The Christmas ideal

As a first-generation Chinese immigrant of poverty (I think the incoming administration wants to ban people like our family from coming here), Christmas was never a thing. Firstly, it was not in our culture back then. Of course the corporations have managed to commercialized it in China now, so even my relatives over there wishes each other Merry Christmas on WeChat. I’m happy for the children, who get presents.

Secondly, our family was too poor to afford Christmas. Presents? Just be happy father is able to make enough per month to put food on the table. Contrarily, I don’t remember being jealous of fellow kids talking about presents and trips over the Christmas holidays. Granted, social media was not yet invented. I wasn’t able to see on TikTok how millions of other kids live so luckily and lavishly. Envy only materializes when you have something to compare to.

Because of this upbringing, Christmas is merely another day off for me. Which is just fine: I don’t have the financial burden that other people experience during the holidays. All the presents and wrapping materials cost money! Imagine going into credit card debt to fund a holiday deemed necessary by the cultural milieu. Imagine if your kids were never taught the expectations of Christmas presents.

It’s all rather wasteful, too. As we grow older, we come to truly know what we like and don’t like. That makes gift giving difficult because it’s rather easy to buy a thing that others accept out of politeness, but in truth it’s yet another piece of trash clogging up precious space at home. So you either have to toss it or donate it, and that takes time out of your days off. Never mind the decorations and packaging and go straight to (hopefully) recycling.

My ideal of a Christmas: hang out and eat. No presents, no over-the-top presentations.

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Instagram boyfriend.

Respect the Thanksgiving

It’s November, and you know that means: it’s officially Christmas season. Well, not in my house! In this rented studio of mine, we have respect for the major holiday before Christmas. That’s right, I am talking about Thanksgiving. The Christmas tree (and decorations) goes up after the fourth Thursday of November, not before. There won’t be any Mariah Carey on the music rotation. And if I see Santa at the mall available for pictures - before Thanksgiving, I am punching him in the throat (tongue fully in cheek).

I get it: the Christmas atmosphere is pretty awesome. To get two months of it - from the beginning of November to end of the year - stretches out that specialness. I certainly like Christmas more than Thanksgiving. The latter doesn’t have songs to compete with the many famous tunes related to Christmas (shoutout the woman being horny for Santa). Aren’t Thanksgiving decorations simply autumnal-themed? Pumpkin spice latte can never compete with the evocative Starbucks holiday cups. (Or for the folks on the American political right: Christmas cups.)

You know what does respect Thanksgiving? Capitalism. The local Walmart may already have Christmas decorations up, but it hasn’t forgotten that it’s (day after) Thanksgiving that brings in the biggest revenue of the year. It seems like Black Friday has morphed from Friday after Thanksgiving to an entire month of sales and consumerism. These big box stores all have Black Friday sales way before the actual day. Take the Walmart example: if you join their membership program, you get first access to “Black Friday” sales on the second Wednesday of November (that’s tomorrow).

Black Friday is the best time to do your Christmas shopping. If you’re the frugal, non-procrastinating type.

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Heart attack.

We're in the endgame now

Late last week, the FDA gave emergency authorization to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. This is great news, one that that provides a bit of hope and a proverbial light at the end of this strange tunnel. It’s just a shame that we as a nation are crashing and burning to get there. Right now, over 3,000 Americans are dying every single day due to COVID complications. San Francisco is back in lockdown, and ICU wards across the country are on the brink. The vaccine that can’t come soon enough has arrived, but it’s fighting the aftermath of a war, rather than a building fire.

I am optimistic for a quick rollout, and for other vaccines to join Pfizer’s relatively soon. That said, there are still many more months to go before we start our descent back to normalcy. I’m afraid we haven’t yet crest the wave. A friend of mine that works in the health industry says she personally doesn’t expect to the get the vaccine until April of next year. It will likely be well after that for me, a healthy person in his 30s, working in a non-essential job. I took the New York Times’ “Find Your Place in the Vaccine Line”: 260 million Americans, and half of San Francisco, are ahead of me

What I am saying is that while the vaccine approval is absolutely good news, we shouldn’t get complacent. The coronavirus saga is far from over, though we can take solace that the end is in sight.

That means Christmas is and should be cancelled. I didn’t blame people for gathering for Thanksgiving after a long and arduous year, but do you really need to get together again after less than a month? I think if you saw family and friends during Thanksgiving, it’s only rational and right that you don’t do so for Christmas. The hospitals are already at capacity; the vaccine rollout won’t be quick enough to stem the rise in cases if people gather for Christmas in significant numbers.

Honestly though, I’m not expecting any collective breakthrough. This country has too much freedom, not enough selflessness.

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Open and close.

December to remember

Hello everyone, welcome back to this side of December, my favorite month of the year. The days are shorter, and nights are dark and cozy; it’s utterly fantastic. December is a contracted month, too, with the Christmas break shortening the work month to only three weeks (lucky for me), which after coming off of the Thanksgiving holiday is quite something to look forward to. It’ll be a quick sprint towards the end, that’s for sure.

The weather finally made a turn towards the seasonal cold and rain during the Thanksgiving break, making the festivities that bit more atmospheric, being locked in our homes with the heat blasting, while outside the wind howls and the rain chills and sleets fiercely. It was wonderful: the traditional Thanksgiving meal just wouldn’t feel right if it were 70 degrees and sunny outside. As always, it’s special and rewarding to catch up with family and friends during this time of the year.

The four-day holiday allowed to time to complete some personal work, too, though at a far more leisurely pace. You can read about what the 10th month of ownership is like for my Porsche 911 GT3, in which I write about how the car has depreciated $20,000 in value since I bought it back in January (no need to cry for me, Argentina).

Another thing I finished is the photo calendars I make every year to give out to my friends during Christmas. It’s difficult to pick the best 13 pictures (12 months plus cover page) I took this year to include into the calendar, as the candidates were many (somewhat humble brag). After selecting the photos, I then reedit them to my current tastes, which has slightly evolved throughout the year. Finally, I then agonize over which picture belongs to which month, keeping in mind the seasons and mood associated with a particular month.

What I am saying is: it’s way more labor intensive than the final product looks.

In December there’s two big projects to do before I sign off for the rest of 2019 (I get on a plane to China on the night of the 27th): the December ownership update for the GT3, and the year-end reflection long-form; both combined is easily over 5,000 words. The aim is to have them finished before we break for Christmas; with the weather staying cold and rainy for the month, that shouldn’t be much of a problem to achieve.

Let’s finish strong, friends.

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A clean, bone-stock classic BMW E30 coupe parked on the street. What a lovely thing.