Buy Nothing Christmas

Wow. Ok. I think I just totally burned off my taste buds. This coffee is way hotter than usual.

So, I suck and haven't blogged since, what? Thursday? So here is yesterday's word of the day:

skulk \SKUHLK\, intransitive verb:
1. To hide, or get out of the way, in a sneaking manner; to lurk.
2. To move about in a stealthy way.3. To avoid responsibilities and duties.
noun:
1. One who skulks.
2. A group of foxes.
When not rummaging under bushes, Mr Sculley can often be seen skulking in the woods or prowling along the shore. -- Tom Gilling, The Sooterkin
He skulked back from the shop with his purchase, hugging the walls, looking at no one, all the more panicky because he knew no other way home. -- Patrick Chamoiseau, School Days (translated by Linda Coverdale)
William skulked home, keeping in the shadows in case he met Mr Cripslock. -- Terry Pratchett, The Truth
Skulk is from Middle English skulken , ultimately of Scandinavian origin.

And now, on with the show!!

I tried to put on some nice dressy tall shoes this morning to wear, and damned if as soon as I got my car situated if my fricking foot isn't killing me. Needless to say, I am wearing the stinky clogs that makes my feet stink BUT I am wearing socks so it shouldn't be as bad.

I had to take my car into the shop this morning. I think my clutch is burning up, along with everything else that's wrong with it compression wise, etc. I love how these things always happen at the most inopportune moments. I can not wait for this year to be over with. I feel like I'm drowning and if I can just get to the other side I'll be ok.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Christmas, probably more than I should considering I'm not in the least bit religious. But Christmas isn't about religion to me. It never has been. No, to me Christmas is just about being with loved ones. It's not about consumption, or who can buy the most or better gifts, who spends the most money, or celebrating the baby jesus. There have been plenty of Christmases in our family where very little has been given or received. But it never mattered, we had each other and that was what mattered. Well it seems as though this will be yet another one of those years. My brother and his wife are having a baby, so they're trying to save up some money for that, I'm drowning in credit card debt, my sister just lost her job [showed up one day and the place had just shut down without much notice], etc., etc. But in all honesty I kind of think it's better this way. It should be about family and not about gifts.

My good friend Alesia has some info on her page about this "Buy Nothing Christmas" that someone has come up with. It's worth checking out. And while I'm sure many of you have already bought many gifts for people, take a moment and think about what Christmas really means to you and figure out how much more of your money you're going to spend on other people's humanistic need for instant gratification.

Don't get me wrong, I will be buying gifts for my family, but not a lot. There will be much more thought and effort put into my gifts than just going to the store and buying something [are you kidding me? I don't think I'll actually be going to any stores to buy stuff except a couple of gifts cards] The only thing I really want for Christmas is to have a car that runs without the constant worry that I could break down at any given moment. That and some silicone ice trays cause my ghetto ass apartments didn't give me an ice-maker in my freezer, and those damn plastic ice trays just crack and break and I'm sick of paying for ice.

So just think about what Christmas means to you and decide whether you're going to give in to our society of over-consumption or make Christmas mean something real.

Just sayin'.


Today's Promises(R) Message [brought to you by Dove Chocolates]

Smile Before Bed. You'll sleep better.

And today's Word of the Day:

dictum \DIK-tuhm\, noun:
1. An authoritative statement; a formal pronouncement.
2. Law) A judicial opinion expressed by judges on points that do not necessarily arise in the case, and are not involved in it.
I have taken to heart Francis Bacon's dictum that "truth emerges more readily from error than from confusion". -- Donald B. Calne, Within Reason: Rationality and Human Behavior
As an editor, Rahv took seriously Trotsky's dictum that "Art can become a strong ally of revolution only in so far as it remains faithful to itself." -- David Laskin, Partisans
What happened to Horace's dictum that literature should entertain and instruct? -- Scott Stossel, "Right Here Goes", The Atlantic, April 1996
Dictum is literally "a thing said," from the past participle of Latin dicere, "to say."