Author Topic: What irks me about the holidays  (Read 156847 times)

Offline Sason

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #170 on: January 01, 2011, 05:54:34 pm »




This is for Chrissie--
Happy New Year!!

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lzQxjGL9S0[/youtube]




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinner_for_One

Dinner for One
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Even if I'm not Chrissi, I enjoyed it a lot!  ;D  Thanks for finding it John!


From Wikepedia:
Quote
The sketch presents the 90th birthday of elderly upper-class Englishwoman Miss Sophie, 

What the hell ???

I mean; can you be anything else than elderly when you're 90??  Why mention it at all?
I'd say it goes without saying that when you're 90, you're also elderly....?   ::) ::) ::)


Düva pööp is a förce of natüre

Offline brianr

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #171 on: January 01, 2011, 06:25:42 pm »
This reminds me of a conversation I recently had with my sister. When are you elderly? She is 76 and does not feel elderly yet. Hopefully at 66 I am not elderly.  :)  Those of you in your 20's and 30's may have a different opinion. The same thing occurred with middlle-aged. However I am now willing to admit that I am probably past middle age. When I was in my 20's, my best mate was 18 and often called me 'old man' and 'over the hill'. Now that he is in his 50's and a grandfather, I often stir him about that.
And Jeff, when you are retired you cannot wait for the silly season to be over and everyone else goes back to work so things are normal again. Here in the Southern hemisphere that is not until late January unfortunately.

Offline CellarDweller

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #172 on: January 01, 2011, 10:32:13 pm »
What irks me about the holidays? Having to go back to work when they're over.  :-\

I've reached the point in my current job where I can now easily save up enough vacation time that I don't have to work between Christmas and New Year's. I could get used to being a gentleman of leisure. Unfortunately, it all comes to an end Monday morning.  :-\

Now this is something I don't have to deal with.  I only get out early on Christmas Eve, and off Christmas Day, and the same for New Year's Eve and New Year's day.

It was different for the recent holidays as they fell on Saturday, so I had the day after off as I don't work Sundays.  It will be that way this year, as the holidays will fall on Sundays, so the banks will be closed on Monday.

;D


Tell him when l come up to him and ask to play the record, l'm gonna say: ''Voulez-vous jouer ce disque?''
'Voulez-vous, will you kiss my dick?'
Will you play my record? One-track mind!

Offline Aloysius J. Gleek

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #173 on: January 08, 2011, 12:06:03 pm »



Ok,  it's two days after  the 12 days of Christmas, but this
is just too odd not  to include it in our very disparate thread:


[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK2q3rjKCvI&feature[/youtube]


"Tu doives entendre je t'aime."
(and you know who I am...)


Cowboy Curtis (Laurence Fishburne)
and Pee-wee in the 1990 episode
"Camping Out"

Offline Lynne

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #174 on: January 08, 2011, 02:39:42 pm »
What irks me about the holidays? Having to go back to work when they're over.  :-\

I've reached the point in my current job where I can now easily save up enough vacation time that I don't have to work between Christmas and New Year's. I could get used to being a gentleman of leisure. Unfortunately, it all comes to an end Monday morning.  :-\

That irked me this year too, Jeff.  I usually don't work between Christmas and New Year's, but this time I *wanted* to work and be finished with the job.  But I wasn't 'allowed' to.  So I went ahead and filed for unemployment for that week (not that I expect to need it, but it won't hurt to not have the 'waiting week').  And the first week of January was 3 days - Friday being an 'off' Friday - so nothing is going to get done until maybe this Monday and everything will be dragged out until the end of the month.

Meanwhile, I could be more actively pursuing new jobs...a topic which I should take over to my blog...
"Laß sein. Laß sein."

Offline zephaniah

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #175 on: February 08, 2011, 11:48:18 am »
I really enjoy New Year's Eve, but I don't go get drunk and kissy-face with strangers: it's all about the fireworks for me, and even standing in the snow is OK.  While many people know that gunpowder was invented by the Chinese millenia ago, they don't know that it was invented specifically for use in fireworks on New Year's Eve.  The ancient Chinese shot off fireworks on the last night of the year on into the beginning of the next year to confuse the evil spirits - those folks knew that those evil spirits would be so confused by the flashing lights and the noise they wouldn't be able to follow people into the New Year.  So I guess that makes me a real traditionalist!

Offline delalluvia

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #176 on: December 21, 2011, 09:50:11 pm »
Can't recall if I posted this or not, but the holiday weekend is coming up.  Normally, we spend it with one relative or another. I normally don't care who, but it's OK.  I only have one long afternoon to spend with relatives I like or sorta like doing nothing but eating and socializing (I rarely exchange gifts, because after I buy gifts for my friends and my sister and her child and my work friends, I'm usually broke and don't have the money for gifts for my half-brother and his wife and 4 nieces and nephews and cousins and aunts and uncles), but usually THEY can afford to give me gifts and they always treat dinner and never ask us to bring anything.  So going over there, I always feel like the "poor relative", so I don't really care to.

This year, my cousins decided to start being more 'family' so they invited us for the holidays.  Well, so did my brother.  I was thinking OK, we spend Thanksgiving with one and Xmas with another.  

Nope, my sister accepted all invitations - for both of us - and now my weekend is all but taken up with visits to relatives.  That is not how I wanted to spend my long weekend.

Tonight when my sister called, I let her know I was only going to one relatives.  She started instantly to get upset and I retorted, "What's wrong with that?  So what if you're the only one to go?  Nobody is making you..."

She was like "Fine, spend Xmas alone."

My sister has no hobbies.  She socializes.  That's her hobby.  

So rather than feel guilty like she wants me to, hopefully she'll get the point that she shouldn't make plans for both of us without asking me first...but I doubt it.  I think I'm just sick and tired of my decisions always being perceived as wrong or that my actions will make the difference for someone else's enjoyment and therefore I'm responsible if I don't make the effort to please someone else.  

And it's not and I'm not.  I'm not the "life of the party".  I am not particularly close to my relatives.  There is no reason in the world when I make my decision my sister couldn't just say "Oh, OK." instead of getting all over me like she did,

"So I get to go alone again?"

Like that's some sort of awful thing and totally my fault she has to go through it or something.  >:(
« Last Edit: December 22, 2011, 12:36:41 am by delalluvia »

Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #177 on: December 22, 2011, 11:57:04 am »
Della, if your sister accepts invitations for you without your permission, you are not obligated to go. Contact the hosts directly and explain your decision. Then talk to your sister and emphasize that you are not her companion or escort. Tell her what engagements you are prepared to keep for the weekend and draw the line at that. After all, the Dalai Lama has said, for a better life, spend some of each day in solitude. Many people, myself included, need that for optimal mental health.

For a handful of years, my husband decided that our family should travel to another town on Thanksgiving to be with his brother's family. It was always a big production and I wasn't welcome to bring anything or help. Finally, I decided I would stay home. I cooked a full Thanksgiving dinner last year and my mother and I sat down together to eat it. It was delicious!!

This year I had a full table with a variety of friends and family. I felt truly fulfilled! We will see the brother's family on New Years Eve, so everything seems well balanced.
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Offline serious crayons

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #178 on: December 22, 2011, 12:41:56 pm »
Many of us -- and not to be sexist but I think most of us are women -- tend to feel that other people's preferences are more important than our own. I fall into this trap myself, especially with my kids. (Obviously I have some extra obligations regarding children/dependents, but that shouldn't mean their preferences ALWAYS trump mine.)

But here's my advice:

Remind yourself that it's your holiday, too, and that your preferences are just as important to you as other people's are to them, and just as worth following. Observe that your choice upsets your sister, but don't take responsibility for her objections. Remember that she has to make her own choices, too. Then move on.


Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #179 on: December 22, 2011, 12:55:29 pm »
Many of us -- and not to be sexist but I think most of us are women -- tend to feel that other people's preferences are more important than our own.

That reminds me of how, as an "only child," I had it constantly drilled into me that "you can't always have your way." I think the intent of that drilling was admirable, and this isn't exactly the same thing, but I think the end point is similar: You are made to feel like you're a bad person if you don't always put other people's preferences ahead of your own.

Or, at least, you are made to feel like you're a bad person if you allow them to make you feel that way.

At the holidays, this sometimes takes the form of "you have to have a present for so-and-so because he/she has a present for you." Even this year, I got that from my dad.  :-\
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.