Wednesday, December 26, 2007

The Day After

Good morning, everybody--I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends and you all got more toys and goodies than socks and sweaters.

I will admit, I had a really tough time with Christmas this year--as hard as I tried, I just couldn't get into it these past few weeks. And I'm a huge fan of the holidays, too, so it didn't set well with me at all. On the plus side, it had less to do with the stress of finances than it had to do with the knowledge that I was truly stuck here in Vegas, when what I *really* wanted to do was go back to Tennessee for a few days and be with my family.

And even though I was stuck here last year, too, it was much easier because I had a special someone to shop for, dote over, and make plans with, so the holidays were much more fun. This year, being away from the family and also being single conspired to put a little bit of a damper on my Christmas fun.

But you're not here to read a post-holiday bummer, so I will also say that even though things weren't ideal here in Mikey's world, Christmas day was still rather enjoyable.

First of all, Christmas Eve started off with my cell phone filling up with tons of greetings and well-wishes from readers and friends. I swear I never get that many messages at one time except for maybe the first day of March Madness. Of course, I had to work that night, and I absolutely despise having to work on Christmas Eve. Hate it with every fiber of my being.

And even though I hated being at work, and held nothing but contempt for the people that were playing and forcing me to be there against my will, everyone was friendly, generous, and having a good time, so the evening passed quickly. The only bummer was that the one boss in charge that night is always extremely reluctant to *ever* close a game--so when our dice table went dead at 11:00 pm, we were begging him to let us bring the lid up and get out, but he refused.

You can't make any money with a closed table, Mikey! was what he said to me.

Sorry, but I just don't give a shiat about making a dime on Christmas Eve. Never have, never will. As far as I'm concerned, the degenerates can take a night off--the place won't go out of business. And I can survive on nine days worth of tokes instead of ten just this once... Oh well, I'm fighting a losing battle in this town.

As far as Vegas goes, Christmas is just another day--and that's probably the worst thing about living here.

But I finally got out around 1:30 in the morning, and my mood brightened considerably (the funny thing was, on the outside, I was happy and cheerful all night long, but on the inside I was bitter and resentful... stupid, huh?).

I got home, and the house was empty--Rob had the holidays off, so he was out tying one on with some of his friends. But I turned on the Christmas tree, fixed myself and eggnog martini (or two), and watched 'Christmas Lights Across America' on the Discovery HD channel before falling asleep in the chair an hour later. Once I woke up, I took a shower, turned the tv over to the 'Sounds of the Seasons' channel, and crawled into bed.

I heard Rob come stumbling home a little while later, and I slept until around 8:00 am or so, waking up when I heard him in the kitchen. So I got up, and the first thing we did was watch an episode of Jeopardy, like a couple of dorks... But then we decided to open up all the presents that were under the tree.

Santa Claus was especially good to me this year--I got a couple of new CDs (Johnny Cash and Elvis), a multi-tool, a pirate book, and some pretty damn cool 600-thread count sheets. The brown-suited Santa Claus also made another delivery, this time bringing a new alarm clock (thanks to an anonymous reader in Wisconsin) and some Cuban cigars from Chuck in Georgia. And word came that he'll be making yet another visit either today or tomorrow.

Words simply cannot express the amount of gratitude that I've felt these past few weeks--so many people have been so kind and generous that it just floors me. I am truly not deserving of such consideration. I wish I could personally thank each and every one of my readers--most of whom I've never met--who have had an extra ration of holiday spirit and sent along a gift, a note, a text message, or a greeting. It's amazing, and I'm humbled ever time I think about it. You guys are the best!

What you don't know is how much it's helped me to remain focused on just how truly lucky I am. Sometimes, late at night, I'd sit out in the living room with lights off with nothing but the tree and a couple of candles for light, listening to Christmas music, and sipping on a glass of the good stuff. And I'd be sad, thinking of what I've given up to be here and all the things I'm missing back in Tennessee. I'd think of all the fun I could be having with my family--cooking with Mamasan, shopping with Amy, sharing secrets with Cyndi and Sherry, spoiling my nieces, and just goofing off redneck-style with Reverend Dave. And I'd get a little depressed.

But then I consider all of the people who took a little time out of their busy lives to think of me this holiday season, who spent a few bucks that they could've easily spent on someone else much closer to them, or sent nice emails telling me how much they appreciate what I do here instead of just remaining anonymous lurkers, and I'm humbled once again, to the point that it gets misty in the room and I'm overcome with emotion. And I guess that's what the Christmas spirit is all about--sharing enough of yourself to make somebody else's outlook a little brighter. It's happened to me dozens of time this holiday season, and for that I am truly thankful.

God bless us, Everyone!

After the presents were opened, I made a pot of peppermint mocha coffee, and we watched Christmas Vacation. Once that finished up, Rob announced that he was going to scrub his bathroom and bedroom from floor to ceiling, so I didn't see him again for the rest of the day. I made myself a nice breakfast of blueberry pancakes and link sausage, and then giggled my way through A Christmas Story. After that, I discovered the Yule Log fireplace channel in HD, so I pretty much left that on for the rest of the day while I dozed.

At some point, I finished off the rest of the eggnog and the last of Mamasan's peanut butter balls. Rob went to bed early, having to be at work at 3:00 am this morning, and I stayed up late watching more stuff like Christmas at Belmont and a few MoTab specials.

All in all, it was a very relaxing Christmas Day.

I'm going back to work tonight, the worst part of it being that the cocktail waitresses will have put the naughty Santa's helper outfits back in the closet for another eleven months. It's enough to make the baby Jesus cry.

Mikey

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