Grinch

When I say I don't like Christmas, I think I am being unfair with the holiday.  I don't like some of the things that surround Christmas, not Dec. 25 per se. 

First of all, traffic in Mexico City becomes impossible.  Average car speed goes from 13 mi/hr (which was already sucky) to 5 mi/hr.  I know around 80 cities.  None of them have a car speed of 5 mi/hr.  My regular commuting time between my office and home is 60-70 minutes.  From Dec. 12 and until Dec. 25, this commuting time is increased to over 300 minutes.   That is more than two hours driving.  That is more than I can take.

The second thing I dislike about the holidays is that, since everyone is leaving for a 2 week vacation, people try to fix in five days what they did not do during the whole year.  Customers and suppliers are expecting processes that take 3 months to suddenly get fixed in one week.  They have to leave everything closed, and they act like you are obliged to work 15 hours a day to help them.  Guess what?  Things take what they take, regardless of your Out of the Office plans.  Ah, if only I could work while I drive...

Regarding presents, don't get me wrong: I love giving out presents.  When I see something that reminds me of someone, I buy it, and wrap it, and write an awesome card with it.  I love people's birthdays because it gives me the chance to get them what I thought all year long that would be nice to give them.  However, I don't understand how is it that Christian humanity came to terms with buying everyone you know a present for Jesus' birthday. If you come from a huge family, like myself, you would have to spend a huge amount of money to make everyone happy.  Second, it is impossible to find something special for all of them.  What I end up doing every year is find something special for a few people, and then buy random sweaters or pajamas for everyone else.  What has happened also historically is that I am that person that is left behind in everyone else's list and I always get random sweaters or pajamas.  I know they try, and I know they spend money on me... but why should we?  Why can't we just give each other our Christmas present when we find something we like??  Another minor but existent annoyance is the fact that you cannot go shopping without having to listen to Christmas Carols all day long. 

Finally, what I dislike the most is all that talk about love and generosity and peace.  People are still full of hate and greed and war.  They will not change, not even for this two weeks.  They can put up a tree, and deck the halls with boughs of glory... they are still the same crooks.   

The bright side is that it lasts only a few weeks, and it is only once a year.  Merry Christmas!