Are you ready?

I've been asked this several times recently. "Are you ready for Christmas?" Kinda sounds like I'm taking the SAT's or having surgury or undergoing some other traumatic event. I may have said this before, but one thing that bothers me about the "holiday" season is that it's a one-time deal. It seems like so many people try to cram all their generosity and kindness into a few weeks, and when it's done, they go back to treating people like shit. Companies suddenly remember that their employees have lives outside of work. People send cards and communicate with friends and family when they otherwise wouldn't bother. The media run stories about something good happening in the world instead of their usual doom-and-gloom. Now, I'm grateful that people find time sometime during the year to be generous and kind. Something is better than nothing. "Nothing" is a pretty poor benchmark to judge ourselves by, though. It would be a wonderful surprise if someday the world acted like each day was Christmas, and the "holiday" season lasted year-round. To answer all those who have asked (none of whom read my blog), yes, I am ready for Christmas. My bomb shelter is built, it's stocked with a year's worth of rations (read: Mac n' Cheese and Doritos), I have enough porn and lube to last me a while, and we're ready for the long "winter" until next Christmas when we can expect to be treated like humans again. Thankfully, everyone I've met online doesn't fall into the above category. I have found kindness, support, and generosity in abundance in the blogosphere. Perhaps we can start a revolution of sorts, a "random acts of kindness" revolution. As Margaret Cho says, "I urge you all today to love yourselves without reservation and to love each other without restraint — unless you’re into leather. Then by all means use restraints."