christmas meme

via pav’s cat.
I am really enjoying having endless time to just sit online and talk and write crap. The last six months of insane teaching and busyness have made me realise what a luxery doing a phd is – you get to sit about and write and read and write and rewrite and edit as much as you like. I miss it all ready.
The nicest thing about this holiday with the ps is that we’re all superbusy people (The Squeeze does crazy late night systems admin support stuff, the mother … mothers and stuff, the father is a busy suepracademic) and we’re all really enjoying doing nothing. The father’s family are big on sitting about and talking and enjoying each other’s company. There’s been some shouting, but not as much as usual, and not me. Surpisingly. I have a history of Big Shouting, but as I pointed out to The Squeeze, we don’t shout at each other (though I do shout, generally, and sometimes in his direction. But not angrily), so it was actually strange to find my parents shouting at each other strange. But it wasn’t angry shouting – just kind of loud emoting.
Because it’s that time of year (and pav says it’s ok to be in the Spirit), here’s the most useful advise I’ve had all year:
The Squeeze said (when I was busy being worried about some nasty and insensitive comments from acquaintances):
think less about people you don’t like, and more about people you do like.
Or (the hardcore version)
think less about the people you hate (just give them a punch in the bum and fuck off) and more about the people you love.
It was the best advice ever.
But on to the meme.
1) Do you have a tree, and if so what is hanging on it?
Some nice white lights, some red/gold/green baubles. It’s a fake tree, but it looks nice.
2) What’s the most successful bit of Christmas cooking you’ve done so far?
Mince tarts!
3) And the least successful?
Fried rice with herbs. Boring boring boring. Too dry. Dumb. Waste of nice prawns and pink ling (that’s a fish).
4) Which bit of your Christmas shopping are you happiest with?
The p’s present: it’s one of those amazing toilet seats that’s clear plastic but with wonderfully tacky sea shells and things inside it. They will LOVE IT. Especially the father.
5) Have you opened any of your presents yet? What was it / were they?
Nope.
6) Do you have any bad Christmas associations that will have to be tackled?
Well, family stuff with my sister in law. But that’s largely sorted. Because she’s in Brisvegas and I’m in Hobart.
7) What’s your favourite carol? Why?
The Holly and the Ivy (I think it’s called that), because it’s really nice to sing. But the other day I discovered that the tune of Deck the Halls works really nicely with all sorts of lyrics, especialy when you’re riding your bike.
8) Which part of your Christmas plans is most likely to go awry?
Turkey. It can suck if it’s over cooked.
We are also flying back to Melbourne Boxing Day for dinner with The Squeeze’s mothers and grandfather. That could be a bit tiring.
9) What’s your most favourite thing about Christmas?
I like the hardcore food (cooking, more like).
I like coming down to Tasmania.
I like the way The Squeeze is really relaxed and fun.
10) What’s your least favourite thing about it?
Spending so much money on crap (though we have become less present-centered since the year the mother was really ill. We had only a couple of days after she came out of hospital to get presents, and because we were all kind of preoccupied, we didn’t fuss about presents or food too majory – we were more mellow and just spent time enjoying each other’s company and plain old counting our blessings.
It feels like we now spend less time fretting about crap like whether we got people good enough presents or will have a ‘proper’ christmas (something that always seems on the mother’s (English) mind).
Now we just do nice things. And I like that. We’ve also learnt to really enjoy grownup christmases without kids…so I guess this is mostly a story about the good things about christmas.
11) What Christmassy thing have you seen or heard in the street or on the teeve or in the blogosphere that has
(a) touched your heart
Ummm a version of ‘from little things big things grow’ being sung by Paul Kelly. Not quite Archie Roach, pav, but still, it’s a wonderful song.
(b) hit a nerve
…nothing?
or (c) made you want to barf?
I felt a little nausious afte eating too much last night.
12) Who do you wish you had contacted to say Happy Christmas but haven’t so far?
Most everyone. I have been super slack this past six months, generally. I owe my friends some communication.