Christmas Is Here

It's that time again. You know-- bells are ringing; children laughing; people dashing to the mall. The time when we get bombarded by all the altruistic messages from big corporations to give give give has now arrived.

My retail experience has me planning for Christmas in mid October with Blackout dates, extra coverage, and endless sales. We make our lists and check it twice making sure we are stock with shopping bags, register tape, and gift cards. Mandatory works hours are giving out to ensure we spend our holidays with the people that matter most, our customers.

This Christmas is playing on the radio. "Are you feeling the spirit?" I'm ask. What spirit? I ask. "The Christmas spirits silly", she replies. I have no response. I have anxiety about our Christmas preview sale that starts tomorrow, but I don't verbalize my thoughts. I don't want to give away that my Christmas thoughts do not include us sipping eggnog and lighting the tree. "I'm getting there" I say with a forced smile, she accepts.

At times I think I've been robbed of my Christmas spirit; My spirit vault is destitute of the holiday spirit. It's in times like these I feel the need to dig deep and find the true meaning of the holiday season. Outside, the most wonderful time of the year just arrived, but to me it means long hours, holiday traffic, and impatient customers, but when I take time to look inside I start to see that the shoppers are not just looking to spend money but buying gifts. And it amazes me that in this pluralistic society we live in, everyone can come together and accept these times as a time to embrace the altruistic theme to bring joy to others. All of a sudden, my spirit vault is full with brimming holiday spirit.
Now I'm elated by it all: The houses illuminated with fulgurating bulbs and blown up snow man. The music that brings an inexplicable sense of peace and serenity every time you hear it. The anticipation of giving the gift which you pick out after hours of roaming through stores, and perpetually queuing up in endless lines. Most of all, finding out first hand that the saying "It is better to give then to receive" is not just a holiday mantra, but and axiom of life.

I can now except all that comes with this time of year; the hustle and bustle of it all becomes part of the tradition. It allows me to slow down and enjoy December for what it really is.

You'll never guess...

OK, I know you can see it.


For all the calls I've received from work, A car "crashed into the store" wasn't what I expected on a saturday morning.

Some crack-head (and I mean that in the figurative way, his head wasn't crack or anything) crash a stolen car into the front of my building this morning. Somehow he was not seriously hurt, and was able to run away from the scene of the accident. Maybe I do mean crack-head in the literal way after all.



Some how no one was hurt, thank god, the store was close at the time.
Had the store been open someone would of maybe died... a little dramatic, but it's true.