It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

The decors are coming out now.. I have to admit I was becoming a tad too worried to function when I still couldn’t see the majority of places putting up Christmas stuff. You have to know that Christmas comes earlier here in the Philippines in comparison to other countries. I remember the decorations and the songs used to come out as early as October, if not earlier. So it really is alarming to see malls and other establishments lacking in those. I mean, where’s the Christmas spirit this year? Running late?

It’s so important to me to see those lights and sparkly trinkets scattered everywhere because all the Christmases in my memory had them. Each time. They’re probably putting up the tree back home now. And I’m missing it. I wonder who breaks a ball this year. I decorated our tree at home last year. And someone always breaks at least 1 glass Christmas ball. I even had my own Christmas tree back in Astoria.. which Chizzle helped me decorate. It was all pink and sparkly and glittery. It was forever showering the place with glitters =s.

I miss oliebollens. One of my happiest memories were of nibbling on one of those toasty, warm, crunchy-outside, soft-inside pastries with mounds of powdered sugar with my friends back in Holland. They were cold crisp afternoons and we’d cycle to the oliebollen vendor and cycle back home with one hand, trying not to sprinkle too much powdered sugar allover our coats. Anne bought me my first olliebollen. Then there are the poffertjes. Those yummy tiny pancakes. Served with butter and powdered sugar again.

I remember walking around the winkelcentrum in Groningen with Mandy, popping in and out the stores, buying presents for Sinterklaas. We were out til night- straight from ballroom dancing lesson at De Haan- and, clutching our carrier bags, it had begun to snow slowly, lightly.. little bits of cold powder that’s stark white against my black coat and would melt on my face. Like someone shaking a feathery sort of salt above us. I looked up at the inky sky and I was reminded of that starry screensaver, with all those white dots coming at me.

I wonder how Christmas would go this year. I wanna go hoome. Noow.

Help me out with this: Dec. 11-14 are ASEAN Summit days and there are no classes. The university made the 15th a holiday, too. So that’s a week of no classes. 16-17 is a Saturday and Sunday. The university-wide Christmas party is on the 19th. Christmas Holiday officially starts on the 21st. So that leaves only one day (the 18th) with classes since Dec. 8(a friday)?? Should I just go home on the 9th or something??

Aargh.