a musing julius…

so christmas eve went off without a hitch. my family (me, dad, mom plus grandma) opened the 52 presents we had under the tree. yes, 52. 4 people, 52 presents. 13 presents on average. in actuality, mom and i got the most. dad was ridiculous again, purchasing not only 10 articles of clothing for my mom from her favorite store, he went the ‘laptop’ route. now, grandma, mom, dad and i all have laptops. christmas morning was spent on our respective computers*

dinner was different this xmas eve. we opted for non-polish fare…no pierogis, herrings or potatoes. the only thing we had remotely polish was barszcz (yes, that’s 5 consonants in a row) instead, seafood stew, bruschetta and baked brie (not all together, and not all at once) made up dinner for the night.

polish people open gifts on xmas eve…and this year, santa was good to me, mostly in the area of running effects. santa thinks i can run a 1:45 half-marathon, and did everything in his and her power to keep me running. the signature gift, a suunto t4, not only tracks my heartrate, but knows exactly the distance i’ve run, the pace, how many calories i’ve burned, and then downloads all of that to my computer, so i can see just how well i’ve been regressing progressing in my running.

anyway, after dad and i plowed down a bottle of wine between the two of us while opening presents, we decided to polish off another one (this time we split with mom and grandma) before we had to walk across the yard to our friend’s place. there, we told stories of the old polish country.

this morning (christmas day) we ended up spending an hour at starbucks with polish friends, in the corner, having a blast, and making fun of more absolutely ridiculous holiday greetings from poland. i’d translate these, but they rhyme, and their in polish. sadly, the words “yank” and “testicles” don’t rhyme in the english language, so the poem about santa getting his ass kicked when he comes down your chimney rhymes in polish, but not in english.

i took the new running gear out (which is ungodly accurate when it comes to identifying how far i run: 4.18 miles today)

but mostly, this christmas was a great time to be with the family. we rarely spend this much physical time together, and usually, we seperate and do our things, like work, visit friends, etc. it’s been 4 solid days, and we’ve not left each other’s side. this time, love has been the word of the week. i’ve never felt this way about my family. despite the distance, i feel closer and closer to my parents each and everytime i come. i’m not sure if its maturity in general, or if i’m gaining emotional maturity when it comes to my parents. i love them lots (obviously, we talk constantly, but they’re all i’ve got) but this week continues to show that my relationship with them continues to evolve, and i learn more and more each day about them and my relationship with them. it’s neat.

also, everyone should watch the movie Vitus.

*in all actuality, i left my laptop in detroit, but it makes the story sound better if i actually imagine i brought the laptop with me and used it this morning.

sunday, i ventured to the mall. not just any mall. no, i went to:

the somerset collection

not a mall. a collection. they’re even so special, the add THE in front of their name. and what is somerset. it just sounds haughty. well that’s what it is and sadly, most of the time i feel like i fit in there.

the somerset collection is the only mall i know that is divided into two malls. one for rich people, with stores like banana republic, anthropologie, and an apple store. the other part is for oppulently wealthy people, including stores like louis vuitton, gucci, coach, tiffany & co. and countless other stores that would kill to collect 2 months of my salary for a purse thats made in china with a fancy logo on it. also, the mall has a skywalk to get between the two sides, and 3 starbucks. 1 on each side, and 1 in the food court. it’s like my haven. i hate to admit it, but i like going there. i like throwing on my $300 wool coat and roaming the mall, and getting compliments for it (1 in banana, the other in the store i bought it in, bachrach)

anyway, i find the somerset collection one of the greatest places on earth to people watch for many reasons. its located in an area of michigan which makes it accessible to thousands of upper and middle class individuals out shopping. many of these individuals make boatloads of money, which frustrates me as to why these individuals, who probably dress quite nicely to goto work, go out shopping in tights, some cowboy boots, and a green holiday sweatshirt with an embroidered santa clause face on it. the 12 year old daughters of these people seem to have gotten the budget for dressing nicely to go out. what ever happened to the brady bunch phrase of “put on your sunday-best kids. we’re going to sears.” except these people aren’t going to sears. they’re going to coach and buying their 9 year old daughter a $800 purse because how could she goto the 4th grade without it.

each starbucks had a line of 20 people. many of the individuals completely impatient and unfriendly, curious why their ridiculously embarrassing order “wasn’t quite right.” (a testament to all the baristas out there that get orders for a skim half-caf triple shot 2 pump chai white peppermint mocha with light whip perfectly while serving 6 other customers and have 15 queued up behind them)

sometimes, i think people get wrapped up so much in spending money during the holidays, that they forget its about being a family, getting together, being thankful for the time you have together.

this year, my grandma is flying in from poland to spend the holidays with my family. i see her once every two years. that’s something to be thankful for.