So, what’s Santa bringing you this year?  Have you been naughty or nice? I guess the real question should be, how naughty have you been? Everyone is naughty; it’s a matter of to what degree. I wish I could say that I was angelic throughout 2015, but alas, I can’t. Look, I tried but I’m being completely honest. Yes, my potty mouth ran miles when encountering bicyclists on the road, listening to politicians, watching the Blue Jays lose; sometimes at work, sometimes at home, while driving, while walking on the sidewalk, while watching the Vancouver Canucks,  while shopping, while parking my car, while watching soccer,  while dealing with contractors, while awake. Damn, maybe I should work on my colourful language? That’s exactly what I’m going to do, starting with the next paragraph.  I’m still pissed at Santa. I left the fat bastard milk and cookies last year, you know, to be nice. But did he eat the cookies and drink the milk? Nooooo. What he did do is help himself to some of my Remy Martin XO Cognac. I know it’s true because everyone in my household said so. With the exception of our 14 year old. He said it was his sister.

Yes, it’s the season to be nice or at least pretend you are. It’s a bit of a challenge getting into the spirit this year. Here I am in Toronto, Wednesday, December 23^rd and its plus 14° today. This reminds me of when I lived in Vancouver, no snow but plenty of rain. That makes some people sad because Christmas just doesn’t seem like Christmas for them without snow on the ground. Really? These same people get pissed, (damn, I just broke my promise above) when they have to drudge through slush and snow on the 26^th. The mind is such a terrible thing to waste. I can’t really even complain about the hustle and bustle of shopping this year. I think I purchased 95% of my gifts on-line, as did everyone else in our household.  You’re Welcome, FedEx.  One final note about our unusually warm weather this year, I love it! Last year we froze our buttocks (look at me adhering to my promise I made above) off. A mild Christmas, not having to put on twenty layers of clothing, shoveling the driveway, scraping the windshield or wiping snot on my coat sleeve, and David Suzuki and Al Gore going nuts. There really is a Santa.

All kidding aside, I hope you’re surrounded by family and friends this time of year. It doesn’t matter what you’re celebrating; Hanukkah, St. Lucia Day, Fiesta of Our Lady Guadalupe,

St. Nicholas Day, Eid al-Fitr, or of course, Christmas.  I hope you can have one day where you can forget about the world and enjoy a simple pleasure: spending time with your family.

Merry Christmas!  And we’ll chat again in the New Year.

Until next time,

Cheers.