Pasteys Christmas
Created | Updated Jun 20, 2003
Well, it's Christmas, or rather it was. The festive season has started and now we are in that lull you find between Christmas and New Year. And what with it supposedly being a new millenium as well it's a pretty asuming lull.
Christmas came and went. Simple as that for me really. I don't
celebrate it as much as either I used to or others do. I was brought
up in a family that preached strict Roman Catholic values, my mother
is from Ireland (a very catholic country) and my dad even
changed religions to be able to marry her. You could say that I had
the religion forced down my throat from an early age. But I didn't,
I was one of those lucky children who had parents that explained
every to them in great detail when asked, I'm told that my stage of
asking 'Why?' about everything lasted around a week. Catholic
schools also featured heavily.
But I don't find Christmas as most do. So I don't go over the top. I buy for those nearest and dearest to me, and the others no longer
expect anything. You could call me a marketing mans nightmare.
Another reason I suppose is that since I was fifteen I worked over
the festive season. First in the kitchen of a fast food restuarant
and then in the bar trade. Seeing others having fun while you clean
up after them can put a real dampener on your spirits. But I got out
of the bar trade this year, so this year I didn't have to work. And
to be quite honest this left me at a bit of a loose end as to what
to do with myself.
Christmas Eve and Anne (the missus) and myself went to a friends
party, this was fun as I wasn't driving. I also got to meet the
people that Anne went to school with. Once a year, at Christmas,
they meet up to chat about how they all are and to catch up on
gossip. The two other blokes and myself who got dragged along sat down and got happily drunk. The evening was then rounded off by a visit to the pub I used to work in. Upon arriving home in the early hours, Anne and myself sat down and exchanged gifts. No family or friends around to say things like 'Ooo, what ya' got?' Just us.
Christmas day and off we went to Annes parents house for dinner,
same as the last two years which some may see as a bit unfair to my
folks. But I come from a fairly large family, I've only the one
brother, but a lot of close cousins and aunts and uncles. A very
tighly knit family, and I didn't fancy being one of over twenty
sitting down to Christmas day dinner, so it was Annes folks again.
That and they live 10 miles away and my folks live over a 100 miles
off.
Boxing day was spent playing on the computer, and drinking a couple of bottles of wine.
Bank Holiday Monday and we travelled over to see my parents, which
is why this edition of the Post was late. It was me, all my fault.
Sorry. But hey, it's Christmas and so many people have said 'Merry
Christmas', that I thought, 'Okay then, I will.' I know they didn't
mean it, but hey, why not? But my parents are fine, which is good
news. Any of those that may have read my h2g2 journal of late will
realise why that is such a concern, but my mother has been given the
all clear, so I'm a happy bunny.
Which brings us to today. Some time free, some beer left over, and
lots of chocolate being eaten. Ooh, my stomach is going to hate me
in the morning.
