the id, the ego, & the single misfiring brain cell

i'm starting to get why people say "happy holidays" these days

Funny story. We didn't celebrate Christmas when I was growing up (my parents and big brother still don't) for religious reasons.* If we had occasion to go to a store during the shopping season, cashiers never failed to wish us a merry Christmas. Mother would respond with, "We don't celebrate Christmas."

* The bible doesn't tell us to celebrate the birth of Christ. If it had, surely it would have told us when he was born....

I remember being mortified when she did that. Well...mortified is a bit strong. But I didn't see the point of it. Yeah...we didn't celebrate the holiday, but the cashier clearly meant well. It struck me as the equivalent of someone saying, "My condolences on the death of your uncle," and replying, "He was an asshole."

Well, it's now passe to say "Merry Christmas" to anyone, but it's still the understood holiday. I know, I know. Some people celebrate nothing (other than, as my parents and their friends did, having some time off work so they could get together); some people celebrate Christmas; some, Kwanzaa; others, Hannukah, Yule, or Solstice. And I've probably missed a few. This is the season (usually New Year's Day, but still) one of my best friends has her annual Latkepalooza, b'cause she's Jewish and it's a special day to her (and I love her latkes as well as her friends - it's a great party).

I understand why my mother did that, though. She believes it's wrong to let others think she celebrates a religious holiday she doesn't believe is right, and I'm sure the opportunity to launch into a religious discussion was always a possibility, as well. I do get it. But it was still rude.*

* Takes one to know one.

Anyway. I wish people a Merry Christmas all the time, even now. Why? It's polite. It's the best way, I think, to share my enjoyment of the holiday and good will. "Happy Holidays" just sounds stilted to me. (Maybe it's my age.)

I said this to a cadet during my last year teaching. He grinned at me and said, "I'm Jewish." I said, "So, Happy Holidays!" He said, "Thanks!"

Yeah, I made an assumption and I was wrong. But he didn't get offended. He just corrected me.

Anyway. I find some irony in the fact that I happily wish people a Merry Christmas now that I'm atheist....

I picked up a coupla presents yesterday. Ok, just one.*

* Unless the ones I got for myself count.

I picked up the WII game Mich has wanted since I got bilked online trying to buy it for her birthday (Zelda, Twilight Princess). She isn't feeling well today, so she's curled up in a blankie in the basement playing the new game right now. I doubt I'll see her for days.

I also got the Celtic Thunder Christmas album. Here's a taste of its greatness: Paul Byrom singing Ave Maria.

Yeah. That's what I'm talkin' 'bout right there.

Now. Before we move one, you should first clear your palate with this.*

* Not only do they have the sexiest names available to women in the English language, but the camera work is to die for. What's not to love?

So. I also picked up the Canadian Tenors' "The Perfect Gift." While Paul is the only classically trained tenor in Celtic Thunder,* all five of the Canadian group are classically trained tenors. It's such an amazing album. It makes me melt. Here they are singing Silent Night.

* Part of the fun of the group is that each singer has a distinctive style. Their ensembles are breathtaking.

So I'm in the mood for Christmas, I guess. :)

BTW...I haven't bought a CD in I don't know how long, and I have to say: there's something special about buying an album you really want, bringing it home, unwrapping it, and listening to it. iTunes cannot give you that special something.

In other news:

Today, the second day of my temporary and much-needed emancipation from responsibility, it's snowing lightly. 'Tis a peaceful day on the homefront. I'll go outside and work a bit on refilling the trench we dug to get natural gas to the house (a project which will be finished in early January); it's hard work, so I have to do just a little at a time.

Then I'll practice my guitar.

Maybe. Or maybe I'll do nothing but entertain myself online all day. That would be fun, too.

***

Also, I got my official RIP* from the Air Force for Izmir City, Turkey. The assignment is for 12 months, and apparently I'll be offered an opportunity to extend another 12 months when I arrive, and that extension is highly recommended. It could easily make the difference in my being selected for another promotion.

* I don't know what it stands for, either. It's the official notification of assignment, and you get 7 days or something like that to accept or decline. If you decline, you begin outprocessing the military. I cannot decline...not that I'd want to.

EDIT TO ADD: Report on Individual Personnel. Not terribly helpful, huh?

Also, I think I've earned two years' break from academia. I stopped to do the math the other day and realized I've been in school - higher education - since 1998. Seriously. I'd quit college for a while to, you know, major in life, and only went back to finish my undergrad degree in January of '98. I went pretty much full time, even in the summers, and graduated in May '99. I was off about a year (?), then went into Officer Training School. That was 3 months plus a bit. Upon graduation, I went to Basic Communications Officer Training in Keesler (another 3 months). After that, Aerospace Basic Course, 1 month. Then I began taking online courses in an MBA program. That went on until I moved from California to Montgomery, when I started a new master's degree at Auburn (because the MBA was worthless, except to check a box on my paperwork: pay the fee, get a degree). I went full time, even in the summers, and had a break only so I could take an Iraq vacation, as y'all remember. I defended my thesis literally days (like, 3) before I drove to Colorado Springs to begin teaching. In my book, teaching counts double for being in school. I do more homework when I'm teaching than when I'm taking a class myself. I finished that May 2009, took two months of leave, then started this program. At this moment, I have one more paper to write for this degree, then I file for graduation and outprocess. Oh...and I have to finish my Air Command and Staff College, too. It's the way the military "rewards" you for getting promoted. ;)

I'm ready for a break.

***

Because I wrote my final paper on my Iraq deployment, I reread my blog from the beginning to the end (the deployment phase, anyway). I now understand why I have the small but devoted following I do. I know that sounds a bit vain, but hear me out. When I wrote that, I was deeply depressed, which tends to up the volume on my odd sense of humor. It's a defense mechanism. When I returned, I didn't reread any of that for years because I didn't want to relive the experience. All I remembered, really, was the inescapable feelings of loneliness and pointlessness. Now, I think I'm far enough removed from the experience now to see my blogs the way y'all did, and I was delighted to find that they were not only entertaining but really did provide a good glimpse of what life was like "on the inside." I think they probably were also useful for anyone deploying.

So anyway...now I get it. And thank you all for sticking with me after my life lost that edge.

d