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Christmas 2023

Entry 2310, on 2023-12-29 at 12:22:22 (Rating 2, Activities)

I hope all my readers had an enjoyable Christmas, and since it's that time of year I want to make a few comments on the subject.

Since I don't attach much more importance to Christianity than I do to other religions, you might think that Christmas is irrelevant to me, but that's not true. First, I quite like some aspects of Christianity; second, it is the dominant religion of the culture I identify with; third, Christmas is as much a secular celebration as a religious one; and finally, the roots of Christmas are pagan and pre-date Christianity anyway, so why get too hung up on the Christian elements?

It is unfortunate that Christmas has become so commercialised, but it is actually fairly easy to ignore that, especially if you avoid the mainstream media like I do. Note that I do watch some TV and skip through our local paper, so I don't totally reject the MSM, I just minimise how much influence it has on me.

I purchased one Christmas gift, for my wife, and left everything else to her because she enjoys buying stuff! Note that although just one gift may seem a bit cheap, it was a brand new MacBook Air M2 worth about $3000 so it was actually fairly extravagant!

Most of what I received was very appropriate: wine, beer, and other forms of alcohol. I got some useful geek t-shirts and other stuff as well, but the alcohol theme seemed dominant. Not sure how I should read that.

My son and his girlfriend who are currently living in Australia visited, and my daughter was also here, so it was a family Christmas, which is what it should be, I think.

There was one unhappy aspect to this time, unfortunately. An old friend of mine died a few days before Christmas, and his funeral, which I was a pall-bearer for, was a couple of days after, so that was a bit depressing, although he had been in bad health for a while now.

Oh, did I mention that I finished work a few days before Christmas having successfully survived another year without being fired? Who knows what will happen next year, but I need the money, so I guess I just have to make the most of it. There are still a lot of great things about working at a university, but the stifling bureaucracy can be a bit depressing some times.

So that was Christmas, and the end of another year, as well as my first real shorter version of my blog. Hope you found this convenient, and don't feel you have been short-changed. Early next year I have an idea of a series of posts on a really outrageous theory I have, so stay tuned for that!

Comment 1 (7540) by Ken Spall on 2023-12-29 at 21:18:07:

Hi Owen, and season’s greetings also to you. I have not recently made any comments in response to your writings but I do really enjoy reading what you have to say, I wish I had such a good command of language. I look forward to reading your outrageous theory.
Cheers, Ken

Comment 2 (7541) by OJB on 2023-12-29 at 21:29:38:

Thanks for the feedback, and please feel free to comment on anything I say, even if you think I'm saying a load of crap, in fact, especially if you think I'm saying a load of crap!

Comment 3 (7542) by EK on 2023-12-30 at 15:54:40:

Nice to have something more personal and less cerebral for a change. Makes you human. Happy New Year!

Comment 4 (7543) by OJB on 2023-12-30 at 17:57:03:

I don't usually like to bore people with my personal life - I prefer to bore them with my more "cerebral" stuff instead! :)

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