Another Christmas season has come and gone, and there’s something funny about this year. I think maybe ‘cuz it’s the first time I’ve been home in a long time so it doesn’t quite feel so run of the mill, ya know? It wasn’t quite like every other Christmas. I’d like to say there was something more profound about it…but I don’t think I can say that confidently. If anything, I was wicked happy about my presents. I totally did well with the picking out of presents thing.
We ended up at my Tita Connie’s house on Christmas Eve, like we have every year for like ten years now or so. My brother and I had a reputation for ducking out early, a kind of eat and run thing — not ‘cuz we were jack asses or anything, mostly ‘cuz we didn’t really have anything to talk about with anyone. I made it a habit of sticking around longer like three years ago. I’d like to say I had long and meaningful conversations, but I really didn’t. I watched Spider-Man, the end of It’s a Wonderful Life, and the season 3 finale of Alias. I ain’t complainin’ none, it’s just how our family functions work for a non-Tagalog speaker.
Some time between watching stuff, I wandered upstairs to wher the younger crowd was located. As usual, the my cousin Sean was playing video games, but his sister Sarah and some of the other recent college students were playing Boggle. Something about that made me really happy and I joined in.
Stupid Boggle. I’d like to say that I did well, but to my great misfortune (and a little shame) I suck at the game. I love language and words and things having to do with English…and I got m’self thwarted by a boardgame. Grrr…
But it was fun, shiny even. I guess some thing do change.
After midnight, it was time for presents, as is the custom with the way younger bunch (those under the age of eleven or so). Once presents were opened and admired, the moms and all stayed pretty much upstairs while the karaoke fest was still about in the basement with the dads — and my friends wonder why it is I don’t much care for karaoke. When you’re around it your whole life, it isn’t much of a novelty as associated with parties where you don’t really talk to anyone.
I bonded with my Boggle-playing cousins as we were all accosted by a wicked case of the munchies. Sean, who I was once the closest to, peeled oranges the rest of us stole from him (I think he ended up eating maybe three or four slices of his own oranges). I told them about Japan, they told me about their lives at school (one of ‘em even goes to ISU), and we laughed at how our parents just don’t quite have the stamina they used to have. I mean, it was something like 1:30 AM and they were all upstairs dozing off, whereas three or four years ago, they would all be on the dance floor showing off their line dancing or ballroom dancing.
But, to their credit, we left at 3:00 AM.
Christmas morning was Cinnabon filled. I had asked my parents to bring some home from their daily walk and I was quite happy about it. My dad prepared Christmas lunch, a meal consisting of New York strip steaks, Alaskan King Crab legs, corn, and bread.
Presents were opened thereafter. I was so happy that my family actually liked the stuff I got for them. I bought my mom a geisha doll she asked for and my dad, brother, and I pitched in some money so that she could buy something shiny for the house; my dad got a Derma Cut Asics jacket (one of those fancy fabrics that breathes nicely) and a matching shirt; and my brother two CD’s of Japanese mix tapes.
The timezone and I are still in disagreement, so naturally I fell asleep. I was supposed to go see movies with Mike, but I didn’t negotiate time so well ‘cuz I was also supposed to go to the Tomczak’s for dinner. I think I coulda made the second movie, but I didn’t wanna cut out of dinner so quick. (I’ll probably go and buy some sushi to make it up to him ‘cuz basically I suck.)
It was nice to go over for a sit down dinner. The Tomczak’s have always treated me well. I mean, I think I’ve been going over to their house for Thanksgiving every year since like sophomore year of high school and on and off at Christmas time. It’s a pretty impressive track record.
I was really drowsy after dinner, though — again, I blame timezone. It was a good thing I didn’t go to the movie ‘cuz all I’d have fallen asleep is all. Heck, I barely made it home.
Needless to say, I pretty much passed out (beat my parents home) and didn’t wake again ’til 3:00 this morning, watched The Shawshank Redemption and read.
I leave in a week. I don’t know how I feel about that yet. I hope to make the most of these last few days I have home until next year. Isn’t that crazy? The way thing are going…it seems like I’ll only come home once a year.
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