It's always around this time of year that my Mom starts getting goofy.

Christmas is Mom's favorite holiday. She gets all silly and wide-eyed, and falls into song with sudden frequentness. She especially likes to come up to me, hunched over in subdued excitement, singing, "Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat..."

And people wonder where I get it from.

I love Christmas too. The lights, the music, the food, the gifts, the cheer and happiness. I can't stand Christmas shopping, mind you, and the thought of spending a day in the mall gives me the old heebie-jeebies. I'd do all my shopping online if I had a working credit card. Damn VISA bastards.

Rook's annual Non-Traditional Christmas party was this past weekend.

This is the event that kicks off the season for us. It's the opener that uncorks all the holiday goodness to follow. This year's theme was French, so the potluck table was filled with rich cheeses and pastries and pate and stuff. Our huge pan of escargot was a big hit, which was a relief -- I'm glad I didn't de-cap those 110 mushrooms for nothing.

All that rich food did nasty things to my stomach, but I'll spare you those details. Didn't stop me from going back for seconds (and thirds) anyway.

A co-worker once asked me what I thought the true meaning of Christmas was, once during the seasonal party.

"Excess," was my unhesitating answer.

Okay, not exactly accurate, of course, but there's that little ringing bell of truth. Christmas is the time where people throw away their diets, stuff themselves until the belts creak, and fill their minds with sounds and lights. People line up to see the house with the most lights. Families compete on who can give or get the most presents. It's all about the biggest, bestest, mostest shiniest things in the world, all with a red bow on top.

This goes both ways. This is also the season where people are the most charitable, the most open, the most loving, accepting and forgiving. They extend hands to the needy, to people they normally overlook or forget.

It's all good.

Christmas movie of the day: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Hee. Chevy Chase at his finest. And not a bad message really, that a big, warm family Christmas is hard to come by, but worth all the effort of trying. Plus the theme song sticks in your head like a candy cane in a two-year-old's bib pocket.

Shuffledog's Slacking at the Office Tip #1: Take your lunch a half hour before everyone else. Whether you eat at your desk or not, the office will be empty for a half hour after your break is over. You can use that time to surf the net, write emails, sneak cinnamon buns from the cafeteria into your desk for later consumption, whatever.

Mom Rating: 4 out of 5. Mom loves Christmas. Excess is alway bad though.

Eating Alone

Jesus Cheeses

Take me home, big fella

A solemn pledge to try to post daily during the month of December, as both a gift to my readers, as well as a thank you for your support.