It's such a bummer. There's so much stuff that's been going on in my life recently, and I can't talk about any of it. Some of it is really tragic, and would totally result in one of those sublimely touching blog entries. You know, the kind that really pluck at the heart strings, and make people think "there's a guy who, were it not for his staunch opposition to the establishment, could really be writing for Harper's Bazaar or something." Or something. Some of the things are incredibly funny, in a "I can't believe that actually happened" kind of way. And because all of them are way too personal, or involve people in my life that aren't directly involved in Alltooflat (I can't believe I have people like that in my life, by the way) I really can't talk about any of them (I guess that's why people keep anonymous blogs. I should totally start one of them. I'll post here when it's up).

Just so you don't feel left out of the action, though, I'll tell you how you would have reacted to the various bits of news: Saddened to the point of tears, shocked and aghast, in touch with the perfect harmony of the universe and the divine, and fairly well amused. So try to think of things that result in those emotions and reactions, and you'll be up to date. The rest is just details.

Actually, I guess there's a few things I could mention (in the "amused" category). I don't know if I mentioned it last year, but I went to Savannah to visit my brother for Christmas '03. When I was opening his gift to me and I saw what it was, I started to laugh. He was clearly hurt, since what sort of jerk laughs at the Christmas gift he gets? This was all cleared up when I told him to open his gift from me, and it was exactly the same thing (an inMotion for the iPod, a set of portable speakers which the iPod docks into. Pretty good stuff. Ben and I keep mine in the bathroom, so there's something to listen to in the shower). This year, I give my brother a call a few days before Christmas:

Ken: Hey Bill - how's it going? Look, I can't really talk right now, but I wanted to discuss things with you. You know I'm not coming down for Christmas, right?
Bill: Yup.
Ken: Well, I don't want Mom and Dad, who'll be getting there on the 28th, to have to carry anything they don't have to. So, what were you planning on getting me for Christmas?
Bill: Ummmm... a subscription to the Xbox online network.
Ken: Good. Because that was exactly what I was getting for you. So lets just save some time and energy, and I'll buy mine, and you buy yours, and we don't have to involve the middlemen.

It worked fairly well. And now we have a date on the 29th to play a little Halo 2 co-op online. I assume this will be right in the middle of their Christmas dinner. It wouldn't be right any other way, since we usually blow off the family to spend time in front of a video game when we're together anyway. Really, it wouldn't be Christmas without my mom saying things like "How do you enjoy those things" and "This looks exactly the same as it did the last time I was in here." Which just goes to show something, possibly about girls and video games (or more probably that my parents are cursed with sons with no sense of filial duty).

That's that. Hope you all had a good Christmas, or Chanukah, or whatever fire-lighting ceremony your particular brand beliefs call for at this time of year. Much love to you and yours, even if I don't know you, and possibly even if I don't like you.