[Seth Says] Present: Tense
Are you proud of stealing people's gift-wrapping materials?
Go ahead, take a bow.
Yes, we're into the thick of it, or I guess arguably, into the thin of it, since this liminal phase halfway between Thanksgiving and Chanukah/Christmas (which are actually on the same day this year; good luck dodging the "Jewish Christmas" label this time around)(Although since Christ was Jewish and that religion was there first, you could call Christmas "Christian Hanukah")(Although that would be silly, since it's obviously Christian Saturnalia) always tends to feel like nothing's happening because everyone's just waiting for things.
This is often a part of my daily experience. If I've got a zoom call with a client at 3pm, and it's 2:30, that half-hour feels like dead time to me because I can't really start anything useful. Apparently this is not a problem for most people on a day to day basis. But as the end of the year goes, I do feel like the zeitgeist ("I ain't afraid of no geist!") is very much, "We're just waiting for it to come around again, on the guitar."
And me, I'm a terrible waiter. (Which I know because sometimes I exhale dramatically before collapsing into my chair in a boneless fashion.)("Waiter, there's a sigh in my floop!")
SILENCE IS GOLDEN
Spoiler alert: I'm not big on gift-giving. Always felt like holiday/bday/etc gifts were all tied up with obligation, so I just opted out of the whole shebang. Conveniently, Debbie is someone who does not care overmuch about such things, so we get to skip all of that and just be good to each other in other, non-occasion-based ways.
Consequently, I'm quite content that the response to my entreaty for gift guide entries was silence. I already thought holiday gifts were overrated (like grapes; who wanted those anyway? what a bunch of nonsense!), so I very much believe that Silence is golden, a gift in and of itself (and yet another one I never get for Debbie, perhaps the only gift she truly craves).
In general, my interest in material goods has waned significantly over the years, although I don't want to give the impression that I am in any way leading some sort of ascetic or minimalist lifestyle. On the contrary, I am a creature of comforts! It's just that those comforts are mainly Internet and tasty food and being enwrapped in one of the many warm and fuzzy blankets we own, and everything else I'm mostly apathetic about. I'm big on hedonism, it just doesn't require a lot of accessories — always a plus in any hobby.
BIG ON HEDONISM
As you know, this newsletter supports hedonism. But this week my column also makes a moral and spiritual case for hedonism as well:
When I shared my column on Facebook, a friend replied with this Guardian article about gaming that likewise takes a moral pro-hedonism stance, and goes further to say that playing games is the natural activity of economically and psychologically autonomous individuals. Certainly rings true for me, although I'm biased as someone who loves games and autonomy. Still, isn’t it nice that I wrote a positive newsletter for once?
WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE
So in that spirit I wish you a most joyous Christmahanakwanzakah (or whatever set of holidays you do or do not celebrate -- I bid an enjoyable mid-to-late December to you!), and hope you find ways to enjoy yourself in spite of the weather and world. Thanks for reading, back in two weeks with another column, and drink an extra eggnog for me.
Just Another Egghead Noggin,
Seth