Have you been naughty this year...ask Señor Frosty

Señor Frosty
Originally uploaded by deernose.

Have you ever been traveling during christmas holidays and had to transport gifts? I certainly have. And there is always one gift that I am especially glad to get rid of. I don't like Chrismas much anymore, mostly because I think it's been commercialized to death. Parents think they have to give their children the world every single year and people without much money feel pressure to give, give, give. Its incredible how much debt people get themselves into during the holidays, not to mention how much food they eat, weight they gain, resolutions they make and resolutions they break---year after year.

Anyhow, I decided this past year that I was NOT buying anyone gifts besides my close family (which has expanded so much by the way since my father remarried and my mom has a new petite ami. The thing was that I was visiting relatives I haven't seen in 5 years and I had to make a good impression to fix the horrible one I made last time. So I'm going crazy trying to find gifts for about 20 people on a budget of -$20 because I just dropped a load of money on buying a plane ticket to Australia, paying rent, buying food and being unemployed (but STILL needing to spend money on luxuries like food and shelter!). So the day before I'm supposed to head out to Mexico with Bill, I decide, "What the hell. I'll get gifts." So I drag myself to Kmart and grab every christmas decorative item that is on sale that people will accept as a gift. This is where Mr. Frosty comes in.

This stupid snowman gave me sooo much trouble starting in the parking lot of Kmart in Somerville because it didn't want to fit in the bag, it continued to pester me on the #66 bus because it was sticking into my side (the bus was packed and I need to support myself on SOMETHING). I wrap my gifts and discover that this oddly shaped thing doesn't fit inside wrapping paper so it has to go in a bulky gift bag, which failed to fit into my carry-on bag. It kept tyring to make an escape whilst Bill and I rode the metro to the airport. At each an every security check-point I had to rescue it from tissue paper at the depths of its gift bag and kindly show it to the security guards. I even left in on the x-ray machine a few times. When we finally get to our last layover in Houston we were delayed an hour or two. We had run out of food to eat and other diversions so we proceeded to take pictures of Mr. Frosty to as punishment for being naughty and annoying.

(Once in Mexico, we gladly gave him to his rightful owner-my uncle and aunt David and Guille.)

Cheers, Frosty.