Monday, December 27, 1999

I worked Christmas day. One of the radio stations in my area asked if I was free both mornings over the holiday weekend, and I said, "yes." I figured that it was an opportunity to make some money over my break. Also, it gave me a chance to escape from my family's celebration.

The truth is, I don't really celebrate Christmas - I'm not a Christian. I find no place in my life for religion, Christianity or otherwise. Frankly, I don't buy the idea that one person was born of a divine impregnation to "save the world." Was Jesus an idealist? Probably. Was he a convincing speaker? Most definitely. Were the Romans frightened by his teachings? No shit. Did they kill him for political reasons? Through some major body piercing, no less. Was he the son of God? Give me a break! Frankly, Jesus, or rather his followers created a cult that gained enough popularity to make it to a mainstream religion. I'm sure that if he were to see what his teaching hath wrought, he'd be a bit shocked; maybe even a bit dismayed.

I was home for the afternoon of Christmas day. Since the rest of the family had opened their presents, I got to open mine all at once with everyone watching. It was the standard mix of clothing and whatnot. I suspect that most of the clothes I got are going to get traded or sent to that graveyard at the bottom of my chest of drawers. Sometimes I get the feeling that my family is trying to dress me in their own image. While most of the items were the color I requested (black), the style looks too "preppy."

The most useful item I received was a printer for my computer. Fuck the network - I'm self-contained now! It's a color inkjet capable of photo-quality printing. You can bet that I'm excited. I just need a project worthy of this printer...something with a lot of photos.

After I finished unwrapping presents, my nuclear family went to the residence of my extended family for dinner. I have nothing against my grandparents (I really have nothing against any of my family members, except that they can be a bit annoying - that, and they're all a bit nuts), but seeing them this year was depressing. My grandfather had just gone through major surgery, so he was not in the best of sorts, as far as that goes. My grandmother on the other hand has been slowing down for years now. Her mind is still there, but it seems trapped inside layers of something, which cause her to be unable to express herself with the acuity that she was able to ten years ago.

It makes me wonder what the future holds for me. What will I have to go through as I age? Will I become trapped in my own head? Will I have to go through a full knee-replacement operation? I already have a bit of a curve in my spinal column (this is why I can't touch my toes, and have always failed to get more than a few inches when the "sit and reach" test was done in high school gym). If I look over my family tree, I run a risk of obesity, skin cancer, mental illness (in one form of another), and diabetes. All this is from both sides of the tree too.

I just won't think about it at this point. As long as I feel all right, I'm not going to worry. It'll probably be the food they serve me in the college dinning halls that ends up causing my demise anyhow.

There are only five days left until the new millennium. I really don't see anything major happening. The "Y2K bug," in my opinion is a shit load of media hype. The end of the world is barely at hand - it's barely even at foot or pinky toe. I'm willing to bet that the biggest thing that's going to happen on the dawn of the year 2000 computer-wise, is that a few smaller businesses will be faced with errors. Of course, I'm going to be laughing my ass off at any PC user complaining that their system has crashed. My MAC G3 will be running well into 2047.

The only reason anything major would happen at the dawn of 2000, is the same reason that anything major happens at all: people. Some insane asshole will probably end up donning a vest of dynamite, stand on the tallest building he can find, scream, "God speaks through me," and jump off while pushing the little red button marked, "detonate." I mean, the government has already beefed up security at border crossings and airports in anticipation of Y2K terrorists. My little example is not unlikely, which is sad.

Of course, we should really face facts: the new millennium doesn't start until 2001. Any overly religious doomsday zealot who wanted to perform a self-sacrifice (while maybe taking half of Los Angeles with him) would be doing it a year early. Curses! Foiled again!

Personally, I'm looking forward to an exciting but fun New Years. I'm going to be spending the night with The Tall Guy, Goth #1 and all of their friends. Effectively, for the first time since 1989, I'm escaping from Potsdam for the New Year. It's even better, since it is the dawn of a new millennium (yes, I know that doesn't really happen until 2001, I know I just said that, leave me alone, nobody else cares that we're doing it a year early). I'm excited; this should be a lot of fun.