Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, kiss my ass. Kiss his ass. Kiss your ass. Happy Hanukkah. — Clark Griswold
Hey all, your 3rd or 4th favorite blogger (depending on how Internet-savvy you may be) is back. I apologize for the long absence, but the holiday season has been a busy one, with trips all over the country and a few days breaking bread with the family, boozing, and busting open presents. The holidays are always a strange/wondrous/busy time, and this year was no exception. I arrived back from Atlanta on Christmas Eve, and I had just enough time to wrap my presents and get my suit steamed and pressed before it was time to go to Mass. (BTW – it was 60 degrees in Hotlanta – thank goodness I live in Boston, where the concept of a White Christmas exists not only in song but in reality). After Mass came a trip to Brighton where we were hosted by various family members that we haven’t seen since last Christmas. Good times, indeed.
The wake-up call came early the next morning, and I joined my family in opening a glorious pile of presents. I won’t bore you with what I got, but even if it is better to give than to receive, it was a very merry Christmas. The merriment continued with dinner at my grandmother’s house, where I saw the extended maternal family. A good time was had by all, but unfortunately, as soon as we left the house the post-holiday hangover began.
I don’t mean that in the hangover sense, even if I did have a few cocktails on the holiday. I mean it in the sense that the first few days after any big day (Christmas, birthday, graduation day, wedding day, etc.) seem like a huge letdown merely because they are relatively uneventful. Such has been life the last few days. I have spent quality time with several friends and friends of family members, and have enjoyed myself thoroughly, but nothing can compare to the high that comes on a big holiday. Everything else suffers by comparison.
Complicating this cocktail of emotion is the impending reality of Prague. As of writing this, I officially have slightly less than a week until I head to Central Europe for a period of indeterminable length. Am I freaking out? Well, that depends on your definition of “freaking out” is. It is clearly coming up fast, and yet, I have so much to do in the meantime, I have yet to really seriously contemplate the big changes in my life. I have to decide which jacket(s)/shirt(s)/pair of shoes/book(s) to bring with me, and which to leave behind to languish in my closet. Once I make those decisions, I have massive amounts of cleaning, organizing, packing, and laundry to do. I have to see many friends and family in the next few days. I have to decide whether to purchase the iPod classic or the iPod Touch. I have to book a train from Frankfurt to Prague. I have to figure out what I am doing for New Year’s Eve…any ideas that are cheap and fun? Well, you get the point – life is hectic, frantic, and exciting. But never fear, brave reader – no matter how crazy life gets, I will have time to share my thoughts and occasionally irrational viewpoints with the cyber community. Coming tomorrow or soon thereafter will be a wrap of the year in music, featuring my partial and probably completely irrational and arbitrary ranking of the Top 10 albums of the year. Enjoy the leftover eggnog, readers, and check back early and check back often.
P.S. Enjoy the falling snow – it’s my way of bringing the holiday spirit to the Internetz. (Or at the least the microscopically small portion of the Internet that reads my blog). In any case, happy holidays, and best wishes for a happy and healthy 2008. 
