Merry Christmas morning...I was up late watching two completely non-traditional movies, "Star Trek" and "Tommy." I hadn't seen the latter since I was a kid when I thought it was compelling and disturbing. I wanted to see if it still was compelling and disturbing. It is. And best of all, it holds up as a very stylized rock opera; it doesn't feel dated at all. Except for Roger Daltrey's hair.
And this morning, I slept late. Now, with coffee in hand and computer on, it feels like a normal morning for me. Mo and I didn't decorate at all, didn't send cards other than an e-card, and didn't go out with friends or family, as we might have in the past. So yeah, it really feels like a typical Friday morning, except I won't be teaching today.
For Mo, the holidays really mean nothing. He doesn't consider himself religious at all and is often disdainful of people who are. He is as zealous in his anti-religion as some fundamentalists are. For me, I wanted to keep a very low profile this year. The economy has really affected most of my daily living so there isn't a lot left over for extra things, like a tree or cards or gifts. So when it looked like Mo and I wouldn't be doing anything special this year, I welcomed it with monk-like stoicism and frugality. We would be cheerful without going into debt!
But I have to admit, I miss some of the traditions of the past: the exchanging of gifts with family, the mass on Christmas Eve, decorating a tree and wrapping presents. When we lived in NYC, Mo and I used to go out for sushi on Christmas Eve before we went to visit his family or mine on Christmas Day. It was a tradition we carried over to LA until last night; without much else going on, holiday-wise, we simply brought in Chinese food and watched movies.
And that was nice, pleasant even, but a little...meh. I think next year I will bring back some of the things we used to do. Hopefully the economy and my personal situation will allow me to spend a little more. Even monks celebrate something, don't they?
Happy Christmas to all~
