do like the black background. i think i almost snagged this layout myself awhile back. it is sexy.

[intertribal.livejournal.com]

blaaargh is not done! don't look!

[royinpink.livejournal.com]

lol. i feel like a husband walking in on their wife half-naked.

[intertribal.livejournal.com]

yes, exactly.

[royinpink.livejournal.com]

hm, it must've been a different layout i saw. it wasn't from that community. but it looks so familiar...