There's one part about growing up that really sucks. Yes, you know what I mean. The holidays don't feel quite so thrilling anymore.

When I was a kid, Christmas was a big deal. Me and my sister would get really excited decorating the tree, putting all the presents under it, and trying to guess what was in them. We even made a little Christmas town out of origami, with reindeers, Santas, trees, and houses with chimneys. It kicked ass. I wonder what happened to it.

On Christmas morning, our family would dress up in their Sunday best (which was ironically not worn to church on any other Sunday) and attend Christmas mass at Good Shepherd. I would sometimes sing in the choir, which was fun. Then it was present-opening time. That rocked too. I was real excited about getting toys and was bummed when I got clothes instead. Things were simpler then.

Yeah, and typically we would go to not one but two family gatherings for dinner -- one for each side of my family. Nowadays we only go to one, and half of that side of the family lives in Las Vegas now anyway. We used to run around and play games, too, that was fun. In contrast, these family shindigs lately have been mostly about eating food and sitting around chatting while in a food-induced stupor..

And here is what I did this year:

• Went to the 9:30 Cantonese mass at St. Bridget's. It was full of old people I don't know. Also, I don't understand a word of Cantonese.


• No presents to unwrap. Well, I wrapped a couple of books for my dad's gift, so he got to rip those open. The wrapping, I mean, not the books.


• Sat around all day. Ate boxed Christmas chocolates and cookies.


• Went to Uncle James' house for dinner. This was fun, but consisted mostly of us sitting around, stuffing ourselves and watching Kung Fu Hustle on DVD. Man, I didn't even get to see the ending because my grandparents wanted to leave early.


• On December 26th, went to Best Buy at 8 a.m. to see if there was anything good on sale. There wasn't and the store was dead. I wasted an hour and came home with Season One of Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

The end.

So yea, things aren't like they used to be. Admittedly, I'm getting too old to continue getting gifts. And I don't need anymore junk in my life (more money would be nice... ha.) And yes, I'll cherish my memories in the knowledge that you can never go back in time, but still... whining is so fun.

At least, it's not what it was when I was a kid. Back then, Christmas was a much bigger production with a much bigger build-up. I remember we used to listen to Christmas music for weeks; my sister and I would make a holiday town out of origami; and Christmas mass was a big deal. Nowadays, I get five gifts, not fifteen, and it doesn't matter so much anymore. Rather, I'm more grateful that I got to visit and socialize with both sides of my family. It's definitely worth tearing myself away from my Torts outline.

I think I'm going to make it, with maybe a few days to spare. But I hope I don't get burned out before the actual finals..

Some interesting weblogs I've read recently:

The Becker-Posner blog. Thoughtful commentary from Richard Posner, one of the most prolific legal scholars out there (he started the whole Law and Economics business), and some other dude. The current topic is Global Warning.

This site has compiled a list of blogs written by actual servicemen in Iraq who witnessed the mess hall suicide bombing in Mosul. It's a fascinating concept, soldiers reporting to the world first hand and real-time, although the site puts a disgustingly pro-Rumsfeld spin on things (how any writer in their right mind could do that, I don't know.)