both of you'll get practice

today was a day of gifts, and i enjoy both giving and receiving gifts. i don't relish having stuff, but i do appreciate the underlying reasons for the stuff, and i love the connections with my family and friends that often accompany the stuff.

i mostly received more books today, yes books, those perfect bound documents that have come to dominate my life. i mostly gave books also, though i may be giving some framed pictures also. i love the books, and i don't cringe from getting a large number of them, because i've found that reading books is a good way to spend time, and books are good experiences to share with others, even at greater distances. i enjoy them, and i love to read them and talk about them with friends and family.

i've also come to an important realization today, one that likely seems silly to everyone else, that explains one of my strange little habits and beliefs for those who know me best. i often do not eat breakfast, even though my parents have tried to encourage the habit, my friends have criticized my eating habits, and i myself have tried to change. yet it always seemed to me that animals, like large snakes or other predators didn't need to eat all that often - maybe once every few months even. but over this weekend, my mom once again brought up the research espousing the importance of eating breakfast, to which i dismissed as usual. then i read something about the transition between cold and warm blooded animals, and what was given up in that transition, the ability to not eat for a while. i still think about large cats or wolves or bears and think about their eating habits, but i suppose i should just eat often, especially in the morning, recognizing that i'm not a snake, not a hibernating bear, or a starving predator. i guess eating breakfast might be good for me. i'll work on that.

over the last day or two, i wasn't visited by any ghosts, and i almost hate mentioning ghosts of the future during this most cliche time of year, when commercials use puns and references to anything and everything that might strike a note with people, encouraging them somehow to consume more, get more stuff, and this particular stuff at that. so if i were to counteract these unfortunate references to everything i might have once held dear as important parts of popular culture--those things that i share with a large group of people--my method of insurgence is to encourage people to listen to this song, read the words, and perhaps take them to heart.

ghost of corporate future by regina spektor

A man walks out of his apartment,
It is raining, he's got no umbrella
He starts running beneath the awnings,
Trying to save his suit,
Trying to save his suit.
Trying to dry, and to dry, and to dry but no good

When he gets to the crowded subway platform,
He takes off both of his shoes
He steps right into somebody's fat loogie
And everyone who sees him says, "Ew."
Everyone who sees him says, "Ew."

But he doesn't care,
'Cause last night he got a visit from the
Ghost of Corporate Future
The ghost said, "Take off both your shoes
Whatever chances you get
Especially when they're wet."

He also said,
"Imagine you go away
On a business trip one day
And when you come back home,
Your children have grown
And you never made your wife moan,
Your children have grown
And you never made your wife moan."

"And people make you nervous
You'd think the world is ending,
And everybody's features have somehow started blending
And everything is plastic,
And everyone's sarcastic,
And all your food is frozen,
It needs to be defrosted."

"You'd think the world was ending,
You'd think the world was ending,
You'd think the world was ending right now.
You'd think the world was ending,
You'd think the world was ending,
You'd think the world was ending right now."

"Well maybe you should just drink a lot less coffee,
And never ever watch the ten o'clock news,
Maybe you should kiss someone nice,
Or lick a rock,
Or both."

"Maybe you should cut your own hair
'Cause that can be so funny
It doesn't cost any money
And it always grows back
Hair grows even after you're dead"

"And people are just people,
They shouldn't make you nervous.
The world is everlasting,
It's coming and it's going.
If you don't toss your plastic,
The streets won't be so plastic.
And if you kiss somebody,
Then both of you'll get practice."

"The world is everlasting
Put dirtballs in your pocket,
Put dirtballs in your pocket,
And take off both your shoes.
'Cause people are just people,
People are just people,
People are just people like you.
People are just people,
People are just people,
People are just people like you."

The world is everlasting
It's coming and it's going
The world is everlasting
It's coming and it's going
It's coming and it's going