A mid-week post? Surely not!

It is, in fact, a Wednesday post. And don't call me Shirley. (RIP, Mister Nielsen.)

No pictures this time, sorry. Just figured since I wasn't ridiculously tired, I'd put something up here for you folks back home to read.

Christmas is coming up fast. We just passed Solstice, and it's a gorgeous full moon right now. Korea got a pile of snow last week, but it melted in the oddly warm temperatures following it. As a born and bred MinneSNOWtan, it feels odd to be this deep in December with no snow on the ground. The temperatures have been hovering mostly in the 20-40 F degree range (I still haven't converted to Celsius, because I'm a stubborn, arrogant American like that). I can sometimes get away with my thick hoodie and a scarf, which is nice. The lack of ten bazillion layers of winter gear is refreshing. I am starting to wonder why, exactly, I choose to continue living in Minnesota? Oh, right. All my people are there.

Which brings me to my holiday rant. Or, ramble. Or whatever. I'm bored and I just ran out of Dresden Files audiobooks to listen to (except for Side Jobs, but I'm limiting myself to one short story a day, to make them last awhile).

I never really got into the holiday spirit once I hit adulthood. I have a love/hate relationship with Christmas shopping. I find the perfect gifts for some people, sometimes people I'm not even particularly close to, but then I hem and haw forever over what I should get everyone else, like my family members and my nearest and dearest friends. Or, I'm broke, and wind up drawing homemade cards with "commission vouchers" for free custom art (which always feel like a cop out, because nobody ever cashes them in). Either way, I always feel guilty about it, and I wonder if that's just part of my Catholic upbringing or if I really am just that lousy of a gift-giver.

And now I have friends who have kids. Lots of friends with kids. And I remember when I was a kid, and the coolest thing ever was getting a present in the mail from someone I might not even remember very well. And I always wanted to be that mysterious, benevolent Santa figure in some kid's life. Again, lack of funding has thwarted this dream.

But this year, I have a job. A job that pays way more than any other job I've ever had. Unfortunately, I'm in Korea, so shipping gifts is not only expensive, but takes forever. And I was a putz and put off Christmas shopping until, like, THIS WEEK. So, guess what, kids? You get to celebrate Lunar New Year instead! I'll be shipping a box home in January, with instructions and individually-wrapped gifts for Chris to toss in the mail for me.

Which means I'd like ALL of my friends who have kids (and if you're reading this, and you have kids, you probably count) to email me their mailing addresses, kids' ages, clothing sizes, favorite colors, favorite animals, hobbies, and whatever else might be helpful. I'm playing overseas Lunar New Year Santa this year, and darn it, I want to do it right!

I guess there was a point in there after all. Awesome.

That's it for me, then. Going to hit the hay early tonight. If anything interesting happens, I'll be sure to write a new post sometime during the next month or so.

Ciao,

-Maria