It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas… probably

4 years ago today I wrote the following:

Merry Christmas!

One more thing before I go: I got my first Christmas card of the holiday season tonight! It was easily recognizeable with its red envelope and hand-scrawled address.

The fact that it was actually addressed to someone else is hardly the point.

Christmas-time in China is a confusing time. Let’s face it, 99% of the citizens here are Buddhist so it’s really all about the gifts (you know, just like it is for the rest of us). Hong Kong was beginning ot look spectacular, with many of the high-rises sporting impressive displays. Dongguan is a bit less impressive, but there is still a 40-foot tree down in the lobby. Nice.

It’s that time of year again, and, as usual, I got nothin’. I sadly have no girlfriend to shop for, and my friends and I don’t do the gift-swapping thing. That leaves mom and dad and I’m pretty much clueless. Every year it’s the same thing. I ask for a list or some ideas, they are promised, and they never come. Or, if they do come, they’re boring things like perfume and new ties. Granted, that’s probalby what they want, but it sounds suspiciously more like things they need.

I really enjoy the whole gift-giving concept, too. Or, more correctly, the idea of making people happy, whatever the method.

Also, for the record, after spending the last couple of weeks absorbing Chinese television, the following sports are now awesome:
.: football (the real one… I am immediately buying cleats upon my return to the US)
.: badminton (I am also turning Beach Volleyball Day into Beach Badminton Day)
.: ping pong (with toil and sweat, I shall challenge the office champion)