It's fast, isn't it? 2 months back, I was so impatient for Christmas to get here when my speakers were blaring out Christmas carols at the beginning of October. Now, I'm left with my mouth wide agape, blinking at the dust trails torn gift wrappers Christmas has left me with, struggling to digest the fact that the day that I've been waiting for for an entire year has come and gone, and the wait begins again - another year through. I'm slowly picking my jaw up from the floor, staring blankly at the new year ahead and the most dreaded new school term. Damn it. I never thought it'd be so soon. The dust collected on the ornaments of the Christmas tree are visible, the airing of Christmas movies on HBO and Hallmark are slowly dispersing before the new calender replaces the old on my wall, the strong, howling winds of December are slowly disappearing and Christmas decorations in malls are being removed.
Christmas this year was a big blur. Everything and everyone was in a hurry. No one really had a quiet time to sit down and catch up with each other over some wine and some background music. Come to think of it, no one even sat down and had a family meal this year. Everything just seemed to happen so fast. Relatives from afar made their way back to Penang on the very last minute and were already packing their bags to go back on Boxing Day. There was so little time, you know. Our family too had caroling, on Christmas night itself, and we had to attend the Christmas day mass, already taking up most of the time needed to wait under the Christmas tree for presents with the other cousins. Oh, there weren't any presents to wait for anyway - except the wallet I got from tai yi. Mom thought it'd be nice to skip the presents this year in respect of kong kong, you know. And caroling is a very tedious job, for your information. Singing isn't really that easy when you're singing with waves roaring behind your back, in open air.
Heck, even Grace left us on Christmas day. Grace was back for a whole month (since 25th of Nov.) from her break. It was indeed nice to have her for thirty days. All the shopping spree we did together, messing around in changing rooms and rummaging through piles of clothes, hissing at other people, the time catching up on blockbusters in my room, practically staying up till dawn, and the food. Oh well, good times. Anyway, her varsity was kind of inconsiderate to be starting their classes on the 26th of December itself, making it impossible for students to get back in time for classes without missing Christmas. Penang is a 5 hour (4 or 3 hours if speeding) drive to KL. What about those living further away? I told her to skip a day of class and go back on 26th but since the arrangements couldn't go that way, she decided to cut Christmas short. So we had to send her off to her ride (Joe's aunt who had promised to give her a ride) on Christmas, which really sucks.
Christmas this year definitely wasn't like the previous years. I really don't know why. It definitely wasn't what I had in mind - a cozy little gathering with dad, mom, Grace, Edmund and me, at home, watching Christmas movies on HBO (or even DisneyChannel) or listening to Christmas carols, with the light dimmed, while sharing a whole box of Haagen Dazs and Famous Amos' pecan nut chocolate chip cookies with one another and just simply talking (maybe I could even get some good shots!). But who ever knew Christmas would turn out as such a blurred occasion this year, only a trail of blinking green and red light was all I can remember now. Not to mention the sadness of Grace leaving. Or was it because of kong kong's death? I felt no solemnity, though. Oh well, whatever it is that caused the rush this year, let's hope it wouldn't happen next year. Anyhow, I still have half a box of coffee flavored Haagen Dazs ice-cream left in the fridge and I don't suppose anyone will touch it, besides me.
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