Ho Ho Ho and All That JazzThis Christmas has been an interesting one. The malls are empty; there are hardly any decorations around, retailers are burying their faces in their hands. Other than that it's cold and snowy outside - and there's ample snow on the ground here in Ann Arbor, owing to a storm that dumped a foot of it on Saturday, so no question of it being "white" this Christmas.
But the Christmas cheer is absent, and the little rush that one gets from being surrounded by happy Christmas shoppers and folks being in a generally good mood owing to the season, is strangely lacking. It's not replaced by hostility; just by a kind of complacency. As most people in Ann Arbor are generally a little hostile, that it has moved from there to mere complacency is certainly welcome. But one wishes for joy.
I wonder if it's just the community in which I live, or all communities, or just some of them. I guess in New York they can still afford to celebrate Christmas, and as I will be there next week, perhaps I will see something left of that.
Digital Nightmare I generally don't discuss issues at work on this blog, and I will not go into great detail here. But we have merged with another company and that means merging our computer platforms. I'm starting to see our usually robust and gracious IT people leaning against the walls, eyes closed, mouths gaping to the ceiling. Spam is streaming into inboxes, computers are clogged and slogging along as best they can, and one's workday becomes a little like trudging through the snowbanks outside. There have been an endless round of meetings. The mood is still upbeat as it always is, but you can tell that there is an atmosphere of strain.
I am thankful to have a job - Michigan has the highest unemployment rate in the country right now. And there is kindness here - I'm a single parent now, adjusting to a wholly new lifestyle and generally pretty broke all the time, no car and with only limited resources. A local business helped us out with some presents, so my daughter is having a wonderful Christmas. I'm thankful for family, friends and others who have helped us out with innumerable things. Times are hard, but we'll get by - and I guess that sums up the mood of this Christmas. It might not satisfy the retailers, but with the war, weak economy and other challenges this year, it's just about as much Christmas as we can muster up. And it will have to do.
Uncle Dave Lewis