Happy Whatever-You-Celebrate
I've been slackin' on the bloggin' due to the craziness that is Christmastime. Between all the last minute shopping, work, parties, and family get-togethers going on, there just hasn't been enough time for my personal stuff. I'm seriously looking forward to the 3 day weekend coming up.I hope all of you are having Happy Holidays (no, this sentiment isn't an attack on Christmas, I'm just fairly respectful of other cultures). Mine was great. Christmas day started with a drive over to my parent's house, where my sisters, mom and godmother cooked a huge breakfast for us all to get gluttonous on. I haven't seen my godmother and godfather in a while, so it was nice seeing them again, especially on Christmas.
After dealing with a bout of food coma, we went to a party thrown by my auntie Amy that night. This party has been a tradition since I was but a wee child, until a couple of years ago when her husband, my uncle Aki got sick with cancer, and she stopped having them. He died earlier this year, but my aunt mustered the strength to start the tradition again. What a turnout - over 75 people must've been there, making merry. This party is the most multi-cultural, beautiful thing I see all year – we sing Christmas carols (my mom led the sing-along, playing her guitar) and Hanukkah songs (we lit the first candle on the Menorah, this year), have tributes to the people who have passed, welcome newcomers (anyone and everyone is invited), and mingle with people of all colors and persuasions. Lots of fun. My aunt's son, Stevie, who I used to play army men and Micronauts with, made it in from Oahu this year, so that was very cool seeing him, too.
The next day, I had off from work (thank god), so I recharged a bit by sleeping in, then headed over to my sister's house in Valencia for another huge meal she made for my parents, godparents, auntie Amy and Stevie. Was nice being able to spend time with them in a personal setting, but sad that my uncle Aki couldn't be with us.
So that was how I spent my Christmas. Although this coming weekend will probably be just as hectic, I look forward to the parties, food, and hanging out with family and friends to ring in the new year. I'm sure between everything I've eaten in the past week and the food I've yet to eat this coming weekend, I fully expect to gain 10+ pounds. I guess getting off that weight will be one of my first New Year's Resolutions.
Oh yeah, the picture accompanying this blog entry is my sister Linda, niece Airica, and brother-in-law Mike sporting an authentic Middle Eastern headdress his aunt picked up for him during her trip to Egypt this year. Where he got the gun, I don't know, but I can't think of another image that sums up Christmas at the Schuetze's like this one. I guess you can just scratch out what I said about "Fairly respectful of other cultures..." above.
edit >> pic replaced with "christmas taco," the schuetze family dog. previous pic proved too inflammatory.
4 Comments:
wow and just a few posts ago you were railing against insensitive neighbors on Pearl Harbor day.
Sincerely,
Achmed Akbar Daivari
"achmed", how dare you imply that mike is being "insensitive" - he's just showing off the new gun and headdress he got for Christmas!
I feel uncomfortable in this blog environment. I'm going to have to report your to the authorities...
GWB
with all the recent revelations re: gwb and the nsa, chances are they already know.
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