12:14 p.m. - 2002-11-19
nervous twitch...or just insane?
I have a twitch in my back.
It's on the left side, sort of underneath my armpit, but back a little. Not that the location of the twitch is the part that concerns me, but still, it's very annoying.
I noticed it yesterday, when I was sitting around waiting for Bro Dave to show up. I thought maybe it was a temporary thing, but now I feel it again as I sit here before my computer. And I thought I should complain about it for a bit.
It's stress related, that I know. I think I need a day off work.
But that's the last I'll say of it.
I've been worrying about Christmas lately. I worry because it's become a real hassle to figure out what to get for people. For the past few years, I've been trying to not get people crap. Not crap in the sense of bad gifts, but in the sense of more possessions that people don't really need, don't necessarily want and will smile politely at, or even be quite excited to recieve, but will sit in a closet or on to top of a desk for a few years until they forget they got it as a gift and throw it out.
That may be a bit cynical, but you know what I mean. I hate the fact that Christmas has turned into a shopping holiday. I listen to people say
"Well, I WANT just clothes this year, because last year I got a computer and my wardrobe totally suffered."
or
"I just don't know what to get grampa, but I HAVE to get him something, so I'll just drop some money on a gift certificate".
Is this what it's all about? I think it's really great when you get someone a gift that they'll really like, and you get all excited about giving it, and then all self-satisfied when they open it and scream with glee, but the way Christmas goes these days, it's all obligation and greed. I Have to get this person something, and I Want to get this this year.
So, my dilemma is to figure out something that I can get for my family and friends that actually has meaning. Not just gifts, but a thought or a sentiment that they will remember. A few years ago, I made my family these plaque things which I painted myself. They weren't the most beautiful or useful gifts in the world, but I had put in the time and the effort to make them for my family, and I thought that was a nice sentiment. Something that said they mean a lot to me. The year after I made a video of old pictures and home movies set to music. Again, it wasn't the most useful thing, but it gave us a chance to be together and remember times gone by, and, again, it told them that they meant something to me.
I want to make gifts again this year, but I'm at a complete loss as to what to make for them. And time is running out.
Merry Christmas
