How is a normal guy supposed to be happy in the world today? Everything seems to be going rapidly going downhill? As WilWheaton said in his blog today "The economy is in the shitter, unemployment is skyrocketing, and it turns out that there are just nine days left until Christmas, which means there are only eight shopping days, provided you're willing to run through the mall with Governor Ahnold and all the other panicked people on Christmas Eve. It is entirely understandable if you just want the whole damn season to be over." I couldn't agree more.
The economic downturn is killing the Buy More. Big Mike was talking about how the day-after-Thanksgiving sales were down 30+ percent. He and Emmitt are supposed to be cooking up some kind of crazy scheme to get us back in the black before the end of the year. But I trust neither their ability to do that, nor their morals when it comes to a method of attempting to do it.
Cause, you see, it's not just the big evils of the world – the diamond stealers, the terrorists, the crazy bombers, the evil spies, the failing fathers, the bad ex-girlfriends – that get me down. It's the weight of all the little evils – raising prices near holidays, driving angry, being forced to write journals which will only get you in trouble, people doing doughnuts in parking lots, using religious to steal people's money. Those are the things that wear a person down. At least, those are the things that wear me down.
I feel like I generally have a good disposition and look on the positive side of life. But I can't even follow Wil's advice for Christmas. He talks about doing things with family, friends, kids. Ellie and Awesome may get the day off, but I feel like a third wheel with them already. Morgan is not exactly the kind of guy to spend Christmas with. And his cynicism about life wears off too easily, turning us both into very unpleasant individuals. I'd hang out with Sarah, but she has her own jobs to do, plus things can get awkward when we're not under cover or working on a mission. Casey is a sentence – spending time with him only makes everything darker and bleaker.
Wil also talks about traveling for Christmas. Multiple problems with that, there, Wesley Crusher. I don't have the Enterprise to get me around. I'm not an accomplished actor and writer, with multiple sources of income. I have a job which requires me to be there nearly every day. We're closed on Christmas, thank goodness, but we're open on Christmas Eve and I think I have to work the 26th, too. Plus, as Casey so often reminds me, bad guys never take a day off.
Maybe that's part of the reason I'm so bummed. Christmas is going to be really short. Even a day of Twilight Zone isn't a real break. It's not long enough.