i should really be writing about christmas

41 days before christmas and i still don't feel it. i don't know why, but it certainly couldn't be ME! i think christmas has not been manifesting itself well enough these days. and if it has, i think it's some pretty weird manifesting it's making.



for instance, my pop and i recently had our ceremonial "take out the christmas lights and fix the burnt out ones" tradition. we fell all over ourselves searching for damaged blinkers and exposed livewires only to lose heart in the end because of theft and robbery. yes, you read it right, theft and robbery. you see, we initially wanted to put the lights around the bush infront of the house to create the decor of a well-lit christmas garden. but neighborhood kids -- for some weird reason -- are in the habbit of plucking the little light bulbs away. the result is a christmas garden with only a couple of lights blinking merrily among themselves. from afar, they look like two stranded fireflies. the all-fixed up lights are now sitting idly in a cabinet.

then there was the case of the lost christmas tree. mama, who is usually the officer-in-charge of interior decorations, can't seem to find our old christmas tree -- the one we carefully disassembled and stashed away in some box last year. now, it's gone. whoever took it could be happily decorating it by now. or he could have sold it to some people who desperately needed a christmas tree. or he could have dismounted the little branches and made himself a halloween costume. we can only speculate.

and what's the deal with the weather, huh? it's even hotter than summer! gladys said it's because of the el niño. niño or no niño, we all deserve a cool christmas, or at least not an insanely hot one. this is the time to bring out the jackets, and the long-sleeved shirts and the dark-colored sweatshirts. and it doesn't mean you have to SWEAT on them!

and then there were the carollers last week. as i arrived home, i was greeted by some 5 to 6 kids shouting "May'ng Pasko! (Merry Christmas!)" to whoever they thought was inside the house. but nobody was inside, and as i was opening the gate to get in, they harangued me with their "greetings." knowing i (1) did not have any money, (2) did not hear their songs as i just arrived, and (3) did not like their conduct which was borderline rude, i said the customary reply, "Dugay pa ang Pasko, balik lang mo! (It's still a long time 'till Christmas, just come back soon!)."

"Kanus-a man? (When exactly?)" i was shocked to get a reply.

"Inig ka-Pasko (On Christmas day)," irked, i said.

"Dugaya pa ana oi! (That's too late!)".

exactly. whoever told you you were not too early to carol, kids?